It’s that time of year when we focus on the birth of our Savior. The book of Luke is a well-known book that gives the account of Jesus’ birth. In Luke 1:26, we have the beginning of the account of the angel announcing to Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus. Luke 1:26-27 “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.” However, there are 25 verses prior to that, and they are preparing the way for the Messiah. It is here where we see God sending His angel to speak to Zechariah. This event breaks 400 years of silence from God to His people.
Zachariah is a priest and he and his wife Elisabeth have no children. They are old and well past the childbearing years as we find in Luke 1:5-7. They had prayed for decades for a child, but they were busy serving where God had placed them. Yet, God was not finished with them. He was just waiting until the proper time for John to be born. In Luke 1:11 an angel appears to Zechariah and tells him they will have a son and his name will be John.
Luke 1:5-7 “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.”
Luke 1:11-13 “And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”
We know from verse 20 that he did not believe the angel and therefore was not able to speak until the day John was born.
Luke 1:20 “And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believes not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.”
The silence was broken! The angel had spoken to announce the forerunner to Jesus. John would prepare the people to receive the Messiah. I wonder how Zacharia felt. Not only did he receive word he would have a son in his old age, but he would also prepare the people to receive the Messiah, and God broke his silence by speaking to him! What an honor and what a blessing!
Everything happened just as the Angel said it would. John was conceived and a few months into the pregnancy Mary, the mother of Jesus and cousin to Elisabeth, came to visit Elisabeth. When Mary entered the home of Elisabeth and Zacharias baby John leaped in Elisabeth’s womb. This baby knew he was in the presence of the Messiah.
God fulfilled the prophecy of Isiah in Isaiah 40:3 “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” The message of John’s birth broke the silence of God. John was going to prepare the people for the greatest event in history. Jesus, God in the flesh, would come to earth to live, love, teach, and die for our sins.
Does it seem God is silent to you? If so, it’s your time to break the silence. Confess your sins and repent. Turn away from anything that would not please Him. If God is silent, it is probably you who has been silent to Him, or you have unconfessed sin in your life. This season would be a great time to renew your fellowship with the Lord.
Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”
