The time came for Elisabeth to be delivered of her child (Luke 1:57). When the child was born, the neighbors and kinsfolk heard about this great event in the lives of this old couple. The report went out to them "that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her," and they all, being fully surrendered to the will of God, rejoiced with her. The birth of John the Baptist was the occasion of great rejoicing, for he was, in a way, a child of promise, who was destined to be the herald of the Messiah's coming.

When the child was eight years old, the rite of circumcision was observed. This national rite was given to Abraham, to be passed on to his descendents, as one of the national marks of Israel because of her special relationship to Jehovah, the God of Israel.

The spiritual significance of this rite is that it signified the circumcision of the heart; "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked" (Deut. 10:16). Though it is an injunction for Israel to circumcise the foreskin of the heart, it is seen, by comparing other passages of Scripture with this one, that this rite signified the putting to death and the laying aside of the old nature by one's being born again by the Spirit of God and being infilled with the Spirit, thus being empowered to do the will of God from the heart.

At the rite of the circumcision of John, the people present wanted to name him Zacharias, after his father. This was a normal thing which they wished done. Elisabeth, however, protested saying, "Not so; but he shall he called John." The meaning of the word, John, in the Hebrew is "To whom Jehovah is gracious," or, "Whom Jehovah has graciously given." Both of these meanings are applicable in the case of John the Baptist. God was especially gracious to John; and in giving him to Zacharias and Elisabeth in their old age, God was indeed gracious. But the kinsfolk retorted that none of the relatives were called by that name. And so, turning from her, they made signs to Zacharias as to what his wishes were in regard to naming the child. He then asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." His statement was clear and emphatic, because he knew what the will of God was concerning the child; and he knew also the conditions under which God had graciously given him to them.

Zacharias was so very emphatic in his written assertion that all observing it were amazed and marveled. As soon as he took his definite stand on this point, his mouth was opened immediately and his tongue loosed, so that he spoke and blessed God. "We have already seen how his tongue was tied by a miraculous act of God because he doubted the message of the angel who announced the birth of John. The people knew that Zacharias had been unable to speak for nine months, and when they heard him blessing God for His gracious dealings toward them, all feared and began to noise abroad the events connected with the birth of John the Baptist. Moreover, the people had heard these strange thing's, and "laid them up in their heart, saying, What then shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him."

In verses 67-79 we have the Benedictus, the prophecy which Zacharias, by the Spirit of God, uttered on this occasion. In verse 67 emphasis is laid upon the fact that Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit. He had yielded his life, laid aside his unbelief, and had accepted unqualifiedly the will of God for his life. The Holy Spirit therefore had an opportunity of coming into the heart that he had already yielded to Him. Thus Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. His being filled with the Spirit reminds one of Stephen, one of the deacons of the church of Jerusalem (Acts, chap, 6). Stephen was a man "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit." Being of this character and being endowed thus with the Holy Spirit, Stephen proclaimed the gospel with power, such as few men have ever proclaimed it.

Under the influence of the Spirit of God Zacharias blessed the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, "For he hath visited and wrought redemption, for his people. And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old)."

God is the one who blesses. A man cannot, in the technical sense, bless God, but he can bless God in the sense of pronouncing and proclaiming to the world that the name of God is blessed, and that He is the one who alone can bless. In so doing, he can magnify and glorify the name of the Lord. This is what Zacharias and hundreds of others of the saints of God have done and are doing today--blessing God in pronouncing Him the Blessed and Holy One, in whom we live and move and have our existence and life. The Almighty is called the God of Israel. The Angel of Jehovah, who was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ in the prenatal state, wrestled with Jacob at the ford of the Jabbok. The wrestling match continued all night long. At the breaking of day the angel asked Jacob to let him go. Jacob refused, saying, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me" (Gen. 32:26). The Lord changed Jacob's name to Israel, which means, He who striveth with God, or God striveth. As a prince of God Jacob had conquered. God, having revealed Himself in a special manner to Jacob, was pleased to call Himself "The God of Jacob," or, "the God of Israel." At Mount Sinai God revealed Himself in a new way to the children of Israel as Jehovah, the Uncaused Cause of all things, or, He who causes all things to come into existence. This latter name is His memorial name.

Zacharias blessed the name of God because he saw in the birth of John the Baptist evidence that God would visit His people and redeem them from all of their troubles. Zacharias' faith was so very strong that he took the promises of God and thought of them and treated them as an accomplished fact. Hence he said, "God hath visited and wrought redemption for his people."

God visits and works redemption for His people in that He "hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David." Here again Zacharias' faith was strong, and he visualized the promise that God would send the Redeemer, the "horn of salvation," out of the house of His servant David. The Messiah was to come of the tribe of Judah and of the family of Jesse, the house of David. Thus Zacharias sees in the Messiah and His coming the fulfillment of the messages of the prophets that had been from of old. Beginning with Genesis 3:15, we can trace the promises concerning the coming of the world's Redeemer. Each of the prophets added some new feature, as a rule, to the picture which was presented by his predecessor. Thus as the centuries rolled by, the picture of the future coming of the Messiah was being completed on the prophetic screen.

