Below is the Bible Study written by Jim Rudiger for his Sunday School Class which meets at Third Presbyterian Church, Norfolk, Virginia. It's based on Luke 1:57-58; 67-80.
What’s in a name? A rose by any other name smells as sweet. That is how Shakespeare thought about names. A name is the one thing that sticks with us all of our lives. When we were born, our parents probably had already settled on what to call us. It was the first major decision that they made once they found out that you were coming into this world. What are the considerations that had to be made in choosing a name? Male or female, although that difference seems to be disappearing each year. Whether to name the child after a relative. The name has to have a flow about it. You can’t have two names like Meador and Siegfried together. They just don’t fit. And of course, you have to finally forgive your parents for giving you a middle name like Meador in the first place.
When we had to decide on a name for our first born, two lists of names had to be ready, one in case it was a boy and one if it was a girl. In those days there was no telling what the sex would be except if the baby was being carried low which told Jackie’s grandmother that it was a boy. At least now-a-days parents usually can decide on a name before the birth.
Well, I didn’t want a junior because of my dumb middle name, but, ego dictated that he should have part of my name so we settled on his first name being James. For a second name we used my father’s first name, Edward. The names seem to fit - James Edward Rudiger. After he was born and the names had been registered on his birth certificate, it dawned on me that if we called him Jimmy we were opening the door for a “Big Jimmy” and “Little Jimmy” thing. That was too much for a little guy to bear, so we decided to call him by his middle name, Ed. That introduced a new problem that he dealt with every year in school. Every teacher insisted on calling him by his first name, James, and he had to keep insisting that his name was Eddie not Jimmy. Even today, he signs his name J. Edward Rudiger. How did your parents decide on your name? Did your friends decide to call you by a nickname? What was it?
Before we get to today’s study lets go over what has happened so far. Mary, a twelve year old girl from the sticks, gets a visit from Gabriel the top angel. He tells her that she will have a little boy and his name will be Jesus and he would be the Son of God. Also, he told her that her cousin, Elizabeth was six months pregnant with a special little boy, too. Mary didn’t quite understand how all of this will work out, but, she accepted what God expected of her.
Her folks, who didn’t know anything about Gabriel’s visit, OKs Mary’s request to visit cousin Elizabeth. So, Mary packs up and sets out for the four or five days it will take to get to Elizabeth’s house. When she gets to Elizabeth’s house and opens the door, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb jumps. Knowing that her baby is going to be a special agent of God, Elizabeth puts two and two together and declares that Mary is pregnant which was came as a surprise to Mary since Gabriel never said when Mary’s special baby would be born.
After exchanging hugs and greetings, Mary, Elizabeth and Zachariah, her husband, sit down to tell each other what had happened. After Mary told her story about Gabriel and how the angel had told her she was going to have a baby, Elizabeth told Mary that almost the same thing had happened to her. Gabriel came to Zachariah and told him that Elizabeth was going to have a special little boy. It seems that things didn’t go well between Gabriel and Zachariah, because Zachariah couldn’t accept that Elizabeth could have a baby since she a full fledged member of AARP. For questioning the birth, Zachariah was struck dumb and wouldn’t be able to speak until the baby was born. And that’s where we left things last week.
In today’s study we have two mothers spared from making a name list. For starters, even though there was no ultrasound machines then, the moms knew that there children would definitely be boys. They weren’t even given the opportunity to think up popular names for the boys like Ethan or Logan. They were given the names and the one giving the names couldn’t be argued with. He was God, himself. For Elizabeth, her son’s name would be John which meant “God is gracious” and Mary’s son would be named Jesus which meant “Jehovah is salvation”. Just so there would not be any questions from dad when the child was born, the husbands were also told the babies names. And that brings us up to:
Luke 1:57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
A new little boy is about to be born. How did everybody feel about this birth? Everybody is tickled pink. This is always a special moment for parents and relatives. What is the first thing a parent does when they hold their baby for the first time? The first thing we did when Eddie was born was to count his fingers and toes like that was some kind of confirmation that everything we couldn’t see inside was all right, too.
