People have always been fascinated with the biblical characters called angels and our modern era is no exception. Angels were the original men from “Out There” (although they were not “little green men”). If we separate the popular fiction about angels that has built up over the millennia and look to the Bible, we find the truth about angels.
Hebrews 1:14 says that angels are spirits that are tasked with helping those who are inheriting salvation. Thus it would stand to reason that fallen angels have rejected this task and seek to keep men from inheriting salvation. Although these spirits have the ability to take on flesh, they are clearly not limited to flesh like humans. It is also good to note that when angels interact with mankind they look like men. In Hebrews 13:2 believers are reminded to be hospitable to strangers. Why? Many reasons could have been stated. But the writer reminds them of the many stories in the Old Testament where people found out later that the person or people they entertained were actually angels (e.g. Abraham and Lot).
There are only two angels that are named in the Scriptures. The first is the archangel (chief angel) Michael. Scripture tells us that he specifically watches over the people of Israel. The second angel is Gabriel. It does not say that Gabriel is an archangel. The description that is used of him is: “the one who stands in the presence of God.” He is revealed 3 times in Scripture. He gives messages from God to Daniel, Zechariah, and Mary. We will look at the last 2 today. Join me in Luke 1:5-38.
In this passage we find a priest who is from the house of Aaron. The Levites who were of the house of Aaron were a special class of priests who were able to minister in the temple. During the reign of King David Aaron’s clan had been divided into 24 family divisions. Each division was responsible to provide priests for a period of daily service in the Temple. This was a rotation that was continued after Israel came back from exile. Part of the temple service was removing the ashes from the Altar of Incense and the burning of fresh incense. While this was happening the priest would intercede for the people of Israel. Thus Zechariah is a priest who was chosen by lot to burn incense in the temple as a part of the morning and evening sacrifices.
It is important to note that Zechariah and his wife were considered by God as blameless. This should not be interpreted to mean they were sinless. Only Jesus is declared sinless in the Bible. A fact that many miss is that there had to be grace during the period of the Law. If no one could be saved by the Law, there had to be a way for Moses, David, etc… to be saved. Thus those who did their best to follow God’s Law were considered blameless by God if they did so trusting Him. God would not blame them even though Satan clearly would. We see this in the Book of Zechariah, where Satan makes accusations against the High Priest Joshua, but the Lord will not listen to him. In verse 10 we see that the people were gathered at the hour of incense. They would pray in the temple courtyard, while the priest was offering the incense and interceding for the nation. It is in this setting that an angel appears to Zechariah. Of course he doesn’t know it is an angel at first. He suddenly sees a strange man at the right side of the incense altar and is startled. No one was authorized to be in there even if they were a priest. This was under penalty of death. Zechariah is very startled.
Let’s get to the message of Gabriel. After calming the fears of Zechariah the angel tells Zechariah that his wife will become pregnant and have a child. We are also told that his wife, Elizabeth, is both elderly and barren. Thus this represents a miraculous thing. It isn’t on the same level as the virgin birth, but it is amazing nonetheless. This is somewhat of a signature move of God. He did this with Abraham and Sarah, who had a baby when she was 90. He also did this with Isaac and Rebekah, Samuel’s parents, and Samson’s parents. At critical times in the plan of God, a child is born to a couple who are barren and too old to have kids. The “miracle child” goes on to accomplish something great in the plan of God. Thus we are told that the child “John” would be great. Jesus himself later said that none of the Old Testament saints and prophets were greater than John the Baptist. He was to be a Nazarite. Normally a person would volunteer to be a Nazarite for a temporary amount of time. During that time they would not cut their hair, not drink any fruit of the vine, and devote themselves to worship and prayer of God. At the end of their vow they would be released. But there had been special cases where a child was called to be a Nazarite by God and they were to stay such their whole life. This was the case with Samson and Samuel. They did not choose it, nor could they un-volunteer. As the leper was a living picture of sin, so the Nazarite was a living picture of holiness: a life separated from the common for service to the Lord. John’s remarkable life would be marked by a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit, even while he is in the womb. This is remarkable because even in the present time of the outpouring of God’s Spirit such a thing is not heard of.
John’s task would be to prepare people for the coming messiah. He would “turn many to God. It is not our job to “save” people. But, we can turn people back to God. People were not living their lives towards God and in the light of His direction. Rather, they were going towards their own desires and way. Thus John would point them back to Messiah and back to the Way of the Lord. He did this by warning them that those who were not prepared for Messiah’s coming would come under judgment. Though they were a part of Israel they would perish like the generation did that traveled with Moses out of Egypt. They perished in the desert because of unbelief.
