GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LUKE 1:11
11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Angel (Greek angelos, ἄγγελος) means “messenger,” and translates the Old Testament word malach (מַלְאַךְ, Genesis 16:6). A messenger can be a human, of course (Haggai 1:13), but the special spirit beings who carry God’s messages to mankind are the angels. They have many titles and ranks: archangel (Jude 9), cherubim (Psalm 18:10), seraphim (Isaiah 6:2), powers (Daniel 4:35), thrones (Colossians 1:16), authorities (1 Peter 3:22), or rulers (Colossians 1:16). They can appear like young men (Mark 16:5) or women (Zechariah 5:9).
Who was this angel of the Lord? Whenever we meet such an angel in the Bible, we need to read the text to find out what kinds of things the angel says. Sometimes, this angel can be the Lord himself, that is, the Son of God before he took on human flesh. This is the case when the angel in question says things that only God would say, such as when he told Hagar “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count” (Genesis 16:5). But when the angel is clearly sent by God and does God’s bidding, and never says anything that only God would say, then we understand it to be an angel from the LORD, but not the LORD in person. This is the case in 2 Samuel 24:16 and 1 Chronicles 21:15-18, when God sends the angel of the LORD to strike Jerusalem with a plague.
This angel who appeared to Zechariah was such an angel, a messenger from the Lord God. He was sent with a message for Zechariah and his wife. By sending him in this way, into the very temple at the time of the offering of incense, God was conveying a message: The Levitical priesthood was, at this time, still intact. It was still performing its duty, and the righteousness given here by God as a gift to his people was the same righteousness promised to Moses. God had not changed his mind. In fact, the time had come for these sacrifices and this temple to perform their final and ultimate function. The holiness of the Holy One of God would be confirmed here according to the Law of Moses. The Messiah would fulfill all of God’s requirements. He would stand blameless and he would present his blamelessness to God the Father on our behalf. The smoke of the incense of Zechariah went up untainted by doubt or blasphemy. The people were looking and yearning for the coming of the Savior, and he was coming very soon.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota