Season of
Annunciation
Third
Sunday: Luke 1:57-66
THE BIRTH
OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
INTRODUCTION
John the Baptist’s birth was marking a new
chapter in the salvation history because there was no prophet in Israel
for the past four centuries. The neighbors and relatives who used to
view Elizabeth as disgraceful, came to rejoice with her. Zechariah and
Elizabeth circumcised the child on the eighth day, according to the
Jewish tradition. God relieved Zachariah from his nine-month muteness
when he obeyed the directive of Angel Gabriel by naming his child John.
His first reaction when he regained his speech was “blessing God.”
BIBLE TEXT
(Luke 1:57) When the time came for Elizabeth,
she gave birth to a son. (58) Her neighbors and relatives heard that the
Lord had shown her such great mercy and they rejoiced with her.
(59) When on the eighth day they came to perform the circumcision of the
child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. (60) But his
mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” (61) They said to her,
“No one in your family has that name;” (62) and they asked the father by
means of signs for the name he wanted to give. (63) Zechariah asked for
a writing tablet and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very
surprised. (64) Immediately Zechariah could speak again and his first
words were in praise of God. (65) A holy fear came on all in the
neighborhood, and throughout the hills of Judea the people talked about
these things. (66) As they heard this, they pondered in their hearts and
wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the power
of the Lord was with him.
INTERPRETATION
(57) When the time came for Elizabeth,
she gave birth to a son.
Elizabeth’s conception of John was
miraculous. When Mary, with Jesus in her womb, visited Elizabeth, Holy
Spirit filled John while he was in the womb of his mother.
The church celebrates John’s birthday on June
24th, six months prior to Christmas. John’s birthday
celebration as a feast is an exception. The church normally celebrates
the death anniversary of saints as their passage from the militant
church to the triumphant church in heaven. John’s case is an exception
because the Holy Spirit came upon him while he was in his mother’s womb
(Luke 1:15, 1:40-44).
(58) Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown her such great mercy and they rejoiced with her.
John’s birth at the old age of his parents
with an extraordinary sign of Zechariah’s dumbness and deafness was the
reason for the neighbors to gather at the child’s birth. They rejoiced
with his aged mother, Elizabeth. The neighbors had thought God was
punishing the parents because Elizabeth was barren. This rejoicing of
neighbors was the fulfillment of Angel Gabriel’s promise to Zechariah:
“You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.”
(Luke 1:14). They came again on the eighth day for the child’s
circumcision.
(59) When on the eighth day they came
to perform the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him
Zechariah after his father.
Circumcision
The circumcision is a symbol of the covenant
between God and Abraham. The name for the act of circumcision is bris,
which means “covenant.” God commanded Israelites, “When he is eight days
old, every male among you will be circumcised, generation after
generation; including the slaves born in your household or bought from a
foreigner as slaves. Whether born in your household or bought as slaves,
they must be circumcised. So my covenant will be written in your flesh
as an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, will be cut off from his
people for having broken my covenant.” (Genesis 17:12-14). The Jews
continued circumcision from the time of Abraham, and it remained as a
sign of their covenant with God.
Place of circumcision
The Eighth Day
Number eight,
according to the Biblical numerology, stands for a new beginning. God
completed creation of the universe, including a day of rest in seven
days. So, the eighth day means a new week or a fresh start. God’s
covenant with Abraham through circumcision was also a new beginning of
salvation. So, Israelites circumcised children on the eighth day. It
signals the beginning of a child’s covenant with God and initiation into
Israel. Even if the eighth day was a Sabbath, when God had prohibited
any work, the Israelites performed circumcision on that day as an
exception. This shows the eighth day’s importance.
One reason for selecting the eighth day for
circumcision was that the newborn baby will live a complete week
inclusive of a Sabbath. Hence the baby experienced the “holiness” of a
Sabbath. Then he could make the covenant with God and thus join the
Israelite community.
The medical science found out that the eighth
day after birth is the best day for blood clotting and so it is the
suitable time for circumcision. Blood clotting depends on platelets,
prothrombin, and vitamin K. Prothrombin levels and vitamin K are at
their peak on the eighth day. The omniscient God knew this and selected
that day, though the humans did not know it until recently.
Naming of a
child
The Jews named a male
child near the birth or at the time of circumcision on the eighth day.
They named girls within 30 days of their birth. The Jews gave the
grandfather’s name, and in exceptional cases the father’s name, to the
male child. They gave the father’s name when they were unsure of his
name’s continuation to the next generations. The priest and relatives
considered giving Zechariah’s name to his child. Otherwise, his name
could not extend to the next generation because John was his only son
who will remain single with Nazirite vow.
