The Birth of John the Baptist

Scripture: Luke 1:57-66 (ESV)

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.

Devotion:

            The birth of John the Baptist was, like the birth of Jesus that follows, witnessed by many individuals. The relatives, friends, and neighbors who witnessed John’s birth seemed drawn by its unusual circumstances. While there was no star, no shepherds, and no wise men John’s birth seemed miraculous enough in that Elizabeth was well on in years and was thought to be barren. The father, who was stricken by the inability to hear and speak was also very odd. What was this child? This was the question on the minds of the witnesses. They were hoping for a messiah. Could this child be the one?

            From what we can tell the birth itself seemed to be a normal birth. It was on the eighth day when they brought him to be circumcised that things began to turn. What to name the boy? The onlookers proposed naming him after his father. Elizabeth objected. She said his name is John! The crowd was taken aback. No one in Zachariah or Elizabeth’s family had that name. So, they decided to ask Zachariah for his choice. He confirmed what his wife had said, “his name is John.” Then Zachariah’s tongue was freed, and he could speak freely.

            Wonder and awe fell on the gathered crowd. Zachariah raised his newly regained voice to praise God loudly and deeply. What does this sign mean for us today? We will never see this exact sight that greeted the assembled crowd 2,000 years ago in Israel. However, we have the opportunity to witness God’s redeeming love in action in our own time and place. In our own way each of us is called to be a witness for Jesus coming in the same way as John the Baptist did so long ago. We each can prepare the way for Jesus' return.

            In the prayer that Jesus taught us we pray “your kingdom come.” We are invited in that prayer to share in the announcement of the Savior of the world. We should, each of us, make straight and level the path for Jesus’ return at the end of the age. We should join with Zachariah in his great hymn of praise found in the verses immediately following the verses quoted above. Our hearts are full of thanksgiving for the words of consolation and comfort given here in scripture. Let us pray that the Lord will use each of us to announce his return in glory.

Prayer:

            Lord God Almighty, we stand in awe of your provision for our salvation. We thank you for sending John the Baptist so long ago to herald the coming of your Son, Jesus. May we take up the message and declare it to our watching and hurting world. May we bring glory to your name in our generation. Teach us to worship and praise you with our whole heart, mind, and strength. Be with us and encourage us to be good workers in your world. In the name of your blessed son, Jesus we ask this. Amen.