WEEK 8 : The Birth and Childhood of the Baptist and His Desert Life

1. SCRIPTURE

Luke 1:57-80

Lk. 1:57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.
Lk. 1:58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy on her, they rejoiced with her.
Lk. 1:59 Now so it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias.
Lk. 1:60 And his mother answered and said, “No!; he shall be called Yochanan.”
Lk. 1:61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”
Lk. 1:62

So they made signs to his father what he should call him.
Lk. 1:63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is Yochanan.” And they all marveled.
Lk. 1:64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed and he spoke, praising God.
Lk. 1:65 Then fear came upon all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea.
Lk. 1:66 And all those who heard them kept tem in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.
Lk. 1:67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
Lk. 1:68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.”
Lk. 1:69 “And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.”
Lk. 1:70 “As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began.”
Lk. 1:71 “That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.”
Lk. 1:72 “To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant.”
Lk. 1:73 “The oath which He swore to our father Abraham.”
Lk. 1:74 “To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear.”
Lk. 1:75 “In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.”
Lk. 1:76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His was.”
Lk. 1:77 “To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of sins.”
Lk. 1:78 “Through the tender mercy of our God with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us.”
Lk. 1:79 “To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, so guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Lk. 1:80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the say of his manifestation to Israel.

Luke 1:57-80 (NKJV) Other versions ...

2. COMMENTARY

Vs. 59: Yochanan haMatbil (John the Baptist) is born and it is time to name him. Of course, the angel had already instructed what the name would be. However, that raises a problem with the community. It was a Jewish custom to name a child on the day of his circumcision and to use the name of a relative. Since it is the responsibility of the father to name the child, and in this case the father Zacharias cannot speak, evidently the neighbors intended to give them a little help. However, God had a different plan that would take precedence.

Brit Milah (covenant of circumcision) is first mentioned in the book of Genesis as a divine commandment to Abraham. Circumcision is the characteristic symbol of Judaism, even though it was known to the ancient world long before Abraham. It is also observed by the Muslims and other religions of our time. There are four participants: the child, the father, the Mohel (circumcisor), and the Sandek or the one who holds the child in his lap during the operation. The “mohel” is usually subject to regulations to ensure the performance of the operation with adequate precautions. The “sandek” whose privilege is to hold the child, is the fourth participant who is said to have emerged into importance not before the 10th century C.E.

It is interesting to note that the ritual of Pidyon haBin (Redemption of the firstborn) is not being performed and Yochanan is being named on the eighth day, instead of his thirty-first day. He is redeemed by the payment of the equivalent of five shekels to a cohen, a descendant of the tribe of Levi, chosen for the service in the Sanctuary in place of the firstborn of all tribes. The sacred shekel had twice the value of the common shekel, known as the Sela.

The ceremony of Pidyon haBin has its origin in the books of Exodus and Numbers. The precept was originally designed to counteract the heathen practice of sacrificing the firstborn of man or beast to the Smitic gods. The reason is that both Elizabeth and Zacharias are descendants of the tribe of Levi, and this ritual does not apply (M:Berachoth 2:1).

Vs. 60: Yochanan haMatbil was a wonder-child, born to a priestly couple in their old age. For some years before his “manifestation to Israel”, Yochanan lived in the wilderness of Judea. Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, it had been thought probable that this wilderness sojourn was not solitary. Perhaps he lived for a time (perhaps most of his adult life) in the community at Qumran. Josephus, the first-century historian, wrote that the Essenes “adopted other men’s children and molded them according to their principles.” There is still a debate as to whether the occupants of Qumran were Essenes or Zealots. One reason for this is that at least one scroll found at Masada was written in the same hand as a scroll at Qumran. This may explain what happened to the Qumran people. When the Roman Legions were about to come through, they escaped to Masada and were probably part of the group that committed murder/suicide. It is thought by some that Zacharias and Elizabeth allowed the Essenes to adopt their son at some late point in time and raise him, suspecting that their lives would soon end. If they both were “righteous before God, walking in all His commandments,” they would not fit into the existing Temple cult very well. To insure that their son was taught the principles that they believed in, they may have looked to the Essenes to finish raising their son for them.

Vs. 61: According to Jewish custom of that day, you named your child after a relative, whether living or dead. In modern Jewish tradition, you still do this to a degree, except it must always be a dead relative. However, neither Elizabeth’s side of the family, nor on Zacharias’ side had ever had someone named Yochanan. Elizabeth’s response is probably due to Zacharias’ inability to speak, since according to custom it is the father’s responsibility to name the child.

Vs. 62: The neighbors do not sem to like what Elizabeth is doing., so they try to go over her head and go to her husband. They were normally not allowed to be part of the naming process anyway, except to be observers. This is highly unusual for them to become this involved. Again, Zacharias’ inability to speak for the last three months is coming into play in this situation.

Vs. 63: Zacharias cannot speak out so he writes on a tablet that the name is to be Yochanan. Any protest from the neighbors now stops, because Zacharias has the final word. They may wonder at what is going on, but they will not question his decision.

Vs. 64: When he exercises this one act of obedience the judgment of dumbness is now removed and he is able to speak. No doubt when Zacharias could speak again he shared with them what the angel had said concerning the prophecy in Malachi. The miracle of him getting his speech back was confirmation. Yochanan would some day lead the way for the coming of the Messiah that Israel had wanted for several hundred years.

Vs. 65: According to Micah 5:2 the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem which is very near to this location. As mentioned earlier, this was the greatest period of Messianic Expectancy known to the Jewish people. These people were very much aware of all the prophecies concerning the Messiah and interest in them was bound to be at their peak. Any stranger or unusual event taking place was bound to go through the community like wild fire. Also, no one in Israel had received a visitation from an angel of the Lord for over 400 years. They had to know that something was going on.

