Tag Archives: Gabriel

LUKE’S GOSPEL…SPEECHLESS – 2

Bible Study, ,

“In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron…But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old…Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John…Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news…And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” …When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son…On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.” …Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬, ‭7‬, ‭11‬-‭13‬, ‭18‬-‭20‬, ‭57‬, ‭59‬-‭60‬, ‭62‬-‭64‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Luke wove the birth stories of John and Jesus together in interesting parallels of comparison and contrast. These two babies’ lives were interconnected by both family ties and divine purpose.  

Both parents were childless. Zachariah and Elizabeth had no children because of age and natural infertility although, as often happened when God wanted a child for a special purpose as with, for example, Isaac, Samuel, Samson, and, of course, John the Baptist, He intervened supernaturally. Mary was a teenage girl, betrothed but not yet married. 

The angel Gabriel visited both Zechariah and Mary to announce the supernatural birth of their sons…but their responses were vastly different. Zechariah received the message with skepticism, Mary with faith and submission. 

They both responded to the announcement of the impending pregnancies with similar questions…

“Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭34‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…but note the subtle difference. 

Zechariah questioned the truthfulness of Gabriel’s words. “How can I be sure of this?” The Greek words seem to imply that Zechariah saw the impossibility of this happening because natural circumstances made it impossible. 

Mary’s question relates to her lack of a husband. This could happen but not without a husband since she was a chaste young woman who was still a virgin. 

The angel brushed aside both unfavourable situations. God could override both old age and virginity. 

However, because Zechariah had verbalised his unbelief, he would be dumb until the child was born, giving him no more opportunity to speak words contradictory to God’s word.

“The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

By contrast, Mary gladly accepted the angel’s prophetic word, submitting to God’s power and God’s will in her situation. 

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭38‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There are lessons to be learned from the responses of these two people. We can, like Adam or like Zechariah, disqualify ourselves from God’s favour by doubting the truth of God’s word. Adam lost everything. Zechariah lost the power to speak for the nine months of Elizabeth’s pregnancy and, with it, he lost the joy of sharing the anticipation of John’s birth with her. 

Mary’s compliance is especially moving since she would be well aware of what the consequences of a pregnancy for a betrothed but not-yet-married woman would be. She could forfeit her betrothal to Joseph. She would carry the stigma of an “illegitimate pregnancy” both for herself and her son…disgrace, ostracism, shame on herself and her family and even worse, the scorn of her neighbours and family for covering her sin by the excuse of a virgin birth or  blasphemy by blaming it on God. 

She brushed aside all these considerations by her expression of confidence in the will of God. 

The angel  reassured  her…

“For no word from God will ever fail.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭37‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To be continued…

GOD WILL FINISH WHAT HE STARTED

Christian Life, ,

God’s story begins in Genesis, with a promise, strangely, not to humans but to the devil himself.

“And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3:15 NLT

Let’s fast forward, past the long history of God’s wayward nation, to a little teenage girl, Mary. She’s confronted by a high-ranking angel, Gabriel himself, with another promise directly connected to God’s first promise. Put that into your memory bank, Mary.

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David…. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.
Luke 1:26‭-‬27‭, ‬30‭-‬32 NLT

She, little Mary, a virgin engaged to be married, is about to become pregnant with a son, not just any son and certainly not her fiancé’s child, but God’s Son. Impossible? Not if God’s in it.

Little Mary submits and puts that memory into her bank of precious memories.

Strange and unusual things happen at the birth of this Son. Shepherds come to the house in Bethlehem where He was born. Who sent them to this address? Angels! So they said.
She puts this visit in her memory bank too.

Then two elderly people meet them at the temple in Jerusalem, eight days later. Joseph and Mary, are on their way to make the required sacrifice for the birth of a boy when an old man meets them, prophesies nice things over the baby, says a word for her that sends chills down her spine. Into her memories goes that one too.

Two years later, magi from a far Eastern country pitch at their home in Bethlehem. Who sent them? A star! So they said. Another memory to store.

Soon after, a death threat. So they flee to Egypt… and boy toddlers are murdered because of Him. Such scary things to remember, not forgetting God’s oversight in this energency.

“The murderer is dead,” so they are told. “You can go back home.” So, they return to Nazareth in Galilee, as far from the seat of government as possible.

Little Mary is puzzled by the behaviour of her always-compliant, twelve-year-old Son. He goes awol, absent without leave, after a visit to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. She can’t get inside her Son’s mind. What was he thinking? Why did He just disappear? His answer puzzles her even more. “I’m about my Father,” He says. Another piece in the story to remember.

And so the years roll by. Jesus grows up, leaves home to begin His life’s work as the Son of God. Little Mary’s memory bank is filling fast… treasured memories of a perfect Son… puzzling memories of a Son who says and does things beyond her finite understanding.

Then the event predicted by the old man 33 years before! The sword pierces her soul. She gazes, aghast, appalled at the sight of her shredded, bloodied, precious Son impaled on a Roman torture stake. Was this what He was about? All His years to end like this?

Wait, little Mary. God’s story hasn’t ended yet. One more chapter to be written.

Three days later, Mary’s Son lives. The impossible has happened. The serpent’s head is crushed, Gabriel’s prophetic message fulfilled, God’s work complete, sin atoned, forgiven, removed from the record. Salvation accomplished. IT IS FINISHED.

Little Mary’s story can be ours if we allow God to finish what He started.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Philippians 1:6 NLT

Faith in the fire loses its dross, emerges pure and precious, the highway to heaven’s glorious completion, written in blood, His blood and ours.

