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Texts -- Luke 1:57-66 (NET)

Context
The Birth of John
1:57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to have her baby , and she gave birth to a son . 1:58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her , and they rejoiced with her . 1:59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child , and they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father . 1:60 But his mother replied , “No ! He must be named John .” 1:61 They said to her , “But none of your relatives bears this name .” 1:62 So they made signs to the baby’s father , inquiring what he wanted to name his son . 1:63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote , “His name is John .” And they were all amazed . 1:64 Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue released, and he spoke , blessing God . 1:65 All their neighbors were filled with fear , and throughout the entire hill country of Judea all these things were talked about. 1:66 All who heard these things kept them in their hearts , saying , “What then will this child be ?” For the Lord’s hand was indeed with him .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Verse 13 is a key verse in the book because it records the fulfillment of Naomi and Ruth's plans to obtain rest (2:2; 3:1-5).82A son was indispensable to the continuation of the line of Boaz as well as that of Mahlon and Elim...
  • First and 2 Samuel are really one story. The translators divided them into two books for convenience, not because of subject matter.First Samuel records Israel's transition from amphictyony to monarchy.The key passage that ex...
  • I. Introduction 1:1-4II. The birth and childhood of Jesus 1:5-2:52A. The announcement of John the Baptist's birth 1:5-251. The introduction of John's parents 1:5-72. The angel's announcement to Zechariah 1:8-233. The pregnanc...
  • This section contains material unique in Luke. The only repeated statement occurs in Luke 2:39 and Matthew 2:23. Other unique features are Luke's alternating the reader's attention between John and Jesus, and the joy that sev...
  • As in the first part of this major section of the Gospel (1:5-56), Luke arranged his material in this one to compare and contrast John the Baptist and Jesus (1:57-2:52). In that section there was prediction, but in this one t...
  • 1:57-58 Luke passed over the birth of John quickly (cf. Gen. 25:24). It occasioned great joy for his parents and for all who knew them. Elizabeth's neighbors and relatives shared in the joy of John's birth as the shepherds di...
  • In narrating John's birth, Luke stressed his naming, but in his account of Jesus' birth, he concentrated on its setting.Luke's brief account of Jesus' birth emphasizes three things. He described the political situation to exp...
  • The record of this incident, similar as it is to the account of John's circumcision and naming (1:59-66), shows Jesus' identification with John specifically, and with humankind generally. Jesus' name was very significant, mea...
  • Jesus' obedience to His heavenly Father included obedience to His earthly parents (Exod. 20:12; cf. Col. 3:20). Luke balanced the former revelation of Jesus' deity with this indication of His humanity. His second reference to...
  • Why did Luke place his genealogy of Jesus at this point in his Gospel? Probably he did so because this was the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. Matthew recorded Jesus' genealogy to show that He had a legitimate right by b...
  • Luke's primary purpose for including this incident in his narrative seems to have been to show that God, through Jesus, can give insight to those who humbly call on Him for mercy. Here was another humble outcast similar to th...
  • Luke's account of the events following Jesus' resurrection stresses the reality of that event and the reactions of the witnesses to it. All these people felt depressed because of Jesus' death, but when they learned of His res...
  • Jesus' ascension was already in view in 9:51. There Luke presented it as the ultimate goal of Jesus' first advent ministry. Jesus' ascension would have happened even if the Jews had accepted Him as their Messiah. Prophecies o...
  • Alford, Henry. The Greek Testament. New ed. 4 vols. London: Rivingtons, 1880.Bailey, Kenneth E. Poet and Peasant: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977.Bishop...
  • John the Apostle introduced John the Baptist because John the Baptist bore witness to the light, namely Jesus. John the Baptist was both a model evangelist pointing those in darkness to the light and a model witness providing...
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