Luke continues his “orderly account:”

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. (Luke 1.5, ESV)

C.S. Lewis* points out that the gospels are not written as myth but as eyewitness accounts of history. This isn’t “once upon a time,” but “In the days of Herod, king of Judea,…” Zechariah comes from a particular line, as does Elizabeth. Real people. Real history.

Zechariah receives the announcement from the angel Gabriel, but he doesn’t believe:

And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” (Luke 1.18 – 20, ESV)

How shall I know? You want a sign, I’ll give you a sign. You’ll be mute…

Gabriel is mentioned by name only four times in the Bible:

When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.” (Daniel 8.15 – 17, ESV)

While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. (Daniel 9.20, 21, ESV)

He appears to Daniel and now, Zechariah, and also to Mary.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke 1.26, 27, ESV)

Just four. The only time he said, “I am Gabriel” was in talking with Zechariah. In Daniel 8, God called his name. In Daniel 9, Daniel recognized him from before. In his appearance to Mary, Luke says it was Gabriel. Maybe when Mary went to visit Zechariah and Elizabeth, they compared notes.

Daniel said that Gabriel came to him “in swift flight.” Maybe this is where we get the concept of flying angels. The best summary of his identity and mission is the Zechariah appearance:

I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

Gabriel is a messenger angel.

How quickly we forget about the angels. I wrote last year about an angel finding a missing portfolio for us. That blog includes this paragraph from Brad East:

[We need to] bite the bullet and proclaim, fingers uncrossed, that God works signs and wonders in the world today, just as he did in the times and stories of Holy Scripture. In this view, angels intervene in mortal affairs; demons assault and possess unsuspecting sinners; terminal illnesses are healed by divine miracle; young men see visions; and old men dream dreams (Acts 2:17). None of these things ever ceased. Christians in the West merely lost the desire or ability to see them. – Brad East, emphasis mine

Lord, don’t let me miss you at work in the world. Thank you for all the protection that I don’t even know about. One day, I want to talk with the angel you have assigned to me. The way I drive, I’m sure he’s worked overtime!

Are they not all [angels] ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1.14, ESV)

*C.S. Lewis’ observations on the literary style of the Gospels are recorded in Between Heaven and Hell by Peter Kreeft.