“What is this child going to be?”
(Luke 1:57-66)
Dr. Richard S. Koole
Chapel Pointe
June 7, 2009
I. Introduction
A. Staring at your new born child
1. The question in every parent’s mind
a. “What will this child become?”
b. What will they do for a career
c. Will they want to play sports…or music…or what?
d. Will they be obedient to God?
2. Watching our graduates this morning
a. They call it “commencement” because it’s just the beginning
b. What will these “children” become in 10 or 20 years?
c. The times of joy and suffering that lie ahead
3. Are there potential “superstars” in our midst?
4. And what can we do to help them reach their full potential
B. This applies to everyone this morning
1. Those of you in your 30’s or 50’s
2. Are you here today with unfulfilled potential?
3. “You’re more than you’ve become”
4. …and yet it’s not too late
C. This morning…a very special delivery
1. Review of the story
a. The old barren couple
b. The incident in the Temple
c. The appearance of Gabriel
d. The deaf and mute dad
e. The promise of the coming “Elijah”
f. Would introduce the Messiah
2. We know him as “John the Baptist”
a. His name shocked people
b. But why?
II. Text
A. The Cheerful Birth (v. 57-58)
(57) When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
1. Nine months had passed…..v.57
a. Only women can fully understand
b. It was delivery time!
1. Would set everything in motion
2. The neighbors and relatives got the news….v.58
(58) Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
a. Had been following this pregnancy carefully
b. They all knew the story
1. She had waited a lifetime for this baby
c. They shared her joy
1. God had answered her prayers
B. The Controversial Name (v. 59-64)
(59) On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,
1. The 8th day
a. The normally appointed time
b. Relatives gathered for the circumcision
c. The need for at least 10 men to be present
2. The purpose of circumcision
a. Physical health
b. National identity
c. Spiritual symbol
3. Choosing the name…..v.59b
(59) …and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,
a. The men of the family chose the child’s name
b. Normally given the grandfather’s name
c. Wanted to do something to honor old Zechariah
1. Standing alone in the corner
2. The guys wanted to give him a great honor
a. Would name the boy Zechariah (Junior)
4. But Momma said “no”…..v.60
they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, (60) but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
a. “No!”
1. Greek ‘oo-khee’
2. Strong Greek emphatic which means “absolutely not”
b. The angel had said to name him John….v.13
1. John is short for Jehohanan
a. “God (Jehovah) is gracious”
5. Witnesses thought Elizabeth was overstepping her authority…..v.61
a. Or the old woman didn’t know the rules
(61) They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
b. It just wasn’t done that way
6. They appealed to Zechariah….v.62
(62) They then made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.
a. “made signs”
b. Actual Greek means “nodded toward him”
1. Wanted him to correct his crazy wife
7. Zechariah’s “twitter”….v.63
(63) He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John!”
a. The “tablet”
1. called a “hapax legomena”
2. Thin wooden board covered with wax
3. Used a sharp object to write
4. Could “erase it”
5. Had been lugging it around for 9 months
b. Zechariah’s “tweet”
1. Usually short answers….like a “twitter”
2. “His name is John”
a. Literally “John is his name!”
8. Then something strange happened….v.64
(64) Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God.
a. “Immediately” or “and at once”
b. The “miracle phrase” for the works of Jesus
9. For Zechariah it was like a dam bursting
a. Started pouring out “Praise and Prophecy”
b. Next time
C. The Crucial Question (v. 65-66)
(65) The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. (66) Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
1. “all were filled with awe”…v.65
a. Why?
1. The incident with the angel
2. The miraculous conception
3. The divinely given name
4. The instantaneous healing
5. The implication of what would come next
b. Everybody was talking about this pregnancy
1. And this just fueled the talk
2. The name and the healing
2. Then they asked the million dollar question
a. What then is this child going to be?.....v.66
b. “The Messiah????”
3. People asking that same question today
4. The man inside each boy
a. The potential for greatness
5. The woman inside each little girl
a. There will be some real surprises
6. One more thing (v. 66b)
(66) Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
a. The power to achieve God’s potential
b. Helping a child reach their full potential
c. When he emerged from the wilderness 30 years later
1. Lessons from the wilderness
d. Watching a boy grow into a man