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.