Luke 1:59-64 "And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. (60) And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. (61) And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. (62) And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. (63) And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. (64) And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God."
We're back to Zacharias this morning. Luke chapter 1 bounces back and forth
between Zacharias, Mary, Elisabeth, and now back to Zacharias. If you remember,
when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, he told him that Elisabeth would
give birth to a son and his name was to be John. Poor Zacharias did not
believe it could happen. After all, he and Elisabeth were of an old age at that
point. Apparently, he forgot about the Lord giving a son to Abraham and
Sarah when they were of an old age. Zacharias was muted for nine months because
he questioned the ability of God.
Now, the baby had been born and the family had come together to properly name
him. They all thought his name should be, and even called him, Zacharias.
We aren't told the communication between Zacharias and Elisabeth for those nine
months, but we can assume he used that writing tablet quite a bit to tell her
how Gabriel had appeared to him. However they communicated Elisabeth knew
the child's name would be John. Elisabeth said, "No, his name shall be
John." The tradition of that day, and somewhat still to this day,
was to name children according to the names of their forefathers. Zacharias was
a common family name and the folks decided this baby would be another
Zacharias. " And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called."
Zacharias had been muted, but apparently they thought he also couldn't hear.
All they had to do was turn and ask him, but they made signs as to what the
baby should be named. He motioned for a writing tablet and "wrote, saying,
His name is John." As soon as he made the name official, his tongue
was loosed and "he spake, and praised God." Can you imagine how
he felt for nine months? For all that time, he had so much to say about
his encounter with Gabriel; yet, he was unable to fully express the glory of
God that was shone through the angel.
In this Christmas season, you and I have so much for which to be thankful and
to praise our Heavenly Father. Our tongues aren't muted, so may we use them to
join with the angelic chorus in "praising God, and saying, Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke
2:13-14)