There are certain people in Scripture who are only remembered for the sins they committed - and rightly so. Cain, for example, is known exclusively for killing his brother Abel out of jealousy. And any mention of the first king of
But there are also some characters of the Bible who have a bad reputation a little unfairly - people who may have clearly fell into sin or two, but Christians who should be remembered for more than just the mistakes they made. I think Zechariah would be one of those people who has that unfortunate distinction of being known only for his faults rather than for his faith. Because if anyone remembers anything about John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, it’s usually not too flattering. Some of you might remember that he was serving as high priest in the temple when the angel Gabriel came to visit him. But when Gabriel told him that his aging and barren wife Elizabeth would actually conceive and give birth to a son, Zechariah doubted the words of the Lord. And so Gabriel pronounced that Zechariah would be unable to talk for the next 9 months until his son was born and the promise was fulfilled. And although all of that is certainly true, and I wouldn’t fault anyone for remembering that part of the story, it’s not fair to Zechariah to stop there. Because when his wife finally did give birth to their son, Zechariah wrote down on a tablet that his name was to be “John” in accordance with the words of the angel Gabriel. And at the moment he wrote those words, “his tongue was loosened and he began to speak, praising God” (Luke 1:64), Scripture says. And what most people don’t remember is that the rest of Luke chapter one is entitled “the Song of Zechariah” in which he praises the Lord for his mercy and even predicts what his own son will do and what Jesus, the coming Son of Mary, will accomplish as well. Zechariah went from doubting God’s promises at the beginning of the story to proclaiming God’s promises at the end of it. He finally learned. He finally learned that God’s words would always come true. Even though you could say that he learned the hard way, he eventually came around. The Lord had revealed his plans to Zechariah and then he taught Zechariah to trust them.
Our gospel lesson for this Sunday is the first part of Zechariah’s Song. It is a beautiful proclamation of his faith and a prediction of the Christ that was soon to come. And along with Zechariah’s doubts earlier on, this song is also something that we should remember Zechariah for: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of
Will we ever learn? Will we ever learn to trust that God’s plans will come true no matter how improbable they may seem at the time? Or are we going to continue to be just as stubborn as Zechariah was? Are we going to continue to hear the clear words of God like he did but refuse to buy into the fact that God might actually do what he said he would do? Because there are plenty of teachings we know about in Scripture that we have a hard time trusting.
For instance, we know from Jesus’ words in the Bible that if we seek his kingdom first - that is, if we put his Word and his will number one in our lives - everything else we need will be given to us as well. But there are times when we have serious doubts that Jesus’ words to us are accurate. Because when we do run into problems, when we do struggle to make ends meet, when we do face difficulties in this life, we rarely run back to his Word before we do anything else. More often than not we try to fix the problem first, or worry about the outcome, or complain about the difficulties. Instead of putting God’s kingdom first and knowing everything else will be taken care of, we end up putting God’s kingdom last until we have taken care of everything else. We act like Zechariah at the beginning of the story (not trusting God’s Word) instead of like Zechariah at the end of it (fully relying on God’s Word).
We also have been taught from Scripture that God plans to spread his Word to all the world and that his Word will always carry out his will. That is his promise. But when we are in the middle of a situation where the Word doesn’t seem to be working or people don’t seem to be listening or a congregation doesn’t seem to be growing or city doesn’t seem to be responding then we again have serious doubts that what God’s Word says is true. Because we aren’t seeing the results. We aren’t getting any positive feedback. We seem to be spinning our wheels in all kinds of different directions. And we end up acting like Zechariah at the beginning of the story instead of like Zechariah at the end of it.
Will we ever learn? Will we ever learn to simply take God at his Word and trust that what he says to us is true even if this world and our sinful nature tell us differently? Will we ever learn that if God says everything will be taken care of then it will be taken care of? Will we ever learn that if God says that his Word will work then his Word will work? I hope that we learn this important lesson! I hope that I’m taught to learn this truth a little better myself! Because I’m inclined to trust God’s promises only as long as I can see it’s possible that they might come true in the near future. I’m prone to fully rely on God’s promises only as long as it isn’t too much of a nuisance and doesn’t disrupt my every-day life. I wouldn’t be surprised if I were much more stubborn than Zechariah ever was. And if I had been in his position the Lord probably still wouldn’t allow me to speak!
Will we ever learn? Yes, we will. Slowly sometimes, but we’ll learn. Because the Lord himself will teach us to trust him. He will patiently instruct us in the ways of his will until we are comfortable relying on his love. But understand that he may very well teach us to depend on him in the same way he taught Zechariah - the hard way. He may allow temptations to surround you and surge over you at points in your life just so that you come to understand why Jesus had to come to this earth and live perfectly in your place. He may send to you some extremely painful health problems so that you can get a little taste of the pains and tortures that he went through in this life for your sake. He may use the destroyed relationships in your life to remind you that his own Father rejected him while he was on the cross. He may continually strike your conscience with guilt through his Word so that you never forget the agony of hell that he experienced to take away that guilt. He may take the death of someone you love and shove it right in front of your face so you cannot ignore the result of sin but also so that you can clearly see the result of Christ’s cross. He may make you weak so that you can no longer trust in yourself but only in your powerful Lord. He may make you fail many times over so that you can no longer be proud of yourself but only of your victorious Savior. He may take away everything you’ve ever had so that you are only left with his Word and his promises - and they are the last things you have to rely on.
In order to teach us what we need to know, the Lord might teach us the hard way. Because sometimes we need a kick in the backside, frankly; we need a slap in the face; we need the chair pulled out from under us to get our attention. We are sinfully stubborn and it’s crucial that the Lord keeps forcing us back to his Word. Because the devil doesn’t stop, this world doesn’t care, and our sinful nature doesn’t go away. We are attacked every day by those enemies of our faith and so it’s absolutely essential that we are brought back to the “horn” - the Strong One - who gives us “salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.” It is necessary that we keep coming back to Zechariah’s Lord and Savior: the Rock, the Fortress, David’s Son and the King of all creation. And we can only come into contact with our Lord through his Word. That’s where he talks to us. That’s where he comforts us. That’s where he strengthens us. That’s where he teaches us. That’s where he saves us.
Zechariah learned that the hard way. But he did learn. And we might have to learn the hard way as well. But although it may be an unpleasant process at the time, thank your God that he teaches you the hard way. Because that means he cares. That means he’s willing to put in all of the time and all of the effort it takes to keep you in his fold. He is concerned about your spiritual welfare and he will do everything necessary to make sure you end up in heaven. He has already done everything on the cross; now he will do everything to make sure you believe it.
Will we ever learn? We have been. The Lord has been teaching us throughout our lives with every experience we have gone through, every sin we have committed, and every truth in his holy Word we have ever heard. We were being taught when we didn’t even know we were in the Lord’s classroom. We were learning when we didn’t even know there was anything to learn. And throughout the years the Lord has molded you into a good student - if not a smart one then at least a grateful one! Because the Lord doesn’t ask you to have a perfect faith; he simply moves you to trust in your perfect Savior. And so as you go about this life learning even more about your Savior and your salvation, keep your textbook handy. It contains everything you need to know. All of the answers are there. Trust that its Author knows what he’s talking about.
Amen.
“Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” - Romans 11:33,36
Posts
