Luke 1:57-66

Luke chapter 1 verses 57 to 66. Now Elizabeth’s full-time came that she should be delivered, and she brought forth a son, and her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her, and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass, then on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so. He shall be called John. And they said under her, there is none of thy kindred that is called by this name, and they made signs to his father how he would have them had him, how he would have them would have him called, and he asked for a writing tablet, a table or tablet, and wrote saying, his name is John, and they marveled all, and his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake and praised God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about him. And all these sayings were noised abroad, throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all that, in all they heard that, and all they that heard them, laid them up in their hearts saying, what manner of child shall this be? And the hand of the Lord was with him. May God bless to us his sacred and holy word this morning. There was once a man. man of great financial status who visited Bishop Hall’s home. Bishop Hall’s had all his children lined up, according to their age, from the oldest to the youngest, ready to greet him, as he came in the door. And the man said the hall, these are they that make a rich man poor. And Bishop Hall replied and said, No. These are they which make a poor man rich. He said, I wouldn’t give one of them away for all the wealth that you have. Scripture has a completely different view of children than we find in our society today. You find in our text the account of the birth of John the Baptist. John would be a burning and shining light to the people of God. A prophet of the Lord, a forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Now, you’ll recall the character and the age in the circumstances of Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, as stated earlier in this chapter. They’re having a child in their old age, unusual circumstance. They’d not had any children whatsoever up to this point. But I’d like to draw some thoughts from this passage of Scripture about children this morning. Let me begin by saying this. You should acknowledge God’s good providence in the birth of your children. You’ll notice verses 57 and 58. Now, Elizabeth, full time came that she should be delivered, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her, and they rejoiced with her. Nine months have now passed, and we have reached the full term of her pregnancy, and she had, of course, miraculously conceived. John by God’s hand. And of course John is born here, but he’s born according the ordinary course of human beings. It all happened exactly as the angel had predicted, as every divine promise always does. For God is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent. All Elizabeth’s neighbors here and her cousins come to visit her with a rejoicing over the birth of John. The circumstances were uncommonly pleasing to them because Elizabeth has been barren for all these years and now she has a child. All of this is certainly the common reaction. When someone gives birth and they have a child, there’s a very happy occasion. People celebrate such an occasion. However, don’t miss the spirit of piety that we see revealed to us in this text of scripture, along with this congratulation. Verse 58, how the Lord had showed great mercy unto her. It’s emphasized here. Often people rejoice in the birth of a child, but there is often no reference to the great mercy of divine providence that has been granted to them in giving birth to this child. We overlook the goodness of God. We act sometimes more like sometimes more than like the heathen, than Christians. We fail to see the great mercies of God in the birth of our children. God has removed her barrenness, her reproach. That was a great mercy that was granted to her. God has given her strength to conceive and bear a child in her old age. That was a mercy that was given to her. It would not be easy for an old. woman to have a lengthy labor and give birth to a child. God had safely brought mother and child through this whole difficult ordeal that’s fraught with dangers. And you know what I know is the older we are, the more difficult pregnancies can be. He’ll recall that Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin in the scripture. Job bemoaned the devil. day of his birth and said, why died I not in the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly, which sometimes occurs. And he recognized that this occurs in many situations. There can be many complications. You can have a breach birth. You can have the unbiblical cord, you know, gets around the neck of the child. You can have a stillborn child. You can have an overtaxing of the heart of the mother. You can have infection. You can have infection. deformities, high blood pressure, all these things can happen with a birth of a child. God, of course, had a useful purpose for John the Baptist. He is going to be a prophet of the highest. He’s going to be great, and therefore, God makes sure that he has a safe birth. And that was a reason for thanking God and giving praise to his great mercies. happy are those family circles where births are seen in this light that God has given us a child and is mercifully brought us through this birthing process safely for mother and child. The pain, the sufferings, the complications that are involved in childbirth all ought to be a reason for thanking God when we have a safe birth and everything goes well. Even with all the medical advances today, child birth can still be a very risky situation. So you should acknowledge God’s good providence in the birth of your child, and they certainly acknowledged it here. Second one, you should do what God has commanded regarding your child and not be swayed by the wishes of others. You’ll notice verses 59 through 63, we have the issue of the naming of the child. And it seems here that the friends and relatives wanted to call him Zacharias after his father. But Elizabeth says, know his name shall be John. Because that is what God commanded that they should name their son. And when they asked Zacharias who remember didn’t have faith when told that he was going to have a son and therefore he was death for a period of time and dumb and he couldn’t speak, he writes out evidently here the name John on a wax tablet or some kind of slate and as soon as he does, he gets back his abilities to speak and function again. The eighth day was the time God had appointed for the circumcision of male children. And so we see that the family comes on the eighth day. They’re going to celebrate the circumcise of the child here. In accordance with the covenant made with Abraham, the Israelites were to circumcise on the eighth day after birth. And we see that this is what happens. It seems that people came to the home and we don’t, we’re not told in scripture who should do the circumcision, but here somebody, one of his relatives, maybe a priestly friend, does the circumcision. The naming of the child took place at the circumcision. This is, seemed to be a tradition. You remember when God gave Abraham’s circumcision, he changed his name from Abram to Abraham, from High Father to a Father of many nations. And maybe because of the renaming at that point, they decided to use that as an occasion to name their children. And so at this time, they named the children. Friends and relatives suggest that he called Zacharias, as I mentioned. it’s common to give baby boys the name of the father, make him the junior, so to speak. It’s possible that people wish to have the child bear the name of Zacharias, which is really a name of a famous prophet when we think about Zachariah in the Old Testament. So it would be a good name for a child to be born. with that name. But Elizabeth insists that it be called John because as we read in Luke 1.13, God said, Thou shall call his name John. John was very appropriate name. It means the grace of God. And certainly that would influence his whole work and preaching. Despite people’s disapproval here, Elizabeth keeps to the divine command. They want her to do something different. She says, no, she insists that he must be called John. And of course, Zacharias confirms that. A couple of thoughts. The first is this. You notice here that calling this child Zacharias was not a bad thing if God had not commanded another name. Naming someone after a famous prophet, it would not be a bad idea. John Chrysostrum, the early church father, had a most interesting track on the right way to raise children. One of the things he says is this. Let us afford our children from the first and incentive to goodness from the name that we give them. Let none of us hasten to call his children after his forebears, his mother and father, grand sire, great-grandsire, but rather after the righteous, barters, bishops, apostles. Let one be called Peter and another John, another bear the name of one of the saints. Let the names of the saints enter our homes through the naming of our children. It was Krasostrum’s idea that the child should be given a great name, should be told the story about that great name, who this person was, and then encouraged the child to be like that particular person. Calvin said even though we do not imagine that there’s any sacredness attached to names, and we’re certainly not given any commands about this. Certainly parents are free to name their children any way they wish. Yet at the same time, there is something about instruction that can be brought to bear with regard to children if we use biblical names or names of someone who are famous as heroes of the faith. But the key issue here and the second issue I want to bring up is this. Regardless of what everybody thought Elizabeth is going to do what God says with regard to this child. And I suggest you that’s a key point in the raising of our children. Regardless of what society thinks, regardless of what people and your relatives and friends of those who are close by, you think, the bottom line is this. We raise our children according to what God commands and we don’t follow everybody else’s thoughts. When it comes to discipline, Proverbs 23, verses 13 and 14, says this. Withhold not correction from the child. For if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shall beat him with the rod and shall deliver his soul from hell. Christian parents don’t always recognize the need for a Christian discipline. Not that we would abuse our children. That wouldn’t be right. But we live in a day and an age when even biblical correction is viewed as, oh, that’s a terrible thing. That’s abuse. My father spank me. and I didn’t consider it an abuse. I didn’t always appreciate getting spanked, but I realized, after a while, as I got older, I realized that it was important for my shaping of my character and my life that I get the discipline I should have. If you wish to just see how children are going to be on their own, because we’re told in our society just let them go, let them express their will, Never, you know, correct them. Friends, if you do that, that is child abuse because you’re not delivering their soul from hell, according to what Proverbs tells us in this passage of Scripture. If you want to see what it’s like just to talk to your children and not do anything about it, just look at Eli’s life, that sad story. He would warn his sons about how they were misbehaving with regard to the offerings of the Lord. But the Bible indicates to us he never received. strain them. People will tell you that children are born innocent. They don’t know any better. People come up with this imaginary age of accountability. Friends, let’s be very clear. The scripture is very clear about this. Children are born depraved and sin. They are fallen in Adam. And as Proverbs 2215 says, foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from. Discipline is one of the things that God commands us to do with regard to our children. Scriptural training is another thing that God commands us to do. Hold your place here, but look at Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy chapter 6, the fourth book of the Bible and verses 6 to 9. