CHARACTER SKETCH













In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”

Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived
, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”

The characters in the Bible are fascinating. They so often resemble us, especially in how they react to situations or circumstances that arise in their lives. The man in the passage we are reflecting upon today — Zechariah — does not get too much of Bible time as others, but he still offers a wonderful study in human behavior. Zechariah, which means “the Lord has remembered”, was a priest. We are told that he was “righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord”. This doesn’t mean he was sinless; it just means he was a little more than a self-righteous legalist. And despite his disappointment that he didn’t have children, he remained FAITHFUL to God. 

But if he was a faithful priest, he was also a FEARFUL priest. When Zechariah saw the angel “he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him”. But perhaps he had reason to be terrified. According to Jewish tradition, angels always stood on the left side of the altar; only God used the right side, so he believes he is seeing God. And he knows that looking upon the face of God meant death, because as God declares, “No one shall see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). Peter would experience the same emotion thirty years later (see Luke 5:8). 

The angel, of course, hastens to reassure Zechariah with words that should be very familiar to us. “Do not be afraid,” he says. But despite this reassurance we now see evidence of a FAITHLESS priest. The angel tells him that his wife Elizabeth will bear him a son, whom he should name John, but instead of rejoicing as the angel suggested, Zechariah doubts the words he is hearing. “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” And for his doubt, he is struck dumb. 

But God didn’t rescind his FAVOR upon Zechariah because of his doubt; the dumbness was temporary. His wife Elizabeth conceived, and remained in seclusion for five months. When the baby was born, the neighbors and relatives wanted to name him after his father, but Elizabeth said he should be called John. When they protested, saying nobody was called John, Zechariah signaled for a writing tablet and wrote: “His name is John”. And with that his tongue was loosened and he began to praise God.

So here you have a character sketch of Zechariah”: Faithful; fearful; faithless; favored. Let’s try to give the middle two a miss, shall we?

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/7XRdOMRi7Zo


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