21 And the people waited for Zacharias,
and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple.
When your pastor or church leaders pray for you, do you
expect an answer or do you go through the motions like, “good church people
should?” We read verses like this and
think how old fashioned it all is. They
stood in the temple, the men closest in the Court of the Israelites near the
great altar. The women would be on the
other side of the gate in the court of women.
From the men’s area they could have watched Zacharias walk to the great
laver (washbasin) and cleanse himself.
He would take the perfectly prepared incense and carry it up the steps
and enter the Holy Place.
Think about it, these men…and women…came each day to pray in
the evening and in the morning. While
they prayed to God, in their hearts and minds it was the incense burning beside
the ark of the covenant that would carry their prayers up to heaven. Perhaps they imagined it filtering through
the veil to be caught up by the cherubim on the mercy seat. They waited for the priest to return which
signaled that their prayers were on their way heavenward. This was a very real process for them which
activated their faith in God.
There was only one problem…Zacharias did not return. For devout Jewish saints the procedure was
both comforting and as regular as clockwork.
The priest would enter. A short
time would pass. The priest would
exit. The prayers are delivered. In this case Zacharias, a well known and
elderly priest remained inside far longer than was normal. The scripture says that they were filled with
wonder at the time he remained within. He
must have been in there for a really long time if they had become
astonished. They were astonished and the
experience itself must have been terrifying for the priest, so much so that the
angel had to say, “Fear not!”
22 And when he came out, he could not
speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple:
for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
There are several scriptures regarding someone who is unable
to speak. Ezekiel 24:27 says, “On that day your mouth will be opened to the
fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. So you will be a sign to
them, and they will know that I am the Lord.” The Pharisee Saul of Tarsus was blinded
because he refused to see who Christ was.
Zacharias was made mute so he could speak no doubtful words until his
son was born. What if God struck each of
us in the manner that would best preserve our confession of faith? Would we have endured days or weeks of
muteness, deafness or blindness? I’m
sure I would have.
When it comes to receiving from God we are our own worst
enemies. Very few of us maintain a
perfect profession of faith (Hebrews 10:23) until it becomes accomplished
visible tangible fact. Most of us waver
and doubt over money or ministry or healings (James 1:5-8) and that wavering
can easily defeat our faith. We must
meditate on His Word and maintain a strong profession.
23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as
the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
I think it’s wonderful that this man who suddenly found
himself unable to speak, refused to be rushed to the hospital or hurry home to
his wife to be consoled. He remained on
the job until his course was finished and the ninth course came on duty. Only then did he return home to his wife…and
his prophecy. I can well imagine that he
got home and told his wife that their life was about to change. I wonder if she was more or less believing
than her husband?
24 And after those days his wife
Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus
hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away
my reproach among men.
There are all sorts in the world today. Some would shout the wonderful news from the
rooftops. Others would remain silent,
afraid the promise might pop like a soap bubble. I don’t believe the true promises of God are
that fragile. I believe that if God says
a thing is going to come to pass, neither heaven nor earth can stop it. Elisabeth’s response is a familiar one to
me. It is the response of a woman who
has understood her husband’s vision and still can’t quite believe her good
fortune. She spent five months in solitude
until it was quite apparent she wasn’t merely gaining weight but that a miracle
had indeed happened. Through it all she
maintains the proper response before the Lord and gives him glory for his grace
and mercy.
Today a woman might feel less than whole if she was unable
to bear a child, but that is nothing compared to the desperate need a woman of
that era felt about producing a child, and especially a male child, for her
husband. Jacob’s wife Leah loved her
husband with all her heart. Rachel loved
him but she loved motherhood even more. The
prophecy in Jeremiah 31:15 tells of her future agony when the children in
Bethlehem were murdered by Herod. In a
very real way, Rachel was the mother of all Israel. She loved her seed more than life itself,
certainly more than even marriage. This
is the type of desperate need to have children that was planted in Israelite
women. This is what prompted her to say
that God had removed her reproach.
26 And in the sixth month the angel
Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To
a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and
the virgin's name was Mary.
Never forget that all things and all dates matter in
scripture. On the first month Elizabeth
conceived. On the fifth month she
declared her condition in her village.
On the sixth month God sent that same angel to Mary to propose his plan
to her. That city was Nazareth, a small
unassuming village in Galilee. During
this time it was said that Galilee produced only three things, fishermen,
rabbis or zealots (the freedom fighters of this age). Jesus was sent to a place that was a powder
keg. He could either make it explode
with grace or blood. He chose to make
grace explode with HIS blood.
Mary was a virgin who was espoused, promised, engaged to
Joseph, a carpenter in the small village of Nazareth. She loved Joseph and was expectantly awaiting
the day of her marriage. Her expectation
was that one day soon her intended husband would kidnap her (with her father’s
permission of course), and carry her off to the home he had prepared for her
where a local rabbi would be waiting to marry them. She would have kept an oil lamp burning in
her window each night so her beloved would know which room she was in. As a young woman, probably in her middle to
late teens she had expectantly awaited this day for many years.
Little did she know that her marriage and indeed her first
child would come in a totally different manner.