The last part of the message is both a rebuke and a sign. Zechariah was slow to believe what the angel said and thus he loses his ability to speak. The angel tells him that he will be unable to speak until the child is born (over 9 months away). This discipline in Zechariah’s life would teach him to trust the Lord, but it would also enable him to focus on what God was doing and be a spectacular sign that something special was happening with this child. Of course Zechariah comes out of the temple and cannot speak. Everyone knows something happened. However, he goes home. Elizabeth becomes pregnant, which she hides from public knowledge.
Six months later the angel Gabriel pays a visit to Mary a relative of Elizabeth’s. Elizabeth was near Jerusalem, but Mary is in the Northern area of the Galilee, in the town of Nazareth. The message is similar but has some very important differences. Here we see that Mary is just as startled as Zechariah and yet is comforted by the angel. He tells Mary that she had God’s favor. The word would be better translated as “Grace” and is reminiscent of the phrase, “And Noah found Grace in the eyes of the Lord.” God needed someone to bear the Messiah into the world. This is not a statement of Mary’s superiority, but that she pleased God. Only one could bear the Messiah. They needed to be a virgin, of the line of David, and a godly woman. Thus, Mary was chosen by God. God is not doing this to reward Mary. Rather, when he wanted to bring forth the Messiah, He looked for someone who fit His qualifications. We might ask ourselves two things. First, what does God want to do? Second, am I qualified? God sometimes is looking to do something spectacular. But most of the time He is just looking for someone who will trust Him with all their heart and pass that faith down to the next generation. This is no small thing and becomes the foundation for those times when He does something great in our eyes. Mary is ready because faith had been passed down from one generation to the next until it reached her. Are you being faithful to the faith that has been passed down to you? Satan does not want strong believers because he knows that this is his only way to thwart the plan of God. We can have the favor of God whether or not He does something as great as part the Red sea, or miraculously conceive a child within us.
The angel tells Mary that she will become pregnant and the child will actually be the Son of God. Furthermore, this child will be given the throne of David and rule upon it forever. This is heady stuff. The Son of God is a clear reference to divinity. Also, at this period in time “David’s throne” had been usurped by non-Jews. Rome had given the throne to Herod even though he was not of the line of David. We might ask what this means in light of the fact that Jesus was killed. Even though he was resurrected, he then ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God. At the cross, Jesus demonstrated his right to have the throne of David. But, He will not take up the throne until He comes back. When He does come back He will establish a kingdom that will last forever and will be upon the earthly throne of David. Thus God will have fulfilled His promise to David. However, He will not just rule over Israel, but over all nations.
The message involves Mary being pregnant. Mary is not sure what to think since she is a virgin and asks how this could be. Now let me make a plug for control in the area of sexuality. Part of God’s favor had to do with the fact that Mary had trusted God enough to wait until marriage to become sexually active. So her question is a tribute to her fidelity to God. How will this happen? The angel’s answer is that the baby will be miraculously conceived in her by the Holy Spirit. Though this seems to be a fairy tale to some, take time to think about it. Mary would have eggs within her. The same God who took dirt, shaped it and breathed life into it, could surely cause an unfertile egg to “come to life.” In fact, an egg is literally turned on by the information of a sperm. Who made the DNA molecule in the first place? Who encoded it with the information to make a human? These things are miraculous, but they are not impossible with God. In fact, humans are learning to do these kind of things in a lab. Could not the Creator of the universe do so inside Mary’s womb? We often have more faith in man and his technology than in God who created the physics that allow technology to exist.
The angel ends with information that Mary didn’t know. Her relative Elizabeth who had been barren all her life, had been pregnant for the last 6 months. Now this is important because it serves as a sign to Mary that God would keep His word to her. But it would also give her a close confidant who was also a seasoned believer. This young teenager would have a strong woman of God to counsel her and prepare her for the tough days ahead.
Let me close with this. Recognize in this story of miraculous things that the key is God’s heart. He wants us to turn our hearts back to Him so that we can be blessed by what He is planning to do. How often we turn from God to ourselves or to other men. We trust more in our own ability to accomplish things than God. God forgive us and help us to see that with Him, Nothing is Impossible. In the days ahead, may we hold fast the faith that has once and for all been delivered to the saints until that day He comes back to reign forever.