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.

Chapter Two

In those days there came a command from Caesar Augustus to take a census of all the land. This census was the first in the reign of Quirinius Syria. And they all went to sign up, each in his own city. Joseph also went from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth; and she bore her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The census takes place so that when everyone goes to his own country, and the Virgin comes to Bethlehem, her homeland, and thus the Lord is born in Bethlehem, and the prophecy is fulfilled. When God alone, having to stop polytheism, it was fitting for one king to reign – Caesar. Together with everyone else, Christ is also recorded. The Lord was to be recorded from the universe in order to sanctify those who were registered and to abolish slavery; for just as He abolished circumcision by undergoing circumcision, so by being registered as a slave, He abolished the bondage of our nature. For those who work for the Lord are no longer slaves of men, as the Apostle says: "Do not become slaves of men" (1 Corinthians 7:23), but if they are slaves in body, they are free in spirit, not carried away by the wickedness of masters. He rightly called the Lord the Son of the Virgin, the "Firstborn," although she did not give birth to any other, for he who was born first is called the firstborn, even though no other was born after him. It is placed in a manger, perhaps in order to teach us humility from the beginning, and perhaps in order to symbolically show that He has come into this world – a place inhabited by us, who are likened to foolish cattle (Psalm 48:13, 21). For as the manger belongs to the cattle, so this world belongs to us. Thus, the world is a manger, and we are irrational animals; and in order to redeem us from foolishness, for this purpose He appeared here.

In that country there were shepherds in the field, who kept a night watch over their flock. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone upon them; and they were afraid with great fear. And the angel said to them; Don't be afraid; I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all men: for this day is born unto you in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord; and this is a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with an angel a multitude of heavenly hosts, glorifying God and crying out: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!

The angel appears to the shepherds because of their simplicity of disposition and gentleness, since they apparently imitate the way of life of the righteous, for the ancient patriarchs, Jacob, Moses and David, were shepherds. The angel did not appear in Jerusalem to the Pharisees or the scribes, for they were the receptacle of all wickedness; and those, not being treacherous, were vouchsafed divine visions. The Lord showed by this that from the very beginning He chose and made preachers those who were simpler than others, for they went and began to preach about all these things. The angel announced great joy, which, he said, would be for all people; actually for the people of God. For not all Jews are the people of God. But the incarnation of God was a joy for the entire human race. What does the song of the Angels mean? Without a doubt, the gratitude of the high ranks and the joy that we, who live on earth, have been blessed. For they say: thank God, peace has now come to the earth. Formerly, human nature was at enmity with God, but now it has become so reconciled that it has become in union with God and united with Him in the incarnation. And so, do you see the peace of God with man? It can be understood in another way. The Son of God Himself is the world, as He speaks of Himself (John 14:27; 16:33). Thus, the very world, the Son of God, appeared on earth. And "in men there is goodwill," that is, the repose of God; for now God has rested and found the pleasure of God in men, whereas before He did not favor and did not find in men the pleasure of Himself.

When the angels departed from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go to Bethlehem and see what has happened there, what the Lord has announced to us." And they came in haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the child lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they told them what had been announced to them about this Infant. And all who heard were amazed at what the shepherds told them.

These pastors are the image of spiritual pastors – bishops. Thus, the bishops must guard their flock and play, that is, sing something spiritual and teach the people, and then they will be worthy of divine visions and hearings. Bethlehem means the house of bread. What other house of bread is this, if not the church, in which this bread is stored? Thus, the task of verbal pastors is to seek the heavenly bread, and when they see this bread, their duty to preach to others, just as the pastors, when they saw the Infant, communicated Him to others.