An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”
Parallel Translations
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An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”
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And ther appered vnto him an angell of the lorde stondinge on the ryght syde of the altare of incense.
And when Zacharias sawe him he was abasshed and feare came on him.
And the angell sayde vnto him: feare not Zachary for thy prayer is hearde: And thy wyfe Elizabeth shall beare the a sonne and thou shalt call his name Iohn
and thou shalt have ioye and gladnes and many shall reioyce at his birth.
For he shalbe greate in the sight of the lorde and shall nether drinke wyne ner stronge drinke. And he shalbe filled with the holy goost even in his mothers wombe:
and many of the chyldren of Israel shall he tourne to their Lorde God.
And he shall goo before him in the sprete and power of Helyas to tourne the hertes of the fathers to the chyldren and the vnbelevers to the wysdom of the iuste men: to make the people redy for the Lorde.
Show all 3 translations
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Then appeared vnto him an Angel of the Lord standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
And when Zacharias sawe him, he was troubled, and feare fell vpon him.
But the Angel saide vnto him, Feare not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard, and thy wise Elisabet shall beare thee a sonne, and thou shalt call his name Iohn.
And thou shalt haue ioy and gladnes, and many shall reioyce at his birth.
For he shalbe great in the sight of the Lord, and shall neither drinke wine, nor strong drinke: and he shalbe filled with the holy Ghost, euen from his mothers wombe.
And many of the children of Israel shall he turne to their Lord God.
For he shall goe before him in the spirite and power of Elias, to turne the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisedome of the iust men, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
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Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (117)
- Malachi 4:5-6 (v17) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the…
- 1 Samuel 2:21 (v13) Yahweh visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. The child Samuel grew before Yahweh.
- Acts 10:31 (v13) and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer is heard, and your gifts to the needy are remembered in the sight of God.
- Psalms 113:9 (v13) He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother of children. Praise Yah!
- Genesis 25:21 (v13) Isaac entreated Yahweh for his wife, because she was barren. Yahweh was entreated by him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Show all 100 cross-references
- Matthew 11:14 (v17) If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come.
- Psalms 127:3-5 (v13) Behold, children are a heritage of Yahweh. The fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children…
- Luke 1:76 (vv16–17) And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
- Luke 2:21 (v13) When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was…
- Genesis 18:14 (v13) Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes round, and Sarah will have a son.”
- Psalms 118:21 (v13) I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation.
- Jeremiah 1:5 (v15) “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
- Daniel 10:12 (v13) Then he said to me, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel; for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before…
- Genesis 17:10 (v13) This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised.
- Matthew 14:27 (v13) But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.”
- Matthew 17:11-12 (v17) Jesus answered them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and will restore all things, but I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they didn’t…
- John 1:21-30 (v17) They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” They said therefore to him,…
- Judges 6:23 (v13) Yahweh said to him, “Peace be to you! Don’t be afraid. You shall not die.”
- 1 Samuel 1:20-23 (v13) When the time had come, Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of Yahweh.” The man…
- 2 Kings 4:16-17 (v13) He said, “At this season, when the time comes around, you will embrace a son.” She said, “No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your…
- 1 Chronicles 29:18 (v17) Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the heart of your people, and…
- Psalms 78:8 (v17) and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that didn’t make their hearts loyal, whose spirit was…
- Matthew 28:5 (v13) The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified.
- Mark 9:11-13 (v17) They asked him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He said to them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and restores all…
- Luke 1:58 (v14) Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.
- John 3:28 (v17) You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before him.’
- Genesis 17:19 (v13) God said, “No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an…
- Numbers 6:2-4 (v15) “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate…
- Judges 13:3-5 (v13) Yahweh’s angel appeared to the woman, and said to her, “See now, you are barren and childless; but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now…
- Isaiah 8:3 (v13) I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Call his name ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’
- Luke 1:30 (v13) The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
- Luke 1:60-63 (v13) His mother answered, “Not so; but he will be called John.” They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this…
- Ephesians 5:18 (v15) Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
- Hosea 1:6 (v13) She conceived again, and bore a daughter. Then he said to him, “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah; for I will no longer have mercy on the house of…
- Mark 16:6 (v13) He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place…
- Luke 7:33 (v15) For John the Baptizer came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
- Galatians 1:15 (v15) But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace
- Judges 13:4-6 (v15) Now therefore please beware and drink no wine nor strong drink, and don’t eat any unclean thing; for, behold, you shall conceive and give…
- Hosea 1:9-10 (v13) He said, “Call his name Lo-Ammi; for you are not my people, and I will not be yours. Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as…
- Matthew 1:21 (v13) She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”
- Acts 2:4 (v15) They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
- Colossians 1:12 (v17) giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,
- 1 Peter 2:9 (v17) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of…
- Proverbs 23:24 (v14) The father of the righteous has great joy. Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him.
- Hosea 1:4 (v13) Yahweh said to him, “Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and will…
- Matthew 21:32 (v16) For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. When…
- Luke 24:36-40 (v13) As they said these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be to you.” But they were terrified and filled with…
- Joshua 4:14 (v15) On that day, Yahweh magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
- Isaiah 40:3-5 (v16) The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God. Every valley…
- Malachi 3:1 (v16) “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the…
- Luke 3:7-14 (v17) He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to…
- Revelation 20:4 (v17) I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of…
- Genesis 21:6 (v14) Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
- Judges 6:22 (v12) Gideon saw that he was Yahweh’s angel; and Gideon said, “Alas, Lord Yahweh! Because I have seen Yahweh’s angel face to face!”
- Judges 13:22 (v12) Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God.”
- 1 Kings 17:1 (v17) Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there…
- 1 Chronicles 17:8 (v15) I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you. I will make you a name like the name of the…
- Psalms 111:10 (v17) The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. All those who do his work have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
- Proverbs 15:20 (v14) A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.
