Luke 1:57-80 — Little Zechariah...Psych!

READ THIS: Luke 1:57-80

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, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.” 62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising 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. 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 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; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

It can be easy to read this as just a bunch of words, but these verses tell an exciting, wild story. 

You might not have seen a couple who are about to have their first baby, but, let me tell you, they are EXCITED. People talk about seeing their baby for the first time and how much joy and love there is in that moment. Now, add on to that getting your lost voice back AND knowing that that new baby is going to help the savior of the world fulfill His mission. THAT is some JOY. 

I can only imagine what it would be like to be a neighbor who watched all of this happen. Especially with the whole business with John's name. It was weird that Zechariah and Elizabeth both wanted to name the boy John when that wasn't a family name for them at all. But, John was the name that God told them to name the boy. John means, "God is gracious." In God's grace (in His willingness to give what we don't deserve), God gave an old couple a child. But, He also gave the whole world a Savior...

The little prophecy section above shows how John's birth isn't just exciting for the couple, but for all of Israel. John would spend his ministry bringing in Jews and preparing them to be able to accept the message of Jesus. Then, over the next few days of reading, we'll hear about how Jesus' birth isn't just good news for Israel but also for the whole world!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. What is something that God has given you that you don't deserve that other people might look at and wonder how you ended up with it? (For example, in the story, the neighbors wondered how John could possibly have existed and also why he would be named John!)

2. How can you be like Zechariah and point out that your answer to number 1 is from God?

TRY THIS:

Try to do your answer to number two TODAY! If you can!! If you can't, then tell someone what your answer to number 2 is...it will help you do it in the future!