One important point of her relationship to God is that she didn’t even
consider turning down his offer or questioning how Joseph might receive the
news that she was married. By law she
should be stoned to death for adultery because a betrothal back then had the
same force as a marriage. She didn’t let
an understanding of the whispers she might endure behind her back for years to
come sway her. Many who would not
believe her son was the Messiah would spread hateful gossip. Mary simply said, “Yes Lord.”
28 And the angel came in unto her, and
said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art
thou among women. 29 And
when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what
manner of salutation this should be.
God has a habit of taking someone from very low status and
raising them up for His purposes. He
does not always do this but it does happen often. King Saul came from one of the smallest
tribes, Benjamin (1 Samuel 9:21). David
was the least esteemed child of his family who was sent out alone with the
sheep when his other brothers stayed at home (1 Samuel 16:11). Rahab was a prostitute (Joshua 6, James 2:25)
and Ruth was a cursed Moabite (Ruth 1:22).
Mary was an unknown woman from a small village some distance from any
large town.
God chose Israel because they were the least of all people,
not even a people yet. Abraham went
through many failed tests and trials before he truly became a man of
faith. His son Isaac and grandson Jacob
failed as often as he did before learning to stand before God. God was not looking for a woman of great
nobility or power. God’s power is made
perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Mary loved God and she loved a man named Joseph. In that, she loved God even more. Serving Him in this would become an
embarrassment throughout her adult life.
Only those who knew the truth would believe she had not cheated on
Joseph.
The angels greeting was troubling to her as well. How would she be blessed above all women on
earth? She turned these things over in
her mind and was filled with concern even as she made her decision of faith,
“Thy will be done Lord.”
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not,
Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
God often speaks these words to His children…fear not. Fear not little flock for it is your father’s
will to give you the kingdom. Jesus
calls us a little flock. We may never be
the greatest number of people but we are the people with the greatest
authority, the greatest power. Grace is
unmerited favor with someone. I walked
into a community center and the woman who works there has worked very hard to
make sure I have the space and day I want for my Bible Study. Christians spend too much time in fear of
what might happen to us. We should spend
more effort walking in the authority of the Lord instead. God’s favor is not to be sneered at. His favor turns hearts of the fathers to the
sons, and daughters back to their mothers.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
This verse is almost verbatim from Isaiah 7:14 except Isaiah
7 tells us some additional things about Jesus the child. According to Isaiah, Jesus will grow through
infancy and childhood as a normal child who has no understanding of bad or
good. As he matures in knowledge and
spirit He will always choose the good and not the evil. This also lets us know how important parental
guidance is. In this country we have cut
parental rights almost to nothing; spoken publically against Christian
believers who brought standards of living, and then we wonder why our children
commit murder and invent new ways of committing sins. If the Son of God needed parental guidance
until He was twelve, the age of accountability in Israel, then we most
certainly need parents who will raise us in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord (Ephesians 6:4) and not allow us to grow up as a pack of wolves, hoping
we’ll find God later.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called
the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David:
He shall be exceedingly great and shall be called the Son of
the Highest (the Supreme one). Jesus is
legally the son of Joseph by adoption.
This makes Him the lion of the tribe of Judah. Joseph’s line was cursed by God so Jesus had
to be the Son of God. There is a law of
adoption in Israel where the father of the bride can adopt the son-in-law. This applies under the daughters of
Zelophehad (Numbers 26:33, 27, 36:2-6).
For this reason, Joseph was considered to be in the line of Mary and not
his own father’s line so his son Jesus is qualified to reign.
He IS also the Son of God, the firstborn Son. God His Father has promised Him the throne of
David. The throne of David must be
reestablished before Jesus may sit on His own throne. Right now He sits on His Father’s throne in
heaven. The various gospels render
different genealogies because they approach Jesus from differing
perspectives. They show him as Jesus the
Son of God (John 1), Jesus the Son of man (Mark 10:45, Daniel 7), etc. Jesus had to qualify in different areas to
fulfill scripture. Only His multiple natures
make this possible.
It is obvious that God chose Mary and Joseph very
carefully. Joseph was a carpenter and
may well have been a Rabbi. Jesus
Himself was called a Rabbi and Doctor of the Law (Torah), even by His enemies. Some scholars believe Joseph may have been a
Rabbi and an architect. Though Herod
funded the new Temple, the Jews would not have allowed just anybody to build it.
Joseph may have worked on that Temple since
only properly trained Jews could work there. Some believe that the things Jesus ‘got away
with’ in Jerusalem, especially in the temple, may have been because his father
was well known as well as because of the Spirit of His Heavenly Father within
Him. Was Joseph more than just an
itinerant carpenter? Was He a Rabbi or
an Architect?
While these ideas were ‘possible’ I can’t help but wonder
why a well known or up and coming Architect would only have been able to afford
two turtle doves to consecrate his firstborn son, especially a son born under
such unique circumstances. It is also
possible that the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh presented upon the
birth of his son Jesus allowed Joseph to prosper and be educated as it allowed
him to live in Egypt until Herod died. These
possibilities were presented during my research and I offer them to you. There are any number of articles about who
Joseph may have been on the internet but the only one that truly matters is
found in Matthew 1:18-20. Joseph was a
just man, a thoughtful man, a prayerful man.