- Matthew 3:1-6 (v16) In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” For…
- Luke 1:16 (v17) He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
- Luke 7:28 (v15) “For I tell you, among those who are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptizer, yet he who is least in God’s…
- 2 Timothy 2:21 (v17) If anyone therefore purges himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, and suitable for the master’s use, prepared for…
- Genesis 12:2 (v15) I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
- Genesis 48:19 (v15) His father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger…
- Exodus 40:26-27 (v11) He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting before the veil; and he burned incense of sweet spices on it, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
- Joshua 3:7 (v15) Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I…
- Judges 13:3 (v11) Yahweh’s angel appeared to the woman, and said to her, “See now, you are barren and childless; but you shall conceive and bear a son.
- 1 Kings 21:20 (v17) Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do that which is evil…
- 1 Chronicles 29:12 (v15) Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all! In your hand is power and might! It is in your hand to make great, and to give…
- 2 Chronicles 29:36 (v17) Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced, because of that which God had prepared for the people; for the thing was done suddenly.
- Psalms 22:9 (v15) But you brought me out of the womb. You made me trust while at my mother’s breasts.
- Proverbs 23:15 (v14) My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad, even mine.
- Isaiah 29:24 (v17) They also who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will receive instruction.”
- Isaiah 49:6 (v16) Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of…
- Daniel 12:3 (v16) Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the expanse. Those who turn many to righteousness will shine as the stars forever and…
- Amos 4:12 (v17) “Therefore thus I will do to you, Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, Israel.
- Zechariah 9:15 (v15) Yahweh of Armies will defend them; and they will destroy and overcome with sling stones; and they will drink, and roar as through wine; and…
- Matthew 14:4 (v17) For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
- Matthew 21:29-32 (v17) He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind, and went. He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’m…
- Luke 2:9-10 (v12) Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said to them,…
- John 1:13 (v17) who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
- John 1:34 (v17) I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
- Acts 2:14-18 (v15) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem,…
- Acts 10:3-4 (v11) At about the ninth hour of the day, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God coming to him, and saying to him, “Cornelius!” He, fastening…
- Acts 10:4 (v12) He, fastening his eyes on him, and being frightened, said, “What is it, Lord?” He said to him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the needy…
- Acts 10:33 (v17) Therefore I sent to you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God to hear all…
- Romans 9:23 (v17) and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,
- 2 Peter 3:11-14 (v17) Therefore since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness, looking for…
- Judges 13:9 (v11) God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but Manoah, her husband, wasn’t…
- 1 Kings 18:18 (v17) He answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken Yahweh’s commandments, and you have…
- 2 Kings 1:4-6 (v17) Now therefore Yahweh says, “You will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.” ’ ” Then Elijah departed.…
- 2 Kings 1:16 (v17) He said to him, “Yahweh says, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God…
- Psalms 10:17 (v17) Yahweh, you have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart. You will cause your ear to hear,
- Matthew 3:4 (v17) Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
- Matthew 3:7-12 (v17) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to…
- Matthew 11:9-19 (v15) But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I…
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (v17) Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor…
- 1 John 2:28 (v17) Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
- Revelation 1:17 (v12) When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (117 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (22 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv15–17 So speak the Hebrews when it signified a rare…
So speak the Hebrews when it signified a rare kind of excellency: so is it said of Nimrod, Gen. 10:9. He was a valiant hunter before God.
Any drink that may make drunken.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv11–17 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of…
11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Ver. 11. Standing on the right side of the altar] As Satan stood at the right hand of Joshua to molest him, Zec 3:1, so stand the angels at our right hand, in the public assemblies especially, to withstand him. And to signify this, the curtains of the tabernacle were wrought full of cherubims within and without.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17 Though we translate it appeared, yet in the Greek…
Though we translate it appeared, yet in the Greek it is, there was seen of him. An angel indeed was there; whether the angel Gabriel or not, or in what form he appeared, it is not said. It is by some observed, that until the Urim and Thummim ceased, no angel appeared to any priest executing his office; after this, it is observed by others, that most appearances of angels to the priests were when they were employed in their service in the temple.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv11–14 Whilst Zacharias was praying to God, an angel appears…
Whilst Zacharias was praying to God, an angel appears to Zacharias: When we are nearest God, the good angels are nighest us: they are most with us when we are most with him. The presence of angels with us is no novelty, but their apparition to us is so. They are always with us, but rarely seen by us. Let our faith see them, whom our senses cannot discern: their assumed shapes do not make them more present, but only more visible.
Observe, 1. The place as well as the time where the angel appeared, in the temple and at the altar, and on the right side of the altar of incense. As the holy angels are always present with us in our devotions, so especially in religious assemblies; as in all places, so most of all in God’s house; they rejoice to be with us whilst we are with God, but they turn their faces from us when we go about our sins.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 And there appeared unto him an angel of the…
And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord,.... Gabriel, as seem's manifest from Luk 1:19 the same angel that had appeared to Daniel, about the time of the evening oblation, near five hundred years before, and gave him an account of the time of the Messiah's coming, Dan 9:21. The Jews sometimes speak of divine and wonderful appearances to their priests, at such times, and in such places:
"it is a tradition that R. Ishmael ben Elishah should say, one time I went in, , "to burn incense": and I saw Actariel (one of the names of God with them) the Lord, the Lord of hosts, who was sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. (m).
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And so they say of Simeon the just, that there was always an appearance when he went into the holy of holies; it is related thus (n):
"Simeon the just, ministered unto Israel in the high priesthood, forty years; and in the last year, he said to them, I shall die this year: they said to him, from whence dost thou know it? He replied to them, every year that I have entered into the holy of holies, there was, , "one old man" clothed in white, and veiled in white, that went in with me, and came out with me; and this year he went in with me, but did not come out with me.
