Part 04: Page 09

The outcome of God's response:

"And the angels called to him as he stood praying in the mehrab, 'Allah gives thee glad tidings of Yahya, Musaddiq of a Kalimat from Allah, wa Sayyida, wa Hasoora, wa Nabi-ya, min-nass-Salih-heen'." Qur'an 3:39.

'And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom in the temple of the Lord; there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord; and when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled and fear fell upon him; but the angel said unto him, Fear not Zacharias; for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son and thou shalt call his name John.' Luke 1: 8 - 13

The Miracle words

"Thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son"

Each word brimful of meaning.

Zachariah's secret concern:

This news though a 'welcome consolation' complicated Zachariah's perplexity all the more. His apprehension though assuaged thankfully was now driven beyond comprehension. What of Mary? Was he wrong about her?

A look at Zachariah's prayer: 1. A waliya from Thyself 2. heir to me 3. heir to the House of Jacob 4. one in whom thou art well pleased

Elizabeth not Mary: 1. fear not Zacharias 2. thy prayer is heard 3. thy wife Elizabeth 4. shall bear thee a son 5. thou shall call his name John.

'Thy wife shall bear thee a son'

Words denoting God's glorious miracle. Now that we know the circumstances before and the events after. No wonder Zachariyah was struck dumb for three nights and three days.

John's advent:

Viewed from every angle John fitted in flawlessly as the perfect and absolute fulfillment of Zachariah's prayer and his bid for Israel's spiritual survival. God be praised in honour and in glory forever and ever. Israel was faltering but God yet again did not forsake nor disown Israel.

'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed his people and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began. To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham. In holiness and righteousness before him , all the days of our life.'

Luke 1: 68 - 75

1. '...And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of El-i-as.' Luke 1: 17 2. 'The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. 'As it is written in the prophets, Behold I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.' Mark 1: 1- 2

God's Ultimate Plan:

Israel rejoiced, celebrated and rest content being once again pardoned, delivered and redeemed. Not Zachariah. He instinctively knew that John was only an instrument for the ultimate fulfillment of God's Overall Plan of Promise. And so too was Mary. And the sense of it made a restless agitation on his mind. What if Israel faltered as is always the case with them? And in what wise is God's plan in the re-unification of the twelve tribes?

Question:

It was more the performance of a miracle of God to have given Zachariah an heir than for Him to have provided an heir to the House of Jacob.

With John's advent the situation was the reverse. John was heir to Zachariah but was he really and truly heir to the House of Jacob? In him, all the 12 tribes were not incorporated. Certainly not the tribes represented by Ban'i-Imran.