Christmas Plan

⁵⁷Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown His great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her.

⁵⁹It happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child [as required by the Law], and they intended to name him Zacharias, after his father;

⁶⁰but his mother answered, "No indeed; instead he will be called John."

⁶¹And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by that name."

⁶²Then they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote as follows, "His name is John." And they were all astonished.

⁶⁴At once Zacharias' mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking, praising and blessing and thanking God.

⁶⁵Then fear came on all their neighbors; and all these things were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea.

⁶⁶All who heard these things kept them in mind, saying, "What then will this little boy turn out to be?" For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him [to bring about his birth].

⁶⁷Now Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him, and he prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸"Blessed (praised, glorified) be the Lord, the God of Israel, Because He has visited us and brought redemption to His people,

⁶⁹And He has raised up a horn of salvation [a mighty and valiant Savior] for us In the house of David His servant—

⁷⁰Just as He promised by the mouth of His holy prophets from the most ancient times—

⁷¹Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us;

⁷²To show mercy [as He promised] to our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant [the promised blessing],

⁷³The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,

⁷⁴To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,

⁷⁵In holiness [being set apart] and righteousness [being upright] before Him all our days.

⁷⁶"And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord (the Messiah) to prepare His ways;

⁷⁷To give His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise (the Messiah) from on high will dawn and visit us,

⁷⁹To shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, To guide our feet [in a straight line] into the way of peace and serenity."

⁸⁰The 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 [as John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah].

⁵"Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.

⁶He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers [a reconciliation produced by repentance], so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse [of complete destruction]."