How Shall I Know This?
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Introduction
Introduction
Faith can be such a fragile thing. I remember my dad telling a story of Charles Blondin and how he had crossed Niagara Falls on a tight rope—over 160 feet in the air. To fall would be certain death. The first time he did it, nearly 100,000 people showed up to watch. It wasn’t long before he added different elements to his trick. He would cross the falls blindfolded. He would do it on stilts! He rode a bike across. And he went back and forth with a wheelbarrow. Each time the people were amazed and would clap and cheer. The story goes that after walking across with the wheelbarrow, he asked his audience, “Do you believe I could carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?” And the crowd roared back a resounding “Yes!” And so he asked, “Who will get in the wheelbarrow?” To which no one would.
It is easy to believe; It’s easy to have faith when faced with the theoretical. But when laws of nature are against you—like gravity with Charles Blondin and his lack of volunteer—suddenly there is more trust in the law than in the person.
This morning we are reading a passage in which fragile faith failed. And as Luke recounted the story for Theophilus, we are able to pull out two sets of contrasting segments. In other words, we see a contrast between Zechariah and God in the first segment and a contrast between Zechariah and Elizabeth in the second segment.
Segment 1 - Contrast between Zechariah and God
Segment 2 - Contrast between Zechariah and Elizabeth
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.
And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.
And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,
“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Segment 1 - Zechariah and God
Segment 1 - Zechariah and God
The first segment that we come to takes place in the temple. Remember Zechariah was chosen by lot, by the will of God, to enter into the temple to make intercession on behalf of the people as they prayed outside. While in there, an angel appeared to him and told him that God has heard and is answering his prayer—which I take as the prayer for grace upon Israel by means of granting Zechariah and Elizabeth a son. And Zechariah is incredulous.
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
Zechariah’s faith is fragile. It’s failing to believe God’s word. Now, lest we forget what Luke already wrote, let’s review what he said just a few sentences earlier.
And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
Zechariah was righteous before God. He walked blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. This wasn’t simply a public faith that Zechariah displayed. It was a private faith. Zechariah’s character, not just his reputation was righteous. And here he stands in the temple, the holy place, offering up a prayer on behalf of Israel—all alone when this angel shows up. And when push comes to shove, Zechariah’s faith fails.
Zechariah is told that something will happen that goes against the laws of nature. He and his wife are well-advanced in years. Gabriel would later tell Mary that her “geras” (where we get the word geriatric) relative Elizabeth was pregnant. It was not simply (1) that Zechariah was too old to have a baby. It wasn’t just (2) that Elizabeth was too old to have a baby. But (3) there is also the fact that Elizabeth had been barren her entire life. Three strikes, you’re out! Those are hard facts to overcome.
What are we supposed to do with this information? I have two recommendations:
Take comfort. That might sound a little weird, but I would recommend you taking a little comfort in that Zechariah, who was considered to be righteous before God, had a failure of faith. He’s not the only one, you know. Adam did. Noah did. Abraham certainly did. Moses did. Joshua did. David did. Peter did. Paul did. There are no Super-Saints in God’s Word. We elevate men and women of the faith as to super-status and we want to be like them. We want to pray three hours a day like Luther. We want to have the intelligence of Calvin. We want the faith of Mueller. There are no Super-Faithful people. Every single saint—Old Testament, New Testament, famous, and unknown—have all had moments of fragile faith that failed to believe.
Take counsel. Learn from Zechariah’s failure. God is above the laws of nature. While he usually works within the laws of nature, there is nothing that says he must. He who parted the Red Sea, raised the dead, cured leprosy, killed 185,000 Assyrian troops in one night, can do miracles in our lives as well. The issue is that we often see what we can’t do and project that onto God as well. Zechariah was too old to have a baby. It just can’t happen. Elizabeth was too old and had been barren her entire life. It just can’t happen. Not humanly speaking. And therefore, the inability was projected onto God himself. Take counsel, brothers and sisters, your inabilities are not God’s inabilities.
