He will be great in the sight of the Lord; he shall not drink wine or strong drink. Strong drink was any intoxicating drink that was not made from grapes. By these words the angel indicates that John would be a Nazarite, who, according to the law (Num. 6), had to abstain from all intoxicating drinks throughout his life. And the Holy Spirit shall be filled even from the womb of the mother (Luke 1:15). With these words, the angel points to the extraordinary abundance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which will be communicated to John for the fulfillment of His destiny (Bishop Michael, Explanatory Gospel, 2:243).

The angel says that Zechariah's son, John, is to prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Messiah and to turn the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

In short, their faith in God and the promised Messiah was too far from the true faith of their forefathers. People with such perverted notions, of course, could not understand the teaching of Jesus Christ about the kingdom not of this world, and therefore it was necessary to prepare them to accept this teaching. The task is not easy! To fulfill it, a person was required who was gifted from above with a special strength of spirit, such as, for example, the strength that was gifted to the prophet Elijah, a great zealot for the true faith in God during the time of godlessness and moral stupefaction of the people of Israel. That is why the angel says that John will convert many (but not all) of the children of Israel to the Lord their God; will go before Him (that is, God, the Messiah) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to restore the hearts (faith) of the fathers to the children, and to the disobedient (ungodly) the way of thinking of the righteous, that he may present to the Lord a prepared people, and for this he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb (Luke 1:16-17, 15).

Zacharias did not believe the angel: he and his wife were too old to expect offspring from them, according to human standards; Therefore, he asked the angel for a sign, that is, proof of his words.

To dispel Zechariah's doubts, the angel gives his name, known to Zechariah as a priest, from the prophecy of Daniel; he says that he was sent to him by God to announce the good news of the imminent coming of the Messiah and the birth of His Forerunner; but, not waiting for Zechariah's answer, he pronounces a sentence for unbelief: "Thou shalt be silent... until the day when these things come to pass (Luke 1:20). The word dies on Zechariah's lips, he becomes mute.

The usual censing in the Sanctuary required little time; but Zachariah did not go out for a long time to the people who were waiting for him praying in the courtyards of the temple; and when at last he went out and began to explain himself to the people by signs, they all understood that something extraordinary had happened to him in the Sanctuary; probably, Zachariah himself, explaining to the people by signs about the reason for his long stay in the Sanctuary, made it clear to those who were waiting for him to come out that an angel had appeared to him.

Zachariah remained at the temple to serve until the end of his turn, and only then did he return to his home.

After these days Elizabeth conceived (Luke 1:24). The Orthodox Church celebrates the conception of the Forerunner on September 23. If the birth of Jesus Christ took place no earlier than the end of 748 and no later than the end of 749 from the foundation of Rome, then the conception of the Forerunner, as having occurred a year and three months before the birth of Christ, refers to the year 747 or 748.

For five months (before meeting the Most Holy Virgin) Elizabeth hid her pregnancy from people, but in the silence of solitude she thanked the Lord that in the days of her old age He had delivered her from reproach, freed her from shame before people.

Бесплодие, как сказано выше, считалось у евреев наказанием Божиим за грехи, поэтому на бесплодных смотрели презрительно, как на прогневавших Бога; бесплодную жену еврей мог прогнать из своего дома, выдав ей разводное письмо.

Здесь и далее даты приведены по старому стилю.

Вот почему Елисавета радовалась, что наконец-то избавится от поношения людей и перестанет стыдиться своего бесплодия.

Рождение Пресвятой Девы Марии и жизнь Её при храме

В Назарете, небольшом городке Галилеи, к западу от Геннисаретского, или Галилейского озера, жили Иоаким, потомок царя Давида, из колена Иудина, и жена его Анна, до глубокой старости не имевшие детей. Молясь постоянно о даровании им потомства, они обещали отдать на служение Богу дитя, какое у них родится. После пятидесяти лет супружества у них родилась дочь Мария; когда Ей исполнилось три года, родители, исполняя данный Богу обет, отвели Ее в Иерусалимский храм, где и оставили на воспитание и для служения Богу.