Christmas Chronology: Luke 1:57-66

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

The verse immediately preceding this passage, verse 56, says that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months, and then went home. But I don’t think that means she went home before John was born. Earlier in this chapter, in verse 24, Luke says that Elizabeth went into seclusion for five months when she became pregnant. Then, in verse 26, it says Gabriel visited Mary in the sixth month. That could mean the sixth month of the Jewish calendar, but following the statement of five months two verses before, it seems logical that Luke could mean the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. When Mary went to visit Elizabeth, Elizabeth was obviously no longer in seclusion, so she was close to entering her third trimester, and Mary stayed with her for 3 months. Given that time line, it seems likely to me that Mary might have still been there for the birth and circumcision of John.

These events only appear in Luke’s gospel, and all of these accounts probably come from Mary in her interviews with Luke. During her three month stay with Elizabeth, she would have heard the whole story of Gabriel’s appearance to Zechariah, especially since Mary would have wanted to know why Zechariah couldn’t speak. I say all of this to say that I think it’s likely that Mary was still there during this passage and witnessed these events, especially since verse 58 says that Elizabeth’s neighbors and relatives shared her joy, and traditionally, they would have been there for this ceremony. I think Mary’s the one who told these things to Luke, and why we have them in our Bible today. Why would she stay for three months and leave just before the baby was born?

⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

The tradition was to name a male child after his father. But Zechariah had obviously told Elizabeth what John’s name was to be. Though Zechariah had doubted at first, and paid an awful price for it, he and his wife were in lock step when it came to obeying God in this matter. When we go through a spiritual trial, it’s so important to have our closest loved ones supporting us in our obedience. What if Elizabeth had wanted some other name for John, and decided to name him something else because her husband was unable to object? There are few things more helpful to a believer than a spiritually united household.

⁶²Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God.

The Bible never says that Zechariah was also struck deaf, but it says here that they made signs to him. Either Zechariah was struck deaf in addition to being struck mute, or these people were idiots. How irritating would it be for people to assume that because you couldn’t speak, you also couldn’t hear? Don’t make the lives of the disabled more difficult by assuming what they can and can’t do.

Zechariah had had enough of not being able to speak, and knew that the only way to end it was to obey God. Gabriel had told him in verse 20 that he would not be able to speak until the day this happens, which I would take to mean the day John was born. But the day of John’s birth came and went, and still Zechariah couldn’t speak. Seven days went by, and still he was struck dumb. How frustrated he must have been! In his place I would have expected my speech to return as soon as the child was born. But it wasn’t until the eighth day, the day of the circumcision ceremony when the boy was named, that his curse was lifted. It didn’t happen until Zechariah wrote “His name is John.” That act of obedience ended his trial.

What act of obedience is God waiting for from us to free us from some burden? We may be waiting for our circumstances to change, and feel that if A or B would happen then this problem would be over, but it may only be our own lack of obedience that is extending our difficulty. Do you want to be freed from that burden? Obey God.

Immediately after Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, the first words out of his mouth were praise to God. Those should be the first words out of our mouths as well, and not just when God has just delivered us from some trial. It’s easy to forget to give credit to God when something good happens. God is the source of all good things, and we must recognize that when we are blessed, and praise him for his goodness to us. That helps to keep us in a right relationship to him.

⁶⁵The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

How much had all these neighbors and relatives clucked their tongues over Zechariah’s muteness over the last nine months? His reputation as a priest must have suffered. Zechariah was in a position of leadership, and failed publicly. That had an effect on those who knew him. But when he was restored, he gave praise to God, and that had an even greater effect on people. A former pastor of mine used to say that private sins should be confessed privately, and public sins should be confessed publicly.

Zechariah’s failure was public, and so was his restoration. Zechariah accepted God’s punishment with humility, and when he got the chance, he made it right. This is the formula for restoration for those in positions of spiritual leadership. If we have a public failure, we must accept whatever chastisement God has for us, and when we get the chance to make it right, we must do so. If we do, God can use our restoration to great effect in his kingdom. No matter how bad what we’ve done is, God can turn it to good if we’ll let him.