The Birth and Naming of John
TRANSLATION
(57) Now when the time came for Elizabeth to deliver, she gave birth to a son. (58) And her neighbors and relatives all heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they shared her joy. (59) On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were expecting him to be given the name of his father, Zechariah. (60) But his mother spoke up, “No! He is to 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, asking what he wanted his son to be called. (63) And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And everyone was amazed. (64) And immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. (65) And a sense of awe came on everyone present. Throughout the hill country of Judea everyone was talking about these events. (66) And all who heard about this wondered in their hearts, “What then will this child become, for the hand of the Lord is clearly upon him?”
OBSERVATIONS
Luke recorded two memorable events in this paragraph. First, Elizabeth gave birth to the son which God had promised to her and Zechariah. While the baby’s birth was described as “the Lord showing great mercy to her” (vs. 58), the events surrounding his naming at the time of his circumcision eight days later received far more attention. While everyone expected that the baby would be named for his father, Zechariah, Elizabeth startled everyone by declaring that his name was to be “John.” When an appeal was made to his father to follow social convention and have the baby named for his father, the second memorable event occurred. Zechariah supported his wife by first writing the message, “His name is John,” on a tablet and then, when his ability to speak was miraculously restored, he spoke the same message after months of silence.
Only two words were repeated in this segment: “child” (vss. 59 & 66) along with its cognate, “son” (vs. 57) and the name, “John” (vss. 60 & 63). Everyone agreed that these events bore witness to the special calling and future ministry of the newborn baby.
OUTLINE
I. Elizabeth gave birth to a son after many years of remaining childless. (57 & 58)
II. At his circumcision when his parents obediently named him “John,” Zechariah’s ability to speak was miraculously restored. (59-66)
IDEA STATEMENT
Zechariah’s and Elizabeth’s obedience to God’s command to name their son “John” was confirmed by the miraculous restoration of Zechariah’s ability to speak after months of silence.
APPLICATION
By the time Luke had recorded the events surrounding the birth of the forerunner, all those involved in this captivating account would have long since passed away. We might well ask, “How did Luke acquire the information he needed to give us such detailed information regarding the preparations for Messiah’s coming?” In all likelihood, it was Jesus’ mother, Mary, who served as the source of all that we learn in this first chapter of Luke’s Gospel. In the following chapter we read, “And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart” (Lk. 2:51). We know that Mary was an essential member of the early church in Jerusalem. The fact that we have no record of her death in the Acts of the Apostles, something that a careful historian like Luke would likely have included, gives us reason to believe that she may have lived many years beyond the death and resurrection of her son to serve as Luke’s source of information.