8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home.
This was quite possibly a once-in-a-lifetime moment in Zechariah's priestly life; offering incense in the temple. At first glance his question in verse 18 seems typically harmless, especially when you fast forward to verse 34 and find Mary responding to the angel in what appears to be a very similar way but with very different results.
Zechariah's question, "How can I be sure of this?" suggests unbelief. Consider also his age in verse 7b (very old). He might as well have said, "I'm not so sure about this!" or as The Message translates verse 18, "Do you expect me to believe this?" Mary's response, on the other hand, "How will this be since I am a virgin?" suggests childlike innocence and a genuine lack of understanding.
Unbelief is costly. Gabriel responded to Zechariah's question by identifying himself, his position and the weight of his message. Then he pronounced judgement on the priest for his lack of faith. During a season of greatest joy when Zechariah had possibly the greatest news to share, he is stricken with silence. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." (Proverbs 18:21a) Nine months of silence (as we find out later) for one unbelieving question is a high price to pay.
I wonder how often our language of unbelief silences our language of praise and thanksgiving. Could it be that the church today does not see the glory of God because we fail to really believe God for the impossible? John 11:40 says, "Jesus looked her (Martha) in the eye. Didn't I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
Will you believe Him this season?
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