From Silence to Song
Image by No-Longer-Here, Pixabay
Having begun reading Luke’s gospel in January, I’m still pondering aspects of the Christmas story, which is fine as Jesus is for life, not just for Christmas. I’ve been struck by the gestation of Zechariah’s song in Luke 1.
We know little of Zechariah’s backstory before he encountered the angel Gabriel in the temple. Luke tells us two salient facts. Firstly, he and his wife were devout in their observation of God’s law. Secondly, they had no children and Elizabeth was now past her childbearing years. They had remained faithful to God despite the pain of childlessness.
Nevertheless, for Zechariah, seeing is not believing. He receives a personal message from the archangel Gabriel that he and Elizabeth will have a son, but he’s not fully convinced. Gabriel responds that Zechariah will be unable to speak until the baby’s birth.
Fast forward nine months and Zechariah’s unloosed tongue erupts in a prophetic song of praise. During his involuntary silence, he has witnessed the impossible - his aged wife conceived, carried her baby to term and safely delivered a boy – all as foretold by the angel. And more miraculous still, as a six-month foetus, his child was so filled with God’s Spirit that he recognised the presence of the Messiah, his cousin in Mary’s womb (Luke 1:41-44).
While his unborn son developed, Zechariah’s faith matured in the womb of silence, as he pondered and processed all that had happened. And after nine months, his song is delivered, fully formed and pulsing with living faith. Praise, worship and renewed confidence in God's promises overflow in these verses, alongside prophetic truths which will be fulfilled in the missions of both John and Jesus.
‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them…
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.’ (Luke 1:68 & 78-79)
Zechariah’s son became John the Baptist, who heralded the Messiah, Jesus, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.’ (John 1:29) Jesus restored and revolutionised the relationship between fallen mankind and our Divine Creator, through his life, teaching, death and resurrection.
Zechariah’s journey from doubt to faith-filled song lay in silent contemplation. So I ask myself, do I fill all my silence with chatter, radio and social media? Am I leaving room for silence in my 2026 schedule? Are you?