The salvation which the Messiah would accomplish is deliverance "from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us." The enemies of this passage are the people and nations that hate the Jews. In fact, all nations have a natural antipathy toward the Hebrew people. Possibly some of the hatred can be traced to a spirit of jealousy because of the fact that the Jews as a rule, excel the Gentiles in all the arts and sciences. Their contribution to the world far exceeds their quota, proportionately speaking. Jealousy is a venomous thing, and it is cruel. It is also possible that some of this anti-Semitism is due to some of the faults and failures of the Jewish people themselves. Thus they bring it upon themselves. Regardless of the cause of the feeling of anti-Semitism, when the Messiah comes He will deliver His beloved people from all of their enemies and from all who hate them.

He is going to do this, said Zacharias in order "To show mercy towards our fathers. And to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father, To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear" (vss. 72-74). Abraham was the great progenitor of the Jewish race. He was a friend of God, as is declared three times in the Book of Genesis. The Lord promised to show mercy to the fathers of the chosen race, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He entered into a covenant with Abraham (Gen, chap. 12). God never goes back upon any of His promises but will redeem every single one which He has ever made.

The Lord, remembering the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- and all the Jewish people -- does so in order, said Zacharias, that He might grant unto the Jewish people "That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies should serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him all our days." When men are in fear and are driven from pillar to post, they cannot serve God, all thing's being equal, as well as they can when they are delivered from fear and anxiety and can enter wholeheartedly into His service. Israel will be delivered from all of her enemies in order that she might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness all of her days. Thus during the glorious reign of King Messiah, which time will extend over a period of a thousand years, Israel will serve God and worship Him in holiness and in truth. Jehovah, the Messiah, will reign in Jerusalem. He will lift the curse from the earth, establish a reign of righteousness and holiness, and then everything will be holiness unto the Lord -- especially in Jerusalem. This will be earth's golden era.

Having blessed God because of his unswerving faith that God would raise up the Messiah to fulfill all the promises made by God to Israel, Zacharias now speaks concerning the child, John the Baptist. His address to the child is found in verses 76-79. By inspiration Zacharias declares that his child shall be "called the prophet of the Most High." John was a preacher of righteousness who never minced matters. He stated facts, he reproved sins, and he condemned sinners for their wickedness. He did not hesitate to condemn Herod the Tetrarch for taking his brother's wife as his own.

John was a prophet, a spokesman for God. A prophet simply speaks for God. Sometimes his message pertains to the past; at other times, to the present; and on still other occasions, to the future. This is the broad; scriptural meaning of the use of the word prophecy. In modern times, however, we have narrowed largely the meaning of this important word to what we call predictive prophecy, that is, things pertaining to the future. But that is a mistake. John did prophesy; that is, he spoke of the past, the present, and the future. In doing this, he was speaking for the Lord.

Zacharias, by the Spirit, saw that his son John, would be the herald of King Messiah, "going before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways." Isaiah the prophet foretold that there would be a messenger that would herald the second glorious advent of the Messiah. Malachi was more specific in speaking of this herald of the second coming; he stated that the forerunner would be Elijah the prophet (Mal. 4:5-6). John the Baptist was to be the herald who would go before the face of Jesus at His first coming, to prepare the way for Him. The way in which he prepared for the coming of the Messiah was to make His paths straight by giving "knowledge of salvation unto his people in the remission of their sins." John preached the baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins (Luke 3:3). The people were commanded by him to repent of their sins and to confess them, placing their faith in the One who was coming after him, namely, Jesus, the Messiah and Saviour of the world. When the people had repented of their sins, confessing them as John commanded them to, they then submitted to the rite of baptism. In their thus accepting the Lord, the burden of sin was rolled from their hearts, and they knew that their sins were forgiven them. John explained carefully and clearly the matter of sin and how it could be removed from the soul.

There were those who believed his preaching and who genuinely, in the presence of God, repented of their sins and turned to the Messiah, looking to Him to perform the miracle of regeneration. When they did that, they had the knowledge within their very souls that their sins were forgiven, and that there had been wrought in their lives the miracle of regeneration.

Zacharias continued addressing the child and said that John would "give knowledge of salvation unto his people In the remission of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God." Salvation is a matter of the grace of God-- of His pure, sovereign grace. The supreme manifestation of God's graciousness is exemplified in the coming of "the dayspring from on high." The source of the day is the sun. When it comes above the horizon, it sheds light over all the earth. The spiritual "dayspring" is from on high and is none other than the Messiah, who comes as the Light of the world. He came to shine upon them that sat in darkness:

"The people that sat in darkness
Saw a great light,
And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death,
To them did light spring up"
(Matt 4:16).

He sought those who realized that they were sinners and who longed for salvation: "… I came," Jesus said, "not to call the righteous, but sinners." "For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). He came to find the lost "sheep," the lost "coin," and the lost boy (Luke, chap. 15). He guides us by His teaching and by His providence--guides us into the way of peace, "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding" (Phil. 4:7).

Thus we see that in Luke 1:76-79 Zacharias set forth the work of John the Baptist as the forerunner, or herald, of the coming of the Messiah.

"And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel" (Luke 1:80). John grew as any normal child grows. He waxed strong in spirit, living a rather abstemious, rustic life. His desert surroundings were such that they were favorable to his developing in a rugged, bold manner, which prepared him for his lifework. He was indeed a remarkable man, one of whom the world was not worthy. "Among them that are born of women," said Jesus, "there is none greater than John ..." (Luke 7:28). He accomplished his work, suffered imprisonment, and then finally, decapitation. We may be certain that there was a great welcome into glory for this most faithful of God's servants, when he departed this life!