A person’s name had great significance in the
Biblical times. Parents named a child based on the essence of the
person, divine role in his birth, his birth order, his character, his
future mission, his physical trait, or where he was born. For example,
Adam means the man, a human being, or red (color of the earth) (Gen.
2:7), Noah means rest or comfort (Gen. 5:29), Abraham means the father
of a multitude (Gen. 17:5), Moses means drawn out of the waters (Ex.
2:10), David means beloved (1 Sam. 13:14) and Jesus means savior or
Jehovah is salvation (Mat. 1:21).
(60) But his mother said, “Not so; he
shall be called John.”
In the Biblical
tradition, either the mother or the father could name the child. For
example: Leah and Rachel named their children and their maidservants’
children (Gen. 29:31-30:24). Hanna named her son Samuel (1 Samuel 1:20).
Abram named his son Ishmael from Hagar, (Gen. 16:15). Moses named his
son Gershom (Exodus 2:22). There were exceptions when others also named
children: Pharaoh’s daughter named her adopted son Moses (Exodus 2:10).
Naomi’s female neighbors named her son Obed (Ruth 4:17).
Since Zechariah was mute, the priests and
relatives asked Elizabeth to name her son. She knew that the child had a
God-given name, John. She got this information from Zachariah, who might
have communicated this to her in writing.
(61) They said to her, “No one in your
family has that name.”
In John’s case, the family did not follow the
traditional practice because God specially chose him. God already named
making him His own for a special mission. Thus, John belonged to God
more than Zechariah’s family.
(62) And they asked the father by means
of signs for the name he wanted to give.
Naming a child was the father’s right. Since
John was deaf and dumb, they did not ask him first. However, the priests
and relatives doubted whether Elizabeth was mistaken. So they asked
Zechariah. However, they had to use the sign language because he could
not hear and talk to them.
(63) Zechariah asked for a writing
tablet and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very
surprised.
Zechariah could not communicate the name by
sign language. So, he asked for a tablet. It was a wooden piece with a
wax coating. The writing material was a stick like stylus. Instead of
“his name shall be John,” Zechariah wrote, “John is his name” closing
any chance of discussion on the matter. God had revealed that name to
him through Angel Gabriel.
In exceptional cases,
God names or renames a person because of that person’s special
assignment. Examples of God-given names before birth are: Ishmael (Gen.
16:11), Isaac (Gen. 17:19), Jezreel (Hos. 1:4), Lo-Ruhamah (Hos. 1:6),
Lo-Ammi (Hos. 1:9), Jesus (Mt. 1:21) (Lk. 1:31) and John (Lk. 1:13). God
might have named Adam. Examples of God renaming are: Abram to Abraham
(Gen. 17:5), Sarai to Sarah (Gen. 17:15), Jacob to Israel (Gen. 32:29)
(Gen. 35:10), Solomon to Jedidiah (2 Sam. 12:24-25) and Jesus renamed
Simon to Peter (Mt. 16:17-18).
Rachel had named her second son as Benoni at
her deathbed. However, Jacob, the child’s father, renamed him Benjamin
(Gen. 35:18). In John’s case, both Elizabeth and Zechariah gave the same
name because Angel Gabriel had revealed that name to them.
John is the shorter version of Jehohanan,
which means “Yahweh’s gift” or “God is gracious.” So, John’s name
signified that he was God’s gracious gift to his parents at his mother’s
advanced age.
(64) Immediately Zechariah could speak
again, and his first words were in praise of God.
When Zechariah obeyed the command of God by
naming the child John, God relieved him from his nine-month muteness.
That also became a proof of the divine intervention for the people
around. Zachariah’s first reaction after regaining his speech was
“blessing God.”
(65) A holy fear came on all in the
neighborhood, and throughout the hills of Judea the people talked about
these things.
This “holy fear” was the
“fear of God.” Its Biblical meaning is
reverence, obedience, submission, and worship in awe to God. The
people who saw the unusual events happened, felt an increase in their
faith. They shared their experience all over the hill country of Judea.
So even from the time of birth, John became popular.
(66) As they heard this, they pondered
in their hearts and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they
understood that the power of the Lord was with him.
“The hand of the Lord” is symbolic of the
wonderful power, providence, care, grace, and favor of God manifested
through the chosen people. So in John’s case, God formed him as an
unusual prophet, sent as Elijah’s return, with the mission to prepare
the way for the Lord. (Malachi 3: 23-24 / 4:5-6).
When people found the hand of the Lord in
John’s life, they were wondering what his future would be. When the hand
of the Lord is with us, we become God’s instruments, and God will do
wonders through us.
MESSAGE
Rejoice with Others
Birth and Baptism
Day of Baptism
Naming a child
Teach children to study and learn from
their patron saint.
Faith formation of children