THE PERIL FOUND IN DOUBT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was He who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.

When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home.

Luke 1:18-23 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we read through the Gospels and follow the ministry of Jesus, one of the constant things we find Him commending or rebuking people for was on their faith.

When people were healed miraculously, over and over we find Jesus proclaiming that it was their faith that healed them. Here are a few of these instances:

1. The woman with a bleeding affliction.

Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew 9:20-22

2. The Caananite woman whose daughter was demon-possessed.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came to Him and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. Matthew 15:21-28

3. The blind man on the Jericho roadside.

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. Luke 18:35-43

Note that in all these instances, those needing help believed that Jesus could heal them in the accounts of the Caananite woman and the blind beggar, we see where persistent and persevering faith is critical. For the Lord doesn’t always immediately respond to our needs as sometimes He is trying to test the fortitude of our faith, ever seeking to help us strengthen our trust and belief in Him.

So what can shipwreck our faith and lead us to lose hope in the midst of life’s circumstances?

As we see in today’s passage, there is great peril found in doubt. Look again at our scripture for today as we continue to look at the encounter between Zechariah and Gabriel, the angel sent by the Lord:

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was He who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.

When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home.

Luke 1:18-23 NLT

You’ll remember from yesterday’s message that Zechariah’s priest division was at their appointed time for temple duty and Zechariah had been chosen by lot to enter the temple and burn incense at the altar. The scriptures tell us that “all the assembled worshipers” were praying outside the temple as he did this.

As he was burning the incense, Gabriel suddenly appeared with a message from the Lord. Although advanced in age and childless, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, would become pregnant and give birth to a son who would be named John. This son would “be a joy and delight” to his parents, “be great in the sight of the Lord”, “be filled with the Holy Spirit”, and “bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God” as he would “go on before the Lord...to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous” all the while making “ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Vv. 14-17).

It was an amazing proclamation, one that defied logic and convention but then again, it was coming from the Lord Himself, the One through which all things are possible. Unfortunately, Zechariah’s faith waned and showed us how doubting the Lord can have dire consequences. The priest erred when he said this:

“How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

On the surface, it seemed like a reasonable question, at least for someone who might use human reason. But Zechariah was a priest in the line of Aaron and only someone in that line could hold the great privilege and responsibility to present offerings to God to atone for the sins of the people. Prior to this faith faux pas in the temple, the scriptures tell us that Zechariah was “righteous in the sight of God”. one who carefully observed “all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly”. That was his spiritual reputation and yet he allowed a moment of weakness and doubt override his trust that God could and would do what He promised.

Consequences ensued thereafter.

Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was He who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

God expected the moment to be one of great joy as Zechariah learned that he would soon have a son, one who be greatly esteemed as he carried on the family name. But Zechariah allowed his disbelief to ruin the moment and the faithless question he asked would be the last that he would speak for some time. More on that in tomorrow’s message as the words of the angel become fulfilled.

Friends, we need to learn from the mistake of Zechariah and squelch any impulse to doubt the Lord when it begins to bubble up in our minds. We could also throw in Peter, as he started to walk on the water toward Jesus (Matthew 14:22-34), and Thomas, who failed to believe Jesus was really resurrected (John 20:24-29), in the mix. Both were rebuked by Jesus for losing faith and doubting.

In the end translation, the Bible offers us too many assurances that our Lord can and will do anything He promises and so do perfectly. He and He alone possesses the power to make the improbable probable and the impossible possible.

Today and every day, we serve a God who can do all things, despite the odds involved. All we need to do is believe.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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