Luke 1:57-79 Advent Midweek Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke Wednesday, November 30, 2022 “Oh Lord, How Shall I Meet You? With Repentance Like Zechariah” What does a good apology sound like? Perhaps you have considered that question. Some people claim to be offering apologies, but they somehow don’t do the job fully. These are the sorts of public apologies that say, “I am sorry if any of you were offended by what I did.” They say, “I am sorry that people have misunderstood what I said or did.” That’s the sort of apology that doesn’t really admit to doing anything wrong. It tries to rationalize why one’s own actions were understandable or even expected. And this sort of apology really suggests that the wrong was done by the people reacting to the words and actions of the person giving the so-called apology. That’s quite a bit different from the apology we heard from King David earlier. God’s prophet Nathan led David—almost trapped him—into realizing that he had done something horrible. He had committed adultery and murder. He had tried to cover things up and hide his wrongdoing. He had felt the heavy weight of his conscience, but he pushed that down and kept it from its valuable job. And then with Nathan’s words, “You are the man,” every pretense went away and every chance at keeping his wrong private vanished. And he offered a good apology. Without rationalizing or explaining away, without shifting blame, he said, “I have sinned against the Lord.” As we ask our midweek Advent question today, “Oh Lord, How Shall I Meet You?” We’re looking at another example from Scripture. In Zechariah’s example, we don’t hear an apology, but we know that the same attitude is there. The attitude behind a good apology is something we call repentance. And so today we respond to “Oh Lord, How Shall I Meet You?” with the answer “With Repentance Like Zechariah.” And Zechariah shows us that repentance recognizes my sin and it recognizes my Savior. Zechariah knew his sin. Do you recall what was recorded about his sin in Luke chapter 1? Zechariah was a priest. He had the opportunity to burn incense in the Temple, a job for which priests were chosen by lot. Both Zechariah and his wife were old, and they were childless. But an angel appeared to Zechariah in the Temple to announce that he and Elizabeth would have a son. That son would play a special role in salvation history as the forerunner of the Savior. This was amazing and wonderful news. It was an answer to prayers. It was good news for everyone. But Zechariah did not believe it. Sure, it was surprising news. Zechariah had understandably given up on the idea that he and Elizabeth would have a child. They were well past the age where that was a realistic expectation. They were past the age where they even thought it possible. But this was not Zechariah’s own idea. This was an angel, a messenger of God, who had appeared to Zechariah inside the Temple. This was God’s own word, God’s own promise. Zechariah’s sin was doubt and unbelief. And he faced an immediate consequence for that sin. The angel told him that he would be unable to speak until things happened exactly as he had foretold. And, months later, we hear how that turned out. That’s the Gospel account from Luke that we are considering today. Elizabeth had her baby boy. John was going to be the name, according to the angel’s instruction. But that didn’t fit with the extended family’s expectations. They wanted a family name. The thought he should be Zechariah Jr. They had to go to Zechariah, the baby’s father, and ask him. He would write it out on a tablet because he still couldn’t speak. And he wrote, “His name is John.” Zechariah no longer resisted. He did not doubt. He listened to and put into practice what God had told him. And I get that he had no reason to doubt anymore, because he had seen his baby son. He didn’t need to wonder whether it was possible. It had happened in front of him. But Zechariah did not make an insincere apology. He could have reluctantly acknowledged the name John; he could have grudgingly obeyed what the angel had told him, but our account makes it very clear. Zechariah had undergone a change of heart. He knew his sin. He was not going to wallow in it any longer. He had recognized his wrong and turned away from it.
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