JOHN! JOHN!
The birth of John the Baptist is described here. It is the arrival of the the Messiah's precursor, and the author wishes to tell us something important.
1. They shared her joy (57-58)
Here, the people express their joy, for the grace of God makes us forget the pains of life. This elderly couple had suffered long due to the lack of children. Sometimes we are compassionate and sometimes we accuse, but when blessing falls, everything is calmed and all bitterness wiped away. This is the power of God's grace. Every wall and barrier is demolished so that men can have peace and perfect reconciliation. In the midst of others, a Christian's actions must always be motivated by grace. In this fallen world, all people are in a way similar in their misery. However, the people who now saw an elderly woman give birth to a son were now filled with joy and thankfulness, praising God who is merciful.
2. The time to name has come (59-66)
At last, it was time to name the child. Since the father was mute, people asked the mother first for the child's name. Despite her mute husband, she was already informed of God's will concerning this. Thus, Elizabeth says he is to be called John. It's possible this elderly woman had long since been ignored, even if she didn't worry about what others said. She was not stuck in tradition, but rather, she walked in personal faith in God. The world is not worthy of such a woman. ¨People brought the problem of naming before the husband, but there was already a kind of conspiracy going on between the couple, so it was a lost cause. During the time he was mute, Zecharaiah's faith matured. During that time, he learned to silence the negative voices in him and express only words of faith. Writing "John" on a tablet was an expression of his faith in God. It was also his decision to obey God's command to raise his son not as he liked, but according to God's absolute will to prepare the way for the Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment