The Last Prophets

The Last Prophets

Zechariah was the elderly priest who had doubted the angel Gabriel and been struck mute for the nine months of his wife Elizabeth's pregnancy. At the naming of John, his voice was restored — and what came out first was prophecy. The man who had doubted was filled with the Spirit and spoke some of the most beautiful prophetic poetry in Luke's Gospel (verses 68-79). His doubt was answered by God's faithfulness. The nine months of silence may have been the formation time for the prophecy. What seemed like punishment was preparation. The voice that came back was different from the voice that had doubted.

Luke 1:67-79 is the Benedictus — Zechariah's prophetic song. It surveys the entire history of God's faithfulness to Israel and culminates in the specific calling of his son John: 'you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him' (verse 76). Zechariah, who had been unable to speak for nine months, fills the room with the most comprehensive theological declaration in the nativity narrative. Silence is not the end of prophecy; it is sometimes its preparation. What does God want to do with the voice He is restoring in you? The doubt that silenced you may become the testimony that defines you.