Tuesday 29 January 2008
- Bible Book:
- Luke
"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins." (v.76-77)
Background
Naming a child is a really important task, and it's not one youwant to get wrong. Something too plain might not do them justice.But then again, the kid with the craziest name in school isn'tnecessarily the most popular.
So when it came to naming John the Baptist, there was a little bitof confusion. Why John? No one in the family had the name, as wasthe tradition for naming children at the time.
Besides, Zechariah is a much more interesting name (which means'the Lord has remembered'). But his mother insisted that this childwould be called John. It was clearly the right choice, as whenZechariah (John's father) confirmed the name, he was once againable to speak, having been struck dumb throughout the entirepregnancy because he did not believe that God would give them ason.
Every name has a meaning, and 'John' means 'the Lord is gracious'.This was the name that Zechariah was told to give him, even beforethe child had been conceived. Clearly God had something specialplanned for John - his life and ministry was to communicate anddemonstrate God's grace to God's people.
And having been silent for so long, it seems that now Zechariah canhardly shut up! He wants to tell everyone about his son - that thischild will be a great prophet, preparing the people to receivetheir saviour. Here, the author of Luke's Gospel is setting John upas an Elijah-figure. (According to the Old Testament, Elijah wasone of Israel's most powerful prophets. He raised the dead andbrought fire down from the sky - Jews were waiting for him toreturn and pave the way for the Messiah.)
In making this comparison, Zechariah hails the beginning of a newera in which God's light would shine for all those waiting indarkness. The Messiah was coming, to guide people and show them theway to peace.
To Ponder
What does your name mean? (Try
Who guides you and helps you to see God'spath?
Who could you be a guiding light to? How can youdo this without interfering?