The Silence of Unbelief
“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.” (Luke 1:20, NIV)
There is more going on in Luke’s story of the birth of John the Baptist than most people realize. But with a little background information, it is not hard to see that Zechariah is a reflection of the unbelief of God’s people in that day.
God’s Word has not been spoken in Israel for four hundred years; not since the Old Testament prophet, Malachi, has there been a prophet in the land.
Why not? In yesterday’s devotional, we learned that unbelief hinders us from hearing and receiving God’s Word. It was the lack of living faith among the Jews that was preventing them from hearing God’s Word.
Do you remember what Jesus told the people in his first sermon in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth? He told the people that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s day, but Elijah was sent to none of them. Instead, the prophet was sent to a widow in Sidon, a Gentile. He also reminded his hometown hearers that there were many lepers in Israel in Elisha’s day, but, once again, not a single one of them was cleansed. Instead, it was the Syrian General Naaman who received God’s Word for healing. (Luke 4:24-27)
Jesus was rebuking the people for their lack of faith. (You may remember they tried to push him off a cliff after he said these things. So much for his first sermon in his hometown.)
Luke, whose gospel is the only one to tell both the story of Zechariah’s unbelief and the rebuke of Jesus in his Nazareth sermon, links unbelief with the inability to hear and receive God’s Word.
But now, let’s fast forward to John’s birth. His mother, Elizabeth, to the astonishment of the people, names her son John. Since none of John’s relatives had ever been named John (as was the custom), the crowd gathers around Zechariah, asking his thoughts on the matter.
Zechariah asks for a writing tablet (since he was unable to speak) and writes, “His name is John.” (Luke 1:63) Immediately, his tongue is loosed, and he begins to speak God’s Word. In the tradition of Israel’s prophets, God’s Word to the people through Zechariah took the form of poetry. You can read it in Luke 1:67-79.
Four hundred years of silence were broken when one man chose to believe God’s Word.
Lord, we pray for your Word to be spoken in our lives and families, churches, communities, and nations this Christmas season.
In Christ,
Dan
Tis the season to break the silence of unbelief.
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