I’m telling people that this Christmas is going to be my “Zechariah Christmas!” On December 11th, I had jaw surgery and am now eating through a straw and not talking for a couple weeks.
But there’s another way that some people are often like Zechariah during the Christmas season.
Imagine what it was like for Zechariah to be silent during those days leading up to his son’s birth. We know that Zechariah was a godly man. Luke said that both he and Elizabeth, “were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly” (Luke 1:6 NIV).
But when an angel announced to Zechariah that his son would become a prophet, ushering in the advent of the Messiah, Zechariah spoke with a lack of trust, “How can I be sure of this” (Luke 1:18)? This led to his being silenced till his son John was born.
It was his lack of faith that kept him from being a part of the celebration and pronouncement good news! Instead of shouting the news of the Messiah’s soon arrival, Zechariah was relegated to silence.
Do we, people of great hope, ever silence ourselves because of doubt?
Have you ever allowed a lack of faith to silence you about Jesus Christ?
I guess, sometimes we may find that we are not that different from Zechariah.|
Learn from him. He didn’t stay silenced! After John was born, Zechariah got into the game, singing from the bottom of his heart good news of the coming Messiah (cf Luke 1:67-79).
How are you going to make sure that you do not have a “Zechariah Christmas?”