At 7:46 AM on October 17, 2006 a very special thing happened to America. Our nation’s population reached the 300 million mark. There were a lot of babies vying for the honor of being that 300 millionth citizen. A little boy living in Queens County, New York was born at that time. His father was a cook who had immigrated from Puebla, Mexico. Another child, a little girl, was born to an investment banker in New York. In San Francisco a little Asian American baby was born. All of these children were candidates for the title of the 300 millionth child. But most important, it showed that America was changing. In a few more decades people who form minorities now might become majorities. It all points out what a difference a baby makes.
What about the new dad - Zachariah? Has anything changed with him? No. Is Zachariah still mute? But hadn’t Gabriel said that Zachariah would be unable to talk until the baby was born, but, here’s the baby and he still can’t talk? Can’t you imagine how frustrated Zachariah must have felt? He had been waiting six months to yell “Whoopee!”
What happened on the eighth day after a Jewish baby boy was born? It was circumcision time and his parents prepared to have it done. This shows us how devout Elizabeth and Zachariah are. Israelites who believe in the covenant will have their sons circumcised in accordance with the covenant God made with Abraham. Was the baby named as soon as he was born? The name for a child wasn’t given until after the circumcision had happened. This birth presents a special problem. Usually the dad speaks the name of the baby to the family and relatives. Can Zachariah tell everybody the name? No. Since Zachariah was unable to speak, the people took it upon themselves to name the baby Zach Jr. Right away, how does Elizabeth react? “No Jr. for this baby. His name is John.”
Scriptures tells us that all the people standing around the little baby were shocked at Elizabeth not making the baby a junior. Actually, there really wasn’t much pressure in those days to make your son a junior. Oh, sometimes the child might be named after his granddad but not usually after his dad. Anyway, the people think that Elizabeth is taking too much on herself in naming the boy. That’s the Dad’s job. So they go to Zachariah and ask him to name the boy. Zachariah takes his plank of wood and a piece of charcoal and scribbles, “His name is John.” He had no sooner finished writing the name on the plank than what happened? He was able to talk again. Why was Zachariah able speak only after he wrote out John’s name? It acknowledges that Zachariah accepts that this will be the special baby that Gabriel had promised. The people standing around him were struck with awe. It had been nine months since Zachariah had said a word and now he was talking again. You know what his first words were? Praises to God.
Word spread fast that Zachariah had gotten his voice back. Even the cynics among them recognized that something pretty special was happening here. And somehow it was linked to this little baby. What is so special about this baby? More importantly, what is this little baby going to grow up to be? Zachariah tells them what is in store for them and his son. This will be the blessing he had not been able to declare when he came out of the Temple that day, nine months ago. Our next scripture is his response and is sometimes called the Song of Zachariah.
Luke 1:67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophesy: 68 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
As we study the song, you’ll see that it is broken into three parts. Verses 67-68 is Zachariah’s praise for God. Verses 69-75 deals with the long awaited Messiah. Verses 76-79 deals with how John will serve. Right off we are told that Zachariah was filled with who? The Holy Spirit. And what was spoken? A prophesy. Remember that in those days, a prophesy were words spoken by God for men to hear - in this case the Holy Spirit of God will direct Zachariah. Zachariah is about to tell them the very thoughts of God. Israel has again found favor with God. This sounds like how Mary was described. What is really being said is that God is ready to draw his people close to himself in a relationship that the people have never known before. And how is God going to do that?
Luke 1:69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors and has remembered his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
God is going to raise up a savior for them. In some older translations, it says that God has raised the horn of salvation for us in the house of David. Since this wouldn’t make a lot of sense to us today, “horn” was replaced by “savior”. However, the use of the word “horn” painted a vivid picture for people back then that gives greater meaning to this savior. In those days when an army won a big victory, a horn was blown. So, the idea is that like a trumpet is sounded to announce a great victory, God is declaring a great victory. Victory over what? Sin which is anything that separates us from God. Another reason for using the word “horn” is that in 2 Samuel, “horn” is used as the symbol for the powers God had given to King David. All of this is to tie the Savior who is coming, to the old prophesies that the Messiah would rise from the line of David. In all that will happen, God is fulfilling the covenants made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Remember that the bottom line of the covenant was that the Israelites would be a blessing for the whole world. That blessing is about to come in the person of a baby. The covenant has always been about God creating a people for God, to reflect God’s image and glory for all of the world.
