Too often, we rush and we fail to slow down and consider the common sense of a Bible passage - in context. Like a learner in a reading class, let's break down a passage to see if we can comprehend it better. | Luke 1 (NASB): 11 Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. |
- What is an angel?
- Why would a person be troubled and fearful at the sight of the Lord's angel?
- For what has Zechariah been praying? When did he pray for this?
- Why is the unborn child assigned a name (John) from heaven?
- How is an elderly, infertile couple expected to and able to conceive and give birth to a baby?
Either Zechariah prayed for a baby years ago, or knowing that his wife is barren, he prayed for a baby recently, perhaps accompanied by incense on the alter. In both scenarios, this is a demonstration of tremendous faith. Either he has waited a long time for his persistent prayers, or he has continued to pray against the science of conceiving a child while his wife was younger.
Now, an angel (a messenger from the Lord) stands before this priest, announcing that Zechariah's prayer has been heard. Most of us would be startled at the sight, as well. What form the angel takes is left to our imaginations, but many times in the Old Testament, we notice that angels look like men. It may not be the form that frightens Zechariah. It could be the recognition that this is someone not from earth, or it could be, simply, that the angel appears suddenly where no one was a second earlier.
The angel identifies which prayer is being answered - the apparent prayer for a son - and informs or commands Zechariah that the boy's name will be John. The reader is left to wonder why there must be an assigned name: why aren't Zechariah and Elizabeth allowed to name him themselves? Regardless, this child flies in the face of mathematical probability, considering the couple's advanced years and Elizabeth's formerly-stated infertility, leaving us to notice that a superior God works outside of the boundaries of science and math.