36 TIME-LIFE MIRACLES OF FAITH
JOHN THE BAPTIST
ANSWERED
PR AY ERS
An angel brings good news to an infertile couple,
leaving the father-to-be speechlessI
n the New Testament gospel of Luke, a Jewish holy
man, Zechariah, is chosen to burn incense in the
temple, an honor that is extended only once in
each priest’s life. Zechariah is obedient to the Lord
and performs the rite despite his sorrow: He and
his wife, Elizabeth, are getting on in years but have not been
blessed with children. As Zechariah lights the incense, an
angel appears next to the altar, startling him.
“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been
heard,” says the angel. “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you
a son, and you will name him John.” The angel goes on to
prophesy that Zechariah’s son will be special. Not only
will his birth bring “joy and gladness” to his parents, he
will also be “great in the sight of the Lord” and will grow
up to be a prophet who prepares the people for the coming
of the Messiah.
Zechariah can’t believe what he is hearing. How can
this be true, he asks: He’s an old man, and his wife, too, is
aging. This expression of doubt turns out to be a mistake.
“I am Gabriel,” the angel answers. “I stand in the pres-
ence of God, and I have been sent to
speak to you and to bring you this good
news. But now, because you did not be-
lieve my words, which will be fulfilled
in their time, you will become mute,
unable to speak, until the day these
things occur.”Sure enough, Zechariah is unable to tell anyone what
has transpired. But just as the angel has promised, Eliza-
beth becomes pregnant. When she is in her sixth month,
her cousin Mary comes for a visit with her own blessed
news to share. Mary is also to bear a child—the Messiah
himself. Mary’s presence makes Elizabeth’s unborn baby
move joyfully within her; the older woman’s child recog-
nizes the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth cries out to Mary, “Blessed
are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your
womb.”
Elizabeth gives birth to a son. His relatives assume she
will name him Zechariah, after his father. But she says,
“No; he is to be called John.” At this, everyone is surprised:
John is not a family name. They ask Zechariah which
name he prefers.
Still unable to speak, Zechariah takes a tablet and writes,
“His name is John.” And with that, the curse is lifted, and
he begins to relate a prophecy in beautiful poetry: John will
prepare the world to receive the Messiah as a sign of the
mercy of God, Zechariah says, “to give light to those who
sit in darkness and in the shadow of
death, to guide our feet into the way of
peace.” The miracle son becomes John
the Baptist, who goes off to live in the
wilderness, wrapping himself in camel
skin, eating wild honey and locusts, and
preaching from the Book of Isaiah. ▪HIS NAME IS JOHN
The Naming of John the Baptist
by Rogier van der Weyden
(c. 1450s). Unbeknownst to
his parents, John the Baptist’s
arrival was the beginning of the
blessings he would provide.NEW TESTAMENT