Luke 1:18-20 (ESV)
[18] And Zechariah said to the
angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in
years.” [19] And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence
of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. [20]
And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these
things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be
fulfilled in their time.”
When Zechariah was told that
Elizabeth would have a son in their old age, he couldn’t believe it. His words are
reminiscent of Abraham’s words in Genesis 15:8 when God told him he would inherit
the land. He said, “How am I to know this?” God responded by putting him in a
deep sleep and cutting a covenant with him. Two chapters later, in Genesis
17:17 Abraham laughed when he was told that Sarah would have a child in their
old age. He just couldn’t believe it. Neither could Zechariah.
Some have tried to dampen this by
saying there is a difference between doubt and unbelief, that they doubted, but
you can’t say they didn’t believe. Yet the passage itself says that Zechariah
didn’t believe. I believe there is a difference between doubt and unbelief, yet
in both Zechariah’s and Abraham’s cases they just couldn’t believe God’s
promise could be true. Notice, however, that God’s response to their unbelief
led them to believe.
There is an unbiblical teaching
that God’s actions are in direct relation to the amount of faith we have. Jesus
taught that small, mustard seed sized faith was enough. God’s work in our lives
is not dependent on the size, quality, or quantity of our faith. It is
dependent on the nature and character of God. He will do his will, and he will
accomplish his purposes. We are called to believe him, but we need to understand
that God’s answers are not commensurate with the quality of our faith, but with
the object of our faith. Abraham and Zechariah didn’t believe, but that didn’t
stop God from accomplishing what God planned to accomplish. Rather, he led them
to believe. It is actually because of that truth that we can believe him.
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