What do the Neighbors See?

Welcome back to our Christmas series entitled “Two Miraculous Births.” If you missed the first two weeks of our study, you may be wondering why in the world I’ve chosen that title. I mean who calls a Christmas series “two miraculous births.” Well, the answer is simple: I chose the title “Two Miraculous Births” because that is how the Gospel of Luke presents the coming of Christ. Luke doesn’t begin with shepherds in the fields or wise men following a star. He begins with two birth announcements, and he places them side-by-side for us to compare.

So, the first miraculous birth that is announced in Luke’s gospel is John the Baptist. And as we all know John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Messiah. John’s ministry was to go before the Lord Jesus Christ "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). In fact, listen to the prophecy spoken by John’s father Zacharias at his birth.

Luke 1:76 NKJV

76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,

And as an interesting side note Jesus is the only religious figure who had a person come before Him to prepare HIs way.

As we study Luke’s account of the “Christmas story” it starts with the birth annoucement of John first and then Luke moves on to the birth announcement of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as I mentioned previously, Luke does so in a way that highlights some interesting parallels between these two miraculous events. Here is a slide we covered last week that highlights a few of the similarities.

1.   We have the parents introduced (vv. 5-7, 26-27)

2. Births announced by Gabriel (vv. 8-23, 28-30)

3. A Sign was Given (vv. 18-20, 34-38)

4. Two Miraculous conceptions (vv. 24-25, 42)

•     John was born to a barren woman well past the age of being able to have a baby naturally

•     Jesus as we know was born of a virgin

In the first two weeks of our series this is what we have covered. We were introduced to the parents of John and Jesus. We saw the angel Gabriel announce both births to the parents. And finally, each parent was given a sign to prove that Gabriel was speaking the truth.

And now that we have covered the events leading up to the births, it is time to tackle the births themselves. And today we will be studying the birth of John the Baptist, and then we will spend our final two meetings of this year studying the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ok , since we are studying John’s birth this morning let’s do a quick recap of what’s happened leading up to this. We met John’s parents Zacharias and Elizabeth, and the Bible describes them as obedient servants of the Lord who were well advanced in years. In other words, they were too old to have children naturally. We also found out that John’s father, Zacharias was a priest. Well, while Zacharias is serving in the temple the angel Gabriel appeared to Him to announce that he was going to have a son and that the son’s name was going to be John.

However, when Gabriel tells Zacharias that his wife will bear him a son, he doesn’t believe Him. Zacharias doesn’t believe it and so he asks for a sign to prove it. In fact, let’s read a couple of these verses to refresh our memory.

Luke 1:18 NKJV

18 And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

You see, Zacharias looks at His circumstances. He looks at his age and his wife’s age, and thinks it is impossible. So, he asks the angel Gabriel for a miraculous sign to prove it to him. And listen to Gabriel’s response.

Luke 1:19–20 NKJV

19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

Gabriel does give Zacharias a sign, but the sign is also a judgement against him due to his unbelief. Gabriel says, “you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place”.

Here is what we need to know as we get ready get to study our text for today.

1. The angel Gabriel told Zacharias that the child was to be named John. This is going to be an important detail in this mornings scripture.

2. Since his encounter with Gabriel, Zacharias has been unable to speak.

So, as we get ready to study John’s birth this morning remember his father Zacharias has been unable to speak for the entire pregnancy. But here is another interesting detail. I don’t think Zacharias could hear anything during this time period either, and there is a detail in the text that hints at this, which I will point out when we get there.

Ok, not that we’ve done the hard work of studying the context of the passage. Let’s now shift our attention to this morning’s scripture. But before we do, let’s do what we should always do before we study the word of God, let’s go to the Lord in prayer. Let’s pray.

Let’s begin with our first two verses.

Luke 1:57–58 NKJV

57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

As we begin our study this morning of John’s birth, pay careful attention to verse 58. It says, “when her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. Now, of course anytime the Lord blesses a couple with a child it is an act of God’s mercy toward. But remember this is no ordinary pregnancy.

We learned last week that Elizabeth had lived in a state of reproach among the people. What does that mean? In that culture, not being able to have children was considered a shameful condition. These same neighbors and relatives who are now rejoicing with her had likely whispered behind her back, wondering what sin she had committed that God would not allow her to bear children.

