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, the power and 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 has risen for us – Christ. 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 did mercy" not only to the living, but also "to our fathers," for the grace of Christ was extended to them also, although they were already dead. 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. - "Fearlessly - (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 in order that we might serve Him, and not for a day or two, but every day, and serve not only in carnal worship and service, but "in holiness and truth" (in Church Slavonic, by 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 precede 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, with 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 it understood the words of its father even after birth. "Thou shalt go before," he says, "before the face of the Lord," leaving me presently. For Zechariah knew that a little later he would lose John, since he had to retire into the wilderness. Why "foresee"? 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 gifts; 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 one who surpasses others in life. He hid in the wilderness until then, when God was pleased to reveal him to the people of Israel.

Chapter Two 

В те дни вышло от кесаря Августа повеление сделать перепись по всей земле. Эта перепись была первая в правление Квириния Сириею. И пошли все записываться, каждый в свой город. Пошел также и Иосиф из Галилеи, из города Назарета, в Иудею, в город Давидов, называемый Вифлеем, потому что он был из дома и рода Давидова, записаться с Мариею, обрученною ему женою, которая была беременна. Когда же они были там, наступило время родить Ей; и родила Сына своего Первенца, и спеленала Его, и положила Его в ясли, потому что не было им места в гостинице. 

Перепись происходит для того, чтобы, когда всякий пойдет в свое отечество, и Дева пришла в Вифлеем, свое отечество, и таким образом Господь родился в Вифлееме, и исполнилось пророчество. Когда единый Бог, имея прекратить многобожие, прилично было и державствовать одному царю - кесарю. Вместе со всеми записывается и Христос. Господу и следовало записываться со вселенной, чтобы освятить записывающихся и упразднить рабство; ибо как, претерпев обрезание, Он упразднил обрезание, так, записавшись как раб, упразднил рабство нашей природы. Ибо работающие Господу уже не суть рабы людей, как говорит апостол: "не делайтесь рабами человеков" (1 Кор. 7, 23), но если по телу и рабы, то по духу свободны, не увлекаясь нечестием господ. - Господа справедливо назвал Сыном Девы, "Первенцем", хотя никакого другого она не родила, ибо рожденный первым называется первородным, хотя бы после него и не рождался другой. - Полагается в яслях, быть может, для того, чтобы от начала научить нас смирению, а быть может, и для того, чтобы символически показать, что Он явился в мир сей - место, обитаемое нами, уподобившимися неразумным скотам (Пс. 48, 13. 21). Ибо как ясли принадлежат скотам, так и мир сей - нам. Итак, мир - ясли, а мы - неразумные животные; а чтобы искупить нас от неразумия, для этого Он и явился здесь.

     В той стране были на поле пастухи, которые содержали ночную стражу у стада своего. Вдруг предстал им Ангел Господень, и слава Господня осияла их; и убоялись страхом великим. И сказал им Ангел; не бойтесь; я возвещаю вам великую радость, которая будет всем людям: ибо ныне родился вам в городе Давидовом Спаситель, Который есть Христос Господь; и вот вам знак: вы найдете Младенца в пеленах, лежащего в яслях. И внезапно явилось с Ангелом многочисленное воинство небесное, славящее Бога и взывающее: слава в вышних Богу, и на земле мир, в человеках благоволение!