Luke 1:57-80

The Birth of John

57-58When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.

59-60On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: “No. He is to be called John.”

61-62″But,” they said, “no one in your family is named that.” They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named.

63-64 Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, “His name is to be John.” That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah’s mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!

65-66A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, “What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this.”

67-79Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he came and set his people free.

He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,

and in the very house of David his servant,

Just as he promised long ago

through the preaching of his holy prophets:

Deliverance from our enemies

and every hateful hand;

Mercy to our fathers,

as he remembers to do what he said he’d do,

What he swore to our father Abraham—

a clean rescue from the enemy camp,

So we can worship him without a care in the world,

made holy before him as long as we live.

And you, my child, “Prophet of the Highest,”

will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,

Present the offer of salvation to his people,

the forgiveness of their sins.

Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,

God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,

Shining on those in the darkness,

those sitting in the shadow of death,

Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,

down the path of peace.

80The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,  - Roles of traditions/societal pressure – ‘THEY WERE GOING TO NAME HIM’ ….AFTER HIS FATHER ZECHARIAH

60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

- But his Mother intervenes

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

THEY SAID to her – this is a break with tradition/custom because there is NO ONE AMONG YOUR RELATIVES WHO HAS THAT NAME (i.e. something is wrong if we break the customs)

62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.

This leads them to consult with the Father (obviously the Mother wants to do something unusual, well let’s ask the Dad….maybe THEY think he will speak some sense and call HIS BOY after himself or another male relative from within the family)

63 He asked for a writing tablet, – Zechariah rises to the challenge – he is not apathetic, doesn’t just allow the Mother Elizabeth to choose alone or the group to make the choice, but he has to ask for a tablet because he can’t speak at this point because he has been struck dumb by the angel because he didn’t believe the angel’s message from God

and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” – The Father and the Mother are working TOGETHER both of them following God and not just tradition to initiate something NEW. Everyone was astonished – because after all the difficulty John and Elizabeth had had in trying to conceive finally when Zechariah gets a SON…he chooses to call him  A NEW NAME and NOT FOLLOW THE PAST + PRESENT TRADITIONS/SOCIAL CUSTOMS and thus IMPRINT ON HIS SON THE  BIOLOGICAL FATHER’S OLD NAME IDENTITY. Zechariah and Elizabeth are doing a new thing here.

64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free,  - as soon as Zechariah finishes obeying God his physical disability is taken away – his mouth is opened and his tongue set free

and he began to speak, praising God.  His first words are praising God – an indication that our physical organs are not designed to express fear or doubt of God, but are intended to utter sincere and genuine joy and praise of God

65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

The result among the relatives and wider community is AWE and WONDER as they recognise that this birth narrative is something NEW, something unusual, a break with custom and they therefore ask questions about the child’s DESTINY or vocation. THEY SAY:

“What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

Why do they ask this….because the Lord’s hand was with him ….i.e. God’s Spirit …the Holy Spirit was with this baby boy from birth.

So the author of this book the Gentile doctor Luke begins his account of the birth of the Messiah Jesus by recounting the birth of another special boy – called John.

We can summarise this narrative with the following steps:

Custom/tradition/society/relatives were going to name the boy after his biological father (effectively saying everything is going to go ahead in a very orderly manner as things have always happened. He will be his Father’s son.

The Mother steps in and intervenes and says he is going to be called something different – i.e. this boy is not going to be defined by custom or tradition or society, but by a new  name given by God

The relatives/community OBJECT i.e. they resist the Mother’s choice. They resist the new thing being done by God. They say effectively – that’s not right custom/society SAYS a child should be named after someone from the biological family, especially the biological parents. THEY SAY the child’s identity and therefore life and destiny is to be defined by his relationship to tradition/custom/biology.

They are still resisting the new thing God is trying to do through his servant Elizabeth. They are still seeking to follow the past and the custom of the society…But perhaps they are starting to wobble so they go to the Father Zechariah. The father representing in the Middle East and in Israelite culture the principle authority in the family because it is a patriarchal culture. Surely he will speak sense and want the boy named after him.

Zechariah unable to speak…struck dumb by God’s Angel…has perhaps had time to reflect on the kind of words that come out from his mouth…he has had chance to pause and consider before he makes a statement…especially a statement that expresses doubt and disbelief in the face of a miracle… He there WRITES: “His name is John.” No argument. No discussion. His name…IS…JOHN!

THEY are astonished!

Then as a result of obedience of putting into practice the new thing God has asked both Elizabeth and Zechariah to do and not following society, not resisting God…a physical miracle is released…Zechariah can suddenly speak again. His mouth is opened, his tongue is loosed and he is free to speak…Of course now he speaks different kinds of words to before…now he speaks Praise!

GOD’s Servants: Elizabeth + Zechariah

THEY: Relatives, Neighbours, Community, Customs and Traditions of society

God doing something NEW vs  Custom

57 Elizabeth gives birth to a boy New!

58 THEY rejoice and celebrate with her New/Custom

59 THEY want to call him after his biological Father – Zechariah Custom

60 Elizabeth intervenes – initiates something NEW – obeys God’s new word to her New

61 THEY RESIST – there is no one in your family with that name. Therefore it is not the right choice Custom

62 THEY CONTINUE TO RESIST, but possibly waiver a little THEY go to the Father Custom

63 Zechariah writes His name is John. He goes against the they…he rejects tradition and custom. He refuses to print his own identity on the new baby boy and he agrees with his wife and follows through on God’s new thing. THEY are ASTONISHED New

64 Zechariah’s mouth is opened. His tongue is loosed. He can speak. He praises God. New

65-66 THEY are filled with awe, and  talk about it across wider community. Everyone WONDERED and ASKED about it, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him. New

67-80 Zechariah speaks more NEW WORDS over his son. He does not sulk because he is not going to be like him. He delights in the new work that God has shown him his son will carry out. He moves out of everyday custom and tunes into a deeper story in the people of God’s history. He perceives that his son is not going to be a servant of the status quo, but a harbinger of a new dawn of God’s love and power in time and history. He  PROPHESISES this – HE SPEAKS IT OUT.

+ He BLESSES HIS SON – even when he is only days old the Father identifies qualities and characteristics in his new born child that are going to make him stand out from the crowd and he affirms them. New!!!

But the story doesn’t stop there!

Zechariah’s Song

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

69 He has raised up a horn[c] of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David

70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

71 salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us—

72 to show mercy to our ancestors

and to remember his holy covenant,

73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,

and to enable us to serve him without fear

75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

78 because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

79 to shine on those living in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit[d]; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.