You see, the world around her interpreted her barrenness as God’s displeasure or judgment. And Elizabeth carried that cloud of shame for decades. Remember, she is an old woman now. How old? I’m not sure, but based on Zacharias not believing an angel speaking to him, makes me think they were well past any possibility of having children. Think about that for a second. An angel appears to Zacharias out of thin air and he won’t believe him without a sign. This leads me to believe this was a mighty miracle. This leads me to believe that this couple is probably well into their sixties when Elizabeth gets pregnant.

And here is something else we should consider. We’ve all heard the phrase, “heard it through the grapevine”. Can you imagine what these friends and neighbors were saying through this grapevine during Elizabeth’s pregnancy?

“Hey Sally, you are never going to believe this. I stopped Elizabeth’s place the other day and she is pregnant.” Then Sally responds, “pregnant? pregnant that impossible Elizabeth has got to be sixty years old.” Then the neighbor responds, “sixty, I was thinking closer to seventy. And I know how crazy this sounds but it is true I touched her belly and even felt the baby kick”.

And then she continues on. “But that’s not all Sally. Listen to this. Right before she got pregnant her husband Zacharias was serving in the temple and he must have had some kind of vision from God because when he came out of the temple after offering incense, he couldn’t speak a word. But only only that He hasn’t spoken ever since.

“Wow. That’s incredible”, Sally exclaims.

Now of course, I completely made this conversation up, but it is not a stretch to think that people all over this little Judean village were having conversations just like this. And I don’t think it is a stretch to say this was the biggest event that had ever happened in their community. This whole area would have been buzzing with the news that Elizabeth, who had been barren for all those years was pregnant.

And this brings me to my first point in today’s lesson.

If you have a Christ centered home, sooner or later, God will magnify His mercy in your home and your neighbors will see it.

Here is one thing we all know about this life. There are trials. There are troubles. There are moments of anxiety and concern. There are times when we suffer and there are times when we mourn. But here is the good news about going through these tough times. All of these experiences are opportunities for God to magnify HIs mercy in our homes so that our friends, neighbors, and relatives can see it.

Don’t you see that is what is happening here with Elizabeth and Zacharias. Look back at verse 58.

Luke 1:58 NKJV

58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

You see, all the people in Elizabeth’s social circle are impacted by this. They had seen this elderly priestly couple serve God year after year, and they surely knew of Elizabeth’s barren condition. You see, the neighbors and relatives had watched Elizabeth and Zacharias in the barren years, and now they get to witness a miracle and rejoice at the great mercy of God.

Legacy, here is one thing I know for certain: the world is watching how we live. Just as the people of Judea had been watching Elizabeth and Zacharias, so our neighbors and community are watching us.

When we live obedient, humble lives before the Lord… When we remain faithful in the tough times… When we keep serving through trials… And when we lift our praise to God in the middle of the storm…

It sets the stage for God to be glorified. It prepares the way for those incredible moments when the Lord magnifies His mercy in our lives for all the world to see.

All of those years of Elizabeth’s barrenness—all the pain, all the sorrow—became the backdrop for displaying the Lord’s great mercy. The neighbors had watched her suffer, but because this couple remained obedient through the pain, now they would witness the mercy of God on full display.

And this brings me to the title of today’s lesson.

What do the Neighbors see?

Church this is the question that I want you to carry with you as you leave this morning. I want everyone to realize that people are watching our story. I want us to realize that “our neighbors” are watching our families, and they are watching the way that we live.

So, I’m point blank asking you? What do the neighbors see? Do they see humble obedient servants of the Lord Jesus Christ? Do they see Christians who continue to praise God in the middle of the storm? Do they see a Christ centered family who has joy in the midst of suffering? Do they see people on fire for the Lord who put the needs of their brothers before their own?

Are you setting the stage for the great mercy of almighty God to be displayed in your story?

We need our neighbors to see passionate believers who live their lives like the mission matters. They need to see something authentic and something so other wordly that is causes them to wonder who is this Jesus Christ that got a hold of this family. They need to see faithful servants like Elizabeth and Zacharias who lived obediently before the Lord even when life didn’t turn out the way they hoped it would. Our neighbors need to see disciples putting all their focus on the return of the King. Amen

Ok, let me get back to the text or I’m not going to have time to finish, and this account of John’s birth has some more surprises.

