And Mary arose in these days, and went in haste to the hill country, to the city of Judah, and went into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

The Virgin, hearing from the Angel that Elizabeth had conceived, hastened to her, partly rejoicing in the well-being of her kinsman, and partly as very prudent, desiring to be finally convinced whether the truth had been spoken by Him who had appeared to her, so that, according to the justice of what was said about Elizabeth, she would not doubt what concerned Herself. For though She had hoped, yet She was afraid lest She might be deceived, and this was not out of unbelief, but out of a desire to know the matter more accurately. Zechariah lived in the hill country; that's why Virgo is in a hurry there. And John, having received a certain special gift over other people, plays in his mother's womb, which is why he is greater than the prophets (Matt. 11:9), for they prophesied after their birth, and he was vouchsafed such a gift while still in his mother's womb. Look: the Virgin greeted Elizabeth, that is, began to speak with her. Thus, the voice of the Virgin was the voice of God incarnate in Her, and therefore He vouchsafed grace to the Forerunner while still in Her womb and made Her a prophet, for the prophesied words of Elizabeth to Mary were not the words of Elizabeth, but of the Child; and the mouth of Elizabeth only served him, just as the mouth of Mary served the Son of God who was in Her womb. For Elizabeth was then filled with the Spirit, when the child leaped in the womb; If the baby hadn't leaped up, she wouldn't have prophesied. As it is said of the prophets that they first came to a supernatural state and were inspired, and then prophesied, so perhaps John, as if inspired, first leaped up, then prophesied through the mouth of his mother. What did he prophesy? "Blessed art Thou among women." Then, since many holy women bore unworthy children, for example, Rebekah Esau, he says: "And blessed is the fruit of Thy womb." It can also be understood in another way: "Blessed art Thou among women." Then, as if someone were asking: why? – states the reason: "Blessed is the fruit of Thy womb," that is, for the fruit of Thy womb is God, since God alone is blessed, as David also says; "Blessed is he who come" (Psalm 117:26). For in Scripture it is usual to use the conjunction "and" instead of the conjunction "for"; for example: "Give us help in distress, for the protection of men is vain" (Psalm 59:13), instead of: for the salvation of man is vain; and again: "Behold, Thou art angry, and we have sinned" (Isaiah 64:5), instead of: for we have sinned. He calls the Lord "the fruit of the womb" of the Mother of God, because the conception was without a man. The rest of the infants are the births of the fathers, but Christ is the fruit of one womb of the Mother of God, for She alone bore Him.

And whence is it to me that the Mother of my Lord has come to me? For when the voice of Thy greeting came to my ears, the babe leaped with joy in my womb. And blessed is she who believes, for what was spoken to her from the Lord will be fulfilled.

As later, when Christ came to be baptized, John rebuked Him out of reverence, saying: "I am not worthy" (Matt. 3:14, 11), so now he proclaims through his mother: "Whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord has come to me," calling the pregnant woman the Mother, before She gave birth to the Lord. It is not customary to call other wives mothers before they give birth, for fear of unfortunate childbirth, that is, an eruption; and there was no such suspicion about the Virgin. Maria! And before Thou didst give birth, Thou art a Mother, and blessed, because Thou didst believe that there would be a fulfillment of what the Lord had said to Thee.

And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, because He has looked upon the humility of His servant, for henceforth all generations shall bless Me. that the Mighty One hath made me great, and his name is holy; and His mercy is for generations of generations to those who fear Him.

The Virgin, being absolutely sure of the truth of what was foretold to Her, glorifies God, attributing the miracle not to Himself, but to Him; for he, he says, hath looked upon me humble, and I did not look upon him; He showed Me mercy, and I did not seek Him. And "henceforth all generations shall bless Me," not only Elizabeth, but also the generations of believers. For what to please? Is it for My virtue? No! But because God has shown greatness over Me. She called Him "the Mighty One" so that everyone would believe Her words, considering that the Lord is able to do this. "His name" was called "holy" in order to show that the Purest One, conceived in the womb of a woman, is not in the least defiled, but remains Holy. "His mercy" is not to Me alone, but also to all who fear Him; for those who do not fear Him, but those who are utterly unworthy, receive no mercy. Having said that God's mercy "unto the generations of generations," she pointed out that those who fear God receive mercy both in the present generation, that is, in the present age, and in the future generation, that is, in the endless age; for here also they receive a hundredfold, and there even more (Matt. 19:29). Listen: first the soul magnifies the Lord, then the spirit rejoices. Or what is the same thing: the one who walks worthy of God magnifies God. You are called a Christian, – do not belittle the dignity and name of Christ through unworthy deeds, but magnify it through the performance of great and heavenly deeds, Then your spirit will rejoice, that is, the spiritual gift you have received through great deeds will rise and prosper, and will not be diminished and, so to speak, will die. Know also that the Scriptures seem to simply call the same thing the spirit and the soul, but that they actually distinguish. For it calls a natural man one who lives according to nature and is guided by human thoughts, for example, in case of hunger he eats, hates the enemy, and in general does not appear to rise above nature in any way; and he calls spiritual the one who overcomes the laws of nature and does not speculate about anything human. Such is the difference in Scripture between the soul and the spirit (1 Cor. 2:14-15; Gal. 6:8). Perhaps doctors distinguish them differently, but we need to listen to the Scriptures, and let doctors err.

He showed the power of His arm; He scattered the haughty in the thoughts of their hearts; He hath cast down the mighty from their thrones, and hath exalted the humble; He filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty; He received Israel His servant, remembering mercy, as He had spoken to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed for ever. And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

The Father's muscle is the Son; thus, God and the Father in His Son manifested power and power over nature, for at the incarnation of the Son nature was defeated: the Virgin gave birth, God was made man, and man became God. The Lord "scattered the haughty" demons, expelling them from the souls of men and sending some into the abyss, and others into swine. We can also understand the Jews, whom He scattered throughout every country, and who are still in the diaspora. "He brought down the mighty from the thrones," that is, the demons who had dominion over men and had thrones in the souls of men, resting in them. But the Pharisees are also strong, as stealers of what belongs to the poor, and as teachers, they have thrones from which they were deposed. He "lifted up" the humble, or the Gentiles, whom sin humbled them; He exalted them, granting them sonship; like the hungry, the same, that is, the Gentiles (for they had no scriptures, law, or commandments), He filled with the good things of the Scriptures, and the Jews, who were rich in the law and commandments, He sent them out of Jerusalem, on the mountain and below, deprived of all good things. For the Jews now have nothing, although they seem to have. "He received Israel His servant." It also speaks of the sensual Israelites, for many tens of thousands of them believed, and God's promise to Abraham was fulfilled, who said to him: "And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:3); or it speaks of spiritual Israel, for whosoever seeth God is called Israel, for the name signifies, he that seeth God; and so, he received these who saw God, raising them up to a heavenly inheritance. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, then returned. Since Elizabeth had to give birth, the Virgin withdraws for the sake of the multitude of those who are gathered together for the birth, for it is unseemly for the Virgin to be in such circumstances. And from the fact that the Virgin returned at the time for Elizabeth to give birth, it is evident that the Angel came to Mary in the sixth month from the conception of the Forerunner; yes, Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months; It's almost nine months.

And the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had magnified His mercy upon her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child and wanted to name him, after the name of his father, Zacharias. To this his mother said, "No, but call him John." And they said to her, There is no one in thy kinsman who is called by this name. And they asked his father by signs what he would like to call him. He demanded a tablet and wrote: John is his name. And everyone was surprised. And immediately his mouth and his tongue were opened, and he began to speak, blessing God.

The Virgin remained with Elizabeth for about three months, perhaps because she was struck by a miracle and needed some consolation, which she could find in her stay with Elizabeth; but when the birth drew near, she departed. "And the time has come for Elizabeth to give birth"; It should be noted that it is not said about sinners – the time to give birth is fulfilled, but only where it is said where the one who is born is righteous. For the generations of sinners are usually imperfect and incomplete, and it would be better for them if they were not born. Why was the name given after circumcision? Because first you need to receive a seal from God, and then a human name. In other words, circumcision means the rejection of carnal attributes, for no one is worthy to be called a soldier of God and to be inscribed by name in the book of heaven before he rejects and cuts off carnal attributes. Elizabeth said of the name that his name was John, as a prophetess. Or perhaps John himself assigned a name; for he gave his mother the gift of prophecy. Zachariah, unable to make signs to them, asks for a tablet; And when he was in complete agreement with his wife about the name of the child, everyone was surprised, for this name was not in their kinship, and no one could say that both of them had agreed on it before the time. John means the grace of God; therefore the father immediately received grace and prophesies first about Christ, and then about the son.

And fear was upon all who dwelt around them; and they told all these things throughout all the hill country of Judah. And all those who heard it put it in their hearts, and said, What shall this child be? And the hand of the Lord was with him. And Zechariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he visited his people, and wrought deliverance for them, and raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David his servant, as he proclaimed by the mouth of his holy prophets who had been from old, that he would save us from our enemies, and from the hand of all those who hate us. He will show mercy to our fathers, and will remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to Abraham our father, to give us, without fear, after deliverance from the hand of our enemies, to serve Him in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.

At the miraculous pronouncement of Zechariah, fear fell upon everyone; for just as the silence was imposed on him, the people were amazed, so now, when he began to speak again, they are amazed, so that by these two miracles all could understand that he who was born is higher than many. All this was done by special arrangement, so that he who bears witness to Christ would be received with full trust, and so that everyone would be convinced from the very birth of John that he was above many. Zechariah blesses God, who looked down on the Israelites. He did come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but very many of them did not want to receive grace, which is why He looked upon the true Israelites, that is, on those who believed. "He raised up the horn of salvation," that is, power and the kingdom of salvation. For "horn" signifies either strength, since horned animals have power in horns, or kingdom, for kings were anointed from the horn. Christ is the Power and Kingdom of the Father; thus, the horn of salvation – Christ – has risen for us. For He seems to have rested when He paid no attention to many sins and endured idolatry; but when He became incarnate in the last times, He arose and crushed all the demons who hate us, and no longer continues to rest and suffer long. He erected "in the house of David", that is, in Bethlehem; for there He was born. Bethlehem, of course, is the city of David, as the prophets said. For they all spoke of the Incarnation, and Micah also mentioned the house of David, that is, Bethlehem, saying: "And thou, Bethlehem, are in no way less than the governors of Judah, for from thee shall come forth a Leader" (Matt. 2:6 and Micah 5:2). – "He has shown mercy" not only to the living, but also "to our fathers," for the grace of Christ has been extended to them also, although they have already died. Namely: to us the living He has given the hope of resurrection, and we will be resurrected; but not only will we be worthy of this blessing, but also those who have previously died. For all nature has received this good. And in other words: "He did mercy with the fathers" in that He fulfilled their expectations, for what they hoped for, they saw fulfilled in Christ. And seeing their children in bliss from so many blessings, the fathers rejoice and, participating in the joy, receive mercy, as if made for themselves. What covenant did He refer to, and what oath did He take to Abraham? Without a doubt, about this: "In blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed" (Gen. 22:17). Abraham has indeed multiplied now, when all nations have become his sons through faith; for as he believed, they also became his sons through faith. "Without fear – (in Church Slavonic – without fear) – after deliverance from the hand of our enemies." Often others are delivered, but with fear and much labor and struggle; but Christ crucified for us without any labor on our part, and finally delivered us without fear, that is, without danger. Why did He deliver us? Is it not so that we may live in pleasure? No, but so that we may serve Him, and not for a day or two, but every day, and serve not only with carnal worship and service, but "in holiness and truth" (in Church Slavonic, with reverence and truth). Reverence is righteousness in relation to God, and truth is justice in relation to people. For example, he who keeps himself aloof from sacred things, and does not impiously touch divine things, but retains perfect respect for that which is venerable, is venerable; equally venerable is he who honors parents, for they are also household gods. And whoever is covetous, nor predatory, nor thief, nor adulterer, nor fornicator, is righteous. In this way, one must serve God with "reverence," that is, reverence for divine things, and with "righteousness," that is, a laudable way of life in human relations, to serve Him, and not before men, like the man-pleasers and hypocrites.

And you, little child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to make His people understand salvation in the forgiveness of their sins, according to the gracious mercy of our God, by which the East has visited us from above, to enlighten those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to direct our feet to the path of peace. And the child grew and grew strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to Israel.

It seems strange that Zachariah should say such words to a child, for it is not proper to talk to an infant who does not yet understand anything. To this it may be said that this child had an extraordinary birth, for at the coming of Mary it played and prophesied in the womb, so there is nothing improbable if even after birth it understood the words of the father. "Thou shalt come," he says, "before the face of the Lord," leaving me soon. For Zechariah knew that a little later he would lose John, since he had to retire into the wilderness. Why then do you "go beforehand"? To "prepare His ways." And the paths are the souls to which the Lord comes. Thus, the Forerunner prepared souls for the Lord to walk in them. How did he prepare them? By communicating to people the knowledge of salvation. Salvation is the Lord Jesus. Thus John taught men the knowledge of salvation, that is, of Christ, for John bore witness to Jesus. Knowledge consisted in the remission of sins, for otherwise the Lord would not have been recognized as God if He had not forgiven the sins of the people. For it is God's nature to forgive sins. But He forgave us our sins out of the graciousness of mercy, and not for our works; for we have done nothing good, and He, who is called the East, has looked down on us from above. For He is the Sun of righteousness, and has shone forth to us who were in darkness, that is, in sin. Two evils dominated human nature: ignorance of God, in which the Gentiles were, and sin, which the Jews had, although they knew God. Thus, He appeared to human nature in order to enlighten both those who "sit in darkness," that is, in ignorance and godlessness, and those who sit "in the shadow of death," that is, in sin. And sin is the shadow of death in the sense, I think, that as a shadow follows the body, so where there is death, there is sin. For example, from the fact that Adam died, it is clear that there was also sin. Likewise, you will find the death of Christ not without sin, for Christ died, but for our sins. Therefore sin, which is always accompanied by death, is rightly called the shadow of death. There is something else that can be said to this, and I think we said it in the explanation of the Gospel of Matthew. But is it enough to shine darkened? No; We must also direct our feet to the path of peace, that is, righteousness. For as sin is enmity with God, so righteousness is peace. Thus, the path of the world is a righteous way of life, to which Christ who shone from above directed the steps of our souls. The child grew in body and strengthened in spirit, for with the body also grew spiritual gift; and the more the child grew, the more the powers of the spirit were revealed, since the instrument (the body) was able to contain them. Why was John in the wilderness? In order for him to live outside the malice of many, and not to be ashamed (falsely) of anyone, to denounce with boldness, for if he were in the world, then, perhaps, from cohabitation and communion with people, he would lose his purity; and at the same time, so that, when he preaches about Christ, he may enjoy full confidence, as a desert dweller and surpassing others in life. He hid in the wilderness until then, when God was pleased to reveal him to the people of Israel.