57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Elizabeth gave birth to a son and all her neighbours and relatives rejoiced at his birth because God had shown her great mercy in giving her a child in her old age (cf. 1:14). When he was eight days old they circumcised John as prescribed by God (Gen 17:1-14) and all the neighbours expected his name to be Zechariah after his father. But Elizabeth said his name was to be John as instructed by Gabriel (1:13). Nine months after being visited by the angel Gabriel, Zechariah still couldn’t speak so when they asked him what he wanted his son to be named they had to bring him a tablet to write it down. He wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth and tongue were restored and his first words were praise to God. Zechariah’s instant healing caused a stir as people responded in awe and discussed amongst themselves what was happening. Who was this child and what would he become because clearly, God was with him.
Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and just like the others filled with the Holy Spirit in the gospel of Luke, his first response is to speak praise and prophecy. Zechariah’s poem/song is known as the Benedictus which is Latin for Blessed be. He praises God as the One who has come to redeem His people Israel in their time of need. He points back to the promises God made to their ancestors from Abraham and the prophets of the Old Testament who confirmed them. He also confirmed the prophecy that John would fulfill as the one who prepared the way as the prophet of the Most High. He would preach a message of repentance in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah who would bring complete forgiveness for their sins. He would prepare the way for Jesus who would bring light to those in the darkness and lead us to the way of peace with God.
John grew both physically and spiritually and lived in the wilderness in preparation for his public ministry in Israel.
Zechariah’s unbelief brought on him the consequence of muteness for nine months. When given the opportunity to obey in naming his son contrary to cultural tradition, he obeyed and was immediately released. Jesus came to bring complete forgiveness from our sins. No matter what wrong choices you’ve made in the past, Jesus makes it possible for you to choice obedience today.
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Samson Delilah: Judges 16