Luke 1:59 Commentary and Bible Study

The child was circumcised on the eighth day according to the law (Genesis 17:2; Leviticus 12:3), and it seems to have been the practice in that age to name the child on the occasion. Those present take it upon themselves to name the child, even without consulting the mother first. This seems to be done because Zacharias is unable to speak, and therefore the relatives and friends do it for him as a community decision. But Elizabeth objects, and insists that he shall be called John. This was the name given him by God through Gabriel’s instruction. How does she know this? Perhps Zacharias has communicated with her, just as he is about to do with the gathered relatives and friends, although there are some grounds for thinking she had received a private revelation of her own on this matter (see verse 63). Elizabeth speaks up forcefully because she knows that God has already chosen the child’s name and no one is free to change it. Why is the name so important? Not just because God has already assigned it, but because the name has a meaning, and that meaning is descriptive of this child’s future ministry for God. The name John means ‘God is a gracious giver’. John was a gift from the Lord because he would turn the hearts of many back to their God in repentance. He would turn them away from their sin and from judgment, to the promised Messiah through whom they could receive the grace of God in forgiveness and new life. It is a serious matter to interfere with God’s purposes, and the name of this child was linked to those purposes.