Origin of Christmas: Birth of John the Baptist

The birth of John the Baptist fulfills the prophecy given to Zacharias from the angel Gabriel in Luke 1: 57-66. It is a simple narrative describing John’s birth, his naming, and the miraculous healing of Zacharias. It also describes the people’s response to those events and how God works in the lives of Elizabeth, Zacharias, and John the Baptist.

The core message in the birth of John the Baptist is about who God is and His plan for salvation.

God’s Promises are True

God is faithful to fulfill his promises. Everything happened according to what the angel Gabriel said to Zacharias in Luke 1:13-20. He showed favor, mercy, and goodness to the undeserving, answering Zacharias and Elizabeth’s prayers for a child. Not only are they given a son, but the child will be great, a prophet, and a forerunner to the Messiah.

In Luke 1:20, Zacharias becomes silent and cannot speak because of his unbelief in the angel Gabriel’s message. It is a temporary event and when all things are fulfilled, Zacharias will gain his speech back. In Luke 1:64, Zacharias does regain his speech at the time when all the events that the angel relayed had come to pass. God fulfills his promises and what He says, He will hold true to them.

God’s Purpose is Gracious

The birth of John is one of the events that will usher in the Messiah’s entrance to the world. It is through the Messiah that Israel and believers will be saved from sin. Though the salvation story, God’s grace will be on display.

On the 8th day, it is Jewish custom to circumcise the boy according to Genesis 17:10-14 and Leviticus 12:3. It was necessary for health reasons, for national identification, and as a spiritual reminder of the need for salvation from sin. Usually, there were about 10 witnesses needed for the circumcision. On the same day, the people wanted to name the child after Zacharias. Although it wasn’t a Jewish custom to have a naming at the same time of the circumcision, it might have been similar to the Greek or Roman tradition. Sometimes, the naming of the child was a group decision, like in Ruth 4:17, but Elizabeth and Zacharias had already chosen the name of child.

“John is his name.” That was what Elizabeth declared and Zacharias wrote on a tablet. The name means “God is gracious.” Even though it was not a name familiar in the family, it was chosen by God, relayed through the angel Gabriel, and confirmed by the parents. By naming the child John, God displays His gracious nature, being kind to the parents and also preparing the way for the Messiah.

God’s Power is Awesome

Immediately after Zacharias acknowledges the naming of John, he regains his senses back. It  is a miracle to all those present since they did not know if Zacharias would ever gain his ability to speak again. But once Zacharias opens his mouth, he starts praising God.

God has the power to allow an elderly couple to conceive and give birth to a son. God has the power to open and close the mouth of Zecharias. God has the power to provide a forerunner and a Messiah to the people of Israel. God demonstrates His power after 400-500 years of silence.

The people who witnessed these events were in awe and fear of God. They were amazed by the miracles and they spread the news to everyone in the hill country of Judea. They understood that John will be a prophet, the forerunner to the Messiah. They wondered when the Messiah will come and be announced to the world. If God has allowed such wonders to happen, what can they expect in the future?

Through the birth of John the Baptist, the people in Judea understood that God is among them once again and John will be a great man, a prophet, and the forerunner to the Messiah.

Original Source: John MacArthur Grace to You Sermon April 11, 1999

Origin of Christmas: John the Baptist’s Birth Foretold

Jesus’ birth was miraculous, but he was not the only miracle. Before Jesus, there was John the Baptist and his birth was also miraculous, but in a different way. In Luke 1:5-25, it records the events in which John the Baptist came to be to fulfill the prophecy in Malachi 3:1. There is to a be a forerunner, a prophet, to call people to repentance and point the way to the Messiah. John the Baptist is the forerunner who points to Jesus as the long awaited Messiah.

In the days of Herod, there was an elderly couple, Zacharias and Elizabeth, who was childless. They were righteous in the eyes of God, but perhaps not as much by the people around them. In Jewish culture, not having children meant that they are being punished by God or that they have some sin in their life. They were both of the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe. Zacharias was a priest and he was chosen to burn incense in the temple, a high honor, in which he was chosen to do once in his life. There, he encounters an angel who tells him that his petition is granted and his wife will bear him a son named John. 

John will be the forerunner to the Messiah:

• He will be great in the sight of God
• He will not drink wine or liquor
• He will be filled with the Holy Spirit
• He will turn people back to God, call for repentance
• He will be a prophet in the spirit and power of Elijah
• He will prepare the way for the Messiah

Zecharias does not believe the angel and is made deaf and mute until the birth of John. The people outside the temple was wondering what the delay was in Zecharias’ return from the temple and when they saw him, they realized that he must have seen a vision. He continued his priestly duties until it was finished and went home.

Soon afterwards, Elizabeth became pregnant and hid herself for five months. Instead of telling people that she was pregnant, she kept it hidden until she could no longer hide her pregnancy. It would be proof of the miracle of John’s birth and she would not be ridiculed by unbelief for saying she is pregnant in her advanced years.

It is interesting to note that Zecharias means “God remembers,” Elizabeth means “my God is faithful” and John means “God is gracious.” Those names reflect that God hears all your prayers and petitions and when the time is right, He will fulfill them according His purpose. John, before he was born, was chosen to be the forerunner for the Messiah, Jesus. In a way, it describes divine election, where God choses someone to gain salvation and to follow in His ways. After 400 years of prophetic silence from the end of Malachi in the Old Testament, God chooses to break the silence through Zecharias and Elizabeth. They will be the parents to John the Baptist, the greatest man who ever lived to be a witness and forerunner of the Messiah.

Original Source: John MacArthur Grace to You Sermon December 1998 Part 1, 2, 3, 4