John

Eight days after John's birth, according to Jewish law, he was taken to the Temple to be circumcised and dedicated. It was Jewish custom for the father to name the child after a relative, living or dead. Finally, after nine months, Zacharias speech returns to him and he firmly says that the child's name shall be John, although no relative on either side of the family bore that name. The name "John means "Grace" indicating that God is now planning to do a whole new thing. From now on, God's faithful will no longer follow Him out of duty and obligation, but our of desire, which is the essence of grace. On a 1-10 scale, how much of your spiritual walk is out of obligation_______? John will spend much of his life in the wilderness preparing for his great calling. Though obviously instructed by godly parents, they were very old by the time of his bar mitzvah at age 13. Luke says he lived in the wilderness until he began his ministry at age 30. Why? Probably to be kept apart from the erroneous teaching of Pharisaic Judaism. There, in the wilderness, he was probably being privately instructed by God in a similar manner as Jesus. John will not merely be a forerunner, but he will have the office of a prophet. The Hebrew word for prophet is "Navi", and it signifies a spokesman, or one who speaks for a divine power to human beings. The idea of prophecy is based on a belief in a God on whom the destiny and the well being of man depends. (From: When the Good News Gets even Better)