Luke 1:57-61 Part 1 of 2

When it was time for Elizabeth's baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her. When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, "No! His name is John!"  "What?" they exclaimed. "There is no one in all your family by that name."

And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.

Deuteronomy 4:31  "For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors." 

Psalm 103:8  The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 

Jonah 4:2  So he complained to the LORD about it: "Didn't I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people."

Matthew 5:7  "God bless those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

Luke 1:54  "He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful."

James 5:11  We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.

When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. 

Genesis 17:12a  "From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth."

Leviticus 12:3  "On the eighth day the boy's foreskin must be circumcised."

Luke 2:21  Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.

Philippians 3:5  I (Paul) was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin--a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.

(parentheses are mine)

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Limited to 15 verses per post.