Birth of John the Baptist

Zechariah and Elizabeth, both righteous and advanced in years without children, received the promise of a son from the angel Gabriel while Zechariah served in the temple - a promise he doubted, for which he was struck mute until the child's birth. When the son was born, the neighbors expected him to be named after his father, but Elizabeth insisted on the name Gabriel had given - John - and when Zechariah confirmed it in writing, his speech was immediately restored, and he broke into the prophetic praise now known as the Benedictus. The birth filled the surrounding hill country of Judea with wonder, as people asked, 'What manner of child shall this be!' - rightly sensing that something significant in God's redemptive plan had begun.