“On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John. They said to her, ‘There is no one among your relatives who has that name.” – Luke 1:59-61

In the tapestry of Scripture, every detail carries weight, but few elements are as theologically profound as a divinely appointed name.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to the elderly priest Zechariah in the Jerusalem temple, he brought an announcement that would alter the course of history.

Among the remarkable details of this visitation was a specific command: the child to be born must be named ‘John’ (see verse 13).

In the Gospel of Luke, this seemingly simple name becomes an unmistakable declaration of the Gospel itself.

The name ‘John’ comes from the Greek Iōannēs, which derives from the Hebrew Yochanan.

This Hebrew compound word joins two elements: Yeho, a shortened form of the sacred divine name ‘YHWH,’ and Chanan, meaning ‘to be gracious,’ ‘to show favor,’ or ‘to have mercy.’

Together, they form a profound theological statement: ‘Yahweh is gracious’ or ‘God has shown favor.’

Luke takes great care to emphasize that this name arrived through divine command rather than family tradition.

In first-century Jewish culture, naming customs followed predictable patterns, especially among priestly families.

Everyone naturally expected the child to bear his father’s name, Zechariah, and consequently his family’s priestly vocation.

When Elizabeth insisted otherwise, declaring, “he shall be called John,” the relatives were bewildered.

They turned to mzee Zechariah, who had been struck speechless for doubting Gabriel’s message.

Taking a writing tablet, he wrote the words that heaven had already decreed: “His name is John.”

This divinely orchestrated naming ceremony signals something momentous.

May this year’s Christmas season remind us once again that we’re called to prepare the way for others to encounter this Christ, who is indeed the only reason for the season.

By rejecting the expected family name and insisting on the God-given one, heaven was signaling that John belonged to a new era.

He was not merely continuing the old priestly line in customary fashion but serving as the forerunner of the Messiah, announcing the arrival of God’s ultimate grace under a new covenant.

Luke carefully structures his gospel to show how John bridges the old covenant and the new.

The name John, ‘God is gracious,’ thus finds its ultimate fulfillment, not in John himself, but in the one he would introduce – Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!

But far from merely being a historical narrative, the story of John’s name speaks directly to the heart of contemporary Christian living today.

When we understand that the name ‘John’ was chosen by heaven, we discover a timeless truth that reshapes how we approach our faith, our struggles, and our relationship with God today. 

God’s grace and purpose always precede our response.

Before we ever thought to seek Him, before we made any effort toward righteousness, God had already moved graciously toward us.

We must therefore be ready and willing to let God rewrite the scripts we’ve inherited from family, culture, or even religious tradition.

For example, being in line with divine purpose might imply walking on a path that doesn’t align with conventional wisdom or family expectations.

John’s divinely appointed purpose was to be out in the deserts to herald the coming of Christ, rather than offering ritualistic sacrifices in the comfort of the temple.

Every Christian does share this calling.

May this year’s Christmas season remind us once again that we’re called to prepare the way for others to encounter this gracious Christ, who is indeed the only reason for the season.