Luke 1:61-63
They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.” Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”

The protest of the crowd shows that they are unaware of what God is doing. Surely the father of the house will not sanction this breaking of custom. This wonderful child should be named after his father or a prominent relative.

So they motion to Zechariah to find out what the name of the child should be. The translation “they made signs,” reads as if Zacharias was deaf as well as dumb, however, 1:20 is specific “you will be unable to speak.” Zacharias had heard everything, and all the friends did was to nod and to motion toward him; they may even have spoken to him.

By repeating the name his wife gave, Zechariah echoes the instructions of the angel, not the crowd and custom.

He goes the way of God and amazes his neighbors.

He did not say, as had Elizabeth, the child would be called John, but His name is John.

In the original text John comes first with emphasis, and we should not overlook the force of the present, “is” not “he will be called.”

The angel had already named the boy and Zechariah accepts the name as an accomplished fact.

Have you ever had to hold to the course God determined for you and overrule the counsel of friends or relatives?

In what ways has God’s favor on you caused people to talk?