The issue here again is not the storyline but the significance Luke gave to it.
The child’s name was John. The name in Hebrew meant: “God is gracious.” John would indeed preach a baptism of repentance precisely for the purpose of opening people to God’s gracious forgiveness of their sins. Luke foreshadowed John’s future significance by having the neighbours ask: What on earth will this young child be? Indeed!
Zechariah’s public compliance with the message of the angelic messenger opened the way for him to receive the graciousness of God. Indeed, it freed him to proclaim that graciousness at length.
The reactions of the relatives and neighbours indicated a range of responses: from joy to amazement, from fearing to pondering.
Like Mary who had broken into song, Zechariah, filled now with the Holy Spirit, broke into what Luke called prophecy.
Like Elizabeth, Zechariah had recognised that Mary’s unborn child would indeed be a mighty saviour. In the light of that recognition, the prophecy began with praise for the action that God had initiated with the advent of Jesus.
His sense of Jesus was that he would be a political saviour, the long-awaited descendant of David, who would rescue his people from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us. At the same time he saw that liberation as providing the context for the people’s serving God without fear in holiness and righteousness. For him it was proof of God’s mercy and faithfulness to his promises. Later in the narrative Jesus would need to clarify this widely held misconception of his personal role as saviour.
Zechariah’s sense of his son John’s role, as crafted beautifully by Luke, was that he would be prophet charged with preparing the way for a new beginning of God’s action among his chosen people, announcing salvation through forgiveness of their sins. (Forgiveness of sin was of special interest to the priestly caste in Israel. Theirs was the task to mediate forgiveness through sacrifice.)
Zechariah’s sense of the scope of God’s liberation was still restricted to the confines of Israel. Nevertheless he interpreted it as a wonderful indication of the merciful heart of our God leading people to long awaited peace.
As expression of the faith of faithful Israel, Zechariah’s canticle was beautiful but incomplete. God was working towards universal salvation. His mercy went well beyond the confines of his tender care for Israel.
80 The child grew and became strong in spirit,and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.Luke’s comment reflected his general ignorance of the actual story of John’s childhood. Whether John in fact spent time with a community of Essenes (as some have conjectured) living in their monastery in the wilderness area to the west of the Dead Sea, only eventually to break with them to undertake a solitary ministry nearby, was of no interest to Luke. The Gospel remains silent.
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