Luke 1:62 describes the moment when the people around Zechariah, the priest and father of John the Baptist, tried to find out what he wanted his newborn son to be called. Since Zechariah had been unable to speak, they communicated with him by gesture, and the verse records that they were asking him for his choice of name. The verse is narrated by Luke, the Gospel writer, and it is directed at the reader rather than spoken by any character in the scene.
They made signs to his father, what he would have him called.
Luke 1:62 (WEB)
What Luke 1:62 Means
The phrase “They made signs to his father” tells you that Zechariah could not speak at this point. Earlier in the chapter, the angel Gabriel had told him that he would be unable to talk until the child was born, because he had doubted the promise of a son in his old age. So the family and neighbors had to resort to hand signals or gestures to communicate with him. The verse shows ordinary people doing what they could to include a man who had lost his voice.
The second part, “what he would have him called,” shows that they were asking Zechariah to decide the name. Their question was reasonable on the surface, since it was customary to name a child after a relative. The verse does not promise that every family conversation will go smoothly, and it does not describe what Zechariah actually said. It simply sets the stage for the next verse, where he writes the name John and his speech returns.
The Context of Luke 1:62
Luke wrote this Gospel for a readership that likely included Gentile believers, and he took great care to show how God was fulfilling his promises in the events surrounding Jesus. The birth narratives of John and Jesus run side by side in the first two chapters, and the story of Zechariah’s muteness and restored speech is part of that careful framing. The surrounding verses describe the circumcision and naming on the eighth day, a detail that shows the family was faithful to Jewish practice.
Just before this verse, the mother Elizabeth has already insisted that the child be called John, a name that does not come from the family line. Right after it, Zechariah writes “His name is John,” and immediately he is able to speak and bless God. Read in that sequence, the verse is the hinge between the family’s confusion and Zechariah’s obedience. The neighbors are unsure, and the verse shows them looking to the father for the final word.
Key Phrases in Luke 1:62
Luke 1:64
His mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God.
(WEB)
This verse picks up immediately after the naming and shows Zechariah’s mouth opened and his tongue loosed, so he could bless God. It completes the story that Luke 1:62 begins, showing that the silence was real and temporary and that God’s word was fulfilled exactly as spoken. Reading the two verses together helps you see how the act of obedience brought restoration.
Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
(WEB)
In this earlier verse, the angel Gabriel tells Zechariah that his prayer has been heard and that his wife Elizabeth will bear a son who is to be named John. That announcement is the foundation for the scene in Luke 1:62, where the family’s expectations collide with the name God had already given. The two passages together show that the naming was part of God’s plan from the start.
A Short Prayer From Luke 1:62
Father, you hear the prayers of those who wait on you, even when they have no words left to say. Help me to trust your plan when others around me have different expectations for my life. Give me patience to listen well, humility to follow your direction, and courage to speak clearly when the time comes. Thank you that your promises do not depend on my ability to explain them. Amen.