And according to Josephus (o), the high priest Hyrcanus received an oracle, or answer from God, as he was offering incense; so that the Jews ought not to discredit such an appearance to Zacharias:
standing on the right side of the altar of incense; of which, see Exo 30:1 the situation of it, according to the Jews, was this (p):
"the table (of showbread) was in the north, two cubits and a half distant from the wall; and the candlestick was in the south, two cubits and a half distant from the wall; and the altar (of incense) was in the middle, and stood between them.
And to
"this agrees the account of Maimonides (q), who says, the candlestick was on the south, on the left hand, as you go in; and the table of shewbread on the right hand, and both of them on the side of the holy of holies without; and the altar of incense was between them both without.
So that it was on the north side that the angel stood,
(m) T. Bab. Berncot, fol. 7. 1. (n) T. Hieros. Yoma, fol. 42. 3. (o) De Bello Jud. l. 13. c. 18. (p) T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 33. 2. (q) Hilch. Beth Habbechira, c. 1. sect. 7.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 15, 16, 17 Zacharias was troubled - Although he was accustomed to…
Zacharias was troubled - Although he was accustomed to converse with God, yet we see he was thrown into a great consternation, at the appearance of his angelical messenger, nature not being able to sustain the sight. Is it not then an instance of the goodness is well as of the wisdom of God, that the services, which these heavenly spirits render us, are generally invisible?
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv11–17 Verse 11. There appeared - an angel of the…
Verse 11. There appeared - an angel of the Lord] There had been neither prophecy nor angelic ministry vouchsafed to this people for about 400 years. But now, as the Sun of righteousness is about to arise upon them, the day-spring from on high visits them, that they may be prepared for that kingdom of God which was at hand. Every circumstance here is worthy of remark:
1. That an angel should now appear, as such a favour had not been granted for 400 years.
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2. The person to whom this angel was sent-one of the priests. The sacerdotal office itself pointed out the Son of God till he came: by him it was to be completed, and in him it was to be eternally established: - Thou art a priest for ever, Ps 110:4.
3. The place in which the angel appeared - Jerusalem; out of which the word of the Lord should go forth, Isa 2:3, and not at Hebron, in the hill country of Judea, where Zacharias lived, Lu 1:39, which was the ordinary residence of the priests, Jos 21:11, where there could have been few witnesses of this interposition of God, and the effects produced by it.
4. The place where he was when the angel appeared to him - in the temple, which was the place where God was to be sought; the place of his residence, and a type of the human nature of the blessed Jesus, Joh 2:21.
5. The time in which this was done - the solemn hour of public prayer. God has always promised to be present with those who call upon him. When the people and the priest go hand in hand, and heart with heart, to the house of God, the angel of his presence shall surely accompany them, and God shall appear among them.
6. The employment of Zacharias when the angel appeared - he was burning incense, one of the most sacred and mysterious functions of the Levitical priesthood, and which typified the intercession of Christ: confer He 7:25, with He 9:24.
7. The long continued and publicly known dumbness of the priest, who doubted the word thus miraculously sent to him from the Lord: a solemn intimation of what God would do to all those who would not believe in the Lord Jesus. Every mouth shall be stopped.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv11, 13, 14, 17 Luk 1:11-12. There appeared unto him an angel —…
Luk 1:11-12. There appeared unto him an angel — About four hundred years had passed since God had vouchsafed to his ancient people any supernatural communication, either by prophecy, the ministry of angels, or in any other extraordinary way. But as he was now about to send them the Messiah, and establish through him a new dispensation, by which a new and more spiritual way of intercourse with himself should be opened and settled, he sends an angelic messenger to announce his intentions, and prepare their minds for the reception of so great a blessing. For as the law, an inferior economy, was given at first, in a great measure, by the ministry of angels, it was proper that the gospel, a more excellent institution, should not want at least an equally extraordinary and honourable introduction. When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled — Although he was accustomed to converse with God, yet we see he was thrown into a great consternation at the appearance of his angelic messenger, nature not being able to sustain the sight. Is it not then an instance of the goodness, as well as the wisdom of God, that the services which these heavenly spirits render us are generally invisible?
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv11–17 An angel - An “angel” is a messenger sent…
An angel - An “angel” is a messenger sent from God. See the notes at Mat 1:20. It had now been about 400 years since the time of “Malachi,” and since there had been any divine revelation. During that time the nation was looking for the Messiah, but still with nothing more than the ancient prophecies to direct them. Now that he was about to appear, God sent his messenger to announce his coming, to encourage the hearts of his people, and to prepare them to receive him.
On the right side ... - The altar of incense stood close by the veil which divided the holy place from the most holy. On the north stood the table of showbread; on the south the golden candlestick. As Zechariah entered, therefore, with his face to the west, the angel would stand on the north, or near the table of showbread. That table was 18 inches square and 3 feet high. The top, as well as the sides and horns, was overlaid with pure gold, and it was finished around the upper surface with a crown or border of gold. Just below this border, four golden rings were attached to each side of the altar, one near each corner. The staves or rods for bearing the altar passed through these rings, and were made of the same wood with the altar itself, and richly overlaid with the same precious metal. Upon this altar incense was burned every morning and every evening, so that it was literally perpetual, Exo 30:8. Neither burnt-sacrifice, nor meat-offering, nor drink-offering was permitted upon this altar; nor was it ever stained with blood except once annually, when the priest made atonement, Lev 16:18-19.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 15, 17 The cause of this fear, was the general sentiment…
The cause of this fear, was the general sentiment that obtained with the Jews, that they would die immediately on seeing an angel. (Bible de Vence)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 right side--the south side, between the altar and the…
right side--the south side, between the altar and the candlestick, Zacharias being on the north side, in front of the altar, while offering incense [WEBSTER and WILKINSON]. But why there? The right was the favorable side (Mat 25:33) [SCHOTTGEN and WESTEIN in MEYER]; compare Mar 16:5.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 13, 15, 17 11. Angel of the Lord—See note on Mat_1:20. The…
11. Angel of the Lord—See note on Mat_1:20. The appearance of this angel is the opening of the miraculous dispensation of grace.
On the right side of the altar—Zacharias at the proper signal ascending the steps behind the Great Altar, passes through the Porch, and walking the gilded floor, (for ceiling, walls, and probably floor, were sheeted with a complete overlay of gold,) approaches the altar upon which the censer has been placed. In this sanctuary no glare of day ever penetrates; but from the golden chandelier, with its seven branches crowned with lamps, pours a blaze of golden light over the golden altar and table, filling the golden room with richest splendour. The column of incense rises to soften the light and fill the air with fragrance. In this scene of dim magnificence a more than mortal form presents itself to the eye of Zacharias. Between the candlestick (8) and the Golden Altar (7) stands the angel Gabriel on the right side of the altar, (not on Zacharias’s right hand,) and, therefore, on the south side of the altar and on the right side of God, whose Shekinah, or Presence, once dwelt between the cherubim in the Most Holy, or Holy of Holies. This is the post of divine honour suitable to the being who announces that the age of Christ has approached, and that his harbinger is now to be born.
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Though the system of miraculous revelation ceased with the closing canon, yet, if we may believe the Jewish historians, there were exceptional manifestations made in the Holy of Holies, or in the Holy Place, at this same Altar of Incense, to former priests. Ezra, the inspired Scribe, upon the return from the Captivity, established the Great Synagogue, consisting of one hundred and twenty grave and holy men, among whose presidents are enumerated Haggai, Zechariah, and Zerubbabel, which lasted one hundred and twenty years, terminating with the close of the presidency of the renowned Simon the Just, who died about 320 years before Christ. This was specially the age of the Soferim or Scribes. Simon the Just, it is related, filled the High Priesthood forty-nine years; and in the last year he said, “I shall die this year; for every year that I have entered the Holy of Holies there has been an Ancient One, זקז אהד, clothed in white, and veiled in white, that entered and came out with me; this year he entered but came not out.” Josephus narrates of the High Priest Hyrcanus, that upon the day that his sons fought at Cyzicenus, he was offering incense in the temple alone, and he heard a voice declaring that they had just conquered Antiochus; and this, going forward from the temple, he announced to the people in front. The annunciation was verified by the result.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–17 11. an angel] St Luke dwells more than any…
11. an angel] St Luke dwells more than any of the Evangelists on the ministry of angels, Luk_1:26, Luk_2:9; Luk_2:13; Luk_2:21, Luk_12:8, Luk_15:10, Luk_16:22, Luk_22:43, Luk_24:4; Luk_24:23, and frequently in the Acts. Compare the births of Isaac, Samson, and Samuel.
the right side] i. e. the South. It was the propitious side so to speak, Mar_16:5; Mat_25:33; and ib. Schöttgen, Hor. Hebr.
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the altar of incense] A small movable table of acacia wood overlaid with gold. See Exo_30:1-38; Exo_37:25; 1Ki_7:48. In Heb_9:4 the word may possibly mean ‘censer.’
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–17 (11) The altar of incense.—The altar stood just in…
(11) The altar of incense.—The altar stood just in front of the veil that divided the outer sanctuary from the Holy of Holies. It was made of shittim wood, and overlaid with gold, both symbols of incorruption (Exo_30:1-7; Exo_40:5; Exo_40:26). Its position connected it so closely with the innermost sanctuary that the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb_9:4; but see Note there) seems to reckon it as belonging to that, and not unto the outer. It symbolised accordingly the closest approach to God which was then possible for any but the high priest, when, in his typical character, he entered the Holy of Holies on the day of Atonement.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv11–17 And there appeared unto him an angel of the…
And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord. Critics have especially found grave fault with this "Hebrew" portion of our Gospel, complaining that it needlessly introduces the marvelous, and brings uselessly into everyday life beings from another sphere. Godet well answers these criticisms by observing "that as Christianity was an entirely new beginning in history, the second and final creation of man, it was natural that an interposition on so grand a scale should be accompanied by a series of particular interpositions. It was even necessary; for how were the representatives of the ancient order of things, who had to cooperate in the new work, to be initiated into it, and their attachment won to it, except by this means? According to Scripture, we are surrounded by angels, (2Ki_6:17 Psa_34:7) whom God employs to watch over us; but in our ordinary condition we want the sense necessary to perceive their presence for that condition a peculiar receptivity is required. This condition was given to Zacharias. Origen ("Contra Censure") writes how, "in a church there are two assemblies one of angels, the other of men,... angels are present at our prayers, and they pray with us and for us." Standing on the right side of the altar of incense. The angel stood between the altar and the shew-bread table. On entering the holy place, the officiating priest would have on his right the table with the shew-bread, on his left the great candlestick, and before him would be the golden altar, which stood at the end of the holy place, in front of the veil which separated this chamber and the dim, silent holy of holies.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17 An angel of the Lord
Luk_1:11
An angel of the Lord
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Angelic visits
The angels will come to us when we are doing the Lords business--even though that business be routine, and we have become almost weary with its mechanical repetition, yet the radiant messenger can find us in our obscurity, and open before us new and enchanting prospects.
Are you impatient for the coming of the angel? Then by so much you are leaving incomplete the work to which you have been Divinely called. It is better to work steadily for the Master than to be waiting fretfully for the vision of angels. (Dr. Parker.)
Absence from the sanctuary
Suppose Zacharias had not been there. Suppose that his functions had been to him nothing except perfunctory services, and he had absented himself. Might not the great annunciation have been transferred? Instead of Zacharias might not Simeon have been chosen? and instead of Elisabeth, Anna? I pause to put the question, for I wish to arouse your half-day attendants in Gods house, to a recognition of how possible it is to miss of a special blessing when we are not in the way, and place, and time of religious duty. I knew of a case wherein an anxious inquirer would have heard the sermon that brought deliverance and peace to her five years sooner had she been in Gods house on the day it was originally preached. As it was she walked for five years in gloom, and at last heard it semi-accidentally. (Dr. Grosart.)
Intercourse between visible and invisible world
The narrative of an angelic visitation does not bring us into a supernatural region. We are in one already. The Temple-worship meant nothing if there were not an actual established intercourse between the visible and invisible world. (F. D. Maurice.)
Angels present in church
I think I see in this passage that a more special blessing attends the prayers offered up by Gods ministers at the hours appointed by the Church, and that angels are more particularly present to carry up the sacrifice of prayer and praise then offered by the priest, on which hang (as it were) the supplications of the whole congregation. Consider this, O my soul, and let it be a constant incitement to thee never to forsake the house of thy God, when opportunity offers for thee to join thy prayers with those of all thy fellow-Christians. (Dean Hook.)
The angels as observers and witnesses
The holy angels of God are observers of our prayers and good actions on earth, and the relaters and remembrancers of them in heaven. Not but that the all-seeing God of Himself knows and takes notice of all the good actions of men, and records them to perpetuity in the most faithful register of His Omniscience; but He would have His holy angels to be conscious of our good actions, not only that they might congratulate our happiness, as fellow-servants and members with us, under Christ, their and our Lord and Head, but also and especially that they might be the witnesses of His righteous judgment at the last day, when His Son shall come in His glory with millions of His holy angels to judge the world. (Bishop Bull.)
Seeing the angels
According to Holy Scripture, we are surrounded by angels (2Ki_6:17; Psa_34:7), whom God employs to defend us; but in our ordinary condition we have not the perception necessary to make us aware of their presence. For this we need a peculiar state of receptivity. That was the state of Zacharias at this time. He had been prepared for it by the sanctity of the place, by the solemnity of the service which he was about to fulfil, by his lively sympathy with those who prayed for national deliverance, and finally by the sense of his own domestic trial. (Prof. Godet.)
Reality of the spirit world
To me the spirit world is tangible. It is not peopled with ghosts and spectres, shadows and outlines of beings, but with persons and forms palpable to the apprehension. Its multitudes are veritable, its society natural, its language audible, its companionship real, its love distinct, its activities energetic, its life intelligent, its glory discernible; its union is not that of sameness, but of variety brought into moral harmony by the great law of love, like notes which, in themselves distinct and different, make, when combined, sweet music. Death will not level and annul those countless differences of mind and heart which make us individual here. Heaven, in all the mode and manner of expression, will abound with personality. There will be choice, and preference, and degree of affinity there. Each intellect will keep its natural bias, each heart its elections. Groups there will be, and circles; faces, known and unknown, will pass us; acquaintance will thrive on intercourse, and love deepen with knowledge; and the great underlying laws of mind and heart prevail and dominate as they do here, save in this, that sin, and all the repellance and antagonisms that it breeds, will be unknown, and holiness supply in perfect measure the opportunity and bond of brotherhood. (Murray.)
Character of the angels
The very names assigned to angels, says Dwight, by their Creator, convey to us ideas pre-eminently pleasing, fitted to captivate the heart and exalt the imagination; ideas which dispel gloom, banish despondency, enliven hope, and awaken sincere and unmingled joy. They are living ones; beings in whom life is inherent and instinctive; who sprang up under the quickening influence of the Sun of Righteousness, beneath the morning of everlasting day; who rose, expanded, and blossomed in the uncreated beam, on the banks of the river of life, and were nourished by the waters of immortality. They are spirits, winged with activity, and formed with power, which no labour wearies and no duration impairs; their faculties always fresh and young, their exertions unceasing and wonderful, and their destination noble and delightful, without example, and without end. They are burning ones, glowing with a pure and serene, with an intense and immortal flame of Divine love; returning, without ceasing, the light and warmth which they have received from the great central Sun of the universe, reflecting with supreme beauty the image of that Divine luminary; and universally glorious, although differing from each other in glory.
The annunciation to Zacharias
Ah, friends, if God were as strict to punish us for our distrust of His word as he was to punish Zacharias for his, how many of us also would He strike dumb! Who knows but that some of the calamities which befall us are really punishments for our own unbelief? This incident of the annunciation to Zacharias is rich in lessons. I will mention but two. First, the ministration of angels. In fact, the Bible from beginning to end is radiant with angels. And as it was in the past, so it is to-day. Angels are still ministers of God, executing His will alike in the physical and in the spiritual world. What though we do not see angels? It does not follow that, because they are invisible, they are therefore, according to our scientific tests, unreal or inoperative. In fact, it is the invisible things which are the most real. Did any human being ever see the Holy Spirit? Yet what Christian doubts His existence? Were our spiritual eyes open, as were the eyes of Elishas servant at Dothan, doubtless we also would see all around us horses and chariots of fire circling to protect us. Lastly: Hours of worship are hours of angels annunciation. Not that we may ever expect in this teen of the world to behold visions of angels; for ours it is to have something better than to have glimpses of supernatural figures; ours it is to have the presence of the Holy Spirit Himself.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv11, 13, 15, 17 11. An angel. His name was Gabriel (verse 19).…
11. An angel. His name was Gabriel (verse 19). This is the first messenger of the New Dispensation. The altar of incense. It was of cedar, overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:20; 1 Chron. 28:18), was a cubit (about two feet) in length and breadth, and two cubits high; it stood in the Holy Place before the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv15–16
Luke
ELIJAH COME AGAIN
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TRUE GREATNESS
Luk 1:15.
So spake the angel who foretold the birth of John the Baptist. ‘In the sight of the Lord’-then men are not on a dead level in His eyes. Though He is so high and we are so low, the country beneath Him that He looks down upon is not flattened to Him, as it is to us from an elevation, but there are greater and smaller men in His sight, too. No epithet is more misused and misapplied than that of ‘a great man.’ It is flung about indiscriminately as ribbons and orders are by some petty State. Every little man that makes a noise for a while gets it hung round his neck. Think what a set they are that are gathered in the world’s Valhalla, and honoured as the world’s great men! The mass of people are so much on a level, and that level is so low, that an inch above the average looks gigantic. But the tallest blade of grass gets mown down by the scythe, and withers as quickly as the rest of its green companions, and goes its way into the oven as surely. There is the world’s false estimate of greatness and there is God’s estimate. If we want to know what the elements of true greatness are, we may well turn to the life of this man, of whom the prophecy went before him that he should be ‘great in the sight of the Lord.’ That is gold that will stand the test.
We may remember, too, that Jesus Christ, looking back on the career to which the angel was looking forward, endorsed the prophecy and declared that it had become a fact, and that ‘of them that were born of women there had not arisen a greater than John the Baptist.’ With the illumination of His eulogium we may turn to this life, then, and gather some lessons for our own guidance.
I. First, we note in John unwavering and immovable firmness and courage.
‘What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?’ Nay! an iron pillar that stood firm whatsoever winds blew against it. This, as I take it, is in some true sense the basis of all moral greatness-that a man should have a grip which cannot be loosened, like that of the cuttle-fish with all its tentacles round its prey, upon the truths that dominate his being and make him a hero. ‘If you want me to weep,’ said the old artist-poet, ‘there must be tears in your own eyes.’ If you want me to believe, you yourself must be aflame with conviction which has penetrated to the very marrow of your bones. And so, as I take it, the first requisite either for power with others, or for greatness in a man’s own development of character, is that there shall be this unwavering firmness of grasp of clearly-apprehended truths, and unflinching boldness of devotion to them.
I need not remind you how magnificently, all through the life of our typical example, this quality was stamped upon every utterance and every act. It reached its climax, no doubt, in his bearding Herod and Herodias. But moral characteristics do not reach a climax unless there has been much underground building to bear the lofty pinnacle; and no man, when great occasions come to him, develops a courage and an unwavering confidence which are strange to his habitual life. There must be the underground building; and there must have been many a fighting down of fears, many a curbing of tremors, many a rebuke of hesitations and doubts in the gaunt, desert-loving prophet, before he was man enough to stand before Herod and say, ‘It is not lawful for thee to have her.’
No doubt there is much to be laid to the account of temperament, but whatever their temperament may be, the way to this unwavering courage and firm, clear ring of indubitable certainty, is open to every Christian man and woman; and it is our own fault, our own sin, and our own weakness, if we do not possess these qualities. Temperament! what on earth is the good of our religion if it is not to modify and govern our temperament? Has a man a right to jib on one side, and give up the attempt to clear the fence, because he feels that in his own natural disposition there is little power to take the leap? Surely not. Jesus Christ came here for the very purpose of making our weakness strong, and if we have a firm hold upon Him, then, in the measure in which His love has permeated our whole nature, will be our unwavering courage, and out of weakness we shall be made strong.
Of course the highest type of this undaunted boldness and unwavering firmness of conviction is not in John and his like. He presented strength in a lower form than did the Master from whom his strength came. The willow has a beauty as well as the oak. Firmness is not obstinacy; courage is not rudeness. It is possible to have the iron hand in the velvet glove, not of etiquette-observing politeness, but of a true considerateness and gentleness. They who are likest Him that was ‘meek and lowly in heart,’ are surest to possess the unflinching resolve which set His face like a flint, and enabled Him to go unhesitatingly and unrecalcitrant to the Cross itself.
Do not let us forget, either, that John’s unwavering firmness wavered; that over the clear heaven of his convictions there did steal a cloud; that he from whom no violence could wrench his faith felt it slipping out of his grasp when his muscles were relaxed in the dungeon; and that he sent ‘from the prison’-which was the excuse for the message-to ask the question, ‘After all, art Thou He that should come?’
Nor let us forget that it was that very moment of tremulousness which Jesus Christ seized, in order to pour an unstinted flood of praise for the firmness of his convictions, on the wavering head of the Forerunner. So, if we feel that though the needle of our compass points true to the pole, yet when the compass-frame is shaken, the needle sometimes vibrates away from its true direction, do not let us be cast down, but believe that a merciful allowance is made for human weakness. This man was great; first, because he had such dauntless courage and firmness that, over his headless corpse in the dungeon at Machaerus, might have been spoken what the Regent Moray said over John Knox’s coffin, ‘Here lies one that never feared the face of man.’
II. Another element of true greatness that comes nobly out in the life with which I am dealing is its clear elevation above worldly good.
That was the second point that our Lord’s eulogium signalised. ‘What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?’ But you would have gone to a palace, if you had wanted to see that, not to the reed-beds of Jordan. As we all know, in his life, in his dress, in his food, in the aims that he set before him, he rose high above all regard for the debasing and perishable sweetnesses that appeal to flesh, and are ended in time. He lived conspicuously for the Unseen. His asceticism belonged to his age, and was not the highest type of the virtue which it expressed. As I have said about his courage, so I say about his self-denial-Christ’s is of a higher sort. As the might of gentleness is greater than the might of such strength as John’s, so the asceticism of John is lower than the self-government of the Man that came eating and drinking.
But whilst that is true, I seek, dear brethren, to urge this old threadbare lesson, always needed, never needed more than amidst the senselessly luxurious habits of this generation, needed in few places more than in a great commercial centre like that in which we live, that one indispensable element of true greatness and elevation of character is that, not the prophet and the preacher alone, but every one of us, should live high above these temptations of gross and perishable joys, should.
‘Scorn delights and live laborious days.’
No man has a right to be called ‘great’ if his aims are small. And the question is, not as modern idolatry of intellect, or, still worse, modern idolatry of success, often makes it out to be, Has he great capacities? or has he won great prizes? but has he greatly used himself and his life? If your aims are small you will never be great; and if your highest aims are but to get a good slice of this world’s pudding-no matter what powers God may have given you to use-you are essentially a small man.
I remember a vigorous and contemptuous illustration of St. Bernard’s, who likens a man that lives for these perishable delights which John spurned, to a spider spinning a web out of his own substance, and catching in it nothing but a wretched prey of poor little flies. Such a one has surely no right to be called a great man. Our aims rather than our capacity determine our character, and they who greatly aspire after the greatest things within the reach of men, which are faith, hope, charity, and who, for the sake of effecting these aspirations, put their heels upon the head of the serpent and suppress the animal in their nature, these are the men ‘great in the sight of the Lord.’
III. Another element of true greatness, taught us by our type, is fiery enthusiasm for righteousness.
You may think that that has little to do with greatness. I believe it has everything to do with it, and that the difference between men is very largely to be found here, whether they flame up into the white heat of enthusiasm for the things that are right, or whether the only things that can kindle them into anything like earnestness and emotion are the poor, shabby things of personal advantage. I need not remind you how, all through John’s career, there burned, unflickering and undying, that steadfast light; how he brought to the service of the plainest teaching of morality a fervour of passion and of zeal almost unexampled and magnificent. I need not remind you how Jesus Christ Himself laid His hand upon this characteristic, when He said of him that ‘he was a light kindled and shining.’ But I would lay upon all our hearts the plain, practical lesson that, if we keep in that tepid region of lukewarmness which is the utmost approach to tropical heat that moral and religious questions are capable of raising in many of us, good-bye to all chance of being ‘great in the sight of the Lord.’ We hear a great deal about the ‘blessings of moderation,’ the ‘dangers of fanaticism,’ and the like. I venture to think that the last thing which the moral consciousness of England wants today is a refrigerator, and that what it needs a great deal more than that is, that all Christian people should be brought face to face with this plain truth-that their religion has, as an indispensable part of it, ‘a Spirit of burning,’ and that if they have not been baptized in fire, there is little reason to believe that they have been baptized with the Holy Ghost.
I long that you and myself may be aflame for goodness, may be enthusiastic over plain morality, and may show that we are so by our daily life, by our rebuking the opposite, if need be, even if it take us into Herod’s chamber, and make Herodias our enemy for life.
IV. Lastly, observe the final element of greatness in this man-absolute humility of self-abnegation before Jesus Christ.
There is nothing that I know in biography anywhere more beautiful, more striking, than the contrast between the two halves of the character and demeanour of the Baptist; how, on the one side, he fronts all men undaunted and recognises no superior, and how neither threats nor flatteries nor anything else will tempt him to step one inch beyond the limitations of which he is aware, nor to abate one inch of the claims which he urges; and on the other hand how, like some tall cedar touched by the lightning’s hand, he falls prone before Jesus Christ and says, ‘He must increase, and I must decrease’: ‘A man can receive nothing except it be given him of God.’ He is all boldness on one side; all submission and dependence on the other.
You remember how, in the face of many temptations, that attitude was maintained. The very message which he had to carry was full of temptations to a self-seeking man to assert himself. You remember the almost rough ‘No!’ with which, reiteratedly, he met the suggestions of the deputation from Jerusalem that sought to induce him to say that he was more than he knew himself to be, and how he stuck by that infinitely humble and beautiful saying, ‘I am a voice’-that is all. You remember how the whole nation was in a kind of conspiracy to tempt him to assert himself, and was ready to break into a flame if he had dropped a spark, for all men were musing in their heart whether he was the Christ or not,’ and all the lawless and restless elements would have been only too glad to gather round him, if he had declared himself the Messiah. Remember how his own disciples came to him, and tried to play upon his jealousy and to induce him to assert himself: ‘Master, He whom thou didst baptize’-and so didst give Him the first credentials that sent men on His course-’has outstripped thee, and all men are coming to Him.’ And you remember the lovely answer that opened such depths of unexpected tenderness in the rough nature: ‘He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom heareth the voice; and that is enough to fill my cup with joy to the very brim.’ And what conceptions of Jesus Christ had John, that he thus bowed his lofty crest before Him, and softened his heart into submission almost abject? He knew Him to be the coming Judge, with the fan in His hand, who could baptize with fire, and he knew Him to be ‘the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.’ Therefore he fell before Him.
Brethren, we shall not be ‘great in the sight of the Lord’ unless we copy that example of utter self-abnegation before Jesus Christ. Thomas a Kempis says somewhere, ‘He is truly great who is small in his own sight, and thinks nothing of the giddy heights of worldly honour.’ You and I know far more of Jesus Christ than John the Baptist did. Do we bow ourselves before Him as he did? The Source from which he drew his greatness is open to us all. Let us begin with the recognition of the Lamb of God that takes away the world’s sin, and with it ours. Let the thought of what He is, and what He has done for us, bow us in unfeigned submission. Let it shatter all dreams of our own importance or our own desert. The vision of the Lamb of God, and it only, will crush in our hearts the serpent’s eggs of self-esteem and self-regard.
Then, let our closeness to Jesus Christ, and our experience of His power, kindle in us the fiery enthusiasm with which He baptizes all His true servants, and let it because we know the sweetnesses that excel, take from us all liability to be tempted away by the vulgar and coarse delights of earth and of sense. Let us keep ourselves clear of the babble that is round about us, and be strong because we grasp Christ’s hand.
