The first person on Gabriel's message list was Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest and he was in the temple burning incense. Suddenly, an angel appeared at the right side of the altar. Zechariah was frightened. He had probably never been visited by an angel before.
Gabriel told Zechariah that the prayers of Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth for a child had been heard. Gabriel told Zechariah that he would have a son and that he should call his name John. Gabriel told Zechariah about how John would be filled with the Holy Spirit and that he would lead the Jewish people back to God.
Zechariah was skeptical. He asked Gabriel how he would know that he would have a son. If an angel told me I was going to have a son after years of trying and praying, I would believe him. But Zechariah didn't believe Gabriel and that got him in big trouble. Gabriel finally announced just who he was, and since Zechariah didn't believe Gabriel, Gabriel made him unable to speak until John was born.
The next person on Gabriel's message list was a young girl named Mary, who lived in Nazareth in Galilee. Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph. Gabriel had a very enthusiastic greeting for Mary when he saw her. "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women!" he said. Mary was afraid, and wouldn't you be too? Gabriel told Mary not to be afraid and he also told her that she had found favor with God. Gabriel went on to tell Mary that she would become pregnant, give birth to a son and his name would be Jesus. Gabriel told Mary that Jesus would be given the throne of His father David. Mary knew that meant that Jesus was going to be the Messiah.
Mary had a better response to Gabriel's news than Zechariah did. She asked Gabriel how this was all going to happen since she hadn't known a man. "Know" in this context meant to know a person intimately, i.e., have sexual relations. Since she was engaged, she probably had already had "the talk" with her mother so she knew how babies were made. Mary wasn't questioning why her pregnancy was going to happen; she was questioning how it was going to happen without a man around. Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit was going to take care of all that. He also told her that her cousin Elizabeth was six months pregnant. And then Gabriel drops one of my favorite Scriptures. He tells Mary that with God, nothing is impossible. Mary tells Gabriel that she was the handmaiden of the Lord and that she agreed with what was going to happen to her.
So let's compare the reactions to Gabriel's news. Zechariah was afraid and cynical. Mary was afraid at first but then she was open and accepting of Gabriel's news. Gabriel approved of Mary's reaction but not Zechariah's reaction. In fact, Gabriel was angry with Zechariah's reaction.
Has the Lord ever prompted you to do something? Maybe He prompted you to witness to your next-door neighbor. Or maybe He prompted you to join a Bible study group. What would your reaction be? Would you be frightened and questioning like Zechariah? Or would you be open and accepting like Mary?
The Lord prompted me to start this blog over ten years ago. He also prompted me to start a podcast of this blog three years ago. A few months ago, the Lord prompted me to start a YouTube channel featuring hymns. You can find the link to my YouTube channel in the right-hand column, in case you're interested. You can also access it here: Hymns4Him. I was obedient to the Lord's leading. I hope He is happy with how I have followed His prompting.
So if the Lord prompts you to do something, will you be open to His leading? Or will you be like Zechariah and be questioning and frightened? I hope you choose the right response.
Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!
Diane
