GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LUKE 1:12-13
12 Zechariah was terrified when he saw him, and fear fell on him. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.
It’s natural for people to be terrified when seeing something supernatural, especially an angel of God. The angel’s words, “Do not be afraid,” are part of the usual greeting almost all angels need to give when encountering God’s people. Luke’s extra note that fear fell on Zechariah shows that the family (Mary was related to his wife Elizabeth) had remembered the account with every detail. In this Gospel, Luke always uses the word fear (phobos, ϕόβος) as the reaction of someone encountering something supernatural like an angel (2:9), a miraculous healing (5:26), someone raised from the dead (7:16), or else a terrible experience of some kind (8:37; 21:26; 23:40).
The angel answered as angels always do: “Do not be afraid.” This is actually a kind of command known as an immediate prohibition, “Stop being afraid!” As commentator R.C.H. Lenski points out, “The entire gospel lies back of this command” (Luke p. 45). Since the angel is God’s own messenger, and the message is nothing but good news, there is nothing to fear. More than that! The message is part of the whole gospel; especially the core of the gospel. There will be no more hints that a messiah will come someday. This message is part of the final preparation for his arrival. The message delivered here is like the words of a husband who has been away at some important meeting or interview, and his wife knows that the outcome will change their lives forever. Then at last he comes, and she hears his footsteps approach. Will it be good news? Or the worst of all? Then he flings open the door with a smile as wide as the sunrise and says, “Honey, get out the good silverware and the best dishes!” She doesn’t know every detail yet, but the good news will unfold.
We might not think that because a prayer is heard that it will necessarily receive a positive answer. Sometimes God answers good prayers with “no” because of his own designs (Luke 22:42). Sometimes God’s answer is that we should wait for the right moment (1 Samuel 1:1-10). Sometimes God’s answer seems to be that we are not asking for enough (Malachi 3:10). But God encourages us and invites to keep praying. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). The Lord also wants us to pray without being troubled, but confident in his goodness and grace: “Do no be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).
Does this mean that Zechariah had been praying for a child, even there in the holy place in the temple as he offered up incense for the people? It’s likely that he would have said more than one prayer. He could have added one on his own behalf. Frequently in worship, our church has a silent prayer, and although I have prayed for the congregation and its members during the spoken prayer, I often add a personal one in that silent time. But God had also heard the prayers of Zechariah and Elizabeth in their home, and he had simply chosen this moment to answer them. Even though it was beyond human possibility or expectation, they were going to have a baby. A son! This was a miracle, and the announcement was a miracle as well.
The name John is similar to Jonathan, and the one often serves as the nickname of the other today, but they are not identical. The name John comes from the Hebrew Yochanan (יוֹחָנָן) and means “God is gracious.” Jonathan (יְהוֹנָתָן or יוֹנָתָן) combines Yahweh and the Hebrew verb nathan “gave” and means “the LORD gave.” The two names stand side-by-side in Jeremiah 40:8. When God gives a name to a child (or renames an adult), the name shows God’s plan for that person’s service in his kingdom. It was time for people to see the grace of God in person—and in the person of the coming Savior, Jesus.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Note: “Terrified” and “fear fell” are separate elements of Zechariah’s reaction to seeing the angel. “Terrified” is the passive etarachthe (ἐταράχθη), a word that can also mean “stirred up” as in the variant reading of John 5:3-4. The Latin is turbatus (cp. ‘turbulent, deeply troubled’). For examples see Esther 4:4, Lamentations 1:20, the disciples in Luke 24:38, and Jesus himself: “Jesus was troubled in spirit” (John 13:21). It was perceptive of Luke to understand the two sides of Zechariah’s agitation. As priest serving in the holy place, there was his personal safety in question (cf. Leviticus 10:2), but there was also the safety of God’s whole people in question at such an appearance. In the moment of his terror, he had no idea what to think. But the soothing message came quickly to allay all his fears.
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota