Lukechapter 1
80 verses · Luke · about AD 62 · The Gospels
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
Introduction
Luke, The Gospels, Luke Overview.
Luke was a physician and a companion of Paul, and he wrote for a Greek reader named Theophilus who had already been taught about Jesus. He opens like a careful historian and then steps into the temple courts of an old priestly family. The chapter sets two announcements side by side, one to an aged priest and one to a young woman in a Galilean village. Listen for the pairing, and notice which of the two is met with doubt. Listen also for the two songs, which are full of the older Scriptures. Read it as the doorway to a book written so that its reader may be sure.
Context
- Who
- Theophilus and Greek-speaking readers who needed the temple system explained
- What
- The preface of the Gospel and the announcements and births that open it, with the births of John and Jesus told side by side.
- Where
- The temple sanctuary in Jerusalem, a town in the hill country of Judea, and the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
- When
- The last years of Herod the Great, about 7 to 5 BC, and the Gospel itself written later in the first century, most often dated to the AD 60s to 80s.
- Why
- To give a reader who had been taught about Jesus a checked and ordered account, so that he could be sure of what he had heard.
Historical context
Priestly service ran on a rota. The priesthood was divided into twenty-four courses, and each course came up to Jerusalem to serve for a week, twice a year, plus the great festivals. Zechariah belonged to one of them, which is why he is at the sanctuary at all and why he goes home again afterwards.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
Burning the incense was the assignment of a lifetime. There were far more priests than duties, so the tasks were allotted, and a man who drew the incense offering was ordinarily not eligible again. Zechariah is standing in the holiest place he will ever stand, on the one day he will ever stand there, when the angel appears.
Meanwhile the crowd is outside praying. The people gathered in the courts at the hour of incense, morning and afternoon, and waited for the priest to come out and pronounce the blessing. When Zechariah cannot speak, the whole assembly knows something has happened.
Naming took place at circumcision on the eighth day, and the family expected a name from the family. Elizabeth's insistence on John broke the custom, which is why they appealed to the father, and why a man who could not speak asked for a writing tablet, a wax-covered board written on with a stylus.
Significance
Luke tells Theophilus at the outset exactly what kind of book this is: he has followed everything carefully from the beginning, checked with those who were eyewitnesses from the first, and set it in order so that his reader may know the certainty of what he has been taught.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
Then Mary's song sets the terms for the whole Gospel. God has scattered the proud, brought down rulers from their thrones, lifted the humble, filled the hungry, and sent the rich away empty. A Greek reader of rank was being told at the start which way this kingdom runs.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Why Luke Wrote It Down for Theophilus
Luke 1:1-4
Many have undertaken to compose: The preface is the most polished periodic sentence in the New Testament, four verses forming one Greek clause. It is the mark of a trained writer addressing an educated reader.
Luke 1:1
“Forasmuch as many - It has been doubted who are referred to here by the word “many.” It seems clear that it could not be the other evangelists, for the gospel by “John” was not yet written, and the word “many” denotes clearly more than “two.” Besides, it is said that they undertook to record what the “eye-witnesses” had delivered to them, so that the writers did not pretend to be eye-witnesses themselves. It is clear, therefore, that other writings are meant than the gospels which we now have, but what they were is a matter of conjecture.”
the initial eyewitnesses and servants of the word: Luke names his sources as people who saw the events and then served the message. Barnes takes the word here to mean the gospel. Henry notes that such servants received a gospel to preach and had none of their own to make.
Luke 1:2
“This expression does not fit, so that we may believe it to be more of a ministry of the word seen than heard. But because it signifies not a proleptic verb, but a substantial Verb that was made flesh and dwelt among us, let us understand not a common word, but that heavenly one to which the Apostles ministered. And yet it is read in Exodus, because the people saw the voice of the Lord (Exod. XX, 18): and surely the voice is not seen but heard.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Commentary on Lukepatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:2
“Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eye-witnesses - Probably this alludes to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, which it is likely were written before St. Luke wrote his, and on the models of which he professes to write his own; and απ’ αρχης, from the beginning, must mean, from the time that Christ first began to proclaim the glad tidings of the kingdom; and αυτοπται, eye-witnesses, must necessarily signify, those who had been with him from the beginning, and consequently had the best opportunities of knowing the truth of every fact.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
carefully investigated everything from the beginning: Luke claims careful research, tracing each event back to its source before he wrote. Clarke adds that the gift of the Spirit never set aside the use of a writer's own faculties. Bede reads the name Theophilus as one who loves God.
Luke 1:3
“It seemed good - I thought it best; or, I have also determined. It seemed “to be called for” that there should be a full, authentic, and accurate account of these matters. Having had perfect understanding ... - The literal translation of the original here would be, “having exactly traced everything from the first;” or, “having, by diligent and careful investigation, “followed up” everything to the “source,” to obtain an accurate account of the matter.” This much better expresses the idea.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:3
“To write in order - St. Luke describes in order of time; first, The Acts of Christ; his conception, birth, childhood, baptism, miracles, preaching, passion, resurrection, ascension: then, The Acts of the Apostles. But in many smaller circumstances he does not observe the order of time. Most excellent Theophilus - This was the appellation usually given to Roman governors.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Luke 1:3
“Now, it is written that the Gospel is addressed to Theophilus, that is, to him whom God loves. If you love God, it is written to you; if it is written to you, accept the gift of the Evangelist: diligently keep the pledge of a friend in the innermost part of your soul. Guard the valuable deposit through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us: examine it frequently, discuss it often. Faith is owed to the pledge first: diligence follows faith; lest moths or rust destroy the entrusted pledges.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 1.12patristic
the certainty of the things you have been taught: The verb for taught gives English the word catechism, as Barnes and Clarke both observe. Theophilus had already received the first lessons of the faith by word of mouth. Luke writes so that he may hold them with full assurance.
Luke 1:4
“Wherein thou hast been instructed - Κατηχηθης - In which thou hast been catechized. It appears that Theophilus had already received the first elements of the Christian doctrine, but had not as yet been completely grounded in them. That he might know the certainty of the things in which he had been thus catechized, by having all the facts and their proofs brought before him in order, the evangelist sent him this faithful and Divinely inspired narrative.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:4
“It is implied, that he had been instructed in these things either before his baptism, or since, or both, according to the rule, Matt. xxviii. Probably, Luke had baptized him, and knew how well instructed he was; peri hon katechethes -- concerning which thou hast been catechized; so the word is; the most knowing Christians began with being catechized.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Gabriel Comes to Zacharias at the Altar
Luke 1:5-7
In the time of Herod: Zechariah belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, one of the twenty-four courses of 1 Chronicles 24:10. Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron, so John is priest by both lines.
Luke 1:5
“They took the whole temple service for a week each. his wife was of the daughters of Aaron--The priests might marry into any tribe, but "it was most commendable of all to marry one of the priests' line" [LIGHTFOOT].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
4 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:5
“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea,.... This was Herod, the son of Antipater, sometimes called Herod the Great, and is rightly here said to be the king of Judea; for, by deputation from the Roman emperor, he had the government of all Judea, which upon his death was divided among his sons.”
Luke 1:5
“The divine Scripture teaches us that not only the virtues of those who are worthy of praise, but also parents should be praised; so that, like an inherited legacy of unblemished purity, they surpass those whom we desire to praise. For what other purpose does the holy Evangelist have in this place, if not to ennoble the parents of St. John the Baptist through miracles, character, calling, and suffering? Similarly, the mother of the holy Samuel, Anna, is praised; thus Isaac received nobility of piety from his parents, which he bequeathed to his descendants.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 1.15-16patristic
Luke 1:5
“The course of Abia - The priests were divided into twenty-four courses, of which that of Abia was the eighth, 1 Ch xxiv, 10. Each course ministered in its turn, for seven days, from Sabbath to Sabbath.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Luke 1:5
“This is taken notice of to show that the sceptre was quite departed from Judah, and therefore that now was the time for Shiloh to come, according to Jacob's prophecy, Gen. xlix. The family of David was now sunk, when it was to rise, and flourish again, in the Messiah.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
righteous in the sight of God: Zechariah and Elizabeth are called righteous before God, whose judgment sees the heart, as Henry puts it. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, following Calvin and Bengel, read the commandments as moral duties and the decrees as ceremonial ones. Their faithfulness sets up the grief of the next verse.
Elizabeth was barren: Barrenness and old age met in one couple, and Clarke says this made a son impossible by human reckoning. He sets the case beside Abraham and Sarah in Genesis. Bede holds that God ordained the late birth on purpose.
Luke 1:7
“Both were now well stricken in years - By the order of God, sterility and old age both met in the person of Elisabeth, to render the birth of a son (humanly speaking) impossible. This was an exact parallel to the case of Sarah and Abraham, Gen 11:30; Gen 17:17. Christ must (by the miraculous power of God) be born of a virgin: whatever was connected with, or referred to, his incarnation must be miraculous and impressive.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:7
“Consider why many holy women in the Scriptures are said to have been barren, as Sarah herself, and now Rebecca. Also Rachel, Israel's beloved, was barren. Hannah also, the mother of Samuel, is recorded to have been barren. Also in the Gospels, Elizabeth is said to have been barren. In all these instances this term is used, for after sterility they all gave birth to a holy person.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Homilies on Genesis 12.1patristic
Luke 1:8-10
One day while Zechariah’s division: Priests drew the honor of burning incense by lot from among thousands and only once in a lifetime. So this ordinary morning became the great day of Zechariah’s life.
Luke 1:8
“Before God - In the temple, where God used to manifest his presence, though long before this time he had forsaken it; yet, on this important occasion, the angel of his presence had visited it.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
he was chosen by lot: The priests divided their daily duties by lot, as Barnes and Clarke report from Jewish writers. Henry cites the Jewish saying that no priest burned incense twice in all his days. The lot gave Zechariah the high point of his ministry.
Luke 1:9
“According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was. - The Jewish writers inform us that it was customary for the priests to divide their daily task by “lot.” To burn incense - Incense is an aromatic or white rosin procured from trees, chiefly in Arabia. It is obtained by making incisions in the tree, and the gum flows out.”
the whole congregation was praying outside: The people prayed in the courts while the priest burned incense inside. Clarke notes that incense stood for the prayers of God's people, as Psalm 141 says. So the crowd was doing the very thing the rite pictured.
Luke 1:10
“The whole multitude - were praying - The incense was itself an emblem of the prayers and praises of the people of God: see Psa 141:2; Rev 8:1. While, therefore, the rite is performing by the priest, the people are employed in the thing signified. Happy the people who attend to the spirit as well as the letter of every divine institution! Incense was burnt twice a day in the temple, in the morning and in the evening, Exo 30:7, Exo 30:8; but the evangelist does not specify the time of the day in which this transaction took place.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:10
“Perhaps one reason of ordaining incense might be, to intimate the acceptableness of the prayer that accompanied it; as well as to remind the worshippers of that sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour, which was once to be offered to God for them, and of that incense, which is continually offered with the prayers of the saints, upon the golden altar that is before the throne, Rev. viii, 3, 4.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Luke 1:11-13
Just then an angel of: The angel stood at the right side of the altar of incense, the side of favor in Jewish tradition. The name he gives, John, means the Lord is gracious.
Luke 1:11
“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.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:11
“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.”
he was startled and gripped with fear: Zechariah was righteous, and still the sight of the angel shook him. Henry traces this fear to the fall, after which the human mind could no longer bear such glory. John Gill adds that angels had become rare visitors by then.
Luke 1:12
“And when Zacharias saw him,.... The angel; he was troubled, and fear fell upon him; for such appearances of angels were not now so common as formerly: and when they were more usual, generally had such effects on the minds, even of good men; see Jdg 6:22.”
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Luke 1:12
“Though he was righteous before God, and blameless in his conversation, yet he could not be without some apprehensions at the sight of one whose visage and surrounding lustre bespoke him more than human. Ever since man sinned, his mind has been unable to bear the glory of such revelations and his conscience afraid of evil tidings brought by them; even Daniel himself could not bear it, Dan. x.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
your prayer has been heard: The prayer is most likely the couple's old prayer for a son, which Henry says God now answers long after it was made. Clarke also hears in it the prayer for Israel's deliverance. The name John means the Lord's gracious gift.
Luke 1:13
“Thy prayer is heard - That is, thy prayer for offspring. This, among the Jews, was an object of intense desire. No prospect was more gloomy to them than that of dying childless, so that their “name should perish.” Special pains, therefore, had been taken in the law to keep up the names of families by requiring a man to marry his brother’s wife, Deu 25:5.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:13
“Thou shalt call his name John - John signifies the grace or favour of Jehovah. A name well suiting the person, who was afterward so highly in favour with God, and endued with abundance of grace; and who opened a way to the most glorious dispensation of grace in the Messiah's kingdom.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Luke 1:13
“But God will now, in giving this mercy, look a great way back to the prayers that he had made long since for and with his wife, as Isaac for and with his, Gen. xxv. Note, Prayers of faith are filed in heaven, and are not forgotten, though the thing prayed for is not presently given in.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Luke 1:14-15
He will be a joy: He shall never take wine or strong drink is the language of the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6. It places John beside Samson and Samuel as deliverers set apart from the womb.
Luke 1:14
“But a saint is not only the blessing of his parents, but also the salvation of many; as it follows, And many shall rejoice at his birth. Parents are reminded here to rejoice at the birth of saints, and to give thanks. For it is no slight gift of God to vouchsafe unto us children, to be the transmitters of our race, to be the heirs of succession.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
He shall never take wine or strong drink: The rule against wine and strong drink marks John as a Nazirite, a person set apart to God under Numbers 6. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown call the Nazirite a living picture of holiness. Wesley links his self-denial to the fullness of the Spirit.
Luke 1:15
“He shall be great before the Lord - God the Father: of the Holy Ghost and the Son of God mention is made immediately after. And shall drink neither wine nor strong drink - Shall be exemplary for abstemiousness and self-denial; and so much the more filled with the Holy Ghost.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Luke 1:16-17
Many of the sons of Israel: In the spirit and power of Elijah takes up Malachi 4:5-6, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children. The phrase fits both Jesus naming him Elijah in Matthew 11:14 and John refusing the title in John 1:21.
Luke 1:16
“And many of the children of Israel shall he turn - None therefore need be ashamed of "preaching like John the Baptist." To the Lord their God - To Christ.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
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Luke 1:16
“John indeed turned many, but it is the Lord's work to turn all to God their Father.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
in the spirit and power of Elijah: The angel applies Malachi's promise of Elijah to John. Clarke sees the likeness in John's desert life and in his courage before kings, as Elijah faced Ahab. Bede reads the turning of hearts as passing the faith of the ancient saints on to the people.
Luke 1:17
“Shall go before him - Before the Messiah. The connection here leads us to suppose that the word “him” refers to the “Lord their God” in the previous verse. If so, then it will follow that the Messiah was the Lord God of Israel - a character abundantly given him in other parts of the New Testament. In the spirit and power of Elias - See the notes at Mat 11:14. To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children - In the time of John the Jews were divided into a number of different sects.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:17
“Well, these things are connected; for the spirit is never without virtue, nor is virtue without the spirit. And therefore, perhaps in the spirit and virtue of Elijah; for the holy Elijah had great power and grace: the power to turn the hearts of the people to faith from wickedness, the power of abstinence and patience, and the spirit of prophecy.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 1.36patristic
Luke 1:17
“JOHN was the herald of Christ—he was to prepare the way for the coming King—but from this text it appears that he was to do more than that. He was not only to make the road ready for the Lord, but he was also "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." That was a great work, a task in which he would require strength and wisdom greater than his own.”
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2404: “"A People Prepared for the Lord"” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
Luke 1:18-20
Zechariah answers the promise with a request for proof, the question Abraham asked in Genesis 15:8. The sign is silence until the day this comes to pass, because he did not believe.
Luke 1:18
“ZACHARIAS and the Virgin Mary were both very dear to God and, therefore, highly honored and greatly favored. The points of likeness between them are many. They were both persons of eminent character, for Zacharias walked blameless in all the ordinances and commandments of the Lord and Mary was equally gracious and devout. They were both visited by an angel and were both favored with the prediction of a marvelous birth. Their answers to the angel are our two texts and, at first sight, they seem to be alike.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:18
“Whereby, &c.--Mary believed what was far harder without a sign. Abraham, though older, and doubtless Sarah, too, when the same promise was made to him, "staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God." This was that in which Zacharias failed.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Gabriel is the angel who brought Daniel word of the Messiah, and Henry takes the name as a reminder of that earlier message. To stand in a king's presence marked honour and favour, as Barnes explains. The good news carries that authority.
Luke 1:19
“I am Gabriel - The word “Gabriel” is made up of two Hebrew words, and signifies “man of God.” This angel is mentioned as having been deputed to inform “Daniel” that his prayers were heard. See the notes at Dan 8:16; Dan 9:21. That stand in the presence of God - To stand in the presence of one is a phrase denoting “honor” or “favor.” To be admitted to the presence of a king, or to be with him, was a token of favor. So to stand before God signifies merely that he was honored or favored by God.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:19
“And the angel answering, said unto him, I am Gabriel,.... The name of an angel well known to Zacharias from Daniel's prophecies, Dan 8:16 and is the first time we read of the name of an angel: the Jews say (a), the names of angels came out of Babylon, by the means of the Israelites; and it was there that Daniel became acquainted with this name of Gabriel, and also of Michael.”
you will be silent and unable to speak: The silence is a sign and a judgment at once. Barnes explains that it proved the message came from God and punished Zechariah's unbelief. Henry adds that the word can mean deaf as well as mute, and verse 62 bears that out.
Luke 1:20
“For Zacharias, when punished with a temporary privation of voice, holds colloquy with his mind, and, passing by his bootless tongue, with the help of his hands dictates from his heart, and without his mouth pronounces the name of his son. Thus, in his pen there speaks a hand clearer than every sound, in his waxen tablet there is heard a letter more vocal that every mouth.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Idolatrypatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:20
“Thou shalt be dumb - Σιωπων silent; this translation is literal; the angel immediately explains it, thou shalt not be able to speak. Dumbness ordinarily proceeds from a natural imperfection or debility of the organs of speech; in this case there was no natural weakness or unfitness in those organs; but, for his rash and unbelieving speech, silence is imposed upon him by the Lord, and he shall not be able to break it, till the power that has silenced him gives him again the permission to speak!”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 1:21-23
the people were waiting for Zechariah: , since the incense offering was brief and the crowd outside sensed the delay. When he came out unable to speak, they realized he had seen a vision in the temple.
Luke 1:21
“The people waited - That is, beyond the usual time. Marvelled - Wondered. The priest, it is said, was not accustomed to remain in the temple more than half an hour commonly. Having remained on this occasion a longer time, the people became apprehensive of his safety, and wondered what had happened to him.”
they realized he had seen a vision in the temple: The people waited outside the veil and saw nothing within. Clarke explains that Zechariah had to nod and make signs to tell them. Henry notes that the silence also kept the vision secret for the time.
Luke 1:22
“They perceived that he had seen a vision - As the sanctuary was separated from the court by a great veil, the people could not see what passed, but they understood this from Zacharias himself, who, ην διανευων, made signs, or nodded unto them to that purpose. Signs are the only means by which a dumb man can convey his ideas to others.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:22
“He was now to have dismissed the congregation with a blessing, but was dumb and not able to do it, that the people may be minded to expect the Messiah, who can command the blessing, who blesseth indeed, and in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
when the days of his service were complete: Zechariah stayed at his post until his week of service ended, though he was mute. Clarke notes that each priestly family served one whole week. Barnes sees piety in his refusal to use the loss of speech as an excuse to leave.
Luke 1:23
“During the time of their course, the priests of the temple were so occupied by their office, that they kept themselves not only from the society of their wives, but even from the very threshold of their houses. Hence it is said, And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days were accomplished, &c. For as there was then required a priestly succession from the root of Aaron, of necessity then a time was appointed for keeping up the inheritance.”
Bede · written before 735 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 1:24-25
his wife Elizabeth became pregnant: The disgrace is barrenness in the eyes of that world. It is the reproach Rachel and Hannah carried before her in Genesis 30:23 and 1 Samuel 1:6-7.
Luke 1:24
“And after those days,.... The days of his ministration in the temple, quickly after his return home; the Ethiopic version reads, "after two days": his wife Elisabeth conceived; according to the angels prediction, and notwithstanding her barrenness, and the unbelief of her husband, and hid herself five months.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:24
“Hid herself five months - That she might have the fullest proof of the accomplishment of God’s promise before she appeared in public, or spoke of her mercies. When a Hindoo female is pregnant of her first child, she avoids the presence of those with whom she was before familiar, as a point of delicacy.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Barrenness counted as a disgrace in Israel, where children were held a sign of God's favour, as Barnes shows from the Psalms and First Samuel. Elizabeth sees God removing that shame. Theophylact says she hid herself until Mary conceived.
Luke 1:25
“Thus - In this merciful manner. To take away my reproach - Among the Jews, a family of children was counted a signal blessing, an evidence of the favor of God, Psa 113:9; Psa 128:3; Isa 4:1; Isa 44:3-4; Lev 26:9. To be “barren,” therefore, or to be destitute of children, was considered a “reproach” or a “disgrace,” 1Sa 1:6.”
Gabriel Comes to Mary at Nazareth
Luke 1:26-28
God sent the angel Gabriel: The greeting you who are highly favored uses the Greek word for grace received. Paul uses the same word of every believer in Ephesians 1:6.
Luke 1:26
“A city of Galilee - As Joseph and Mary were both of the family of David, the patrimonial estate of which lay in Bethlehem, it seems as if the family residence should have been in that city, and not in Nazareth; for we find that, even after the return from the captivity, the several families went to reside in those cities to which they originally belonged. See Neh 11:3. But it is probable that the holy family removed to Galilee for fear of exciting the jealousy of Herod, who had usurped that throne to which they had an indisputable right.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph: Mary is both a virgin and pledged in marriage. Bede gives the best reason as the protection of Mary from condemnation. Wesley adds that the betrothal gave the child a reputed father and spared Mary reproach.
Luke 1:27
“Therefore he who undertook to prove the mystery of the Incarnation in its incorrupt state, did not think it necessary to pursue at length the testimony of the Virgin Mary's virginity, lest he should be thought to be a defender rather than an assertor of the mystery. Certainly, when Joseph had made lawful the marriage he was about to contract, he sufficiently showed that the temple of the Holy Ghost, the abode of the mystery, the mother of the Lord could not have been violated.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Commentary on Lukepatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:27
“Espoused - It was customary among the Jews, for persons that married to contract before witnesses some time before. And as Christ was to be born of a pure virgin, so the wisdom of God ordered it to be of one espoused, that to prevent reproach he might have a reputed father, according to the flesh.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
you who are highly favored!: The greeting carries the sense of joy be with you, as Barnes explains. Mary is favoured in being chosen to bear the Messiah. Wesley notes that the words are a greeting and carry no form of prayer or worship offered to her.
Luke 1:28
“The Lord is with thee, was said to Gideon, Judg. vi, 12; and blessed shall she be above women, of Jael, Judg. v, 24. This salutation gives no room for any pretense of paying adoration to the virgin; as having no appearance of a prayer, or of worship offered to her.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:28
“As the mother of our Lord, she was the most "blessed among women" in external distinction; but let them listen to the Lord's own words. "Nay, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it." (See on Lu 11:27).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Luke 1:29-30
Mary was greatly troubled at: Mary reasons carefully over the content of the greeting, where Zechariah had feared the sight itself. Luke notes the same trait in her again at 2:19 and 2:51.
Luke 1:29
Mary was pondering about the greeting, what kind it was: whether it was vile and corrupt, as a man's address to a maiden, or divine, since God was also mentioned in the greeting: "The Lord is with you."
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on Lukepatristic
4 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:29
“For if Mary had known that similar words had been addressed to others, such a salutation would never have appeared to her so strange and alarming.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 1:29
“She was troubled at his saying - The glorious appearance of the heavenly messenger filled her with amazement; and she was puzzled to find out the purport of his speech.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 1:29
“Troubled at his saying - Disturbed or perplexed at what he said. It was so unexpected, so sudden, so extraordinary, and was so high an honor, that she was filled with anxious thoughts, and did not know what to make of it. Cast in her mind - Thought, or revolved in her mind. What manner of salutation - What this salutation could mean.”
Luke 1:29
“Learn the virgin in morals, learn the virgin in modesty, learn the virgin in prayer, learn the virgin in mystery. To tremble is for virgins, and to fear the approach of every man, to fear the speech of every man. Let women learn to imitate the purpose of modesty. Alone in the inner chambers, where no man could see, only the angel would find her: alone without a companion, alone without a witness; lest she be corrupted by any improper speech, she is greeted by the angel.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Commentary on Lukepatristic
you have found favor with God: Mary's fear follows the strange greeting of verse 29, and the angel calms it before he gives the message. Theophylact says a troubled heart could hardly take in what was coming. Chrysostom ties finding favour to humility, citing James.
Luke 1:30
“For if Mary had known that similar words had been addressed to others, such a salutation would never have appeared to her so strange and alarming. When the angel saw that she was troubled at this unusual salutation, calling her by her name as if she was well known to him, he tells her she must not fear, as it follows; And the angel said, Fear not, Mary.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 1:31-33
you will conceive and give birth: The throne of His father David names the covenant of 2 Samuel 7:12-16. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, a real throne for a real son of David.
Luke 1:31
“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb - See the notes at Isa 7:14. And shalt call his name Jesus - A Saviour. See the notes at Mat 1:21. All this was announced. also, by an angel to Joseph, after this visitation to Mary. See the notes at Mat 1:20-21.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:31
“The angel purposely conforms his language to Isaiah's famous prophecy (Isa 7:14) [CALVIN]. This is but an echo of the sublime prediction in Isa 9:6, 7.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the Son of the Most High: Two titles meet in one person here, Son of the Most High and heir of David's throne. Bede saw one person in two natures here. Barnes hears Isaiah 9, where the promised child receives the throne of David.
Luke 1:32
“Being his last sermon before his journey to the South of France. Strictly speaking, I suppose these words refer to the human Nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is as to His humanity that Christ was born of Mary. The context runs thus—"Behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call His name JESUS. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David.”
3 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:32
“He shall be called the Son of the Highest - In this respect also: and that in a more eminent sense than any, either man or angel, can be called so. The Lord shall give him the throne of his father David - That is, the spiritual kingdom, of which David's was a type.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Luke 1:32
“It was said also of John, that he shall be great, but of him indeed as of a great man, of Christ, as of the great God. For abundantly is poured forth the power of God; widely the greatness of the heavenly substance extended, neither confined by place, nor grasped by thought; neither determined by calculation, nor altered by age.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 1:32
“He shall be great - Behold the greatness of the man Christ Jesus: 1st. Because that human nature that should be born of the virgin was to be united with the Divine nature. 2dly. In consequence of this, that human nature should be called in a peculiar sense the Son of the most high God; because God would produce it in her womb without the intervention of man. 3rdly. He shall be the everlasting Head and Sovereign of his Church. 4thly. His government and kingdom shall be eternal.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The house of Jacob names Israel, the family descended from Jacob, as Clarke explains. John Gill and Bede widen it to the whole people of God, Jews and Gentiles alike. Bede ties the endless reign to Isaiah 9.
Luke 1:33
“And he shall reign over the house of Jacob,.... Not over the Jews, the posterity of Jacob, in a literal sense; but over the whole Israel of God, consisting of Jews and Gentiles.”
Luke 1:34-35
Overshadow is the verb the Greek Old Testament uses for the cloud over the tabernacle in Exodus 40:35. The same presence now settles on a womb.
Luke 1:34
“How, &c.--not the unbelief of Zacharias, "Whereby shall I know this?" but, taking the fact for granted, "How is it to be, so contrary to the unbroken law of human birth?" Instead of reproof, therefore, her question is answered in mysterious detail.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the power of the Most High will overshadow you: The angel answers Mary's question with the Spirit's power. Clarke hears an echo of the Spirit moving over the waters in Genesis 1. Bede notes that Jesus alone is born holy, while others are made holy later.
Luke 1:35
“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee - The power of God was put forth by the Holy Ghost, as the immediate Divine agent in this work: and so he exerted the power of the Highest as his own power, who together with the Father and the Son is the most high God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:35
“Son of God--That Christ is the Son of God in His divine and eternal nature is clear from all the New Testament; yet here we see that Sonship efflorescing into human and palpable manifestation by His being born, through "the power of the Highest," an Infant of days.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Luke 1:35
“For the one and the same Spirit of God, who proclaimed by the prophets what and of what sort the advent of the Lord should be, did by these elders give a just interpretation of what had been truly prophesied; and He did Himself, by the apostles, announce that the fulness of the times of the adoption had arrived, that the kingdom of heaven had drawn nigh, and that He was dwelling within those that believe on Him who was born Emmanuel of the Virgin.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 21), Section 4patristic
ConnectionsExodus 40:34
Luke 1:36-38
even Elizabeth your relative has conceived: For no word from God will ever fail recalls the word to Sarah at Genesis 18:14. The God who opened one old womb now works a greater wonder.
Luke 1:36
“And behold thy cousin Elisabeth,.... For though Elisabeth was of the daughters of Aaron, or of the tribe of Levi by her father's side, yet might be of the tribe of Judah by her mother's side, and so akin to Mary. The Persic version calls her "aunt by the mother's side": intermarriages between the two tribes of Levi and Judah were frequent; nor were they at all contrary to the intention of that law, that forbid the tribes to intermarry, which was to preserve the inheritance in each tribe, since the tribe of Levi had none at all.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:36
“That the Lord then was manifestly coming to His own things, and was sustaining them by means of that creation which is supported by Himself, and was making a recapitulation of that disobedience which had occurred in connection with a tree, through the obedience which was [exhibited by Himself when He hung] upon a tree, [the effects] also of that deception being done away with, by which that virgin Eve, who was already espoused to a man, was unhappily misled — was happily announced, through means of the truth [spoken] by the angel to the Virgin Mary, who was [also…”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 19), Section 1patristic
Luke 1:36
“And behold, thy cousin Elisabeth - Though Elisabeth was of the house of Aaron, and Mary of the house of David, by the fathers side, they might be related by their mothers.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
The angel's word echoes the Lord's question to Sarah in Genesis 18. Clarke thinks Mary heard the allusion to the birth of Isaac and took strength from it. Elizabeth, once called barren and now in her sixth month, is the living proof.
Luke 1:37
“For with God nothing shall be impossible - Words of the very same import with those spoken by the Lord to Sarah, when he foretold the birth of Isaac, Gen 18:14, Is any thing too hard for the Lord? As there can be no doubt that Mary perceived this allusion to the promise and birth of Isaac, so she must have had her faith considerably strengthened by reflecting on the intervention of God in that case.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Mary answers with the word servant, the humble term Bede notes, though she had just been chosen as mother. Barnes reads the reply as faith in the promise and readiness to obey. Wesley thinks the conception may have followed at this moment.
Luke 1:38
“Behold now the humility, the devotion of the virgin. For it follows, But Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord. She calls herself His handmaid, who is chosen to be His mother, so far was she from being exalted by the sudden promise. At the same time also by calling herself handmaid, she claimed to herself in no other way the prerogative of such great grace than that she might do what was commanded her. For about to bring forth One meek and lowly, she was bound herself to show forth lowliness.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:38
“And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord - It is not improbable, that this time of the virgin's humble faith, consent, and expectation, might be the very time of her conceiving.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Mary Visits Elizabeth; My Soul Magnifies the Lord
Luke 1:39-41
In those days Mary got ready: The baby leaped in her womb, the unborn John answering the presence of the unborn Christ in a wordless recognition. Luke adds that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit in the same moment.
Luke 1:39
“The Angel, when he announced the hidden mysteries to the Virgin, that he might build up her faith by an example, related to her the conception of a barren woman. When Mary heard it, it was not that she disbelieved the oracle, or was uncertain about the messenger, or doubtful of the example, but rejoicing in the fulfilment of her wish, and consicentious in the observance of her duty, she gladly went forth into the hill country. For what could Mary now, filled with God, (plena Deo) but ascend into the higher parts with haste!”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:39
“And Mary arose - The word “arose” here is equivalent to “setting out,” or starting on a journey. The hill country - The region in the vicinity of Jerusalem, commonly called the hill country of Judea. City of Juda - What city is meant is not known. Some have supposed it to be Jerusalem, others Hebron; but all is conjecture. It was probably a Levitical city, and the residence of Zechariah when he was not employed in the temple.”
greeted Elizabeth: Mary greets Elizabeth first on arrival. Bede and Theophylact see humility in the younger woman going to the elder. John Gill offers reasons for greeting Elizabeth alone, among them that Zechariah could neither hear nor speak.
Luke 1:40
“And entered into the house of Zacharias, &c. Which was in the above city, and might be well known to her: and saluted Elisabeth; not Zacharias; either because he was not at home; or because he was deaf and dumb, and could neither hear her salutation, nor return it; or because it was not usual for women to salute men, nor men to salute women; See Gill on Luk 1:29, yet one woman might salute another; and especially Mary saluted Elisabeth, because she came to pay the visit to her, and it was with her she was principally concerned.”
the baby leaped in her womb: The leap answers the angel's word in verse 15 that John would be filled with the Spirit from the womb. Clarke sees that promise begin here. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read it as the child's response to the presence of his Lord's mother.
Luke 1:41
“But soon the blessed fruits of Mary's coming and our Lord's presence are made evident. For it follows, And it came to pass, that when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. Mark the distinction and propriety of each word. Elisabeth first heard the word, but John first experienced the grace. She heard by the order of nature, he leaped by reason of the mystery. She perceived the coming of Mary, he the coming of the Lord.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:41
“Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost - The meaning of this seems to be that she was filled with joy; with a disposition to praise God; with a prophetic spirit, or a knowledge of the character of the child that should be born of her. All these were produced by the Holy Spirit.”
Luke 1:41
“When Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary - The discourse with which she saluted her, giving an account of what the angel had said, the joy of her soul so affected her body, that the very child in her womb was moved in an uncommon manner, as if it leaped for joy.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Luke 1:42-45
In a loud voice she exclaimed: Elizabeth names Mary the mother of my Lord, one of the earliest confessions of Christ’s deity in the Gospel. She speaks before Mary had said a word of the child, so the recognition is revealed to her.
Luke 1:42
“And when He says, "Hear, O house of David," He performed the part of one indicating that He whom God promised David that He would raise up from the fruit of his belly (ventris) an eternal King, is the same who was born of the Virgin, herself of the lineage of David.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 21), Section 5patristic
the mother of my Lord: Elizabeth calls the unborn child her Lord. Clarke credits the prophetic Spirit of verse 41 for her insight into the Messiah's birth. Theophylact compares John's later protest at the Jordan that he was unworthy to baptize Jesus.
Luke 1:43
“And whence is this to me? - An expression of humility. Why is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me, as if to honor me? Mother of my Lord - The word “Lord” sometimes denotes “divinity,” and sometimes superior, master, teacher, or governor. It was given by the Jews to their expected Messiah; but whether they understood it as denoting divinity cannot now be ascertained. It is clear only that Elizabeth used it as denoting great dignity and honor.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:43
“She says it not ignorantly, for she knew it was by the grace and operation of the Holy Spirit that the mother of the prophet should be saluted by the mother of his Lord, to the advancement and growth of her own pledge; but being aware that this was of no human deserving, but a gift of Divine grace, she therefore says, Whence is this to me, that is, By what right of mine, by what that I have done, for what good deeds?”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
the baby in my womb leaped for joy: Elizabeth now explains the movement of verse 41 as joy. John Gill notes that she took it as the sign that Mary was the mother of her Lord. Bede says her shame at the pregnancy ended once she knew the mystery.
Luke 1:44
“For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears,.... This she mentions, as the signal by which she knew that she was the mother of her Lord; namely, from that unusual and extraordinary motion of the child, she felt within her: the babe leaped in my womb for joy; that the mother of her Lord, and his, was come thither: the Jews ought not to object to this, who affirm, that the embryos, or infants in their mother's womb, sung the song at the Red Sea, and praised God. (i). (i) Targum in Ps lxviii.”
Blessed is she who has believed: Elizabeth blesses Mary for believing, a quiet contrast with her own husband, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe. Zechariah was still silent and unable to speak. Clarke reads the rest of the verse as what Mary believed, that the Lord's word to her would be fulfilled.
Luke 1:45
“You see that Mary did not hesitate, but believed; and therefore she obtained the fruit of faith. Blessed, he says, are you who believed. But blessed are you also, who have heard and believed; for whatever the soul believes, it conceives and gives birth to the Word of God, and recognizes His works. Let the soul of Mary be in each one of us, so that we may magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one of us, so that we may rejoice in God.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 2.26patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:45
“Blessed is she that believed - That is, “Mary” who believed what the angel spoke to her. She was blessed not only in the act of believing, but because the thing promised would certainly be fulfilled. From these expressions of Elizabeth we may learn: 1. That the spirit of prophecy had not entirely ceased among the Jews. 2. That the Holy Spirit is the source of light, comfort, and joy. 3. That everything about the birth of Jesus was remarkable, and that he must have been more than a mere man.”
Luke 1:45
An additional benediction on the Virgin for her implicit faith, in tacit and delicate contrast with her own husband. for--rather, as in the Margin, "that."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Luke 1:46-48
The Magnificat is a Hebrew psalm in Greek dress, built on the pattern of Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. Hannah was another woman raised from reproach.
Luke 1:46
“For who else is there who can reign uninterruptedly over the house of Jacob for ever, except Jesus Christ our Lord, the Son of the Most High God, who promised by the law and the prophets that He would make His salvation visible to all flesh; so that He would become the Son of man for this purpose, that man also might become the son of God? And Mary, exulting because of this, cried out, prophesying on behalf of the Church, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 10), Section 2patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:46
“IT is very clear that Mary was not beginning a new thing, for she speaks in the present tense, and in a tense which seems to have been present for a long time, "My soul does magnify the Lord." Ever since she had received the wonderful tidings of the choice which God had made of her for her high position, she had begun to magnify the Lord. And when once a soul has a deep sense of God's mercy and begins magnifying Him, there is no end to it.”
Luke 1:46
“His "Anointed," whose horn He will exalt (1Sa 2:10); in the Virgin's song, it is as the "Help" promised to Israel by all the prophets. My soul . . . my spirit--"all that is within me" (Ps 103:1).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!: Mary calls God her Savior and owns her need of saving like any other believer. Wesley says she rejoiced more in that salvation than in the honour of bearing Christ. Barnes reads the title the same way.
Luke 1:47
“In God my Saviour - God is called “Saviour,” as he saves people from sin and death. He was “Mary’s” Saviour, as he had redeemed her soul and given her a title to eternal life; and she rejoiced for that, and especially for his mercy in honoring her by her being made the mother of the Messiah.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:47
“And she rejoiced in hope of salvation through faith in him, which is a blessing common to all true believers, more than in being his mother after the flesh, which was an honour peculiar to her.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
the humble state of His servant: Mary traces the favour to God's regard for her low estate, and Barnes draws the rule that God shows no partiality to rank or wealth. Bede sets her lowliness against the pride of the first parents. All generations will call her blessed for it.
Luke 1:48
“He hath regarded - Looked favorably, etc., επεβλεψεν. In the most tender and compassionate manner he has visited me in my humiliation, drawing the reasons of his conduct, not from any excellence in me, but from his own eternal kindness and love. All generations shall call me blessed - This was the character by which alone she wished to be known; viz. The blessed or happy virgin. What dishonor do those do to this holy woman, who give her names and characters which her pure soul would abhor; and which properly belong to God her Savior!”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:48
“For if as the Prophet says, Blessed are they who have seed in Sion, and kinsfolk in Jerusalem, (Isa. 31:9. apud LXX.) how great should be the celebration of the divine and ever holy Virgin Mary, who was made according to the flesh, the Mother of the Word?”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 1:49-50
For the Mighty One has: Holy is His name turns from what God did for Mary to who God is in Himself. His mercy from generation to generation widens the song to the whole line of the faithful.
Luke 1:49
“He that is mighty hath done to me great things - Or, miracles, μεγαλεια. As God fills her with his goodness, she empties herself to him in praises; and, sinking into her own nothingness, she ever confesses that God alone is all in all. Holy is his name - Probably the word which Mary used was חסד chesed, which though we sometimes translate holy, see Psa 86:2; Psa 145:17, yet the proper meaning is abundant goodness, exuberant kindness; and this well agrees with the following clause.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
4 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:49
“But where are the great things, if they be not that I still a virgin conceive (by the will of God) overcoming nature? I have been accounted worthy, without being joined to a husband, to be made a mother, not a mother of any one, but of the only-begotten Saviour. But she says, that is mighty, that if men should disbelieve the work of her conception, namely, that while yet a virgin, she conceived, she might throw back the miracles upon the power of the Worker.”
Titus of Bostra · written before 378 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 1:49
But this has reference to the beginning of the hymn, where it is said, My soul doth magnify the Lord. For that soul can alone magnify the Lord with due praise, for whom he deigus to do mighty things. For in the height of His marvellous power He is far beyond every creature, and is widely removed from all the works of His hands. This is better understood in the Greek tongue, in which the very word which means holy, (ἅγιον) signifies as it were to be "apart from the earth."
Bede · written before 735 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 1:49
“He that is mighty - God. Hath done to me great things - Hath conferred on me great favors and distinguished mercies. And holy is his name - This is an expression of Mary’s feelings, desiring to bestow on God all honor and praise. As the highest honor, she declared that his “name” was “holy” - that is, that God was free from sin, injustice, and impurity. The “name” of God is often put for God Himself.”
Luke 1:49
“And therefore she says, all generations, not only Elisabeth, but also every nation that believed. The Virgin shows that not for her own virtue is she to be pronounced blessed, but she assigns the cause, saying, For he that is mighty hath magnified me.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
His mercy extends to those who fear Him: Here the song moves from Mary's own case to God's way with all people, as Bede observes. Barnes explains the fear as the reverence of a child toward a kind father. Bede also reads the generations as Jews and Gentiles.
Luke 1:50
“His mercy is on them that fear him - His exuberant kindness manifests itself in acts of mercy to all those who fear or reverence his name; and this is continued from generation to generation, because he is abundant in goodness, and because he delighteth in mercy. This is a noble, becoming, and just character of the God of the Christians; a being who delights in the salvation and happiness of all his creatures, because his name is mercy, and his nature love.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 1:51-53
He has performed mighty deeds: The verbs stand in the Greek aorist, a past tense used prophetically. Mary sings the outcome as already done though the kingdom has barely begun.
Luke 1:51
“Hath showed strength with his arm - The “arm” is the symbol of strength. The expression in this and the subsequent verses has no particular reference to his mercy to Mary. From a contemplation of His goodness to her, she enlarges her views to a contemplation of His goodness and power in general, and to a celebration of the praises of God for all that he has done to all people. This is the nature of true piety. It does not terminate in thinking of God’s mercy toward ourselves.”
brought down rulers from their thrones: The mighty here are kings and princes, as Barnes explains. Clarke sees an allusion to Saul removed from the throne and David set in his place. Barnes ties the lifting of the humble to David, Mary's ancestor.
Luke 1:52
“Great used to be the haughtiness of these demons whom He scattered, and of the devil, and of the Greek sages, as I said, and of the Pharisees and Scribes. But He put them down, and exalted those who had humbled themselves under their mighty hand, "having given them authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy:" and made the plots against us of these haughty-minded beings of none effect.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on the Gospel of Lukepatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:52
“He hath put down the mighty from their seats - Or, He hath taken down potentates from their thrones. This probably alludes to the removal of Saul from the throne of Israel, and the establishment of the kingdom in the person and family of David. And as Mary spoke prophetically, this saying may also allude to the destruction of the kingdom of Satan and his allies, and the final prevalence of the kingdom of Christ.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
filled the hungry with good things: The picture is of a host who feeds a crowd at his gate, as Clarke describes it. The hungry come aware of their need and are fed. Cyril of Alexandria reads the hungry as the nations and the rich as Israel, proud of the law.
Luke 1:53
“Who are the hungry? The humble, the needy. Who are the rich? Proud and self-important people. I will not send you far to find them. I will show you now, in one and the same temple, one of those rich who are sent away empty, and one of those poor who are filled with good things."Two men went up into the temple to pray. One a Pharisee and the other a tax collector." … Observe the rich man burping his undigested food, breathing out the fumes of his intoxication—with pride, though, not with justice.”
Augustine of Hippo · written before 430 · SERMON 290.6patristic
4 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:53
“Filled the hungry - the rich he hath sent empty away - God is here represented under the notion of a person of unbounded benevolence, who is daily feeding multitudes at his gates. The poor and the rich are equally dependent upon him; to the one he gives his affluence for a season, and to the other his daily bread.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 1:53
“He hath filled the hungry with good things - This is a celebration of the general mercy of God. He hath daily fed the poor, the needy, and those who came to Him with humble hearts. The rich he hath sent ... - While the poor come to him for a supply of their daily wants, the rich come not that their necessities should be supplied, but come with lofty hearts, and insatiable desires that their riches may be increased.”
Luke 1:53
“By the hungry, she means the human race: for, excepting the Jews only, they were pining with famine. The Jews, however, were enriched by the giving of the law, and by the teaching of the holy prophets. For "to them belonged the giving of the law, the adoption of sons, the worship, the promises." But they became wanton with high feeding, and too elate at their dignity; and having refused to draw near humbly to the Incarnate One, they were sent empty away, carrying nothing with them, neither faith nor knowledge, nor the hope of blessings.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on the Gospel of Lukepatristic
Luke 1:53
“THIS song of Mary is full of sweet Gospel teaching. She was evidently a woman well instructed in Divine Truth and, though but young in years, she must have been deeply experienced in the things of God. Notice how she casts the Truth of God into the form of song—there is a wisdom in this, for we are to teach and admonish one another, "in Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs." Truth is never more likely to abide in the memory and to impress the heart than when it is delivered in verse.”
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2582: “Alto and Bass” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
Luke 1:54-55
He has helped His servant Israel: As He promised to our fathers, to Abraham names the promise by its oldest address, Genesis 12:3 and 22:18, every nation blessed in Abraham’s seed. Mary sings it as a promise now being kept.
Luke 1:54
“He hath holpen [supported, αντελαβετο] his servant Israel - Israel is here represented as falling, and the Lord comes speedily in and props him up. The house of David was now ready to fall and rise no more; Jesus, being born of the very last branch of the regal line, revived the family, and restored the dominion. In remembrance of his mercy - By mercy, the covenant which God made with Abraham, Gen 15:18, is intended; which covenant proceeded from God’s eternal mercy, as in it salvation was promised to all the nations of the earth.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Mary ends where the promise began, with Abraham. Theophylact sees the pledge of Genesis 12 kept, all families blessed in him. Bede and John Gill read the descendants as Abraham's spiritual children among Jews and Gentiles.
Luke 1:55
“As he spake to our fathers,.... To David, of whose family Mary was; and to Jacob, or Israel, of whose stock she was; and to Isaac, in whom the seed was to be, called; and particularly, to Abraham and to his seed for ever: not his natural, but his spiritual seed; both among Jews and Gentiles, to the end of the world; to these God promised this mercy of a Saviour and Redeemer, and to these he performs it, and will to all generations.”
Luke 1:56-58
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for: Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and the text leaves unsettled whether she left just before or just after John’s birth. Her neighbors and relatives rejoiced with her, the thread of joy sounding again.
Luke 1:56
“Mary abode with Elisabeth until she had accomplished the time of her bringing forth; as it is said, And Mary abode, &c. Now it was not only for the sake of friendship that she abode so long, but for the increase also of so great a prophet.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
John Is Born and Zacharias Prophesies
she gave birth to a son: The birth fulfils the angel's word of verse 13 to the letter. Ryle notes that Luke frames it as mercy shown to Elizabeth, in the words of the next verse. Clarke reports the view that Mary's three month stay came just before this birth.
Luke 1:57
“If you carefully observe, you will find that the word signifying fulness is no where used except at the birth of the righteous. Hence it is said, Now Elisabeth's full time came. For the life of the righteous hath fulness, but the days of the wicked are empty.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:57
“Now Elisabeth’s full time came, etc. - But, according to others, we are to understand the three months of Mary’s visit as preceding the birth of John, which would complete the time of Elisabeth’s pregnancy, according to Luk 1:36, and the only difficulty is to ascertain whether Mary went immediately to Hebron after her salutation, or whether she tarried nearly three months before she took the journey.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
the Lord had shown her great mercy: The neighbours read the birth as mercy, since barrenness had been a reproach. Clarke says the joy was for the removal of that shame. Bede adds that a saint's birth gladdens many as a common good.
Luke 1:58
“And her neighbors and her cousins - rejoiced with her. - Because sterility was a reproach; and they now rejoiced with their relative, from whom that reproach was now rolled away. To rejoice with those whom God has favored, and to congratulate them on the advantages which he has granted to them, is a duty which humanity, charity, and religion call upon us to fulfill. 1. It is a duty of humanity, which should be punctually performed. We are all members of each other, and should rejoice in the welfare of the whole.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:58
“This son shall be a distinguished favourite of Heaven, and a distinguished blessing to the earth. The honour of having a son is nothing to the honour of having such a son. (1.) He shall be great in the sight of the Lord; those are great indeed that are so in God's sight, not those that are so in the eye of a vain and carnal world.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Luke 1:59-63
On the eighth day: His mother insists he shall be called John, though only Zechariah heard the name in the temple. Zechariah wrote, His name is John, his obedience coming in the same silence his doubt had cost him.
Luke 1:59
“On the eighth day - This was the day on which it was required to circumcise children, Gen 21:4. And they called him Zacharias - The name of the child was commonly given at the time of the circumcision, Gen 21:3-4. The name “commonly” given to the eldest son was that of the father.”
Elizabeth insists on the name the angel gave in verse 13. Barnes and Clarke think Zechariah had told her in writing. John Gill allows that she may also have known it by the Spirit who filled her in verse 41.
Luke 1:60
“Not so; but he shall be called John - This is the name which the angel desired should be given him, Luk 1:13, and of which Zacharias by writing had informed his wife. There is something very remarkable in the names of this family. Zachariah, זכריהו the memory or memorial of Jehovah; יהו yeho, at the end of the word, being contracted for יהוה Yehovah, as in many other names. Elisabeth, אליסבה the Sabbath or rest of my strong God: names probably given them by their parents, to point out some remarkable circumstance in their conception or birth.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Their objection rests on custom. Families kept the names of their fathers and relatives, Barnes and Clarke explain, from respect and to keep the family records clear. John Gill adds that the name John was common in Israel.
Luke 1:61
“And they said unto her,.... Her neighbours and relations, there is none of thy kindred that is called by this name; from whence it appears, that it was usual to give names to children after their ancestors, relations, and friends. The Persic version renders it, "in thine Israel there is not any one of this name": but this could not be true; for the name of Jochanan, or John, was a name very common among the Israelites, though not in Elisabeth's family, or her husband's.”
they made signs to his father: The signs show that Zechariah was deaf as well as mute. Clarke and John Gill both draw this, since his friends would otherwise have simply asked him. Ambrose adds that the father answered in writing, having lost both speech and hearing.
Luke 1:62
“And they made signs to his father,.... Who was deaf, as well as dumb; otherwise there would have been no occasion to have signs made to him: and so the word used, in Luk 1:20 signifies both deaf and dumb. These signs were made by hands or head; for such used to be made to a dumb man. According to the canon (q), a dumb man nods, and ונרמז "and is nodded", or "beckoned to": and which beckoning one of the commentators (r) says, is a sign which is expressed either by the hands or head.”
Zechariah writes the name on a tablet, a wooden board coated with wax, as Barnes describes. His agreement with Elizabeth amazes the crowd. Chrysostom reads the name as the grace of God, set into the child's name as a memorial.
Luke 1:63
“And he asked for a writing table,.... That is, he made signs for one, for as yet he could not speak. The Persic version renders it "ink", and the Ethiopic, a book, and the Vulgate Latin, a notebook.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:63
“He asked - That is, by signs. A writing table - The table denoted by this word was usually made of wood and covered with wax. The ancients used to write on such tables, as they had not the use of paper. The instrument used for writing was an iron pen or style, by which they marked on the wax which covered the table. Sometimes the writing-table was made entirely of lead.”
Luke 1:64-66
Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened: Zechariah’s mouth was opened directly on his written act of obedience, and he began to speak, praising God. Luke closes with a plain statement: the Lord’s hand was with him.
Luke 1:64
“Rightly also, from that moment was his tongue loosed, for that which unbelief had bound, faith set free. Let us then also believe, in order that our tongue, which has been bound by the chains of unbelief, may be loosed by the voice of reason. Let us write mysteries by the Spirit if we wish to speak. Let us write the forerunner of Christ, not on tables of stone, but on the fleshly tablets of the heart. For he who names John, prophesies Christ. For it follows, And he spake, giving thanks.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:64
“The latter clause of the preceding verse should be joined with the beginning of this, as follows: And they marveled all, for his mouth was opened, etc. Every person must see the propriety of putting this clause, And they marveled all, to the beginning of the 64th verse, instead of leaving it at the end of the 63rd, as in the common version.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
All their neighbors were filled with awe: The fear here is reverence, as Barnes and Clarke explain. Zechariah's speech had returned in an instant, and the whole hill country talked of it. Theophylact says the two wonders, the silence and its ending, persuaded all of God's work.
Luke 1:65
“And fear came - Seeing what they might have thought a paralytic affection so suddenly and effectually healed. Φοβος - This word certainly means in several places, religious fear or reverence; and in this sense it is used Act 9:31; Rom 3:18; Rom 13:7; 1Pe 1:17; 1Pe 2:18; 1Pe 3:2.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:65
“For forerunning signs prepare the way for the forerunner of the truth, and the future prophet is recommended by auspices sent before him; hence it follows, For the hand of the Lord was with him.”
Bede · written before 735 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 1:65
“And fear came ... - The word “fear” often denotes ‘religious reverence.’ The remarkable circumstances attending the birth of John, and the fact that Zechariah was suddenly restored to speech, convinced them that God was there, and filled their minds with awe and veneration.”
For the Lord’s hand was with him: The events of the birth led people to expect a prophet or some great work, as Barnes says. The Lord's hand stands for aid and protection. Theophylact sees providence preparing trust in the future witness to Christ.
Luke 1:66
“What manner of child shall this be! - As there have been so many extraordinary things in his conception and birth, surely God has designed him for some extraordinary purpose. These things they laid up in their heart, patiently waiting to see what God would work. The hand of the Lord was with him - God defended and prospered him in all things, and the prophetic spirit began to rest upon him.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Luke 1:67-70
his father Zechariah was filled: Nine months of silence end in the Benedictus. A horn of salvation draws on 2 Samuel 22:3 and Psalm 18:2, the horn a Hebrew figure for strength and kingship.
Luke 1:67
“Filled with the Holy Ghost - See Luk 1:15. And prophesied - The word “prophesy” means: 1. To foretell future events. 2. To celebrate the praises of God (see 1Sa 10:5-6; 1Ki 18:29); then to, 3. Teach or preach the gospel, etc. See the notes at Rom 12:6. This song of Zechariah partakes of all. It is principally employed in the praises of God, but it also predicts the future character and preaching of John.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:67
“God in His mercy and readiness to pardon our sins, not only restores to us what He has taken away, but grants us favours even beyond our expectations. Let no one then distrust Him, let no one from consciousness of past sins despair of the Divine blessing. God knoweth how to change His sentence, if thou hast known how to correct thy sin, seeing he that was long silent prophesies; as it is said, And Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 1:67
“And Zacharias prophesied - Of things immediately to follow. But it is observable, he speaks of Christ chiefly; of John only, as it were, incidentally.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
He has visited and redeemed His people: Zechariah speaks of redemption as already done while Jesus is still unborn, as Bede observes. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that God visits for judgment in the Old Testament and for mercy in the New. Here he returns after long silence.
Luke 1:68
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for, etc. - Zacharias praises God for two grand benefits which he had granted to his people. 1. He has visited them. 2. He has ransomed them. 1. He speaks by the spirit of prophecy, which calls things that are not, as though they were; because they are absolutely determined by the Most High, and shall be all fulfilled in their season. God visits his people in the incarnation of Jesus Christ; therefore this Christ is called by him, Κυριος ὁ Θεος, Jehovah the God of Israel.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:68
“Lord God of Israel--the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people. visited and redeemed--that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is said to "visit" chiefly for judgment, in the New Testament for mercy.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
a horn of salvation: A horn stands for strength, taken from animals whose power lies in their horns. The phrase comes from Psalm 18, as Clarke notes, and means a mighty Savior. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown link it to Simeon's words in chapter 2.
Luke 1:69
“Because Christ was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh, it is said, A horn of salvation to us in the house of his servant David; as it has also elsewhere been said, A vineyard hath been planted in a horn, (Is. 5:1.) i. e. in Jesus Christ.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
through His holy prophets: Zechariah claims the prophets as one witness to this child. Bede says the whole Old Testament was one long prophecy of Christ. Theophylact names Micah, who placed the ruler's birth in Bethlehem of David's line.
Luke 1:70
“That Christ was born of the house of David, Micah relates, saying, And thou, Bethlehem, art not the least in the city of Juda, for out of thee shall come a governor who shall rule my people Israel. (Micah 5:2.) But all the prophets spoke of the Incarnation, and therefore it is said, As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:70
“As he spake, by the mouth of his holy prophets,.... Which shows not only the veracity and faithfulness of God in his promises, but the early intimations that were given by him concerning the Messiah: for it follows, which have been since world began; or from the beginning of the world; ever since the first hint of the Messiah, as the seed of the woman, that should bruise the serpent's head, was given, he was more or less spoken of.”
Luke 1:70
“His holy prophets ... - All the prophets are said to have referred to the Messiah, from the beginning of the world. The most striking of these were Jacob Gen 49:10; Moses Deu 18:15; Isaiah Isa 9:6-7; Isa 53:1-12. Since the world began - This is not to be taken literally, for there were no prophets “immediately after” the creation. It is merely a general expression, designed to denote that all the prophets had predicted the coming of the Messiah. Compare the Luk 24:27 note; Rev 19:10 note.”
Luke 1:71-72
salvation from our enemies and: Zechariah sings of salvation from our enemies under Roman occupation, and two hopes are heard in it, deliverance from Rome and deliverance from sin. The two hopes, national and spiritual, meet in the same child.
Luke 1:71
"He has raised up," he says, "a horn of salvation for us"—Christ—according to the proclamation of his "holy prophets"; for the mystery concerning Christ has been announced by all the prophets, who has saved "us from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us", not of perceptible enemies, but of intelligible ones. For Christ the Lord came, "mighty in war," to destroy all our enemies.
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Homilies on the Gospel of Luke 10.3patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:71
“Saved from our enemies - The enemies of “man” are his sins, his carnal propensities, his lusts, and the great adversary Satan and his angels, who continually seek to destroy him. From “these” the Messiah came to save us. Compare Gen 3:15; Mat 1:21. The hand - The power; or to save us from them.”
to remember His holy covenant: The covenant in view is the oath to Abraham named in the next verse, as Bede explains. Barnes notes that mercy shown to the children counts as mercy to the fathers. The old promise now reaches its fulfilment.
Luke 1:72
“But the phrase "to perform mercy with our fathers" I think this indicates how, perhaps during the coming of Christ, both our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the whole chorus of his holy prophets and righteous ones enjoyed the mercy of God. For I do not say that they were previously benefited, but were not benefited during the coming of Christ. What do I say about this regarding the fathers?”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Homilies on the Gospel of Luke 10.3patristic
Luke 1:73-75
the oath He swore to: The covenant is named by its most solemn form, the oath God swore by Himself at Genesis 22:16-18, because there was none greater. The purpose of rescue is freedom to serve, that we may serve Him without fear.
Luke 1:73
“The oath - This oath is recorded in Gen 22:16-17. It was an oath in which God swore by himself (because he could swear by no greater, Heb 6:13-14) that he would surely bless Abraham and his posterity. That promise was now to be entirely fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah.”
deliverance from hostile hands: Zechariah names the purpose of deliverance, to serve God without fear. Chrysostom notes that people rescued from enemies seldom also gain a life of glory, yet both are given here. Wesley reads the fear as slavish fear and the service as holy and joyful.
in holiness and righteousness before Him: Chrysostom divides the pair: holiness is duty toward God and righteousness is duty toward others. Barnes stresses that this service is inward, done in God's sight. It lasts all the days of life.
Luke 1:75
“Or in another way; Frequently are men delivered from the hands of the enemy, but not without fear. For when fear and peril have gone before, and a man is then plucked from the enemies' hand, he is delivered indeed, but not without fear. Therefore said he, that the coming of Christ caused us to be snatched from the enemies' hands without fear. For we suffered not from their evil designs, but He suddenly parting us from them, hath led us out to our own allotted resting place.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Luke 1:76-77
And you, child, will be: The song turns from the Messiah to the infant beside his father, naming John a prophet of the Most High. Prepare the way for Him draws together Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3, the forerunner language Gabriel used at verse 17.
Luke 1:76
“In prophesying of the Lord he rightly addresses the prophet, showing that prophecy also is a gift of the Lord, in order that he might not, while enumerating public benefits, seem to be so ungrateful as to be silent of his own. Hence it is said, And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest. Now perhaps some may think it an absurd extravagance of the mind to address a child of eight days old.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
the knowledge of salvation: John's task is to make salvation known, and Zechariah defines it at once as forgiveness of sins. Bede says the clause guards against reading it as rescue from earthly rulers. Theophylact adds that this knowledge is knowledge of Christ.
Luke 1:77
OBSERVE HOW ZACHARIAS, in this his joyful song, extolled the remission of sins, as one of the most extraordinary proofs of the tender mercy of our God. He had been dumb for a season, as a chastisement for his unbelief; and therefore he used his recovered speech to sing of pardoning mercy. No salvation is possible without forgiveness, and so Zacharias says, "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins."
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:77
“To give knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins - The knowledge of the remission of our sins being the grand instrument of present and eternal salvation, Heb. viii, 11, 12.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Luke 1:78-79
because of the tender mercy: The Dawn from on high is a title the Greek Old Testament gives the Messiah where English reads Branch at Zechariah 3:8 and 6:12. The image echoes Malachi 4:2 and Isaiah 9:2.
Luke 1:78
“Whereby the dayspring ... - The word “dayspring” means the morning light, the aurora, the rising of the sun. It is called the dayspring “from on high” because the light of the gospel shines forth from heaven. God is its Author, and through His mercy it shines upon people. There is here, doubtless, a reference to Isa 60:1-2; indeed, almost the very words of that place are quoted. Compare also Rev 22:16.”
2 more voices on this verse
Luke 1:78
“What greater destiny can befall man's humility than that he should be intermingled with God, and by this intermingling should be deified, and that we should be so visited by the "dayspring from on high"? Further, that even the holy thing that should be born should be called the Son of the Most High and that he should be given "a name that is above every name"? And what else can this be but God?”
Gregory of Nazianzus · written before 390 · Oration 30.3, on the Sonpatristic
Luke 1:78
“Through the tender mercy of our God--the sole spring, necessarily, of all salvation for sinners. dayspring from on high--either Christ Himself, as the "Sun of righteousness" (Mal 4:2), arising on a dark world [BEZA, GROTIUS, CALVIN, DE WETTE, OLSHAUSEN, &c.], or the light which He sheds. The sense, of course, is one.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
to shine on those who live in darkness: The picture is of travelers caught by night who wait for morning to find the road, as Barnes describes it. Bede calls Christ the Dayspring of verse 78. Theophylact reads the darkness as ignorance and the shadow of death as sin.
Luke 1:79
“To give light ... - See the notes at Mat 4:16. To guide our feet ... - The figure in these verses is taken from travelers, who, being overtaken by night, know not what to do, and who wait patiently for the morning light, that they may know which way to go. So man wandered. So he became benighted. So he sat in the shadow of death.”
1 more voice on this verse
Luke 1:79
“For the world, indeed, was wandering in error, serving the creation in the place of the Creator, and was darkened over by the blackness of ignorance, and a night, as it were, that had fallen upon the minds of all, permitted them not to see Him, Who both by nature and truly is God. But the Lord of all rose for the Israelites, like a light and a sun.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · Commentary on the Gospel of Lukepatristic
And the child grew and: One verse covers John’s whole youth, as Luke will close Jesus’ childhood at 2:40 and 2:52. Luke records only growth and hiddenness until his public appearance to Israel.
Luke 1:80
“Mark also, in how few words Elisabeth prophesies, in how many Zacharias, and yet each spoke filled with the Holy Spirit; but this discipline is preserved, that women may study rather to learn what are the Divine commands than to teach them. And rightly is the time noted during which the prophet was in the womb, in order that the presence of Mary might not be passed over, while they are silent about the time of his childhood, because being strengthened in the womb by the presence of the Mother of the Lord, he knew not the struggles of childhood.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
How this psalm is built
The form: An ordered pair of announcements and births, each closed by a song drawn from the older Scriptures, as Ryle classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Two announcements told in the same order | The announcement to Zechariah in verses 5 to 25 and the announcement to Mary in verses 26 to 38 follow the same steps. The angel comes and the hearer is afraid or troubled. The angel says do not be afraid, a son is promised and named, a question is asked and a sign is given. The birth of John follows in verses 57 to 80, and the birth of Jesus follows in chapter 2.The text of Luke 1, counted from the Berean Standard Bible in the store, Luke 1:5 to 38, the two scenes read side by side. | Luke 1:11, Luke 1:13, Luke 1:18, Luke 1:28, Luke 1:30, Luke 1:34 |
| Mary's song and the song of Hannah | Verses 46 to 55 echo the prayer of Hannah at 1 Samuel 2:1 to 10, another woman given a son by God who sang of the proud brought low and the hungry filled. Adam Clarke calls Mary's song a counterpart of Hannah's and sees an allusion to Hannah and Peninnah at verse 53. J.C. Ryle adds that the hymn recalls many expressions of the Psalms, which shows that Mary's memory was stored with Scripture.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1810 to 1826, on Luke 1:46 and on Luke 1:53. | Luke 1:46, Luke 1:53 |
How this chapter is built
1 more paragraph on the patterns
The chapter has a preface and two panels. Verses 1 to 4 are the preface to Theophilus. Verses 5 to 38 give two announcements in the same order, first to Zechariah in the temple and then to Mary in Nazareth. Verses 39 to 56 bring the two mothers together, and Mary's song closes that meeting. Verses 57 to 80 tell the birth and naming of John and close with the song of Zechariah, and chapter 2 then tells the birth of Jesus on the same pattern. Adam Clarke and J.C. Ryle both read Mary's song against the song of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2 (Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on Luke 1:46; Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke, on Luke 1:46).
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Studies41
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- Elijah the Tishbite
- Why Four Gospels
- Hannah: 1 Samuel 1:1-2:21
- Hannah's Prayer: 1 Samuel 2:1-10
- How We Got the Bible
- The Hebrew and Greek Words for Humility
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- Incense and the Censers
- John the Baptist
- The Words Simchah and Chara
- Theological Words
- Mary of Nazareth
- The Compassion of Jesus
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Places1
Words12
Trails1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
E. B. Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
The form and classifications
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1810 to 1826, on Luke 1:46 and J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition), on Luke 1:46.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Luke; Ambrose of Milan; Bede; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid.