The Festival of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Posted on June 24, 2026 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 1:57-80 (NKJV)
1:57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.
59 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. 60 His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”
61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 “and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,
70 “as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began,
71 “that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
72 “to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,
73 “the oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 “To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear,
75 “in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
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 ways,
77 “to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins,
78 “through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 “To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Devotion
Earlier in this chapter we are told that Zacharias and Elizabeth “were both well advanced in years” (v. 6). But in a time that God would prescribe, He would answer Zacharias’ prayer for a child. Just as God had blessed Abraham and Sarah with a child in their old age, Zacharias and Elizabeth would also be blessed with a child. As the angel Gabriel told Mary about Elizabeth, “For with God nothing will be impossible” (v. 37).
It would also appear that Zacharias had later learned his lesson. He didn’t believe the message of Gabriel, and as a result was rendered mute. But he did remember Gabriel’s instruction to name the baby ‘John’. The name ‘John’ comes from the Hebrew, meaning “God is gracious.” Indeed, God was gracious to Zacharias and Elizabeth, but through John God was also gracious to the Jews, in that John was the forerunner of Jesus and preached repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name. While calling people to repentance may not seem very appealing on the surface, the voice of God through His called and ordained servants is truly the voice of a gracious God. It is because God is gracious that He calls people to faithful repentance.
Collect: O Lord God, Heavenly Father, Who, through Thy servant John the Baptist, didst bear witness that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God Which taketh away the sin of the world and that all who believe in Him shall inherit eternal life: We humbly pray Thee to enlighten us by Thy Holy Spirit that we may at all times find comfort and joy in this witness, continue steadfast in the true faith and at last with all believers attain unto eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Third Sunday after Trinity Sunday
O God, the Protector of all that trust in Thee, without Whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us Thy mercy; that Thou being our Ruler and Guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
