John’s Birth

July 19, 2019

John’s Birth

Page 17-18

Luke 1:57-80; John 1:6-9

Zachariah makes a huge leap of faith in the naming of his son John. The cultural tradition called for him to extend his family name by giving his first born child his own name. This time, Zachariah didn’t balk at the leading of the Lord, but followed the instructions of the angel of the Lord.

Zachariah’s insight into the continuity of God working through his people can be an example and inspiration to all of the followers of Jesus: “He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant— the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham” (Luke 1:72-73). Regrettably, few people remember much past their own birth; few people can name the founders of their church. Zachariah interpreted God’s action in his son John, and in Jesus, as God’s faithfulness to His covenant promise to Abraham. Few Christians today think of God’s blessings for His church as examples of His faithfulness to the people He called to lead His church through uncertain times, such as St. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Billy Graham, or Mother Teresa.

In Zachariah’s world, the people of Israel had been run over by foreigners for hundreds of years. Oppression and brutality by invading forces had become their way of life. Most of Zachariah’s countrymen had hatred for both the foreigners and the leaders of their own country. John the Baptist was born into a culture of angry people. Even so, there were still sparks of an eternal hope within Elizabeth and Zachariah.

We too, in this present age, are living in a culture of angry people. The approval ratings of our national leaders reach new lows each week. In print and electronic mediums, we are bombarded with angry messages telling us what to think. In contrast to the present darkness of this age, Jesus calls his followers to also draw hope and strength from the faithfulness of God.

My Takeaway: As we choose to trust God with our present and our future, we can become counter-cultural and embrace Zachariah’s faith in the ultimate victory of God. Praise the Lord, the God of Hope.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2019 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.