Luke 1:57
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.
Luke 1:58
And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
Luke 1:59
And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father,
Luke 1:60
but his mother answered, "No; he shall be called John."
mother answered
It is a fundamental pattern: God reveals to people of lower status things the powerful must heed.
Judges 13:8-13
Then Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, "O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born." And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, "Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me." And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to this woman?" And he said, "I am." And Manoah said, "Now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?" And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful."
Luke 1:61
And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by this name."
your relatives
Luke 3:7-8
He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham...."
Luke 1:62
And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called.
Luke 1:63
And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And they all wondered.
he asked for a writing tablet…they all wondered
Witness the power of the written word to name something new and produce wonder.
Luke 1:64
And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
Acts 2:4, 11
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
"…we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God."
Luke 1:65
And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea,
Luke 1:66
and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.
Luke 2:51
And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
Acts 2:12
And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?"
Luke 1:67
And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
Luke 1:68
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people
Luke 1:69
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
Luke 1:70
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
Luke 1:71
that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
Luke 1:72
to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
Luke 1:73
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
Luke 1:74
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,
Luke 1:75
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
Luke 1:76
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
Isaiah 40:3-5
A voice cries:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Matthew 3:3
For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'"
Malachi 3:1
"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts."
Matthew 11:10
This is he of whom it is written, "'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.'"
Luke 1:77
to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,
Luke 1:78
because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
Luke 1:79
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
Luke 1:80
And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.