last office.  While he thus ministered to the Lord, an angel appeared, which

caused Zacharias to be troubled, and a great fear fell upon him.  Zacharias

is, however, told that at long last he should have a son by his wife

Elisabeth, and that his name should be John, that great joy should be felt at

his birth.  Following these words of comfort which were purely personal to

Zacharias and to his wife, the angel's words take on a prophetic note, which

calls for a more careful examination.

'He shall be great in the sight of the Lord' (Luke 1:15).  These words

find an echo in the second announcement made by Gabriel recorded in verses

'Thou shalt call his name John'.

'For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord'.

'Thou ... shalt call His name JESUS'.

'He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest'.

John, however, for all his greatness was but a forerunner, 'to make

ready a people prepared for the Lord'.  Jesus was to be King, and of His

kingdom there was to be no end.  The more the greatness of John the Baptist

is seen, the greater the Lord of Whom he was a forerunner must appear.  John

for all his greatness, while a witness of the light, 'was not that Light'

(John 1:8), but rather was a 'bright and shining lamp' (John 5:35); Christ

alone is the 'Word', John for all his greatness was content to be 'a voice'

(John 1:23).  John declared that he was not worthy to unloose the latchet of

the Saviour's shoe, that, while the Son of God was 'from above', John the

forerunner, was of the earth.  His testimony was continually 'He must

increase, but I must decrease' (John 3:30).  Apart, however, from the

comparison with His Lord, John was indeed, when compared with his fellow men,

not only 'great' but 'greater' (Matt. 11:11; Luke 7:28).  Now follow

statements concerning John that deal more particularly with his prophetic

office.  He 'shall drink neither wine nor strong drink' (Luke 1:15).  It is

generally conceded that these words indicate that John the Baptist was a

Nazarite from birth.  The first reference to the Nazarite vow is found in

Numbers 6, where we read:

'When either man or woman shall separate themselves (Heb. pala do

something wonderful, or as it is rendered in Lev. 27:2 shall make a

singular vow) to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate (Heb. nazar)

themselves unto the Lord: he shall separate himself from wine and

strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong

drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist

grapes, or dried.  All the days of his separation (Heb. nazar) shall he

eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the

husk' (Num. 6:2-4).

In order to understand the bearing of this abstinence from wine that

was characteristic of the life of John

the Baptist, we should not fail to observe the evident association with wine,

and the promise 'He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his

mother's womb' (Luke 1:15).  With this we can compare such passages as, 'Be

not drunk with wine, wherein is excess: but be filled with the Spirit' (Eph.

5:18).  'These are not drunken, as ye suppose ... But this is that which was

spoken by the prophet Joel' (Acts 2:15,16).  Here are two other passages

where intoxicants are placed over against the filling of the Holy Spirit even

though in Acts it is a filling with 'gifts', and in Ephesians it is the

Spirit Who is the Filler.  Dr. John Lightfoot says, 'The Jewish doctors