Luke 1
Luke was a doctor who lived right after the time of Jesus. He took up the task of documenting the life of Jesus through careful investigative journalism. He interviewed people who were with Jesus. He spoke to eyewitnesses of events. He compiled what he found and wrote an account of the life of Jesus so that those who read it “would be certain of the things they had been taught.” I like that. Not that I have ever doubted the truth of the Bible, but I find comfort in knowing that this book wasn’t written at random. It was written very deliberately and methodically, paying attention to detail so that we could be certain that the events that are described are true. I’m glad that he did this as well because the events that he is about to describe are quite extraordinary!
After his neat little introduction, Luke starts telling amazing stories about angels visiting different people, a man’s speech being taken away, women who should be having children are getting pregnant, and the birth of God’s Son is foretold. Good grief! I hope that the impact of what is happening here is not lost on us!
When I read this today, I was struck by the difference between Zechariah and Mary in the way they reacted to the visit of Gabriel, God’s messenger angel. Zechariah is “gripped with fear” when he sees Gabriel. The angel tells him not to fear. Mary doesn’t seem to react in fear. Instead, she is confused because Gabriel tells her that she is “highly favored.” She was probably thinking to herself “What do you mean, ‘highly favored?’”
After the angel tells each person about the child they are each about to have, their reactions are similar but very different. Both question Gabriel. Zechariah says, “How can I be sure of this?” while Mary says, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Zechariah didn’t think that what the angel said could really come true. Mary believed that Gabriel’s words would come true, but she didn’t understand how it would come true. That is a big difference.
Obviously, their reaction after Gabriel was done with his message is very different as well. Mary humbly says, “I am the Lord’s servant.” She displays great humility and great faith! She then sings a beautiful song (affectionately referred to as the Magnificat) after visiting Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth. She knows that God is going to fulfill what he said to her, and she praises God for it.
On the other hand, Zechariah is speechless. The angel says that he won’t speak again until the child is born because he didn’t believe what they angel was saying. What a bummer. Nine months of not talking. Not cool. Only after the baby is born and given the name of John is Zechariah able to speak. He also sings a beautiful song, but his come after the promise to him is fulfilled. Mary and Zechariah both praise God. Mary praises God because she has faith that He will do what He has promised to do. Zechariah praises God for doing what he promises.
We would do well to be both Mary and Zechariah: praise God for his promises to us (which are always fulfilled) and praise him when he fulfills them.
Filed under: Luke
That passage was really cool ! It jsut reminded me of how powerful God was and is !