Who Watches the Watchers?

Concerning marital fidelity, the Roman poet Juvenal said, “Who will guard the guards themselves” (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?). In modern culture and Star Trek, this phrase has been translated as “Who watches the watchers?” It means, “Who will keep the leaders accountable?”

With the appearance of the Angel of the Lord, Zechariah (the true watcher of the people, as their priest) wasn’t watchful, but Elizabeth, who didn’t see the Angel, understood someone else was watching over her. This truth comes out by Luke’s use of “see” words three times.

“The crowd was waiting for Zechariah and puzzled by the length of time he spent in the temple. Then he came out, not being able to speak to them. They knew that he had seen a seen/vision in the temple. And he nodded to them and remained speechless.

When the days of serving in the temple ended, he went to his home. After this, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and hid for five months, saying, ‘The Lord has done this for me; in the days of my disgrace, he watched over me to remove my disgrace among the people.” (Luke 1:21–25)

Zechariah saw a vision and didn’t believe Gabriel’s message; Elizabeth became pregnant and realized God was watching over her. Further, the people outside the temple realized he must have seen a vision, which was why he was late coming out of the Holies. In a way, the people and Elizabeth had more faith than Zechariah.

People rejoice when they have their first child, especially when they have waited for decades to have a child. But neither Zechariah nor Elizabeth could rejoice – Zechariah could not speak, and Elizabeth hid for five months. Although God had watched over them, heard their prayers, and blessed them with a child, they couldn’t because of Zechariah’s initial disbelief.

Things would soon change since Gabriel promised, “He will be a joy and delight to you; many will rejoice at his arrival” (1:14). Their silence and hiding were temporary. John would be nearly 30 years when he began his ministry. Until then, no doubt, he would have been a joy and delight to his parents.

Zechariah saw an angel and a vision to know God cared for him. Elizabeth saw her pregnancy as God watching over her. Even now, some see visions to affirm their faith, while others see God’s mercy and generosity in their lives and know he is watching over them. Either way, faith is the key, the goal. But we still trust God even if we don’t see visions or dreams or our prayers aren’t answered in how we want them answered. We still believe he is good and is watching over us. That’s true faith. In the Lord’s words, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (John 20:29b). “Faith is the confidence of what’s hoped for and conviction of works not yet seen” (Heb 11:1). “Without faith, it is impossible to please God; those who draw near to God must believe that he exists and is the rewarder of those who seek him” (Heb 11:6). As one of my friends defines, “Faith is believing on, trusting in, relying on, depending on, resting in God’s promises no matter what the circumstances.”