Event 7 — The Birth of John & the Benedictus
The baby is born, the neighbors argue over his name, and the moment the father writes “John,” nine months of silence break open into prophecy. The priest who doubted now sings.
God has visited His people — the dawn is breaking
When Zechariah obeys the angel and names the child “John,” his mouth is opened and he pours out the song the church has called the Benedictus (Latin for its first word, “Blessed”). Notice what fills it: not mostly his own son, but the coming Messiah. God has “visited” His people, raised up a “horn of salvation” in David’s house, and kept the oath He swore to Abraham. John’s role is to go before and prepare the way. The song ends with a sunrise: light dawning on people who have sat a long time in darkness.
The text
Underlined words (like visited) link down to their original-language card in Word secrets below.
57Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her. 59And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father. 60But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.” 61And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” 62And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all astonished. 64And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.
65Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. 66All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
67And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: 68“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, 69and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David— 70as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old— 71salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; 72to show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, 73the oath which He swore to Abraham our father.”
74“To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, 75in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. 76And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; 77to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, 78because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, 79to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Luke 1:57–80 (NASB95)📖 Read the whole passage
Read it on Bible Gateway (NASB 1995). The song breaks neatly in two: verses 68–75 praise God for the coming Messiah, and verses 76–79 turn to address the newborn John and his role as forerunner.
What the original words mean
Five words that open the song.
The neighbors expect the boy to be named after his father — the normal way of honoring the family line. Instead the parents obey the angel and break the pattern. The name itself is a confession: after the long silence, “the LORD has shown favor.” Naming him John is Zechariah’s act of faith, and it loosens his tongue.
↑ Back to the passageThis is not a casual drop-in. In the Greek Old Testament the word describes God “visiting” His people to rescue them — as He did in Egypt. Zechariah is saying the long-awaited divine rescue has begun. The same word returns in v.78: the “Sunrise” will visit us.
↑ Back to the passageThe word comes from the marketplace and the slave-block: to redeem is to buy someone’s freedom. Israel’s great memory of redemption was the Exodus. Zechariah announces a new and greater one — though he does not yet see that the price will be paid by the Messiah Himself.
↑ Back to the passageTo us a strange image; to them, vivid. A horn was the strength of a bull or ram — a standard Old Testament picture of power (Psalm 18:2). A “horn of salvation in the house of David” means a mighty, royal Deliverer from David’s line. Zechariah is naming the Messiah without using the title.
↑ Back to the passageOne word carrying two pictures the prophets loved: the dawn breaking on those in darkness (Isaiah 9:2; Malachi 4:2), and the “Branch” sprouting from David’s line (Jeremiah 23:5). Either way the long night is ending. The Benedictus closes not with a command but with a sunrise.
↑ Back to the passageFrom silence to song
🏺 Why the name caused a stir
In that culture a firstborn son was normally named for his father or a respected relative — it honored the family and located the child in his line. To break that custom was startling, which is why the neighbors object and then turn to the father, assuming he’ll overrule. When both parents independently choose “John,” and the mute father confirms it in writing and is instantly healed, the crowd’s reaction is fear and wonder: “What then will this child turn out to be?” God is visibly at work, and everyone can feel it.
📜 A song stitched from the prophets
The Benedictus is a tapestry of Old Testament hope: the “horn” of David (Psalm 132:17), the covenant oath to Abraham (Genesis 22:16–18), rescue to “serve Him without fear,” the forerunner who prepares the way (Malachi 3:1), and the dawning light on those in darkness (Isaiah 9:2). Zechariah, a priest steeped in Scripture, hears the whole story converging on his newborn son’s generation — and worships.
How it ties to the rest of Scripture
| Passage | Connection |
|---|---|
| Malachi 3:1 | “I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me” — John’s job description in v.76. |
| Isaiah 9:2 | “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light” — the sunrise on those in “the shadow of death” (v.79). |
| Genesis 22:16–18 | The oath God swore to Abraham — the very oath Zechariah says God is now remembering (v.73). |
| Psalm 132:17 | “I will cause the horn of David to spring forth” — the royal “horn of salvation” in David’s house (v.69). |
Resources to explore
Play the video here, then dig into the text and its background.
🎬 Watch & listen
- Video: BibleProject — Luke 1–9Overview with study notes and downloads.
- Podcast: An Overview of LukeHow Luke connects Jesus to the hope of the Hebrew Scriptures.
📖 Study tools
- Luke 1:68 interlinear + Strong’sSee “visited” and “redemption” in the Greek.
- Full passage (Luke 1:57–80, NASB95)Read the whole text on Bible Gateway.
🔗 Cross-reading
- Malachi 3The messenger who prepares the way before the Lord.
- Isaiah 9:1–7The great light and the child born to reign on David’s throne.
Discussion questions
- Zechariah’s first words after nine months of silence are praise — and mostly about the Messiah, not his own son. What does that tell us about what the Spirit had been doing in him during the silence?
- To “visit” and to “redeem” both carry the memory of the Exodus. What hopes would those two words have stirred in a first-century Jew under Roman rule?
- The neighbors’ question — “What then will this child turn out to be?” — hangs over the whole scene. Why might Luke want his readers asking that question too?
- Zechariah, who once doubted, ends his song with a sunrise on those “in darkness and the shadow of death.” How does his own story make that image land harder?
- Only after seeing all that does the question come to us: the Benedictus celebrates rescue “to serve Him without fear.” What is the difference between being rescued from something and rescued for something?