Luke 1:68 ““Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people,”    Notice that the focus is not on John. Zacharias is focused on the Redeemer. This is because of the Holy Spirit Who was speaking to him, giving him the words to say.   This is always the way…

Luke 1:67 “Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:”    Notice the highlights of the activity of the Holy Spirit. This is little wonder for the author of the Acts of the Apostles. Were it not for Luke’s gospel and it’s sequel, we would have a much less clear…

Luke 1:66 “And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.”    The hand of the Lord was certainly with John. But what exactly did that mean? The people didn’t know the specifics, but they knew…

Luke 1:65 “Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea.”    Though the Jewish people did expect the Messiah, their expectations were very colored by recent history. The Maccabees had accomplished much for the Jews, but by force. Thus, the Jewish…

Luke 1:64 “Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.”    Zacharias was released from the rebuke of Gabriel the moment he expressed his faith by declaring the name of John. This is very interesting because it reveals to us God’s thinking. Gabriel said Zacharias would be mute until…

I am taking a week off from posting. I will resume next Sunday, the Lord willing. Have a blessed week!

Luke 1:63 “And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled.”    The group was rebuked by Zacharias. Elizabeth had already made it very clear what the child should be named. Zacharias took it a step further and explained in his response that the child had…

Luke 1:62 “So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.”    Of course, Zacharias would have the final say. But, it was incredibly unkind of those present to assume that Elizabeth and Zacharias wouldn’t be in agreement. Obviously, they didn’t even take the time to write out the question, quite unthoughtful.…

Luke 1:61 “But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”    Jewish families name children after relatives for several reasons. For one, tradition, everything is about tradition. Also, it is a custom many in the ancient world observed. Finally, it was done in honor of…

Luke 1:60 “His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”    This was very clear to Elizabeth, otherwise she would not have spoken this definitely. There was no discussion or disagreement between her and Zacharias. But, they would likely not have mentioned the name to anyone, or only a select few, before…