Luke 1:5–25; 1:39–45; 1:57–66
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
When Herod
was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member
of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the
priestly line of Aaron. Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes,
careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no
children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
One day
Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week.
As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary
of the Lord and burn incense. While the incense was being burned, a great crowd
stood outside, praying.
While
Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing
to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with
fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has
heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to
name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at
his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch
wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even
before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He
will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people
for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their
children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of
the godly.”
Zechariah
said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and
my wife is also well along in years.”
Then the
angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who
sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I
said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my
words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
Meanwhile,
the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering
why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to
them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have
seen a vision in the sanctuary.
When
Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. Soon
afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five
months. “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace
of having no children.”
Mary Visits Elizabeth
A few days
later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah
lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s
greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with
the Holy Spirit.
Elizabeth
gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women,
and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord
should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for
joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
The Birth of John the Baptist
When it was
time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. And when her
neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her,
everyone rejoiced with her.
When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the
circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. But
Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”
“What?”
they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” So they used
gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. He motioned for a
writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.”
Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God. Awe fell upon
the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the
Judean hills. Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked,
“What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon
him in a special way. (NLT)
This reading is taken from 30
Scripture Readings on Great Women from the Bible. The complete book can be
found here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZK5H96/ref=nosim?tag=hudsonbcom-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380549
HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION copyright © 1996. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All
rights reserved.
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