Luke 1:4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
I wondered this morning as I read Luke 1 what is must be like to be the angel Gabriel. For centuries he has been frightening people the world over. Every time he delivers a message from God, people are afraid of the messenger. His first words almost always are “fear not.” That is exactly what happened when Gabriel appeared to two very different people, Zacharias and Mary. Here were two people to whom Gabriel was announcing the birth of two babies. There were two appearances of the angel and two responses, fear and faith.
Let me begin by saying Luke 1:4 says, “That thou mightest know the certainty of those things where thou has been instructed.” Luke was written so that we can know the certainty of what God has done and what God has said. Right off the bat we have a contrast in the responses of two people who received God’s message.
In verse 13 Gabriel came to Zacharias and said, “Fear not.” In verse 30 he came to Mary and said the same thing, “Fear not.” These two people had fear at the messenger, but then there was a message, which in this case was not necessarily a fearful message but a joyous message. The birth of John was joyous and the birth of Christ is a cause for joy to the entire world.
Now I think it is interesting the different responses that these two people gave to God’s message and messenger. Zacharias said, “Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man and my wife well stricken in years.” When Gabriel said, “You are going to have a son,” Zacharias doubted. Gabriel responded, “Thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak…because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.” Zacharias would not be able to speak until his son was born.
Did Zacharias know who Gabriel was? In response to Zacharias’ unbelief, Gabriel said, “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings.” In other words, he said, “I’m Gabriel, straight from God. God has given me this message. This is God’s Word.” Perhaps Zacharias had read the prophet Daniel and knew that Gabriel had appeared to others centuries before. It is almost as if Gabriel is showing his credentials that he was the same Gabriel God had used in the past, but Zacharias responded in disbelief.
Mary, on the other hand, said to the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” Now it sounds like the same response, but it is not. It was not unbelief. She is saying, “I’m not married. How is this to be?” She was completely obedient to God’s guidance, command, and plan.
The point is courage is living by faith in response to God’s words. Courage is not your nation; the wise men that came from afar were not of Israel. Courage is not your station; Zacharias was a priest who knew the Bible and was a man of authority, but Mary was neither of those things. Courage is not your size; your potential is not primarily based upon your power but your response to God’s power. Courage is not your age; Mary was just a young maiden and Zacharias was an older man.
So, courage is living by faith is response to God’s words. When we do, we are blessed, “for with God nothing shall be impossible,” verse 37 says. In verse 45 Elizabeth says, “And blessed is she that believed…” That is exactly what Mary did. Elizabeth continues, “For there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Gabriel was just the messenger. The message was from the Lord.
Today, have the courage to know and follow the truth and depend upon God to show you what you need to know. Courage is more than a feeling because courage is a decision. Courage is living by faith in response to God’s Word.