Vs. 67: When Zacharias speaks he is now filled with the Holy Spirit and he issues a song found in verses 68-79. This song can be divided into two main segments: (1) verses 68-75 speak of the Messiah who is to come; and (2) verses 76-79 talk about his own son, Yochanan.

Vs. 69: Again we find him relating the coming of the Messiah to the Jewish covenants. In this verse it is the Davidic Covenant.

Vs. 72: In this verse it is the Abrahamic Covenant. Also in these verses we find a play on words. The name Zacharias means “God remembers.” The name Elizabeth means “oath” or “covenant.” The combined meaning is “God remembers His covenants.” The last line of verse 72 and the first line of verse 73 gives us the interplay. The oaths in particular are contained in the Jewish covenants, but now with the coming of the Messiah, the covenants are to find their fulfillments.

Vs. 73: Also we find in these verses the play on the words of the meaning of Zacharias, “God remembers” and Elizabeth “oath or covenant of God,” the combined meaning “God remembers His covenants.” The last line of verse 72 and the first line of verse 73 give you the interplay. The oaths in particular are contained in the Jewish covenants, but now with the coming of Messiah, the covenants are to find their fulfillment.

Vs. 75: Holiness is a state that comes only from God, for only God is holy. Righteousness comes only from our obedience to our obligations to our covenant obligations that we have entered into with God.

Vs. 76: He will not merely be a forerunner, but he will have the office of a prophet. The Hebrew word for prophet is Navi, and it signifies a spokesman or one who speaks for a divine power to human beings. The idea of prophecy is based on a belief in a God on whom the destiny and the well-being of mankind depends.

Vs. 77: In this verse it is the New Covenant. So, three of th Jewish covenants are related here to the coming of Messiah.

Vs. 78: The word Dayspring means day star, or the morning star. The morning star announces the coming of day. In that sense Yochanan is the dayspring. He is the morning star announcing the coming of the Sun of Righteousness found in Malachi 42 (3:20). The “Jewish Study Bible gives an interesting definition for the term “sun of righteousness”. “The rising of the sun of righteousness is a metaphor for the dawn of a new day, i.e., an era of history.”

Without a doubt, the coming of Messiah began the most important era of history known to mankind. Absolutely nothing could have had a more profound impact on our lives than the coming death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah.

Vs. 79: The two-fold ministry of the Sun of Righteousness is given in this verse, and notice the exchange of pronouns: “to give light to them (to shine upon them, the Gentiles) that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our (the Jews) feet in the way of peace.” The contrast is between “them” and “our”, Gentile and Jew.

The reference here is Isaiah 9:1. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a brilliant light. On those who dwelt in a land of gloom light has dawned.” The verbs used in this verse are in the past tense. This is another example of the prophetic past, which predicts future events using past tense because they are as good as accomplished. When Zacharias quotes this verse prophetically, the verbs change to the present tense indicating prophetic fulfillment.

Vs. 80: Early in life, we are not sure of what age, but early in life he leaves the town in which he is born and goes into the wilderness of Judea. There he spends most of his life. But, this does one thing for Yochanan haMatbil, it separates him from the Judaism of his day. When his message finally does come, he is going to have a different perspective on God.

3. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

FIRST CENTURY SECTS

1. Essenes
2. Herodians
3. Pharisees
4. Sadducees
5. Zealots
6. Sacaraii
7. Am Heretz
8. Anabaptists
9. Bana’im
10. Baptizers
11. Boethusians
12. Cerinthians
13. Chasidim
14. Dead Sea Sect
15. Ebionites
16. Elchasities
17. Euchomenoi
18. Euphemitai
19. Galileans
20. Genestae
21. Hasmoneans
22. Havuroth
23. Hemerobaptists
24. Hypsistarians
25. Kuthim
26. Magharriya
27. Mandeans
28. Masbothei
29. Meristae
30. Minim
31. Miossalians
32. Nasaraioi
33. Nazarenes
34. Nicolaitains
35. Ossenes
36. Quartodeciman
37. Samaritans
38. Soferim
39. Strangers
40. Therapeutae
41. Yerei Shamayim
42. Zadocites

THE ESSENES

The Essenes, a Jewish sect in the days of the Second Temple, are described as pious healers, soothsayers, and miracle-workers, who worked, prayed and practiced their religious customs together in settlements formed on the basis of joint and individual ownership.

They occupied themselves with agriculture and handicrafts, and despised trade and wealth. They took their meals together in strict silence, beginning and terminating with solemn prayer. Every morning before their first meal they bathe in fresh spring water (living water). They denounce slavery and consider it their duty to aid the poor, the weak and the aged.

According to a description by Philo of Alexandria, the Essenes were a sect of Jews, numbering more than four thousand, who lived in villages and avoided cities, in order to escape the contagion of evil. No maker of war weapons was found to be among them. They felt that the law of nature made all men free and that slavery was a violation of this law. They were chiefly preoccupied with ethics, and taught piety, justice, love of God and man. Their love of virtue revealed itself in their indifference to money, worldly position and pleasure. No one lived in a private house, but shared his dwelling with all the rest. They threw open their doors to any of their sect who happened to stop by. The aged among them were treated with reverence and honor.

The Essenes were exceedingly devoted to the observance of the Sabbath and all that was attributed to Moses. They had a secret lore about angels, and practiced healing in accordance with medicinal properties of roots. They declined to participate in Temple rites involving animal sacrifices. They believed unconditionally in divine providence, and manifested faith in immortality. They performed frequent ablutions (3 times each day) and wore white garments. They renounced marriage and forbade membership to women (some groups did not do this). Many scholars have identified the Essenes with the Qumran sectarians, whose colonies were near the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

4. DISCUSSIONS

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