Profile of a Doubter, Part 3: Zacharias

The story of Zacharias is a short one.  He is only mentioned in one of the four gospels, and then, only in part of one chapter.  His story beings in Luke, chapter 1.

Zacharias was a priest, and the lot was cast to him to burn the incense in the temple.  While he stood at the altar of incense, an angel appeared to him.  At first, Zacharias was very afraid.  Yet, the angel Gabriel assures Zacharias there is no reason to be afraid.  Gabriel has come to tell Zacharias that his and his wife Elizabeth's prayers have been answered. 

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.  For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:13-17

Pretty amazing, right!  As with Abraham & Sarah, Zacharias and Elizabeth were past the age of conceiving children, and Elizabeth had always been barren.  Yet, instead of worshiping God, Zacharias' fear quickly vanishes, and he becomes doubtful, you might even say arrogant.  He asks the angel how he should know this is the truth. 

I don't know about you, but if an angel came to me, I would believe anything he said.  Or would I?  Perhaps so many years of feeling disappointed at never having a child had make Zacharias fail to see God's true love for him and Elizabeth.  That is sometimes easy to do.  When we feel like God has not answered our prayers for many years, we sometimes de-throne God and take away His power (not literally, of course).  We demean the Almighty by saying, "Are You sure You can really do this?"  We become arrogant.

Due to the brazen attitude of Zacharias...

And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”  Luke 1:19-20 

And indeed, Zacharias was mute for nine months.

In verse 25, a son is born!  At the baby's circumcision, the people were saying that surely the baby would be named after his father.  But Elizabeth insists the child will be called John.  The people are baffled, but Zacharias was handed a writing tablet where he writes, "His name is John" (verse 63), and immediately, his voice returns.

As you probably know, this baby John was no ordinary child.  When you back up to verse 26, the same Gabriel that appeared to Zacharias appears to Mary, the mother of Jesus.  (Mary is also the cousin of Elizabeth.) Gabriel announces John's birth as well as her up-coming miraculous conception of Jesus!  In verse 39, Mary visits Elizabeth while she is pregnant with baby John.  At the sound of Mary's voice, the baby already knows his purpose is to prepare the way for Christ, and leaps for joy as he is filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb.  

At John's dedication ceremony, Zacharias is also filled with the Holy Spirit and prays over his son.

Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began...

Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.  Luke 1:67-80

Now this may be all that was written about Zacharias, but we know his son, also known as John the Baptist, played a very important role in history.  He was a true hero of faith as he went about proclaiming the upcoming ministry of Christ.  He was very bold and full of faith. (I will also re-post "The Ministry of John the Baptist" blog I wrote in a few days.)

Chances are, Zacharias was not typically a man prone to doubt.  However, we do not know the condition of his heart prior to John's birth.  Luke 1:6 does say that he and Elizabeth were righteous before the Lord.  Following all the rules and regulations does not automatically mean you have a personal relationship with God, however.  Oftentimes rituals become hollow and routine.  We cannot know for sure if Zacharias was merely doing these actions out of habit or out of a true love for God.  By his attitude toward Gabriel, we do see a bit of an arrogance.  It was pretty bold to doubt an angel sent by God.  Yet, he and Elizabeth were chosen to be the parents of an important prophet.  Were they humble before, or did the miraculous events of John's birth change them?

Either way, we do see the condition of his heart after John's birth.  We see obedience in naming the child John, and great faith spoken during Zacharias' prophecy.  Perhaps his faith was there all along and he had one moment of weakness.  His faith may have been buried in years of ritual and also temporarily hidden beneath disappointment at never having children.  

We do not know the exact ages of Zacharias and Elizabeth, or if they were still alive when their son's ministry began, so we don't know if they ever knew how important (as well as hated) their son became.  But we do know that by the time John was born that they were both true believers in the ministry of their son as well as believers that the Messiah was about to be born.

When God promises a ministry to us or through us, it may be hard to believe when circumstances are against us (such as age, health, finances, etc.), but have the courage to let go of doubt and believe.