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart. And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children. children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, when thou risest up, and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. Now shall write them upon the post of thy house and on thy gates. You know, you often hear people say, don’t force religion upon your children. Let them grow up. decide for themselves. Parents, God command you otherwise. Does he not command you in this passage of scripture to bring them up according to the principles of his law, his word? To bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, Ephesians 6.4. We ought to be having family devotions every day. We ought to be bringing God’s word to bear in our children’s lives. Now, you may not have verses that you have put on post and gates, but you can put a verse of scripture on the refrigerator, and you can put things on walls and things around the house where the Word of God is prominent, where you bring to bear a, maybe a verse of scripture that you think is very relevant for your child, and bring it to bear in their lives that way. Children ought to be memorizing Bible verses. They ought to be learning to sing the Psalms. Look at the emphasis Deuteronomy puts on scriptural training of children. This is God’s command for you as a parent. As the children get older, and you might say, well, they don’t understand everything. No, they won’t. But as they get older, as Deuteronomy goes on to say, they’re going to ask you questions. What does this mean? Why do we do this? Why do we do that? And you’ll get to explain more detail about the things of the Lord. You can always teach them according to their age. The third thing I want to mention here is church attendance. Look at Psalm 148, if you would. This is another thing that’s commanded with regard to our children. I just want to read verses 11 to 13 of this Psalm. Kings of earth and all people, princes and all judges of the earth, both young men and maidens, old men, and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is excellent. His glory is above the earth and heaven. Now, I remind you, the Psalms were written for public worship. Were they not? And so what we have here is who should be worshipping the Lord? Who should be attending public worship? And it’s obvious that children, were included in the public worship of the Lord. And they were expected to offer some type of praise to the Lord. Jesus said out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, thou hast perfected praise. Matthew 21, 16. That little captive Israelite that was in Naiman’s house was a little maid there after she had been taken. taken into captivity. She knew more about Jehovah God than Naman the adult. You could tell him about the prophet of the Lord and Jehovah God. People often tell you your children are too young to sit through a church service. Well, it’s good for children to hear their parents sing the praises of God and the elder people sing, Hosanas to Christ, that they may learn to do the same thing. Remember when Jesus came into Jerusalem on the triumphal entry and he’s riding on the donkey and people were singing praise to him, Hosanna, the son of David, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. That’s what they were singing. The scribes and the Pharisees got all upset later on in the chapter because they said the children were singing, crying out, Hosanna to the son of David. They might not have got the whole thing. verse. But that got the Josea to the son of David. They could pick up the first part of it. They could bring that to bear because they heard it. And they repeated what they heard. Psalm 148 focuses here on the duty of everyone and everything to give praise under the Lord. No one is exempted. Even children are mentioned specifically by name to bring praise to the Lord. So, you should do what? what God is commanded regarding your children, not be swayed by the wishes of others. In particular, here with regard to how we would raise them, the discipline, the church attendance, and certainly the training and the things of the law. The third thing is this. You should carefully ponder the various things God does in his providence and grace regarding your child. Now notice here verse 64 to 66. This is Zacharias. His mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake and praised God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about him, about them. And all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all they, they, they, they, were noiseed abroad were noised abroad abroad throughout throughout throughout all they, that heard him, laid them up in their hearts, saying, what manner of child shall this be? And the hand of the Lord was with him. As soon as Zacharias confirmed, the baby’s name was John, his impairment is lifted. And what does he immediately do, but praise the Lord. Thank him for the mercy of a son, a special son, as we see here. As may be expected when such remarkable events occur, people are astonished here. They were even somewhat fearful, we read, when this occurred. All these circumstances surrounding the birth of John the Baptist were widely reported. It created excitement. It created curiosity about John, and therefore, they would take note of this child. People treasured up these things in their hearts, watch to see what was going to come out of this child. What was this child going to be like? People knew that John was particularly sent by God to do something special, so they paid attention. Now, you may form expectations regarding your children, which are not realized, because we don’t have divine revelation here about our children, particularly, and what they’re going to do for the kingdom of God, something of that nature. It’s true, though, in scripture that many times God tells us ahead of time about a child and how this child is going to serve the Lord. Remember how Samuel was going to be a prophet from his youngest years. God raised him up to do