I have been speaking about no characteristic which may not be attained by any man, woman, or child amongst us. ‘The least in the kingdom of heaven’ may be greater than John. It is a poor ambition to seek to be called ‘great.’ It is a noble desire to be ‘great in the sight of the Lord.’ And if we will keep ourselves close to Jesus Christ that will be attained. It will matter very little what men think of us, if at last we have praise from the lips of Him who poured such praise on His servant. We may, if we will. And then it will not hurt us though our names on earth be dark and our memories perish from among men..
‘Of so much fame in heaven expect the meed.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv13, 17 (See Scofield "Heb 1:4")
angel
(See Scofield "Heb 1:4")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v11 The angel messenger:
The angel messenger:
v. 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
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v. 12. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
v. 13. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias; for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son; and thou shalt call his name John.
v. 14. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
v. 15. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
v. 16. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord, their God.
v. 17. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
While Zacharias was engaged in the work of his ministry, while the fumes of the incense in the censer were being wafted upward before the veil of the Most Holy Place,, there suddenly appeared to him an angel of the Lord. It was not a revelation in a dream or in an unconscious state, but an actual appearance, about whose definiteness there could be no doubt. On the right side, that is, on the south side of the altar of incense, the heavenly visitor stood. Zacharias was not in an ecstatic state, his mind was perfectly clear, he noted every detail. But he was deeply moved at the sight, greatly perturbed, as might be expected under the circumstances. And this perturbation took the form of fear, which fell upon him. Well might a sinful man be filled with fear in the presence of a sinless messenger from the holy God. But the angel made haste to reassure him, to tell him there was no need of fear and disturbance. It is a message of joy that he is bringing. It was not only on this day that the thoughts of Zacharias in his prayer had dwelt upon the cross that he was bearing, but it seems that this calamity was a cause of constant supplication to God. Note: When God gives His children a cross to bear, He tests their fortitude and patience, their faith and trust in Him. Even if all experience of man is against a Christian in his prayer, he trusts in the merciful Father for help and, in childlike faith, brings his petition before the throne of God again and again. God will hear at His time and in His way. Thus the angel here announced to Zacharias the fulfillment of his prayer. His wife Elisabeth would bear him a son, and he should call the name of this son John, which Luther renders: the Lord’s favor or mercy. This happening, the angel says, will be the occasion for joy and exultation on the part of the father. But other people also would rejoice with the parents on account of this son. The angel does not merely mean the relatives, who, indeed, did not disappoint them at the time appointed, but there is here a hint also of the joy which the true Jews, the believers, would feel at this indication of the consummation of their hopes, for some surely would recognize in John the forerunner of the Lord, the Messiah. The cause for this joy in the highest degree will not merely be parenthood realized, but the fact that this son would be great before the Lord, in the sight of God. He shall be esteemed highly in the sight of God, but shall also receive such regard for service in the field of religion. One of his characteristics would be that of the Nazarites of old: he would drink neither wine nor strong drink, any intoxicating beverage made from fruit outside of grapes, Num 6:3. But his greatest distinction would be this, that he would be filled with the Holy Ghost, not only from the hour of his birth, but before he would have seen the light, from his earliest origin. And a great and wonderful work will be his: Many of the children of Israel will he turn, convert, to the Lord, their God. Repentance and conversion will be his great aim and watchword. Such a spiritual renewal or Revival was badly needed in Palestine at this time, since there was too much dead orthodoxy and not enough living faith among the people. In performing this work, John would be fulfilling the prophecy spoken of him, Mal 4:5-6. The spirit and power of Elijah would be living in him, to turn the heart of the parents to the children, to make them realize the responsibility that rests upon them in the bringing up of the little ones in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, to make them realize that a supplying of the physical needs of the children is not sufficient to meet the demands of the Lord, to make them understand that their duty is not fulfilled when they go through the perfunctory, prescribed formula for teaching their children the outward observances of religion. And incidentally, John’s work would consist in turning the disobedient, the faithless, in, or by means of, the sound common sense of the righteous. To wander away from the Lord and follow the bent and inclination of one’s own evil heart, is, in the last analysis, the height of foolishness. The only true common sense is that found in those that live their life, with God’s help, in accordance with the rules of God’s holy Word. By such means, and in this way, John would prepare for the Lord a ready, instructed, adapted people. That is the order in the kingdom of Christ: by the preaching of repentance the way is prepared for Christ and for the Gospel of the mercy of God in Christ. Only where the hearts are previously influenced properly by such preaching, can sound Christian character grow out of the love of Christ.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv11, 14, 16 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
While Zechariah does his duty in the temple, an angel comes from God to give him a message.
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Now
This word marks the beginning of the action in the story.
appeared to him
"suddenly came to him" or "was suddenly there with Zechariah." This expresses that the angel was present with Zechariah, and not simply a vision.
Zechariah ... was terrified ... fear fell on him
These two phrases mean the same thing, and emphasize how afraid Zechariah was.
When Zechariah saw him
"When Zechariah saw the angel." Zechariah was afraid because the appearance of the angel was frightening. He had not done anything wrong, so he was not afraid that the angel would punish him.
fear fell on him
Fear is described as if it was something that attacked or overpowered Zechariah. (See: Metaphor)
Do not be afraid
"Stop being afraid of me" or "You do not need to be afraid of me"
your prayer has been heard
This can be stated in active form. It is implied that God will give Zechariah what he has asked for. AT: "God has heard your prayer and will give you what you have asked for" (See: Active or Passive and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
bear you a son
"have a son for you" or "give birth to your son"
translationWords
angel
altar of incense
fear
John (the Baptist)
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv12, 15, 17 1:12-13 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear: Fear…
1:12-13 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear: Fear and awe are common reactions when someone sees an angel or experiences the presence of God (Judg 6:22-23; 13:22; Isa 6:5). The person is often reassured by a saying such as Don’t be afraid. • you are to name him John: John means “the Lord has shown favor.” This favor came to Elizabeth and Zechariah through their son and to the Israelite nation through the Messiah, whose coming John would announce.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.