The Punishment of Zacharias

One of the topics we discussed in Gospel Doctrine yesterday was why Zacharias received such a harsh punishment from the angel Gabriel because of his question.  The angel declared to Zacharias in the temple, “Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”  Zacharias wondered at this because “Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years,” and so he asked the angel, “Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.”  His question seems to be saying, “How am I going to know this is true? What proof can you give me of this?”  Gabriel responded, “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew 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.”  It seems that in essence Gabriel was saying, “I am an angel in front of you sent from God—isn’t this proof enough for you to know that this will come to pass?!”  The angel said Zacharias received the punishment because he “believest not,” and so for a period of approximately nine months he could not speak because of his initial unbelief at the angel’s words.  Zacharias was not a wicked man—Luke said he and Elizabeth “were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Luke 1:6-7,13,18-20).  It seems surprising that someone who was righteous could receive such a severe punishment for a little momentary lack of faith.

               There are a few ways that we might understand this sign given to Zacharias.  It may be that he was simply getting exactly what he asked for.  He wanted a way to know, and Gabriel gave him a powerful way to know that what he had just been told was true.  Unfortunately that way of knowing was quite costly; the angel might have said to him as the chief judge said to Korihor who received the same sign: “In whom did ye desire that [I] should show forth [a] sign?” (Alma 30:51)  The fact that Zacharias couldn’t speak may also have been symbolic of the baby boy to come.  Babies when they are born are of course dumb—they cannot speak.  And so this punishment for Zacharias may have been a reminder every day that a child was really on the way.  This sign to Zacharias may also have been a representation of the society at large.  Zacharias was one of the priests after the old order, a people following the law of Moses but without the life of the gospel.  There were no prophets to speak for the Lord; the revelation from God was silent.  Just as Zacharias couldn’t speak to the people, the Jewish leaders at that time could not speak for God.  There needed to be a new prophet, a new law, a new voice from heaven. 

               Whatever the reasons for the Lord’s sign given to Zacharias, we shouldn’t be too critical of him.  He was a righteous man who, like all of the rest of us, had a moment where he didn’t quite have the faith that he should have had.  Zacharias was forced to ponder the words of the angel for nine months without being able to speak, and perhaps his story is a lesson to us: instead of being so quick to doubt with our mouths, we should rather first contemplate the word of the Lord with our hearts and learn, as he eventually did, to be believing.