that. Moses, the deliverer of Israel, from birth. Samson, another deliverer of Israel, from birth. Samson, Jeremiah the prophet set apart from his mother’s womb to be a prophet. Even Paul in the New Testament tells us that he was separated from his mother’s womb to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, we don’t have that divine revelation concerning our children and their greatness in the kingdom of God, but I suggest to you that we be watchful. We be thinking about what God may be doing and how this child may be useful to the kingdom of God. I’ve been reading John Gill’s biography. John Gill was born November 23rd, 1697, to an Edward and Elizabeth Gill, Kettering, England. Edward was somewhat convinced that his son would be a household name in Baptist circles. At least that’s what he hoped and that’s what he prayed. Both, Edward and Elizabeth watched young John’s earliest developments for any signs that he would be of great intellect. They gave John every encouragement and soon had proof enough that he was certainly above average intelligence. He surpassed everyone in the grammar school, even the children who were much older than him. And before he was 11 years old, he was very proficient in Greek and Latin. and studied a wide range of things in classical literature. He became a wonder to the neighborhood pastors who marveled at his language skills at 12 years of age. One minister, Richard Davis, however, told him this. If you know Christ well, it is no matter though you are ignorant of many other things. If you’re ignorant of Christ, other knowledge will value but little. And from that point on, John Gill decided he better study theology. It began to study about God and study the scriptures in detail. And soon John became known generally far and wide as a boy scholar of note. He outgrew all schooling. The universities were closed to anyone who was not an Anglican in England. So he had to do homeschooling, so to speak. And so he was self-taught in Hebrew, logic, rhetoric, philosophy, science. At 12 years of age, he was converted under a sermon preached by Mr. William Wallace, who was a teaching elder at the church. The sermon was on Genesis 3-9, and the Lord God called Adam and said to him, Where art thou? And the message, well, where are you? Where do you stand with the Lord? And God used that to bring him to salvation. His changed life did not go unnoticed by the members of the church, and they watched to see how God was going to use this man. The next thing we read, when he was 19, he gave a private message on Isaiah 53. The people thought so highly of him at that time, they asked him to do again. And he did. And then he was asked to speak at Sunday night. at the church. And he preached a full sermon on 1 Corinthians 3, 2, for I mean determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. That was his first sermon at the church. And then he preached for weeks in people’s homes. And eventually he was called to assist the pastor of the church. In time, Gilda was called to the pastorate. And he had one of the largest Baptist churches in London, England. at that particular time for many years. As you watch John’s life, you begin to see how God began to shape his life and formulate things so that he would be useful for the kingdom of God. During his lifetime, he produced a massive commentary on all the Scripture. A body of divinity, a theological work that was well recognized, a highly esteemed commentary on the song of Solomon and many other things. Augustus Top Lady said this. It would tax the minds of the most highly educated people in England just to read all he wrote. And you could see his development from early on. So you could carefully ponder the various things that God does in his providence and see him watch. how God may be using this person, this child of yours, in a great way. Encourage them in these areas that they might be used in a great way for the kingdom of God. Fourthly, my last point is this. The nature of blessing you should desire for your children, it’s the last phrase of verse 66, and the hand of the Lord was with him. The meaning of that phrase certainly can be gathered from the word. the fact that God was with John to set him apart from the ministry, to prosper him and his work as a preparer of God’s people, a lot of people will be converted under his ministry. God’s power and blessing rested upon him. As parents, we should be thankful when our children are healthy and they’re successful in this life. And we can be grateful for that. however, the greatest concern that you should have is this, is the Lord is with them. Is the Lord with them? The salvation of your child’s soul, God’s presence and blessing in their life, is greater than any earthly concerns that you might have about your children. My friends, this is what endures beyond the grave. This is what brings about eternal happiness. Do your children give evidence? that they know, that they fear, that they love the Lord. Then you have real reason to rejoice. As a parent, you should be earnestly concerned that God would early begin his work of grace in the hearts of your children. You should ask yourself, what manner of child shall this be? Will he serve God’s kingdom or she serve God’s kingdom in some way? Remember how? how young David received a high recommendation that he could serve King Saul. Remember what they said about David, the young boy, who was just a shepherd? He could cunningly play on the harp, they said. He was a mighty man of valor. He was prudent. He was good-looking. But it was the last thing that was said about David that’s most important. And the Lord is with him. The Lord is with him. That’s the most important thing. Labor then, to bring your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord that they may serve the Lord from their younger years. We should be remembering our Creator in the days of our youth, and that’s what we should emphasize with our children. They may serve the Lord all their days and be useful to the kingdom of God. Well, let us close as we think about these matters concerning our children this morning.