Luke 1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. 78 By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
Zachariah then tells them what John’s role will be. What will be his chief job? He will be a prophet of the Most High who is God. His main mission on this earth is to prepare the way for the Lord. What does it mean to prepare the way? He is going to have to prepare the people for what to expect and what is necessary for them to do. To let them know about repentance and forgiveness of sins. Not as part of a crowd worshiping in the Temple, but personally in their everyday lives. For Luke the forgiveness of sins is the surest sign of salvation.
God knew that John had a rough row to hoe. The Jew’s understanding of the Messiah was a guy who was going to lead an army to kick out the Romans not the man who was going to make them right with the Lord. Because of the one who John will prepare them for, God’s tender mercies will be available + for everybody. And these mercies will remove the dark fears of death and lead them and us into a life of eternal peace. With these words, Zachariah ended his prophesy.
Luke 1:80 The child grow and became strong in the spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.
John started growing into the man God wanted him to be. The next twenty years are described in this last sentence. What does it tells us about John? He grows up strong in the spirit. He lived in the wilderness until his time to pave the way for the Messiah comes. In this way he fulfilled the prophesy of Malachi who said,”Look, I am sending my messenger who will clear the path before me.” John was seen as the second Elijah who was prophesied as the one who comes before the Messiah.
After things settled down, Mary packed her things and set out for home. Three months have passed and Mary has started to show signs of motherhood. When she arrived home, her parents must have shifted into the panic mode. Their little girl was expecting. There would be problems explaining to the neighbors how this happened. But most of all, what about Joseph? Will he make a public display of indignation and divorce Mary?
Joseph found out that Mary is going to have a baby. He is a good and righteous man and doesn’t want a public humiliation for Mary. Of course, he is devastated like Mary’s parents, but he can’t believe that Mary has been unfaithful. Still, he has his own life to live and there will be other women who would want to marry him. He knows that he isn’t the father, but he obviously had some sincere feelings for Mary. He doesn’t want to make Mary an outcast by exposing her pregnancy. He comes up with a plan to take her out of town and quietly get a divorce. I remember when I was in school, there would be girls who “got around”. All of the sudden we were told that one of those girls was visiting an aunt in another city. It seemed like all of these girls had aunts in another city and they stayed with the aunt for only nine months. Being dumb as posts, we guys never seemed to figure out the connection. Oh, I would hear my aunts mention something about the Florence Crittenton Home, but, I thought that it was an old folks home where they were scheming to send Grandmomma.
So, Joseph had it all planned out. Being sensitive to Mary’s feelings, I’m sure he told her about his plans. Everything was set and Joseph was just about to put his plan in action, when all of the sudden an angel appears to him in a dream. The angel confirms that Mary is going to have a baby and then he blew Joseph’s mind by telling him that the pregnancy was caused by the Holy Spirit. Further more, this is a special baby and Joseph should call off his divorce plans. The angel even tells Joseph what he should name the baby, Jesus, the Greek form of the Jewish name, Joshua, which means “Jehovah is salvation”.
When Joseph woke up, he accepts what the angel told him and marries Mary sparing she and her family the shame of a public divorce. Joseph was a tough guy and hung in there as the men made fun of him and women gossiped about his wife. He will have to make some tough decisions in the months ahead as he protects his adopted son, the Christ child, from King Herod. He decides to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt for their safety and then return to a new town to start up his business.
Joseph will die before Jesus grows up, never seeing for himself what the angel had promised for his adopted son. As he lay dying, he probably thought that he was a nobody destined to die in utter obscurity. Now his image adorns millions of manger scenes sitting on tables this Christmas season. Who would have ever thought? Certainly not Joseph.
Names, Names, Names. Some names are fancy like Percival and some are everyday names like Jimmy. I think 50% of the parents during the depression must have thought that Jimmy was a sign of security, so, they named their little boys that. But there is one name, simple but grand in it’s purpose, that has lifted a whole world. It is a name above all names and his earthly guardians didn’t have to waste one minute coming up with the name - Jesus.
Prayer: Father, let our name and how we use it reflect your will and glory, so that we can, like John, prepare the way for Christ in the hearts of our nation and world. Amen.
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