Luke 1:11–20, 63–65

Bible Studies for Life
Samford University and Brookwood Baptist Church, Mountain Brook

Redeemed from Crippling Doubt

Luke 1:11–20, 63–65

The announcement of John’s birth signaled a most miraculous event for his parents. Like Sarah in the Old Testament, Elizabeth was beyond the age of child bearing. Like Isaac and Hannah, Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for a child. Even their names are appropriate for this occasion of wonder: Zechariah means “God has remembered” and Elizabeth means “My God’s oath.”

God’s Word is sure. (11–17)

After assuring Zechariah that he need not be afraid, the angel tells Zechariah that his prayer had been heard. Soon it will be clear that not only will God give the aging couple a son, but their child will be the forerunner of the Messiah as well. Zechariah is told that he will name the child “John,” which means “Yahweh has shown favor.” Ordinarily, giving a name was the father’s duty. When God took over this task, it was a sign that He was making the child His responsibility.

The second angel goes on to announce the joy and gladness that will accompany not only the birth of John but also the coming of the Messiah to Israel. Throughout Luke’s gospel, joy is the spontaneous response of God’s people to His acts of wonder and grace. The shepherds are told “good news of great joy.” In the middle of Luke, the three lost-found parables (lost sheep, lost coin, lost son) culminate in joy over the finding of the lost one. And at the end of Luke, the disciples return to Jerusalem “with great joy” over witnessing the risen Christ.

Doubting God’s Word hinders our walk and service for Him. (18–20)

The incredulity of the angel’s message is lost neither on Zechariah nor on the reader. Zechariah’s response is a similar quote of Genesis 15:8: “How will I know that this is so?” The allusion to Abraham carries a clear implication: A new child of the covenant is about to be born and God is acting in a mighty way, just as in the days of the great patriarch.  

The angel returns Zechariah’s emphatic “I am old” with an equally emphatic “I am Gabriel.” The previously anonymous angel now issues his name and with it his credentials. He is Gabriel, known to us from Daniel 8–9 as trusted by God to reveal divine mysteries. The angel identifies himself as one who stands in the very presence of God. What is more, he has been sent by God to deliver this message. Gabriel’s words, hard as they are to comprehend, need to be accepted.

Obedience to God’s Word leads to joy and praise. (63–65)

After nine months of being deaf and mute, Zechariah wrote on the tablet, “His name is John.” The name was common in New Testament times. The neighbors’ surprise to this choice was because of pious parents choosing a name that was unknown to Zechariah’s family. 

Once again it was God who named the infant, not the earthly father as was custom. Immediately after making this declaration, Zechariah’s tongue is loosed. Struck dumb because he doubted, now he speaks clearly. As soon as he obeyed God’s instructions in naming the child, he was healed. With that he burst into his marvelous hymn of praise to the Messiah, whose coming would be announced by his son, John.

Fear is a characteristic reaction to miraculous occurrences in Luke and in Acts, and this is the response now of “all their neighbors.” John has not yet appeared on the public scene in Israel, but the widespread effect of his ministry is already anticipated by that public.