Before Relinquishing the Christmas Season to the new year…
Let’s consider the four “Do Not Be Afraid’s” relating to the Christmas story.
Four appearances of angels, four “Fear Not’s”, and four admonishments to respond in faith…
Today, we will consider the first “Do Not Be Afraid”. This first one involves a certain priest named Zacharias, who was going through his daily responsibilities at the temple, old and tired, disappointed with life because he probably felt God had ignored his prayers. He had prayed for many years for a child, until finally he gave up when Elisabeth got too old to have a baby. I’m sure her barrenness had caused embarrassment for him and for Elisabeth. In the Jewish, tight-knit community where he lived, it appeared that God disapproved of them for some unknown reason, when He refused to answer the prayers of Zacharias by withholding His blessing of children. His neighbors and all who knew him most likely whispered, wondering what bad things Elisabeth or Zacharias must have done to deserve childlessness. Now as he mechanically carried out his duties, Zacharias had obviously given up on ever having a baby and, I suspect, on anything of significance ever happening in his life. Surely, he experienced feelings of being abandoned by God, wondering what he had done to cause God’s disfavor. What was the point of all those years of service to His God?
But God had a plan. It was a good plan. It was miraculous, amazing plan. In fact, Zacharias might have even imagined it, as he studied the prophesies of the Old Testament Scriptures. God had not forgotten Zacharias and Elizabeth, nor had He forgotten those years of fervent prayer. Because, suddenly, God came bursting into Zacharias’s mundane life of priestly service. As Zacharias carried the incense into the Temple to place it on the burning coals left by the previous priest who had entered and exited before him, Gabriel, an angel of the Lord, appeared, terrifying him. I wonder if he dropped the incense as fear consumed his whole being.
But the first words from the mouth of the angel of the Lord were these: “DO NOT BE AFRAID, ZACHARIAS, for your prayer is heard…and you will call his name, John…”
Don’t be afraid…You asked…God listened…Now it’s up to you! Go and do what is necessary…When the child is born name him, “John”. (No gender reveal party required for this pregnancy!)
Of all the four appearances by angels who brought messages from God in those first two chapters of Matthew and Luke encompassing the time around Jesus’s conception and birth, Zacharias was the only one who failed to believe and act immediately in faith – Even though he was the only one who was honored by the appearance of an angel who had prayed specifically and gotten what he prayed for!
Instead of believing God was finally answering his prayers, Zacharias started asking questions, doubting the message, doubting God’s messenger. “How will this happen?” I wonder if the angel thought to himself, “Really, does he need me to explain this to him? He’s been married for about fifty years already. He knows more about this stuff than I do!”
Instead of acting in faith, Zacharias began trying to figure it out with human reasoning. “I am an old man and my wife is well advanced in years.” Notice he didn’t say, “Elisabeth is an old woman.” At least he was wise enough to know what not to call his wife!
This account reminds me of Abraham and Sarah, and their lack of faith in God’s promise of a son. They decided to figure it out by human reasoning, too. And oh, how terrible the consequences have been because of their unbelief!
And so, with Zacharias’s lack of faith, the inevitable consequences came. “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.” And home he went. I wonder how he told Elisabeth the news…I wonder IF he told Elisabeth. If he didn’t somehow find a way to tell her, I’m sure she wondered what had gotten into the man!
Have you ever prayed and asked God for something, then failed to believe it when he gave you an answer? I have.
What are the consequences of our lack of faith when God tells us He is going to do something through us in our lives or in our ministries? We may not have the consequence of being mute and unable to communicate verbally for nine months, but we may find ourselves mute in other ways, not have the privilege of rejoicing in what God is going to do. We may miss out on expressing the “joy and gladness” of what is about to happen as God accomplishes His purpose in us. At least for a season we might miss out on the blessings and joy, until God has given us time to relinquish our fears and begin acting in faith.
How would things have been different if Zacharias had believed immediately without question? What would that nine months of waiting for the birth of the promised baby have looked like in his household and in the community – if Zacharias had only believed? What rejoicing might have taken place! What a party there might have been!
Do not be afraid! God has heard your prayer!
We should never be afraid of what God is going to do through us and in us as we trust implicitly in His Word and in His love. The results can only be good!
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Tomorrow we will see the second of the four “Do Not Fear” statements made by angels in the Christmas story.