Luke 1:57-80
57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy. 59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.” 62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a horn[a] of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— 72 to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace. 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
Do you ever feel like you just don’t “Get it?” You know, really understanding the significance of Christmas. You are in good company because at one point, even Zechariah (John the Baptist’s dad) didn’t ‘get it’. Gabriel the Angel told him that he would have a son, and that he was to name him ‘John’ (Luke 1:5-23). Even with an Angel standing in front of him, he didn’t ‘get it’. We may think badly of him, but how many of us read the Bible (God’s written Word to us) and still doubt? God’s Word is as reliable as if delivered to us by Gabriel himself, yet we sometimes doubt that it really applies to us. Doubting God has consequences (like Zechariah’s inability to speak for 9 months), but as a Good Father, God gives us another chance to ‘get it’. When we do understand what He is asking us to do, and do it, God forgives our doubt and fills our hearts with joy. Finally Zechariah ‘got it’ and God’s joy and purpose flowed through him like a river! His first words were, “Praise be to the Lord…” God, please help us to ‘get it’ this year. Help us to understand the significance of your love- that you loved us so much you gave your only son that if we would believe in Him, we won’t now perish- but have everlasting life!!! Get it?
