Luke 1:1-38; Matthew 1:18-25
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:” Luke 1:32
INTRODUCTION
The Predictions Before His Birth
It’s been nearly 400 years since Israel received the last angelic pronouncement or prophesy. It had been a long time since God had manifested Himself in this way on behalf of His chosen people. Gabriel, the archangel, appeared to the Prophet Daniel with a word from God concerning the captivity, which was the last documented angelic apparition. At the moment, Gabriel had mentioned the name of another archangel, Michael. We don’t know how many archangels there are, but Gabriel claimed to have come from God’s presence, and in the book of Revelation 8:2, the Bible made it known that “And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.”
We’ve got no way of knowing if these seven are archangels or if Gabriel or Michael are among them. However, we do know that these two celestial creatures were special God’s messengers who assisted God in extraordinary ways and in the execution of incredibly crucial events.
Michael was referred to as one of the principal princes, and it is mentioned that he represents the descendants of Daniel’s people, which we know to be the Jews. The Bible teaches in Daniel:10:13, “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” Also, in Daniel 10:21, “But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael, your prince.” Daniel 12:1 also has a record that “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” As a result, Michael is a unique angel with a mission involving God’s chosen people. In the Bible, he is described as carrying out extremely dangerous missions, even fighting Satan himself. A record of this can be found in Jude 9 and Revelation:12:7 “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels.”
Gabriel, on the other hand, was accorded the greatest honor that any heavenly messenger could receive. In this lesson, we’ll look at their unique appearances. The only other occasion Gabriel appears in the Bible was during the time of the captivity when he appeared to Daniel and delivered words from God concerning the latter days and the events that should occur prior to and during Christ’s Revelation. As a result, we can see that Gabriel’s missions have always focused on Jesus Chris – the Lord of Glory, the saviour of man.
Zacharias’ Visit By Angel Gabriel
It’s fascinating to watch how every feature of the angelic appearances fits into the Divine Plan so precisely. Gabriel initially came to one of the priests serving in the House of God in Jerusalem, the city of God, named Zacharias. A priest is the intermediary that stands between God and the people, and God’s plan is for revelations to come through a member of that office. It’s also worth noting that Gabriel did not appear to Zacharias in his hometown but rather in the place where it was proper for him to appear when delivering such a message. He went to the House of God and spoke with the people’s representative. The ideal place to hear God’s Word is in the House of God. God makes His will most consistently clear to His people from His holy precincts, which are dedicated to God’s worship. All things are good in God’s hands. He sent this crucial message by the correct messenger, at the proper time, to the proper location, and to the proper person.
It’s also worth noting that prayer is the only way we can communicate to God. There’s also a tremendous lesson for all of us here. When our thoughts and emotions are occupied with the responsibilities of this life, we can not hear His Voice unless it is warning us of the folly of our actions. We discover both by experience and by the Bible’s proclaimed fact, that God draws near to us when we draw near to Him. When the incense of our communion with God reaches the heavenly throne, we can expect to receive a word from Heaven informing us of God’s will for us.
Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth were persons about whom the Holy Spirit had a lot of good things to say. The scripture made it known in Luke 1:6 “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless”
What a sweeping remark on two members of the human race!
Righteous in the eyes of God! According to man’s standards, many have been deemed virtuous before him. “But they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless”
Many people have followed the doctrine and form of God’s worship, adhering to the letter of the ceremonial law, yet nevertheless, have sin hidden in their hearts and minds that is not visible. These two chosen ones, on the other hand, walked blamelessly. They were blameless not only in the eyes of men but also in the eyes of God!
Those who argue that ardent Old Testament seekers obtained a lesser degree of holiness should try to match, in their own strength, what these two God’s servants accomplished in terms of righteousness and godliness! Zecharias and Elisabeth were forgiven of their sins and become holy!
God’s message is delivered to righteous people. Many other pious people may have been waiting for the Messiah’s arrival at this time as well. God, on the other hand, picked these two to carry out His plan. Zacharias was a dedicated listener, despite his reservations about the enormity of the message. Zacharias’ reservations were not of such a nature or magnitude that they prevented God’s hand from carrying out His plan. In addition to the righteousness and godliness we’ve already addressed, these two saints of God had a sufficient quantity of confidence in God and His Word, which made that Word effective and functional in their lives.
Every monarch, according to tradition, has a forerunner who prepares the way ahead of him. God chose to send a holy man to teach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to His chosen people in order to prepare the way for His Son. We’ve seen that it had been roughly 400 years since the last prophet raised his voice to declare God’s word; and, more importantly, that prophet was the one who provided us the clearest image of the next prophet’s arrival -– the forerunner of Jesus Christ, all these records can be found in Malachi:4:4-6; Luke:1:16; Luke:1:17; and Matthew:11:7-15.
How could this forerunner’s arrival be properly announced? This is an angelic announcement! Who could be trusted with such a crucial word from God’s Throne? Gabriel, the archangel who stood in God’s presence! He was given the job and responsibility of carrying these and other messages about the Christ of Glory. We’ve seen the qualifications of people to whom he came — trusted ones chosen to receive and carry out this phase of God’s plan for fallen humanity. And we’ve seen in the scripture how beautifully that will was carried out, down to the last detail, throughout the forerunner’s life.
To be continued…..