Tremendous Faith Before John could be John

Read Luke 1:57-66

Here we find Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, giving birth to
John. Many people, neighbors and relatives heard about the birth and shared in her
joy. This seems normal except for one thing. Elizabeth was not able to have
children her whole life and now she was very old. Because of this, you can imagine
that this birth was "relatively" famous in the area. The Bible says that the people
"shared in her joy." This is important as we will see ahead. Now they are on the
eighth day, the day of the circumcision. Many people were there and they were
discussing what to name the child. Imagine being in a culture where your first son
is everything to you. He gets your inheritance, leadership of the family, and is your
namesake. The pride of any man at that time was to have a son in which he could
pass on HIS legacy.

(If you read my Bible study post on Luke 1:1-25 "What can we learn from John the
Baptist's father," you see that Zechariah lost his ability to speak for doubting God.
We questioned if the purpose of this was so he would learn to "listen" better to his
wife and to God?) (Also check my last post on Mary's Melody to see some
discussion about pride and humility.)

Let me paint you a mental picture of the scene. The room is crowded with friends
and family. They are all excited because of the miraculous birth of Zechariah's son.
A son whom everyone assumed was never coming because of his wife's age and
infertility. The son to whom Zach could finally leave his legacy. A son who would
assume his duties in the family. A son who was his pride and joy. A son who would
take the family name. (Go to Genesis 1:27-30. God has just given Adam rule over
all the animals and living creatures on the Earth. Jump to Genesis 2:19-20. Here
Adam is naming everything on Earth as a symbol of his rule over them; 'including
Eve'.) …Back to the room… All the men are joyous and contemplating the new
boy's name when out of the corner a woman yells, "NO!" See the room fall silent as
everyone turns to her in astonishment. "Who does she think she is?” "Doesn’t she
know her place?" For as we all know, women in that time, in that society, did not
have the freedom and position to question the authority of men. Now see the whole
room take their eyes off Elizabeth and turn in unison across the room to Zechariah
to see what he would do about his insubordinate wife. Imagine Zach's face turning
red as all eyes fall on him. What would he do?

Before we read what he did do, let's imagine what he would have done with the
ability to talk... Remember the scene in the room, excitement, shouting over each
other’s voices, joy at the new birth and fact that there is finally an heir to the
family. Would he have scolded his wife in front of everyone? Would he have "put
her in her place? We don't know, but maybe this very moment was the reason he
had lost his ability to speak???

Instead of responding on impulse, he had to ask for a tablet to write his response.
Thus giving him time to think, and maybe pray. As he is writing down the name
John, he is doing much more than just giving the boy a name. It is like he is signing
a contract where he is acknowledging that this boy belongs to God, not to him. (It
was while praying that the angel of the Lord appeared to Zach and told him he
would have a son and to name him John. (Luke 1: 11-13) John did not get to name
“his” son after himself, as was the custom. He was instructed to give him a name
that was nowhere in the family line. This may or may not seem significant today,
but it was very much so in those days, as is evidenced by the people gathering to
discuss his name earlier in the story. This son would not be “following in his father’s
footsteps,” but rather he was market for great service to God. Zechariah knew all
of this while he was writing down the name Jon. He must have remembered that for
his whole life he had no son. It was only eight days ago that his son was born. It
was only months earlier that there was any hope at all. He must have remembered
that just a while ago he had been given the gift of a son. And he must have realized
that he was not signing away his son, but acknowledging that God had plans for this
boy and that he Zachariah the gift of being a part of that purpose.

Standing in that room, will all of those expectant, silent, eyes on him, he passed the
tablet back with the name John written on it. What honor did he bring to God by
doing this? What honor did he bring to his wife by publicly doing this? It took
enormous humility and enormous faith. What kind of whiteness did this give for the
people in the area? It says that everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking,
“What then is this child going to be?” verse 65. What can we learn from this act of
humility? Have we ever been given a gift from God and then clutched it with tight
fists? Have we ever had selfish goals for that which was placed in our control for
God’s purpose?

GoodFaithBlog.com

AndoverV@gmail.com