路加福音1:57-66

  

1:57 伊利沙伯的產期到了，就生了一個兒子。

1:58 鄰里親族聽見主向她大施憐憫，就和她一同歡樂。

1:59 到了第八日，他們來要給孩子行割禮，並要照他父親的名字叫他撒迦利亞。

1:60 他母親說：「不可！要叫他約翰。」

1:61 他們說：「你親族中沒有叫這名字的。」

1:62 他們就向他父親打手式，問他要叫這孩子甚麼名字。

1:63 他要了一塊寫字的板，就寫上，說：「他的名字是約翰。」他們便都希奇。

1:64 撒迦利亞的口立時開了，舌頭也舒展了，就說出話來，稱頌上帝。

1:65 周圍居住的人都懼怕；這一切的事就傳遍了猶太的山地。

1:66 凡聽見的人都將這事放在心裡，說：「這個孩子將來怎麼樣呢？因為有主與他同在。」

 

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹ And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” ⁶¹ And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶² And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³ And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. ⁶⁴ And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. ⁶⁵ And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 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.

 

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    這段經文記述施洗約翰的誕生，特別記載出生後第八天受割禮以及命名。他的名字早就由天使來宣告是「約翰」，雖然族人要照他父親的名字給他起名字，但是其父母堅持要用天使宣召的名字。

    上帝也透過神蹟來肯定這名字，就是撒迦利亞從領受異象以來都不能說話，就在他於寫字的板上寫給約翰之後，就說：「他的名字是約翰。」

    這之後撒迦利亞開始可以說話，讚美上帝！也因為這樣，施洗約翰讓人非常注意，就說出對他感到驚奇的話：「這個孩子將來怎麼樣呢？因為有主與他同在。」

    因此，施洗約翰的出生就彰顯出上帝要使用他來成就大事，也就是預備基督的來到。