I love what Thabiti Anyabwile wrote about this passage.
When our eyes are on our problems--in Zechariah’s case, his age,--we will not receive God’s word or trust God’s power. We can’t think our problems are great and God’s power is great at the same time. We will exalt one a little bit more than the other. Trying to exalt our problems and God’s power is like attempting to serve money and God at the same time. We cannot do it. We can be so focused on our problems we can’t hear God’s promises and we fail to believe God’s power.
Here was Zechariah, being visited by an angel who appeared out of no where at the right side of the altar of incense, telling him that he would have a baby, and Zechariah unable to see past his inabilities, asked for a sign. “How shall I know this?”
And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
I can’t help but think that Gabriel is now a bit incredulous at Zechariah’s incredulity. “Really!? You want a sign other than me!? I’m Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God. I’m an angel! God sent me to tell you the gospel personally and you want a sign?
Now here is the contrast in this segment: Zechariah’s failure in faith does not equate to God’s failure to use him. Or another way to say it: Zechariah’s faithlessness does not make God faithless. God, through Gabriel, promised grace to Israel by means of a promised son to Zechariah and when Zechariah failed to believe it, God didn’t wash his hands of the whole thing. He didn’t say, “You blew it, Zechariah. You had your chance and your royally messed up. I’m done with you. You lost your one chance at having a child.”
What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?
By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”
Abraham gave up his wife to Abimelech jeopardizing God’s promise, but God intervened and kept his promise. Moses struck the rock to give water, but God used him to lead the people up to the Promised Land. David committed adultery and murder and yet fulfilled the promise of a Savior through his lineage. Our failures in being faithful does not mean that God fails in being faithful.
Oh, there will certainly be times of discipline. But that is because God loves us and teaches us through our failures. Let us not forget that the word discipline comes from the same thought as discipling.
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
And it is no different for Zechariah.
And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
Can you image not being able to speak for nine full months? I bet a lot of reflection was being done during that time. Can you imagine the last words you’ve spoken were words of unbelief? “How shall I know this?” While a baby grew in the womb of Elizabeth, faith grew in the heart of Zechariah. While Elizabeth carried Zechariah’s son, God carried Zechariah as his legitimate son loved and disciplined. And as Elizabeth would give birth to the fruit of her womb, so Zechariah would at the same time give birth to the fruit of righteousness having been trained by God’s discipline.
Segment 2 - Zechariah and Elizabeth
Segment 2 - Zechariah and Elizabeth
Which leads us to the second segment. The first segment took place in the temple and showed a contrast between Zechariah and God, but the second takes place outside the temple showing a contrast between Zechariah and Elizabeth. One must remain silent. The other can’t help but speak.
And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.
And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.
And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,
“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Even though every priest wanted to offer up the incense offering to God, it was not a complicated job. It didn’t take very long to do. So when Zechariah didn’t come out of there at the expected time, the people began to get a bit nervous. And when he finally did come out, he was supposed to speak a blessing to them. Most likely, the Aaronic blessing: “The LORD bless you and keep you” blessing. But when he comes out, he’s speechless. He can’t bless them with the Aaronic blessing, nor bless them with the gospel message he just heard.
Now, the people were astute enough to see that something supernatural had happened in the temple. The problem was that they really wouldn’t know what that was because Zechariah couldn’t tell them. And it was certainly good news that they would have longed to hear. Gabriel had just told him that his son would turn many back to God and turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, coming in the spirit and power of Elijah. In other words, he was the forerunner to the coming Messiah. That’s huge news! Zechariah had received the gospel—the Messiah, the Savior was coming—and couldn’t say a word! Try as he might, and he tried—using hand-signals—he could not convey the good news.
Beloved, we have the ability to speak the good news, and it is sad that we don’t. I’m not trying to make you feel shame or guilt. I’m just saying that Zechariah wanted to desperately share what he could not, yet most Christians could, but are not desperate enough to do so. What if God took away our ability? How willing would we be then? How desperate would we become? Perhaps some of us would feel the sense of desperation while others would feel a sense of relief.
