What’s in a Name?
Luke 1:56-66
August 4, 2024
One of Raye Jeanne’s sisters was married and pregnant before we got married; one day when I was at her parent’s home, the family was in earnest discussion about names for the coming baby. As soon as suggestions were made, they were rapidly shot down for all the typical reasons: someone in the family already has that name, I once knew someone with that name who I didn’t like, that doesn’t work with your last name, it’s too clunky/old-fashioned/not traditional enough… etc. And most of the comments were not from the prospective parents. But everyone had an opinion anyway.
So when we were pregnant with Elizabeth, I wanted to preclude the possibility of similar conversations. So we began telling everyone we had already decided on a name — “Balfour Trafalgour.” Very traditional. And it rhymes. Most of the family thought it was a joke, but I also had another goal — no matter what we came up with for her real name, everyone would see it as an improvement. So we couldn’t lose. I thought…
When naming a child is important, there will be many more decisions the parent makes during the child’s life that are far more significant. But as most of us have experienced, and even as we see in the story about Zacharias and Elizabeth, everyone has an opinion about children’s names. And in this story, there is something far more important happening than just the naming.
What’s in a name? In the story of John’s naming we find the revelation of God and the obedience of man. In these verses, we find both God’s character revealed and the believer’s faithful obedience modeled. In these verses, we find the sovereign God involved in what appear to be insignificant parts of life and one of the key lessons we learn is that because God always displays His character in every situation,
Always look for the demonstration of His character in every situation.
These verses are about the birth of John the Baptist, but very little is actually said about his birth (v. 57b). The focus in the account is on the humble obedience of the parents, and the revelation of God’s nature. Observe three attributes of God and three responses to that revelation:
- Three Revelations of God’s Character
- The great mercy of God (vv. 56-58)
- The great commands of God (vv. 59-63)
- The great power of God (vv. 64-66)
- Three Responses to God’s Character
- Rejoice in God’s provisions (vv. 58, 64ff)
- Obey God’s revelation (vv. 59-63)
- Meditate on (and tell of) God’s sovereign authority (v. 66)
Download the rest of this sermon on Luke 1:56-66.
The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.
Words of Grace 