Encountering God
And so we begin the wonderful journey through the book of Luke. As established in the introduction, since Luke was a doctor, his book is filled with details. On his many trips with Paul, he would have had ample time to interview people who had first hand experiences with Jesus, and he shares many of these in his gospel. One thing to note as we begin, the book of Luke is the only gospel that begins before the birth of Jesus. We start with a story about a man named Zechariah. His name means God Remembers, which is amazingly appropriate, as God remembers he and his wife and grants them wonderful miracle.
Vs 5-7 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord. But they had no children because Elizabeth could not conceive, and both of them were well along in years.
We come to the first detail in the book of Luke – the establishment of a time period. In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division…” The King Herod we are speaking of is known as Herod the Great. He was placed on the throne, not as an ethnic Israelite, but as a descendant of Esau. His ancestors had converted to Judaism and he was raised a Jew, but he was considered an Edomite. He was born in 72 BC and began his rise to power through his father’s good relations with Julius Caesar. He was appointed King of the Judah around 40 BC and by 37 BC had ushered in the Herodian dynasty. He was called Herod the Great because of his many colossal building projects, including the Second Jewish Temple, Masada, and the fascinating Caesarea Maritima. He was a ruthless ruler, even killing one of his own sons. Biblically, he is known as the king who killed the babies in Bethlehem because of his insane jealously of the Christ child. He died around 4 BC.
The second person we find is Zechariah who is a part of Abijah’s priestly division. We find out more about the divisions of the priesthood in 2 Chronicles 24. “Together with Zadok from the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech from the sons of Ithamar, David divided them according to the assigned duties of their service. Since more leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than Ithamar’s, they were divided accordingly: 16 heads of ancestral houses were from Eleazar’s descendants, and eight heads of ancestral houses were from Ithamar’s… the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,” 2 Chronicles 24:3-4,10. Luke tells us several things about Zechariah in this short passage. One, he has a wife named Elizabeth who was a descendant of Aaron. Two, he and Elizabeth were righteous, “living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord’. Three, they had no children. And, four, they were “well along in years.” Luke gives us these wonderful details to establish why they were chosen, and how God, in His amazing grace, remembers (zachar in Hebrew) them.
Vs 8-20 When his division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, it happened that he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and overcome with fear. But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people. “How can I know this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.” The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and tell you this good news. Now listen! You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
Zechariah had come to Jerusalem because his priestly division (Abijah) was on duty. There were so many priests during this time, the temple duties were determined by lot. This time, the lot fell to Zechariah to burn the incense before the Lord. The table of incense was in the holy place right outside the curtain where the Holy of Holies and mercy seat of God resided. This was a once in a lifetime experience and, I’m sure, this had to be the biggest event in Zechariah’s life. To set the scene, there would have been three priests chosen for this duty. One to set the burning coals on the golden altar, one to arrange the incense on the altar and one (Zechariah) to burn the incense on the altar. The other two priests would do their duties and then leave Zechariah alone in the holy place. A multitude of people had gathered outside the holy place and they were being led to sing, pray and worship. Zechariah burns the incense on the altar before the Lord when suddenly, it happened. An angel of the Lord appears to him and Scripture says Zechariah was startled and overcome with fear. He is taken aback by this encounter. He wasn’t expecting it to happen. Think about this for a moment. Zechariah came before the Lord, but really didn’t expect to encounter Him. So what happens then?
The angel of the Lord appears to Zechariah and gives him an amazing message. God had heard his prayers at the altar of incense. This was the place where the prayers of the people are lifted up to God. How do we know this? Remember the temple on earth was a foreshadowing of the very throne room of God. Here is what Revelation 8:3-4 says, “Another angel, with a gold incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the gold altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand.” So, Zechariah was in the midst of worship and an angel of the Lord has appeared to tell him about some incredible miracles that were going to change the world were about to happen. Miracle number one – he and Elizabeth were finally going to have a child, even in their old age, just like Abraham and Sarah mind you! Miracle number two – this child was going to be the one that came before the long expected Messiah – “he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah.” Zechariah is so overwhelmed with this message he can’t believe it – and I really mean he can’t believe it. He doesn’t believe it. His response to the message is “How can I know this?” We know from the angel’s response this wasn’t just an exclamation, but all out unbelief. Here he was, in the holy place at the altar of incense with the intent purpose of encountering God, but when he actually does, he can’t believe it. The angel response is swift and convincing. “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and tell you this good news. Now listen! You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” Wow! It’s never a good thing to have the angel of the Lord yell at you. I’m sure the fear was very real about then. Gabriel basically says – so you don’t believe? Well, maybe you just need to stop talking for a while and listen.
Vs 21-25 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them. Then they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept making signs to them and remained speechless. When the days of his ministry were completed, he went back home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived and kept herself in seclusion for five months. She said, “The Lord has done this for me. He has looked with favor in these days to take away my disgrace among the people.”
And so, Zechariah was immediately struck mute. He was silenced! He came out of the holy place, out of his encounter with God, unable to speak a word about it. He could only helplessly try to make signs. He was now going to have to listen more, see more, and ponder more. He spends the rest of his ministry time in Jerusalem unable to express with words his praise, joy or wonder. When he returns home, the miracle happens just as promised. Elizabeth, in her old age, is with child. Her disgrace is removed and she feels the favor of the Lord on her. She alone understands the excitement of her long ago ancestor Sarah. Having been barren, ashamed, and disappointed month after month and year after year, she was finally going to bear a son.
As I studied these verses, the thing that struck me was Zechariah’s unbelief, which led me to reflect my own times of worship. If you can imagine this scene with me. Here we are, in the holy place of the temple standing in front of the altar of incense. It is a sacred place. A holy place. A place filled with the presence of the Almighty. We are burning the incense before the Lord and lifting up the prayers of the people before Him. In the background, we hear the sweet worship of multitudes as they sing and praise the Lord. The table has been set and we are ready to encounter God… but are we really? That’s the real question I have to ask myself. Am I ready to encounter God? Zechariah was there in the very presence of God, but, when God showed up, he was startled. I believe we are often just like Zechariah – surprised and startled when God shows up. We’re not sure what we would do if the Holy Spirit actually falls down upon us. We come to church, praise Him through song, beseech Him with our prayers and then… we go home to eat lunch or try to beat the other churches to the restaurants. I wonder what would happen if we – I – actually came before the Lord with the anticipation that we would encounter Him. What if we expected Him to speak to us. What if we awaited the miracles in our lives and in the life of His church. I believe it would change the way we do church. Instead of just showing up, we would come before Him in contemplation, looking for what He will do. Then, we would go out with the promise that He will change the world through us, knowing without a shadow of doubt that God will answer our prayers, and empower us with His Holy Spirit. He is listening and He is active in our lives. Maybe, we, like Zechariah, need to close our mouths and listen to what God has to say to us. Let this be our prayer:
Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on me,
Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me.
Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on me.
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