- Lesson One in the Connect360 unit “God Fulfills His Promises” focuses on Luke 1:5-17
Throughout Scripture, angelic beings function as a bridge between God and his people on earth.
Angels bring messages of calling, of warning and of comfort.
At almost all recorded angelic encounters, we find the first response by the one receiving the message is fear.
Even with Zechariah, a priest in the temple, husband to a daughter of Aaron, living an upright and holy life, the encounter with the angel of the Lord, Gabriel, terrified him.
Why would Zechariah be surprised? He was performing his priestly duty in the sanctuary of God.
Did he not expect God to send an answer to his prayer?
Had he prayed for so long all hope was lost for a response from the Lord?
God often will speak to us from the midst of everyday moments in life.
We should always be ready to hear from the Lord.
Can even Sunday worship in our sanctuaries and worship centers become so mundane and routine that we don’t look for the Lord?
Zechariah was in the right place and at the right time. Gabriel came to deliver his message.
As we further examine the angel’s words, we can identify several multifaceted themes including both an identity for the child and a call of vocation, who he will be and what he will do for Israel, for his family, and for the Lord.
First, Gabriel declared a child was coming. Not just any child, but a son.
This was a special child, and his name would point to his special calling. The name John means “YHWH is gracious.”
And God has indeed shown his great favor on Zechariah and Elizabeth and on all of Israel, as John’s coming would signal the great end of all the waiting and hoping that God would give decisive action to redeem his people.
John would be a joy and a delight to both his parents and all of Israel.
He would be “great in the sight of the Lord.”
Even the Lord Jesus, John’s cousin, affirmed this greatness in Matthew 11:11.
John’s greatness was not a greatness of status, but of calling and purpose from the Lord.
Gabriel continued that John must not drink alcohol or any intoxicating drink.
His message was reminiscent of a Nazarite vow (Numbers 6); however, no other requirements were mentioned.
Knowing the child would be filled with the Spirit even before birth prepares Luke’s readers for the response of Elizabeth when Mary came to visit.
Like the coming of the Holy Spirit in the first of Acts, Luke would highlight the role of the Spirit at each step of the beginning of his gospel as well.
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