One thing is certain, according to Matthew 1:12, Joseph’s
ancestor Jeconiah was cursed by God (Jeremiah 22:24-30). You might say that Jesus was not Joseph’s
true son, being a son of God and Mary. A
wonderful thing about God is that He will not allow anyone to say a person is
unworthy who He has deemed worthy for special honor. God COULD have said that He and He alone was
the Father of Jesus and Joseph was not, but He did not do so. He is listed as the Father of Jesus in John’s
Gospel but Joseph’s in Matthew’s. Both
had to be worthy parents (as God obviously is).
Only because of the Daughters of Zelophehad could Joseph be Jesus’
adoptive father because the lineage of Jesus, the man who will one day sit on
the throne of David forever, comes through Mary and not Joseph. Some believe that Luke’s genealogy is through
Mary although some are not sure. What is
certain is that both Joseph AND Mary have King David as an ancestor and that
because of the Daughters of Zelophehad, Jesus is as worthy in a natural sense
to reign on His throne as He is in a spiritual sense.
33 And he shall reign over the house of
Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Because of Jesus’ heavenly Father He is worthy to reign
forever over the house of Jacob. God’s
promises to the sons of Jacob are eternal.
Christians do not replace Jews.
We are the wild olive branch and we have been grafted in. While we grow, Israel the tame olive branch
is not replaced, it is simply allowed to wither until it acknowledges God and
His actions in their behalf and also acknowledges that Jesus is the
Messiah. Israel is like Nebuchadnezzar
who spent seven years in exile as a wild beast until he acknowledged the God of
Heaven. As soon as the time prophesied
by Daniel had come to pass, Nebuchadnezzar came to himself and cried out to
God. God healed him and made his kingdom
greater than ever. There is a certain
misplaced arrogance in the church today.
They look down their noses at Jews and forget that we are only allowed
in because of God’s grace. Israel is the
chosen people. We are the people grafted
into the root of Jesse. One day God will
re-approach His people and we will have received our inheritance and reign with
God but Israel’s promises remain.
Blessed are those who bless Jacob and cursed are those who curse him and
his seed (Genesis 12:3).
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How
shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
How often do we display just how defiled we are by how much
we know of worldly things? Mary, upon
hearing all these pronouncements by the Archangel Gabriel had only one
question. In her limited understanding
there was only one way for a woman to get pregnant. She had to have sex with a man. If you do not believe the Bible then your
issues are much greater than whether or not a virgin can be made pregnant by
her Creator. If you do believe the Bible
then you have to believe it all. Mary is
not an allegory for a morally upright person.
She was not said to be perfect or without any flaws. She was a modest and gracious virgin who was
patiently awaiting her wedding day when God chose to enter her perception. He chose her because He did. Period.
We cannot say why she was the one or why her cousin
Elizabeth who bore John the Baptist. If
you think about it there was probably a fairly small group of women He could
choose from. His choice had to be:
From Nazareth.
A virgin.
Betrothed (He needed a father to raise and train Him.)
Of a specific family tree, a tainted family tree at that.
Related to God’s choice for forerunner…John the Baptist.
Etc.
There are literally hundreds of specifications in the Old
Testament that the Messiah had to fulfill and Jesus fulfilled ALL of them. Nazareth was a fairly small town so finding a
specific virgin who had a specific relative and was espoused to someone who had
a legally flawed shoresh (root) but
by God’s grace could be made worthy was not easy. He was as a root out of dry ground, his
lineage had been ignored, damaged goods and unworthy of notice (Isaiah
53:2). His ancestor Jeconiah had cursed
his inheritance, but God’s grace through Zelophehad had restored it. Mary did not care about any of this. Her only question was based in curiosity, not
doubt. How does it work?
35 And the angel answered and said unto
her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee
shall be called the Son of God.
Mary was anointed with power by the Holy Ghost and God’s
power performed a miraculous medical procedure upon her. In Acts 5:15 people used to bring their sick
and infirm to the streets where Peter was ministering so they might be touched
by his shadow. That fleeting touch of
shade would heal them. God placed His
shadow upon Mary and she became pregnant.
Do you have this type of miraculous ministry in Christ? According to 1 Corinthians 12:4-12 we all
have different gifts, abilities and duties.
It is foolish to assume that I have the same responsibilities before God
as someone else. My duties are mine and
the kingdom of God is lessened if I do not perform them. Yours are for you and the same applies.
From this verse we know that Jesus is both holy (free from
sin), and that He is the Son of God.
Scriptures says, “Whom He calls He justifies (Romans 8:29-30).” Whether we understand just how this works or
how God can take a portion of who He is and make it into something else and yet
the same is unimportant. God justifies
and only God can judge. Jesus is the Son
(with all rights and powers) of God.
Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1-14).
Jesus and His Father are one (John 10:27-30). If you continue reading to the end of John 10
the Pharisees help you out. They seek to
stone Jesus. Why? Because they understood that He clearly
called himself the Son of God and equal with God. There was no misunderstanding there. Jesus Himself said that He is the Son of God
and one with God.
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