Birth Story

Luke 1:57-66

⁵⁷ When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a boy. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives celebrated with her because they had heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy. ⁵⁹ On the eighth day, it came time to circumcise the child. They wanted to name him Zechariah because that was his father’s name. ⁶⁰ But his mother replied, “No, his name will be John.” ⁶¹ They said to her, “None of your relatives have that name.” ⁶² Then they began gesturing to his father to see what he wanted to call him. ⁶³ After asking for a tablet, he surprised everyone by writing, “His name is John.” ⁶⁴ At that moment, Zechariah was able to speak again, and he began praising God. ⁶⁵ All their neighbors were filled with awe, and everyone throughout the Judean highlands talked about what had happened. ⁶⁶ All who heard about this considered it carefully. They said, “What then will this child be?” Indeed, the Lord’s power was with him.