Characters at the Cradle: John the Baptist, Awe and Wonder

by David Chadwick

“And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, ‘What then will this child be?’ For the hand of the Lord was with him.” Luke 1:65-66.

When Zechariah’s voice returned, he started blessing God for all that had happened to him and Elizabeth. He was incredibly grateful for the birth of his child.

The text goes on to tell us that all the neighbors were filled with fear. The “fear” talked about here is not dread or being afraid. On the contrary. It’s the awesome respect that one has for another. It’s a holy awe. This is what I felt toward my dad growing up.

This large, godly man caused me to revere him in every way. Proverbs 1:6 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Our society and nation have forgotten the fear of the Lord. The reverence of God has become non-existent. To some, he is often treated as a best pal or buddy. For others, he is treated as a genie in a bottle to whom people only go to get their needs met.

When God does a mighty work like miraculously bringing John the Baptist into the world, people are forced to come face to face with his divine grace and mercy. And the fear that this produces is good! It should make us want to love, serve, and worship our Daddy in heaven even more!

When people thought about John and his arrival, they began to wonder about his future. “What would this child be?” They knew the hand of the Lord was upon John, and they could already sense it was for something great.

They were right! This special child went on to be the forerunner for the life and ministry of Jesus, as prophesied in Malachi 4:5. John the Baptist was the beginning of the inauguration of God’s kingdom through Jesus. He would go on to baptize Jesus and point people to his earthly ministry.

Find Jesus and you will find his kingdom. Find his kingdom and you will hunger to find your place in his story. You will hunger to see the kingdom of heaven come on earth as it is in heaven. His will is to give us glimpses of glory here on earth until the King named Jesus comes again!

Awe and wonder filled the hearts of all who heard the news of John the Baptist’s birth.

I pray that awe and wonder will swell in each of your hearts this Christmas season!

Characters at the Cradle: John the Baptist, Words of Worship

by David Chadwick

When Zechariah wrote down, “His name is John,” for all to see and read, he obeyed in specificity all the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do. At that moment, something significant happened. Let’s take a look.

“And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God” (Luke 1:64).

Immediately. What a powerful word! Not gradual, not slowly… immediately! Zechariah’s act of obedience led to his immediate breakthrough. At that moment, he was able to speak again. And the words that poured forth blessed the one true God.

This might be one of my favorite stories in the Bible. The salvation of the Lord is so evident in the life of Zechariah. Did you notice how the last words spoken by Zechariah before becoming mute were words of unbelief and doubt, but the first words that he spoke after his tongue was loosened were words of faith that blessed God?

Over the nine months of silence, Zechariah learned his lesson! His fear turned to faith. Words of doubt into words of praise. Words of unbelief became words of worship. His hesitation became dedication.

What a profound transformation Zechariah had. He learned the power of words, praise, and worship. Because of Zechariah’s willingness to yield to the transformative work of God in his life, his words and his actions would never be the same. He would be forever marked by an experience with the awesome power of an awesome God.

Zechariah had a deep appreciation for his prison of silence because it taught him to praise in ALL things. He understood like never before the power of his words. He learned to worship God no matter what the situation may be.

From prison to praise. From silence to worship. This story shows the greatness of our God!

This Christmas season, I would encourage you to practice praise. Learn to find words of worship.

No matter what circumstance you find yourself in, choose to thank God.

Characters at the Cradle: John the Baptist, His Name is John

by David Chadwick

The ultimate name of the Christmas story is born into a cradle. His name is Jesus. But there are many characters at the cradle who play significant roles in highlighting the Savior of the world. One, in particular, is the forerunner to the message of Jesus.

His name is John.

Luke 1:61-63 continues the story of John’s circumcision. Even though everyone thought this special baby would be named after his father, Gabriel instructed Zechariah to name him John. Because Zechariah was still mute, Elizabeth had just spoken up to tell everyone the name.

No one who gathered for this special event understood. They said, “None of your relatives is called by this name” (Luke 1:61). Thinking Elizabeth was wrong, they turned to Zechariah and started to make signs to him, asking him if this was what he really wanted. Why is this so important? Because making signs implied that Zechariah was not only mute, but also could have been deaf! We don’t know for sure, but he clearly needed a sign language of sorts to understand what they were saying.

Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” I would imagine this is probably how Zechariah mostly had communicated with Elizabeth and others during these long nine months.

After hearing from Zechariah himself, the people all wondered, “Why? How?” This suggests that they didn’t know what had happened in the temple with the angel Gabriel. It was apparently a secret between Zechariah and Elizabeth. What a beautiful nod to the sacredness of marriage. Sometimes there are secrets that only a husband and wife hold dear to their hearts.

Can you imagine how Zechariah and Elizabeth communicated their hearts and expressed their faith to one another during those quiet nine months together? Maybe a longing look? A squeezed hand? A silent prayer together? They were one flesh, clinging to the goodness of God and claiming his promises together. A special love language was most assuredly forged between them! A language that most assuredly was imprinted on the heart of John even while growing in the womb

You’ll have to join me tomorrow to see what happens next.