July 30, 2025; Luke 1:57-80

Daily Dose of Hope

July 30, 2025

Scripture – Luke 1:57-80

Prayer:  Abba Father, You are the potter, we are the clay, and the work of Your hands. Mold us and fashion us into the image of Jesus, your Son. Father, may we be one in You as He is in You, and You are in Him. Glory and praise to you, forever and ever. Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we finish Luke 1. 

We finally read about the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and Elizabeth. You will remember the angel visiting Zechariah the priest in the temple from our reading two days ago.  Because of his disbelief, the angel takes away Zechariah’s ability to talk.  It isn’t until Zechariah and Elizabeth’s son is born and circumcised that he is able to speak again.  By this time, he’s had many months to ponder the words of the angel that visited him in the temple. 

I’ve often wondered if Zechariah and Elizabeth thought about how similar their situation was to Abraham and Sarah.  As good Jews, they would have known the story of Abraham well.  They would have known how God also promised a childless Abraham and Sarah a baby even though they were very well along in years.  They would know that despite Abraham and Sarah’s skepticism and their attempts to take matters into their own hands, God’s promise proved true.  Abraham and Sarah did in fact have a son, Isaac, and Abraham became the father of many nations.  I can’t help but think Zechariah would have thought about that during his many months without a voice.

And when his own son comes, they name him John just as the angel had told them to do.  And this was also unexpected.  Scripture says that, “On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.” They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”  The relatives and friends don’t believe that the child’s name should be John so they go to Zechariah next.  Still mute, he asks for a writing pad and clearly communicates that his child is to be named John. Keep in mind, in that culture, it would have been normal to name a son after his father, implying that the child would walk in the steps of his father, that he would carry of his father’s name, and his work as well.  If he had been named little Zechariah, it would have been expected that he grow up to be a priest like his dad.  But as we know, God had other plans for this child.

Of course, we know this child to be John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus.  And it took a while, but Zechariah is now filled with joy and hope, because he understands that with the birth of his son, God was fulfilling a promise he made a long, long time ago.  Not just for him and Elizabeth but for all people.  God is raising up a savior for his people just as the prophets had declared 700 years before, and Zechariah’s son John will go before this savior to prepare the way, to prepare the hearts of the people for the Savior of the world.  John will prepare the way for Jesus Christ.  Zechariah knows this and rejoices in it.  He says this in v. 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…

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki