Amy C Walters

Zechariah and the Angel – Luke 1:5-17

Let’s take a step back from this story and ask a really simple, but really important question: “how do I see God at work in this story?”

For some stories, that answer is going to be really obvious, and others, you’re going to have to work harder to find it.

In this story, we see God’s fingerprints all over it. We see mentions of him everywhere.

We’re told that Zechariah and Elizabeth are upright in the Lord’s sight, and that they are obeying all of God’s regulations and commandments. We see Zechariah going to work at the temple and serving before the Lord. We see the angel, a messenger from God coming to deliver an important message to Zechariah. And we see God all over this prophecy about Zechariah’s son, John. So, he’s all over the place in this story.

And yet, in many ways, he seems to have a very passive role. When we’re talking about Zechariah and Elizabeth being upright in the Lord’s sight, it’s Zechariah and Elizabeth doing the action. When Zechariah is serving at the temple, he’s the one doing the action. Even when the angel comes and delivers the message to Zechariah, he says that your prayer has been heard. He doesn’t say who heard it.

Now, we know that God is the one that heard that prayer and is working to make that happen. But it seems like he’s sitting on the outside just watching what’s happening, not intervening himself.

And there are many people today who would believe that’s true about God, that he’s just a silent observer, that he started the world and set it in motion, and then has left it alone since then.

But is that true? Is God just a passive observer in this story?

No, he’s very much involved. At the beginning with Zechariah and Elizabeth observing the Lord’s commands, we see God revealing his character in those regulations and commands. When Zechariah is serving at the temple, we see God revealing his desire for a relationship with his people in the function and the duties that happen at the temple. And in the angel’s coming and delivering this message, we see God’s plan unfolding for the redemption of his people. And we know that what is coming next is God revealing himself in the clearest way possible through the incarnation of his Son.

God is very much active in this.

Even though he seems to be in the background, he is preparing the way to fulfill the greatest promise in all of history. God is setting the stage for this important event to happen, the coming of the Messiah, the coming of Jesus Christ.

And that leads us to another key truth, that even in the wait, God is at work.

Even when it seems like he’s passive, even when we don’t see directly what he is doing, we can trust that he’s at work because we’ve seen it throughout scripture.

In your own life, you are going to encounter times where it feels like God is absent, where it feels like he’s not in control or not actively at work. And when that time comes, you’re going to have to remember this key truth, that even in the wait, God is at work.

And you’re going to have to take that knowledge and intentionally look for his work in your life, because it takes intentionality to see it and to recognize that God is doing something. You may not understand what it is. You may not know what it’s leading to, but you can and should look for that work in your life.