Zechariah finished his time at temple service. He went home. Maybe he made a nice dinner for Elizabeth. Perhaps pulls out a scroll for to read a bit from the Song of Solomon, but realizes he can’t speak so he has her read it to herself:
Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them has lost its young.
You know what I’m saying? One thing leads to another and Elizabeth ends up pregnant! And though Zechariah cannot say a word, Elizabeth can’t help but speak a blessing.
“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
I don’t think that these were words of excitement. I think these were words of relief. Remember I told you that first week that Luke wrote about those on the fringe, those who were marginalized. Here are Zechariah and Elizabeth. Both aged people. You know, the type of people who typically keep to themselves. They don’t want to be a bother to others. They stay quiet and in the background. No one notices them. Out of sight, out of mind.
Yet, here is Elizabeth who now realizes that while that may be true with humanity, she is not out of sight with God. God has looked on her. She is not out of mind with God. God has kept her in mind for a major task—to bear and rear the forerunner of the Messiah.
To our aged brothers and sisters, forgive us of our willful blindness to see your beauty and your value, not only to God himself, but to God’s kingdom work as well. Do not see yourselves as sidelined by God, nor let yourselves be sidelined by youthful ignorance. God has plenty to do through you.
But it was not only that God was using her as an aged woman, but that God had given her a son. The world today does not value having children as the first century did. It was often a sign of disgrace or reproach to be barren. Perhaps God was angry, perhaps they had grievously sinned. But here was God’s taking away her reproach. God was entering into the lives of those who are marginalized in ways they could not have imagined.
God is in the business of removing reproach. He’s in the business of removing the disgrace that has come upon us. Perhaps it is self-inflicted by some grievous sin that we’ve committed. Perhaps it’s just simply out of our control and yet still shameful to us. Now to be sure, there will be a disgrace from those who will not believe. They will taunt us, mock us, say vile things to us and against us. But in the end, every reproach—every disgraceful, vile thing thought and said against us—will be eliminated.
He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we conclude the study of this text, we have seen two contrasting segments in this passage. We have seen that Zechariah’s faithlessness was met with God’s faithfulness. And we saw where Zechariah’s absence of a blessing was met with Elizabeth’s humbled relief of a blessing.
Beloved some of you may be seeing for the first time or maybe the first time in a long time that God has not failed to be faithful to you and to his promise regarding you. Perhaps you’ve been in a state of discipline for some time and are just now seeing that God was actually displaying his love to you in his discipline so that you may bear the fruit of righteousness. I would encourage you to take time to think through all that God has been doing for so long a time.
Some of you may be like Zechariah. You have a natural tendency to believe in the natural rather than the supernatural. In theory, God can do anything, but in reality, he won’t and doesn’t. It’s time to reassess your perspective. I’m not talking about looking for new special revelation. I’m talking about letting God be God and being open to letting God do as God would do.
Some of us are quiet, not because we have to be, but because we choose to be. Some of us feel marginalized already and so we say nothing or we fear being marginalized and so we say nothing. Perhaps silence is what we need. Perhaps sitting alone in silence to think about this treasure in earthen vessels that demands to be revealed would be just the thing to help us open our mouths.
But there may be others here that may not even know what it means to be relieved of the guilt and shame of your past sins. You’ve never turned from them as you turned to Jesus. Sure maybe you stopped doing them because you saw how destructive they were. You turned because you wanted to turn over a new leaf. But Jesus had nothing to do with it. You turned from one idolatrous way to another. It’s time to turn from all idols and turn to the one who can save you to the uttermost. It’s time to turn from broken cisterns that can hold no water, and turn to the one who grants a spring of living water. Jesus lived, died, and rose again so that those who would repent and believe can experience eternal life of eternal joy in him. And I would love to tell you more. 636-212-0699