Luke 1:63
His
name
is
John.
Sometimes when God speaks, there is steel in his voice.
This is one of those times.
Elizabeth, who has been barren (which
was even worse in OT days than now…)
has become, “in her old age,” pregnant.
Their son, John the Baptist, will be a
pivotal person in Christian history, being
himself the bridge between the Old
Covenant and the New. She is nearing
her due date when her cousin Mary,
newly, and incredibly pregnant with
Jesus, comes to visit and John leaps
for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. The angel
Gabriel himeslf appears to Zechariah
while he is at his preistly duties to tell him
about his wife’s pregnancy. His response
was “HUH? Are ya nuts?” ( Well, maybe
not verbatim.It sounds very like my friend
Carol actually…) With what, Zechariah
finds himself unable to speak until
after the birth and the naming of
his son.
So we get to the passage: John has
been born and there is excitement all
the way around on the 8th dya, at his
circumcison. The crowd kind of takes
over and says”Let’s call him Zechariah,
like his father” But Elizabeth says NO -
he is to be called John. “No way,” they
pipe up “THAT’S not a family name!” In
consternation, they MAKE MOTIONS
toward Zechariah to ask HIM…
I love this tiny detail because it is so
typical of people’s reactions to disability!
Remember, as far as we know, there
is NOT A THING wrong with Zechariah’s
hearing - just his ability to speak! Andt yet
instead of just asking him, they make
motions to him!
He then twrites on a tablet “His name is John.
And his ability to speak is instantly restored.
His name is John.
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