Luke 1:18 – 22

John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias (Part 3)

18 And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.

20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple.

22 But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

Zacharias response to the angel showed the lack of faith this righteous man had in the power of God. He must have considered the record of Abram and Saraii to be a miracle which could not be reproduced on him, a regular Jewish priest. He must have considered Abram to have had special faith and he was not of the same character as Abram. At any rate, he was incredulous that an old couple such as he and Elizabeth would be nearly impossible for them to have a child.

The angel found it necessary to stress to Zacharias the elite company the message came from, he was one of only two angels who are named in the Bible. This very special angel usually was standing at the side of God waiting for special instructions to be acted upon by him. Gabriel.

Because Zacharias was doubting the word of such an esteemed messenger, a mild punishment would be the form of the sign he would receive to confirm the validity of the message given Zacharias by Gabriel. From that time until the child's time came he would be unable to speak.

Because many of the people who were outside praying were regulars, they knew the approximate time the burning of the incense took for the priest, so they were astonished when it took Zacharias an inordinate amount of time for him to finish the ritual which he was assigned to perform.

When he came out he could not speak to them, and when he motioned to them and did not speak they took it to mean he had seen a vision while completing his task. A vision is defined as something which appears while either awake or sleeping.

The people realized something unique had happened to Zacharias while he was in the holy room.