You see, the pregnancy is not the only miracles these relatives and neighbors would get to witness. Let’s read on.

Luke 1:59–60 NKJV

59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”

Now this next scene is quite interesting. Notice verse 58 says, “that they came to circumcise the child”. Well, who is the they? The “they” would be the neighbors and relatives that were mentioned in the previous verse. And you know what. I bet this was probably the biggest circumcision event that ever occured in this small Judean village.

Remember this story would have traveled through the grapevine of the Judean countryside. I bet people came out of the woodwork to see Elizabeth’s miracle baby. I mean this was probably something they want to tell their children about. “Yes, we were there. She want Elizabeth’s baby and yes she really did give birth in her sixties.

And so, this crowd comes to the circumcision and it seems they’ve come up with a name for the baby. Notice what the second part of the verse says, “and they would have called him by the name of his father Zacharias”.

Apparently the neighbors just assume that the baby would have the father’s name, but Elizabeth is quick to correct them and tell them, “No; he shall be called John”. And listen to how they respond.

Luke 1:61–62 NKJV

61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.

Man. Talk about a pushy crowd. The neighbors and relatives won’t take the mother’s word for it. They say, “Elizabeth, that’s just silly. John? You don’t have a single relative on either side of your families named John”. And they are so convinced that the name shouldn’t be John, that they turn to the father Zacharias for the final ruling. And notice what verse 62 says. “So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.”

Did you catch that little detail? It says they made signs to Zacharias. Why would they make signs to Zacharias if he could hear? You see, this is why I think that not only could Zacharias not speak, but apparently Zacharias couldn’t hear either.

But before we move on in Luke’s account. I want to stop and make a point here.

Do not be surprised when obedience to the Lord brings resistance from the world. You see, when we are living obedient Christian lives this will put us at odds with the world, and situations just like this are going to come up.

Let me give you a personal example from my own life. When I first started teaching a Sunday School class I would study for hours on end. I treated it like a second job, and my wife Erin got pulled into it too. I would make her listen to my lessons every Saturday night, and I would hammer her with different discussion questions. And if I didn’t like the way the lesson went, I would go make changes, and then I’d make Erin sit through it again. And during this time I would get advice from my neighbors and relatives kind of like what Zacharias and Elizabeth were getting here. It was like “William you’re putting too much work on yourself. That’s crazy to spend that much time on a Sunday School lesson”. Or it was, “William you need to find someone to help you with the class. Let some other men step up and help you”.

You see, to the people around me what I was doing seemed crazy. Just like naming this baby John seemed crazy to the world around Elizabeth and Zacharias.

Here is my point.

Don’t let the world steer you off course

And do not be surprised by the resistance the world throws at you when you start living godly lives. I assure you, this is going to happen. You see, the world makes you comprise your obedience to God a little bit at a time. It doesn’t all happen at once. It happens little by little with experiences just like Zacharias and Elizabeth are having right here. It a constant pull in the wrong direction. It’s the “you’re too busy to read the Bible today, just do it tomorrow”. Or, its “the your family needs to rest don’t worry about church today”. And this is what causes us to veer of course until suddenly we wake up in the spiritual far country with our lives looking just like the world around us. Listen to me this is what the world is designed to do. It is designed to pull you away from God.

Remember, we have three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. And the enemy works through the world in situations just like we see in today’s passage. It seems innocent, but it’s not. “Oh, you don’t need to name that baby John, name Him Zacharias like his father.” By the world’s standard it makes total sense. But listening to the neighbors here would have been a grievous sin. The name John was given to the parents by the angel Gabriel, and the meaning of the name holds great significance.

The name John means “Yahweh is gracious” or the “Lord has shown favor”. You see, this meaning isn’t accidental. It is a theological statement wrapped in a name. Let me give you a couple of points explaining the name “Yahweh is gracious”.

John’s birth itself was an act of grace to a elderly, barren couple.

John’s ministry was announcing the arrival of the Messiah. Jesus the one who is full of grace and truth. Sending Jesus is the ultimate act of God’s grace.

