Advent Day 22: His Name is John

Luke 1:57-80

"Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

    for he has visited and redeemed his people 

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us

    in the house of his servant David,

as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 

that we should be saved from our enemies

    and from the hand of all who hate us; 
to show the mercy promised to our fathers

    and to remember his holy covenant, 
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 

    that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,

    in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

   in the forgiveness of their sins, 

because of the tender mercy of our God,

   whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel."

John the Baptist is not a central character to the Christmas story but he is an important character in the gospel story as a whole. His existence is the fulfillment of prophecies (see Isaiah 40:3) and he acts as an earthly herald of the coming of the Messiah (see John 1) . It was John's birth and ministry that prepared the people for the arrival of the person they had been waiting for for so long. Because of the miraculous situation surrounding his birth, everyone knew that John was extraordinary and sent by God. All of his neighbors wondered and spread the word about this special child "for the hand of the Lord was with him." Anticipation began to rise among the weary children of Israel who had been waiting for the fulfillment of this promise for so long. Jesus himself lays out just who John is Matthew 11:7-15 "As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: 'What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you." Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'" While John ministered and baptized in the wilderness everyone from common folk to the Pharisees went out to see him. Everyone wanted the hear the message of hope that John had.

The angels get all the credit for being heralds when God sent men as well to bring His message to His people. John does just this; first by preaching the need for repentance because of the nearness of the kingdom of heaven and later affirming the identity of Jesus. "The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the  sin of the world! This is he of whom I said "After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel..."'And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God" (Gospel of John 1:29-31 & 34). Elisabeth's relatives disagreed with her when she wanted to name her child John but she and Zechariah followed the instructions that God had given them. John means "God has been gracious" and indeed God was. Shortly after the birth of John the Baptist, the Christ child entered the world and God's grace in full was extended to the world.