Luke 1:18-20

“ And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering, said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. ”

Abraham, Gideon, and Hezekiah had asked for signs (Genesis 15; Judges 6; 2 Kings 20) without being blamed. God had of Himself granted one to Moses (Exodus 4), and offered one to Ahaz (Isaiah 7). Why, if this was lawful in all these cases, was it not so in this? There is a maxim of human law which says, Si duo faciunt idem, non est idem. There are different degrees of responsibility, either according to the degree of development of the individual or of the age, or according to the character of the divine manifestation. God alone can determine these degrees. It appears from the 19th verse that the appearance of the being who spoke to Zacharias ought of itself to have been a sufficient sign. In any case this difference from the similar accounts in the Old Testament proves that our narrative was not artificially drawn up in imitation of them. The sign requested is designated by the preposition κατά, according to, as the norm of knowledge. The γάρ, for, refers to this idea understood: I have need of such a sign. Yet Zacharias prayed for this very thing which now, when promised by God, appears impossible to him. It is an inconsistency, but one in keeping with the laws of our moral nature. The narrative, Acts 12, in which we see the church of Jerusalem praying for the deliverance of Peter, and refusing to believe it when granted, presents a similar case.

In order to make Zacharias feel the seriousness of his fault, the angel (Luke 1:19) refers to two things: his dignity as a divine messenger, and the nature of his message. ᾿Εγώ, I, coming first, brings his person into prominence. But he immediately adds, that stand, in the presence of God, to show that it is not he who is offended, but God who has sent him.

The name Gabriel is composed of גָּבַר, H1504 and אֵל, H446: vir Dei, the mighty messenger of God. The Bible knows of only two heavenly personages who are invested with a name, Gabriel (Daniel 8:16; Dan 9:21) and Michael (Daniel 10:13; Daniel 10:21; Daniel 12:1; Jude 1:9; Rev 12:7). This latter name (מִי, H4769) signifies, who is like God? Here the critic asks sarcastically whether Hebrew is spoken in heaven? But these names are evidently symbolical; they convey to us the character and functions of these personalities. When we speak to any one, it is naturally with a view to be understood. When heaven communicates with earth, it is obliged to borrow the language of earth. According to the name given him, Gabriel is the mighty servant of God employed to promote His work here below. It is in this capacity that he appears to Daniel, when he comes to announce to him the restoration of Jerusalem; it is he also who promises Mary the birth of the Saviour. In all these circumstances he appears as the heavenly evangelist. The part of Gabriel is positive; that of Michael is negative. Michael is, as his name indicates, the destroyer of every one who dares to equal, that is, to oppose God. Such is his mission in Daniel, where he contends against the powers hostile to Israel; such also is it in Jude and in the Apocalypse, where he fights, as the champion of God, against Satan, the author of idolatry: Gabriel builds up, Michael overthrows. The former is the forerunner of Jehovah the Saviour, the latter of Jehovah the Judge. Do not these two heavenly personages remind us of the two angels who accompanied Jehovah (Genesis 18) when He came to announce to Abraham, on the one hand, the birth of Isaac, and, on the other, the destruction of Sodom? Biblical angelology makes mention of no other persons belonging to the upper world. But this wise sobriety did not satisfy later Judaism; it knew besides an angel Uriel, who gives good counsel, and an angel Raphael, who works bodily cures. The Persian angelology is richer still. It reckons no less than seven superior spirits or amschaspands. How, then, can it be maintained that the Jewish angelology is a Persian importation? History does not advance from the complicated to the simple. Besides, the narrative, Genesis 18, in which the two archangels appear, is prior to the contact of Israel with the Persian religion. Lastly, the idea represented by these two personages is essentially Jewish. These two notions, of a work of grace personified in Gabriel, and of a work of judgment personified in Michael, have their roots in the depths of Jewish monotheism.

The term to stand before God indicates a permanent function (Isaiah 6:2). This messenger is one of the servants of God nearest His throne. This superior dignity necessarily rests on a higher degree of holiness. We may compare 1 Kings 17:1, where Elijah says, “ The Lord before whom 1 stand. ” Jesus expresses Himself in a similar manner (Matthew 18) respecting the guardian angels of the little ones: “ Their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. ”

Such a being deserves to be taken at his word; how much more when he is the bearer of a message which is to fulfil the desires of him to whom he is sent, and answer his earnest supplication (Luke 1:19 b)!

The chastisement inflicted on Zacharias (Luke 1:20) is at the same time to serve as a sign to him. ᾿Ιδού, behold, indicates the unexpected character of this dispensation. Σιωπιῶν, not speaking, denotes simply the fact; μὴ δυνάμενος, not being able to speak, discloses its cause; this silence will not be voluntary. Οἵτινες, which, as such, that is to say, as being the words of such a being as I am. It may seem that with the future shall be fulfilled, the preposition ἐν is required, and not εἰς. But εἰς indicates that the performance of the promise will begin immediately in order to its completion at the appointed time; comp. Romans 6:22, εἰς ἁγιασμόν. Καιρός, their season, refers not only to the time (χρόνος), but to the entire circumstances in which this fulfilment will take place.

There is not a word in this speech of the angel which is not at once simple and worthy of the mouth into which it is put. It is not after this fashion that man makes heaven speak when he is inventing; only read the apocryphal writings!