John’s name was decided before the earth was set on its foundation, but to the world naming this baby John was foolishness. Church, do not listen to the world’s advice, because it will steer you off course. This entire world system is designed to pull you away from God.

Ok, let’s keep moving. So we have the relatives and neighbors appealing to Zacharias that they shouldn’t name the baby John.

Luke 1:62 NKJV

62 So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.

I think they are making signs because Zacharias can’t hear, and look how he responds.

Luke 1:63 NKJV

63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled.

Now, remember at my core I’m a Sunday school teacher so I love bringing out the details. Let’s talk about the “writing tablet”. Apparently, in these days a writing tablet would have been some type of board covered with wax, and a person would use some tool to make impressions into the wax. It makes me think it was kind of like an ancient etch-a-sketch. You would write on it and then remold the wax to get a blank slate again. And notice John doesn’t mince words. All he writes is, “his name is John”.

This is what uncompromising obedience looks like. The world around them is trying to steer them of course, and Zacharias no. His name is John, and it says they marveled. Simply put, these people are blown away that they have chosen a name that has nothing to do with their family heritage.

And we can understand this. I think most of us in here name at least one of our children using some kind of family name. And there is special about having a son take your name or taking the name of a relative. It carries on those who have come before us, right.

And believe me I understand this first hand. I am the 4th William Hathcock in my family, and believe me when I tell you I felt a lot of pressure to have a son and name him William Caldwell Hathcock V. And I will never forget how ecstatic I was when I found out Erin and I were having a boy that would carry on the family name. Liam’s name by the way is William. Liam is short for William in Ireland. Liam is simply the second half of William. Which i didn’t know before we had Liam.

In any event. you get the point. Family names are important, and when Zacharias says His name is John the neighbors are astonished. They are blown away that can’t understand not using a family name to give to this miracle baby.

But Elizabeth and Zacharias are obedient servants of the Lord, and there is no way they are going to comprise on this, even if by the world’s standards it seemed like the insane. Again, do not be surprised by the resistance the world throws at you when you start living godly lives. It is going to happen.

And so, as I start working to close here. Let me tell you what the whole point of the passage is. This whole passage highlights the obedience of Zacharias and Elizabeth. But its more than that, this passage is really about the impact that this godly couple’s obedience has on the neighbors. And this becomes especially evident as we finish up our text.

Zacharias has just written down that his name is John and the neighbors marveled. Now moving on to verse 64.

Luke 1:64–65 NKJV

64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea.

After Zacharias’ act of obedience in declaring the name of the child another miracle occurs. It says, “his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke praising God.” And look at the impact it had on all of those around them.

Verse 65 says, “fear came on all who dwelt around them”. The word fear here means something like reverence or awe. It is a feeling “of profound respect for someone or something, often a deity”. These people were in awe of what they had just witnessed. And it says, “all these saying were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea”.

Legacy, this is the impact of being obedient to God, even when it seems crazy to every one around us. It creates the opportunity for the grace and mercy of God to be displayed through us. Look at what Elizabeth and Zacharias’ neighbors witnessed through their obedience. They witnessed the miracle of God’s mercy and grace and its impacts reached throughout the hill country of Judea.

So let me ask the question again.

What do the Neighbors see?

What do your neighbors see? What do the people on Facebook see? What do your relatives see? And most importantly what do you children see? Do you children see humble obedient servants of the Lord Jesus Christ? Do they see a couple like Zacharias and Elizabeth who are fully yielded to the will of God? Or do they see a couple who lives just like the world. Because believe me when I tell you, you children are watching and what is important to you, will become important to them.

Church the world is watching, what do they see?

Final verse and we are finished. We just read that everything that had happened spread throughout the hill country of Judea, and verse 66 says.

Luke 1:66 NKJV

66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

I can’t emphasis enough the impact that this couple had on their neighbors. I bet these same neighbors or these neighbors children were the very ones flocking to John in the wilderness and turning from their sins in preparation for the coming Messiah. This elderly, priestly couples obedience laid the groundwork for the greatest of the OT prophets. Just like your obedience today is laying the ground work for your children’s ministry work. Just like your obedience is impacting the world around you. Your neighbors are watching. What… Do… They… See…

Let’s pray.