With Zacharias, there had been no glory, no praise, no wonder, no joy.
Only silence.
Troubled, afraid, and full of doubt, the priest at the altar could only ask, How?
But with the magi, there was a search. And at the end of the search, there was great joy, and a falling to the ground worship.
I have to ask myself, "Why are these two responses to the same event so different?" I mean, what causes a priest to doubt, and a star-gazer to search?
Zacharias had a strong pedigree, and so did his wife. He was in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing.
So where exactly did the doubt come from, Zach?
In all fairness to this man of the cloth, I don't think his response is really any different from mine at certain points of my life. (The sad thing for Zacharias? His maybe one-time point of fear and doubt is recorded in a book whose words have no changed over the centuries. Ouch).
I, too, have been in the right place, doing the right thing, only to ask the same uncertain, faithless question...How will I know for certain?
If I'm just looking at the text, I might see one difference between the priest and the astronomer.
It's in the words: for this is what has been written by the prophet.
The magi were wise because they weren't just following the signs in the sky; they were following the Creator's words, as well.
They went to Bethlehem because God had put a star in the heavens long before by only His words, and He would later put those same words into the mouths of His prophets.
Where is He? We've come to worship Him, the King of the Jews, Messiah, Ruler, Shepherd, God's Son".
Matthew records so many names for Jesus in the Wise Men chapter, and they all give witness to what the prophets had told us to look for long before.
Zacharias and the magi had both been prepared by prophetic words regarding a Savior, yet only one of these could rejoice at the now-revelation words.
Zacharias seemed to miss the signs, and sometimes, we do too.
Fear and doubt mingle their way into the heart that knows the right places and the right times, yet cannot help but take the faithless How question before the Lord.
But I'm so glad Zacharias' story doesn't end in verse 23, where it reads he went back home.
When the faith word was written by his aged hand, praise for God finally leaped out of his no-longer silent lips.
And do you know what came out? Prophecy fulfilled. House of David...holy prophets words...God remembered His covenant with Abraham.
Zacharias quoted Hannah's praise words from 1 Samuel, as well as words from : Ezekiel, David, Moses, Malachi, and Isaiah. He went back to the promises he had laid down in his fear-moments, and filled now with the Holy Spirit, he sang praise for them.
In the final words from this aging priest, Zacharias looks at the child now in his arms and says,
Go before the people, and prepare them well for the Sunrise who visits us from on high. There are many who sit in darkness and death's shadow; people who still don't see the star. In His tender mercy, God has chosen you to give His people the knowledge of salvation. He's coming to rescue all of us from the hands of our enemies. Don't ask "How" with doubt-filled questions as I did, son. Just guide our feet--mine included--into the way of peace. Follow His signs--all of them. Keep looking up, and take us all to that same place where magi were found, falling to the ground in worship.
I read the words again, and I open my treasure-filled heart to present all of me to all of Him.
I am the sometimes doubting priest.
I am the sometimes seeking trail-rider.
And I am the one who falls to worship, now filled with Holy Spirit praise...because I believe His fulfilled words.
Glory. Praise. Wonder. Joy.
