Another look at Zacharias' encounter with Gabriel

[nebula]

Luke 1

11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.

13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. 14 "You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord ; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb. 16 "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 "It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

18 Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."

19 The angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 "And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

Ever since I was a child, I always perceived Gabriel to have spoken his last words in anger - that Zacharias' muteness was a punishment.

But recently I began seeing something a little different.

Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain?..."

And the angel responds - "You need a sign? OK, here is your sign -

I am Gabriel"

Daniel 8:16 - And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, "Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision."

Being a priest, he should have been well versed in Scripture. Chances are it would not have taken long for him to make the connection that this being speaking to him was quite likely the same being who spoke to Daniel!

"And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place"

In reading this, my original inclination was to conclude that as a priest he should have known better than to doubt an angel speaking to him! But when you look at other angelic encounters, pretty much everyone has a "Huh?!" reaction, yet were not punished such. So why would Zacharias be treated differently?

I am thinking now that the muteness was his sign.

Due to the nature of his calling as a father to "the Elijah who is to come," he needed a sign that would erase any traces of doubt from is natural mind of God's plan and purpose.

Remember, our minds are funny things - how often we forget the hand of God in our lives! And how often does what we perceive as a miracle today somehow becomes perceived as something natural the next? I don't see Zacharias as being more weak than anyone else, but rather he was just as weak as everyone else! Remember how Abraham was deceitful twice with regards to Sarah? How Moses disobeyed the Lord by striking the rock rather than speaking to it?

So Zacharias needed a sign - a sign beyond his wife becoming pregnant at an old age - to know the word was true. His muteness was the sign he was given.

But as it turned out, this sign was not for him alone!

Luke 1

62 And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, "His name is John." And they were all astonished. 64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, "What then will this child turn out to be?" For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

Zacharias asked for a sign for himself, but the Lord gave a sign for the people around him as well. The Lord was letting the community of priests know that He was beginning to move. And it took some strange happenings going on for this to be the talk of the town.

[Blien]

Good points.. I was reading this story last night too..

[Shaliach]

Very nicely done!

Edited March 18, 2010 by Shaliach

[Guest]

[yaright]

Luke 1

11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.

13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. 14 "You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord ; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb. 16 "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 "It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

18 Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."

19 The angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 "And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

Ever since I was a child, I always perceived Gabriel to have spoken his last words in anger - that Zacharias' muteness was a punishment.

But recently I began seeing something a little different.

Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain?..."

And the angel responds - "You need a sign? OK, here is your sign -

I am Gabriel"

Daniel 8:16 - And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, "Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision."

Being a priest, he should have been well versed in Scripture. Chances are it would not have taken long for him to make the connection that this being speaking to him was quite likely the same being who spoke to Daniel!

"And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place"

In reading this, my original inclination was to conclude that as a priest he should have known better than to doubt an angel speaking to him! But when you look at other angelic encounters, pretty much everyone has a "Huh?!" reaction, yet were not punished such. So why would Zacharias be treated differently?

I am thinking now that the muteness was his sign.

Due to the nature of his calling as a father to "the Elijah who is to come," he needed a sign that would erase any traces of doubt from is natural mind of God's plan and purpose.

Remember, our minds are funny things - how often we forget the hand of God in our lives! And how often does what we perceive as a miracle today somehow becomes perceived as something natural the next? I don't see Zacharias as being more weak than anyone else, but rather he was just as weak as everyone else! Remember how Abraham was deceitful twice with regards to Sarah? How Moses disobeyed the Lord by striking the rock rather than speaking to it?

So Zacharias needed a sign - a sign beyond his wife becoming pregnant at an old age - to know the word was true. His muteness was the sign he was given.

But as it turned out, this sign was not for him alone!

Luke 1

62 And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, "His name is John." And they were all astonished. 64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, "What then will this child turn out to be?" For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

Zacharias asked for a sign for himself, but the Lord gave a sign for the people around him as well. The Lord was letting the community of priests know that He was beginning to move. And it took some strange happenings going on for this to be the talk of the town.

What a powerful insight you have given in the presence of His glory. Can you imagine how much joy comes over a man when he desires the child given by promise from our Lord. And then can you imagine the joy of our Lord that a child of God is born! Thank you for giving this witness

[Guest eric paul]

goes to show ya that we need to be careful what we ask for

[OneLight]

goes to show ya that we need to be careful what we ask for

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We should keep in mind that Zechariah had a vision. A vision is too close to a dream or lucid dream. A vision should never be taken literally.

I disagree. I had a vision where all Christ said was "I AM ALIVE" and I take that very literally.

[nebula]

Ben - I don't know if you are engaging in this discussion for any reason other than trying to up your post count (I've read your post declaring you are just passing through to get your 100 posts to enter the Controversial forum).

But what point do you serve with your comment? Zacharias saw Gabriel appear to him and told him he'd have a son. Because Zacharias quesitoned the word of the angel, he was made mute. Then Zacharias' wife got pregnant - just as the angel said.

So I fail to see the relevence in making a "vision" doctrine argument out of this thread.

[OneLight]

goes to show ya that we need to be careful what we ask for

----------------------

We should keep in mind that Zechariah had a vision. A vision is too close to a dream or lucid dream. A vision should never be taken literally.

I disagree. I had a vision where all Christ said was "I AM ALIVE" and I take that very literally.

-----------------

You probably must have had a dream or a strong thought. You are not a prophet, do you consider yourself one? According to Numbers 12:6, "Should there be a prophet among you, in visions will I reveal myself to him." What Christian does not believe strongly that Jesus is alive? You can take it literally that Jesus is alive, but you have no way to prove it.

He has been gone since about two thousand years ago, and all we have is faith that Christians report of his being alive. According to Disraeli, a former British Prime Minister, where faith begins, knowledge ends; and according to Hosea 4:6, people perish for lack of knowledge.

No, it was as real as it could be. One does not have to be a prophet to have a vision. Is it possible that you don't believe in dreams or visions? You should consider the following before dismissing what God is doing .

Joel 2:28

And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.

Acts 2:17

And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,Your young men shall see visions,Your old men shall dream dreams.

[nebula]

OK, reopening the thread since the hijacker is gone.

Edited April 19, 2010 by nebula