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world…. The The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:6‭-‬7‭, ‬9 NLT

“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
Hebrews 6:12 NIV

Our beloved country is littered with unfulfilled promises and unfinished projects. We suffer under the reign of greedy and unreliable politicians who are in it for what they can get out of it, for themselves and their cronies.

Not God! His word is His bond. He created a planet destined to be the centre of His perfect family’s life. He created humans like Himself who will live forever on this perfect planet in harmony with Him and one another.

He provided a perfect solution for the mess humans have made by going it alone. He became like one of us so that we can be restored to fellowship with Him and become like Him.

And despite all our doubts and misgivings, God is well on the way to finishing what He started.

‭Revelation‬ ‭21:1‭-‬5‬ ‭NLT‬
[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. [2] And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. [3] I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. [4] He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” [5] And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!”

And… what God says, He does.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – DUMBSTRUCK

Bible Study, ,

DUMBSTRUCK

“Zachariah said to the angel, ‘Do you expect me to believe this? I am an old man and my wife is an old woman.’

“But the angel said, ‘I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time – God’s time.'” Luke 1:18-20.

Does old age dim one’s confidence in a good God, or had Zachariah become so skeptical that not even a high-ranking angel’s appearance could convince him that God was actually communicating with him?

Imagine speaking to an angel like that! Surely the presence of an angelic being so awesome that Zachariah was paralysed with fear, would have convinced him that this was no joke, especially after Gabriel had given him details about his son’s nature and upbringing?

Gabriel was God’s messenger, particularly assigned to carry messages regarding the coming of Messiah. It was he who visited Mary six months later to announce that she was to be the earthly mother of the Messiah.

Why did Zachariah respond with such skepticism? There are probably many reasons. His longing, together with his wife, Elizabeth’s, had died as old age took away any hope of their having a child, and with it their confidence that God would finally answer their prayers, regardless of their physical impotence to bear a child.

The angel came so unexpectedly and pounced on him so suddenly that his elderly brain had no time to process this surprise. All he could think of was the state of his body and the body of his wife. He was so much like us. We tend to look at the impossibilities rather than God’s promises, and draw our conclusions from what we can see rather than what God said.

Israel reacted in the same way when they were confronted with the prospect of entering and conquering a land that was full of giants and had fortified cities to overcome. They did not reckon on God’s promise, made to Abraham centuries before, and the power of God to override natural difficulties with supernatural intervention.

Zachariah’s unbelief came with a price. God would not let him off for mistrusting His Word. Zachariah was not only emotionally dumbstruck by the angel’s appearance; he would also be literally dumbstruck for the nine months of his wife’s pregnancy. This would present him with some unusual difficulties including the neighbours’ idea that being dumb meant that he was also deaf! (Luke 1:62).

Fortunately Zachariah’s handicap only lasted until the birth of his son. Perhaps it was in the mercy of God that He shut his mouth so that he could utter no more words of unbelief until the promise of God was fulfilled.

How often do we not put God’s promises on hold, or even cancel them by our confession of unbelief because we are more impressed by what we can see and hear than what God has said in His Word. We might learn a lesson from this reluctant priest who robbed himself of speech until the Word of the Lord proved him a liar.

 

Dumbstruck

Bible Study, , ,

DUMBSTRUCK

“Zachariah said to the angel, ‘Do you expect me to believe this? I am an old man and my wife is an old woman.’

“But the angel said, ‘I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time — God’s time.'” Luke 1:18-20 (The Message).

Does old age dim one’s confidence in a good God, or had Zachariah become so sceptical that not even a high-ranking angel’s appearance could convince him that God was actually communicating with him?

Imagine speaking to an angel like that! Surely the presence of an angelic being so awesome that Zachariah was paralysed with fear, would have convinced him that this was no joke, especially after Gabriel had given him details about his son’s nature and upbringing

Gabriel was God’s messenger, particularly assigned to carry messages regarding the coming of Messiah. It was he who visited Mary six months later to announce that she was to be the earthly mother of the Messiah.

Why did Zachariah respond with such scepticism? There are probably many reasons. His longing, together with his wife, Elizabeth’s, had died as old age took away any hope of their having a child, and with it their confidence that God would finally answer their prayers, regardless of their physical impotence to bear a child.

The angel came so unexpectedly and pounced on him so suddenly that his elderly brain had no time to process this surprise. All he could think of was the state of his body and the body of his wife. He was so much like us. We tend to look at the impossibilities rather than God’s promises, and draw our conclusions from what we can see rather than what God said.

Israel reacted in the same way when they were confronted with the prospect of entering and conquering a land that was full of giants and had fortified cities to overcome. They did not reckon on God’s promise, made to Abraham centuries before, and the power of God to override natural difficulties with supernatural intervention.

Zachariah’s unbelief came with a price. God would not let him off for mistrusting His Word. Zachariah was not only emotionally dumbstruck by the angel’s appearance; he would also be literally dumbstruck for the nine months of his wife’s pregnancy. This would present him with some unusual difficulties including the neighbours’ idea that being dumb meant that he was also deaf! (Luke 1:62).

Fortunately Zachariah’s handicap only lasted until the birth of his son. Perhaps it was in the mercy of God that He shut his mouth so that he could utter no more words of unbelief until the promise of God was fulfilled.

How often do we not put God’s promises on hold, or even cancel them by our confession of unbelief because we are more impressed by what we can see and hear than what God has said in His Word. We might learn a lesson from this reluctant priest who robbed himself of speech until the Word of the Lord proved him a liar.