Our students are about to begin a series where we travel through the book of Luke. We hope to learn a few things while we are there; Jesus’ role in fulfilling the promise to be Israel’s Messiah, Jesus’ call to establish his kingdom on earth, Jesus’ promise of what is to come, and finally; Jesus’ conflict with the kingdoms of the world. Luke allows us so much history in his writing that we are provided with multiple inputs as to how certain events came to pass.
The first reality that I was struck with was the interaction between the angel and Zechariah and the interaction with the angel and Mary and how they contrast with each other. Zechariah is condemned by the angel for his disbelief and while Mary also pronounces astonishment she is not condemned.
There seems to be a distinction in their questions which I want to allow to challenge us today.
Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
Luke [1:18]
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Luke [1:34]
Zechariah expresses disbelief and wants personal assurance. Mary expresses disbelief as to how it might be accomplished. Simply put, Zechariah says, “when I see it, I’ll believe it.” Mary states, “I don’t understand how this can happen.”
Do we see the difference? How does this apply to us? Well, many times our belief that God is at work is based wholly on our personal experience. If it is not working for us, at that moment, we don’t have much faith that it will happen.
Let’s embrace the wonder of what it means to serve the Living God.
Daniel Harding