THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

Passage: Luke 1:57-80

Key verse: 77

NIV

The Birth of John the Baptist

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(A) 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.”(B)

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

62 Then they made signs(C) 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.”(D) 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak,(E) praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea(F) 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.(G)

Zechariah’s Song

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit(H) and prophesied:(I)

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,(J)
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.(K)
69 He has raised up a horn[a](L) of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David(M)
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),(N)
71 salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors(O)
    and to remember his holy covenant,(P)
73     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:(Q)
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him(R) without fear(S)
75     in holiness and righteousness(T) before him all our days.

76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet(U) of the Most High;(V)
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,(W)
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,(X)
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun(Y) will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,(Z)
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”(AA)

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit[b];(AB) and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

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Footnotes
  1. Luke 1:69 Horn here symbolizes a strong king.
  2. Luke 1:80 Or in the Spirit
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Birth of John the Baptist

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 (A)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And (B)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; (C)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And (D)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for (E)a writing tablet and wrote, (F)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 (G)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue (H)loosed, and he spoke, (I)blessing God. 65 And (J)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all (K)the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them (L)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For (M)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

67 And his father Zechariah (N)was filled with the Holy Spirit and (O)prophesied, saying,

68 (P)“Blessed be the Lord (Q)God of Israel,
    for he has (R)visited and (S)redeemed his people
69 and (T)has raised up (U)a horn of salvation for us
    (V)in the house of his servant David,
70 (W)as (X)he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 (Y)that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (Z)to show the mercy promised to our fathers
    and (AA)to remember his holy (AB)covenant,
73 (AC)the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74     that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him (AD)without fear,
75     (AE)in holiness and righteousness before him (AF)all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called (AG)the prophet of (AH)the Most High;
    for (AI)you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    (AJ)in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the (AK)tender mercy of our God,
    whereby (AL)the sunrise shall (AM)visit us[a] (AN)from on high
79 to (AO)give light to (AP)those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into (AQ)the way of (AR)peace.”

80 (AS)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was (AT)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

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Footnotes
  1. Luke 1:78 Or when the sunrise shall dawn upon us; some manuscripts since the sunrise has visited us
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. His name is John (57-66) Elizabeth and Zechariah's baby boy was born! It was the Lord's great mercy to them. Close friends shared their joy. At his circumcision, everyone expected him to be called Zechariah junior. But both Elizabeth and Zechariah followed God's will and named him John: "gift of God" (1:13). Then Zechariah could speak again. 2. Salvation has come (67-8 ) By the Holy Spirit, Zechariah's first words were praises to God. His song emphasizes the fulfillment of God's covenant promises to David and Abraham. Twice he mentioned God's mercy and salvation. John was born to prepare the way for the Lord, who brings salvation, forgiveness of sin, light and peace.

Prayer: Praise you, Father, for fulfilling all your promises through Jesus Christ our Lord. May our lives and words draw attention to your mercy and salvation in him.

One Word: Praise God for his mercy and salvation through Christ