OBEDIENCE

Luke 1:57-66
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. 58 And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.

59 When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”

61 “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” 62 So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. 63 He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.

65 Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. 66 Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.


The angel Gabriel told Zechariah, before Zechariah lost his ability to speak, to name the baby John. Somehow, either Zechariah or the Holy Spirit communicated this to Elizabeth. Breaking with family tradition, they both were obedient to the instruction from God. They named the baby John and we have come to know this John as ‘John The Baptist’.

The answer to the question, “What will this child turn out to be?” is the one who prepared the way … the forerunner … the one who baptized with water … the one who baptized the Son of God. Yes … “…the hand of the Lord was surely upon him…”!