Monday, June 15, 2009

#4 Chapter 1:57-80 John the Baptist is born!


Read Chapter 1:57-80..then come back..

So finally John has been born and they are about to dedicate him. This would probably have been something like when we dedicate our children or have them christened. All their friends and family would have gathered around...

Zacharias was a Priest, so you can be sure some pretty important folks were there. And apparently it was customary that sons were named after their fathers, so as they were about to name the baby after Zacharias...Elizabeth speaks up and says No way!

Let's not forget that Zacharias has been mute during the whole pregnancy, so he grabs something and writes "His name will be John"!! and by doing so unlocked the punishment that had been put on his tongue...the lock on his mouth was off now...His faith in the promise had unlocked it.

Just a little tidbit of information;..the name John means the Lord is gracious. And unlike other children God Himself named John..had given him that name on purpose.

Zacharias is finally released from the punishment for his doubt and unbelief..and it freaked the people out, they all knew the story of how old Zacharias had come out of the temple 9 or so months ago not being able to speak...So now that he could talk all of a sudden, they all realized that there must be something pretty special about this baby John and the gossip started...

So now that Zacharias can speak again, the first thing he does is start praising God! He was finally realizing the full impact of what this child, his son John was destined to do, and that John would be instrumental in getting the world ready for the Messiah.
Like Elizabeth the Holy Spirit came upon him and he began prophesying that the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings...the promised Messiah was finally coming.

According to the angel Gabriel's message earlier John must be sanctified and set apart from society so when he was old enough to leave his mother he was sent to the desert to live apart from the world so he wouldn't or couldn't be influenced by it.

He would need to be completely dedicated to the role he had in preparing the path for Jesus. It might have been something like living in a monastery in today's world. Away from anything worldly including the religious leaders and politicians of that day.

And apparently it worked because John would come later not caring about what anybody thought of him and preaching boldly against sin! Thus preparing the way for Jesus and His message of the Kingdom of God and the righteous life he would teach about.

I'm obviously not called to do anything as enormous as John was, but God still tells me even though I live in this world I am not to be like this world. That Iam not to participate in what God says is sin. That even when the world around me rejects Gods call to righteousness, I must be like John who calls sin a sin...

Instead I'm to be set apart for God's use and to tell others about my wonderful Jesus who has come to save us from our sin.

Maybe all christians should be like John?..Telling about and preparing peoples heart to recieve the Messiah..my precious Jesus...

What did the story of John's birth teach you?

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