Holy spirit and john the baptist

HOLY SPIRIT AND JOHN THE BAPTIST
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 1:15 for he will be great in the sight of the
LORD. He is never to take wine or other fermented
drink, and he will be filledwith the Holy Spirit even
before he is born.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
ParentalAmbition
Luke 1:13-17
W. Clarkson
What would we give to our beloved? asks one of our poets. What would we
ask for our children if we might have our hearts'desire? When the young
father or mother looks down on the little child, and then looks on to the
future, what is the parental hope concerning him? What is that which, if it
could only be assured, would give "joy and gladness"?The history of our
race, the chronicles of our owntime, even the observationof our own eyes,
give abundant proof that the child may rise to the highest distinction, may
wield greatpower, may secure large wealth, may enjoy many and varied
pleasures, and yet be a source ofsorrow and disappointment. On the other
hand, these same authorities abundantly prove that if the parent is only true

to his convictions and avails himself of the resources that are open to him,
there is every reasonto expect that his child will be such an one as to yield to
him a pride that is not unholy, a joy that nothing can surpass. Noton the same
scale, but alter the same manner, every man's child may become what Gabriel
told Zacharias his son should be -
1. ONE TAKING HIGH RANK WITH GOD. "Greatin the sight of the
Lord." By faith in Jesus Christ our child may become a "sonof God" in a
sense not only true but high (see John 1:12). "And if children, then heirs, heirs
of God" (Romans 8:17). Obedience will ensure the friendship of God (see
John 14:23; John 15:14). Earnestnesswill make him a fellow-laborerwith
God (1 Corinthians 2:9; 2 Corinthians 6:1). The acceptance ofall Christian
privilege will make him a "king and priest unto God" (Revelation1:6). Who
can compute how much better it is to be thus "greatin the sight of the Lord"
than to be honored and even idolized by men?
II. ONE IN WHOM GOD HIMSELF DWELLS. "He shall be filled with the
Holy Ghost." Goddesires to dwell with and in every one of his human
children; and if there be purity of heart and prayerfulness of spirit, he will
dwell in them continually (Luke 11:13;John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1
Corinthians 6:19; Revelation3:20).
III. ONE THAT IS MASTER OF HIMSELF. "He shall drink neither wine,"
etc. By right example and wise discipline any man's child may be trained to
control his own appetites, to regulate his tastes, to form temperate and pure
habits, to wield the worthiestof all scepters - mastery of himself.
IV. ONE IN WHOM THE BEST AND NOBLEST LIVES AGAIN. "He shall
go in the spirit and power of Elijah." In John the Baptist there lived again the
greatProphet Elijah - a man of self-denying habit; of dauntless courage, that
fearedthe face of no man, and that rebuked kings without flinching; of strong
and scathing utterance;of devoted and heroic life. In any one of our children
there may live againthat One who "in all things in which John was greatand
noble, was greaterand nobler than he." In the little child who is trained in the
truth and led into the love of Christ there may dwell the mind and spirit of the
Son of God himself (Romans 8:9; Philippians 2:5).

V. ONE THAT LIVES A LIFE OF HOLY USEFULNESS. Whatnobler
ambition can we cherish for our children than that, in their sphere, they
should do as John did in his - spend their life in the service of their kind? Like
him, they may:
1. Make many a home holier and happier than it would have been.
2. Prepare the way for others to follow with their higher wisdom and larger
influence.
3. Be instrumental in turning disobedient hearts from the way of folly to the
path of wisdom.
4. Earn the benediction of" many" whom they have blessed(verse 14). To
ensure all this, there must be:
1. Parentalexample in righteousness andwisdom.
2. Parentaltraining as well as teaching.
3. Parentalintercession. -C.
Biblical Illustrator
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord.
Luke 1:15, 16
True greatness
Dr. W. M. Taylor.
What is greatness?Scarcelytwo persons among us would give the same reply
to that question. All would admit that it denotes pre-eminence, but eachwould
have his ownpreference as to the department in which it was to be
manifested. Some would associate itwith power, some with courage, some
with eloquence, and some, perhaps, with wealth; yet eachwould think of it as
conferring an advantage on its possessor, and so putting others at a

corresponding disadvantage. The really greatman is he whom holiness and
love combine to inspire for the service of his generationby the will of God.
1. He who wins this greatnessdoes not attain it at the expense of others.
2. We may win this greatnessanywhere.
3. This greatnessis satisfying to its possessor.The highestcommendationone
can earn is this — "He hath done what he could;" and the noblest life-record
is that which comes nearestto His of whom it was said that "He went about
doing good." Thatis fame, though no earthly herald may trumpet it abroad,
for Christ shall proclaim it on the day of days before the assembleduniverse.
(Dr. W. M. Taylor.)
Characterof John the Baptist
A. M. Fairbairn, D. D.
He was no selfishlover of his own soul, too fearful of pollution to touch
society, but a magnanimous reformer, greatin his love alike of man and of
righteousness. He was too much the pupil of Divine freedom and discipline to
be the child of any school, the spokesmanofany sect. His faith was the fruit of
inspiration as opposedto experience. His education made him a preacherwho
lived as he believed, possessedofthe courage to summon men to a like life and
faith.
(A. M. Fairbairn, D. D.)
A strange greatness
Bishop Goodwin.
The child was to be greatin the sight of the Lord. According to the verdict of
our Lord passedafterwards, he was the greatestofthose born of women until
His time. Yet what a strange greatness!A poor man, living in the wilderness
the life of an anchorite, and at length beheaded by a wickedking, buried by

his disciples, and nothing more heard of him! There is another person
mentioned in this chapter who was also calledgreat. Herod the king,
mentioned in the fifth verse, is commonly known as Herod the Great, but he
was not great in the sight of the Lord, only greatin the sight of himself and of
his court, and of those who admired his skill in adding to his kingdom. Which
was the really greatman? Which will appear to be greatwhen the magnitude
of men is tested by God, and when men are weighedin the righteous balances
of God's judgment?
(Bishop Goodwin.)
In the sight of the Lord
DeanChurch.
We are what we are in God's sight, not what men think us, not what we think
ourselves, but what He sees and knows that we are, nothing more, nothing
less.
(DeanChurch.)
And shall drink neither wine nor strong drink
ArchdeaconFarrar.
His drink was waterof the river. He lived on locusts and wild honey. Men felt
in him that powerof mastery which is always granted to perfectself-denial.
(ArchdeaconFarrar.)
And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost
ProfessorDrummond., Dr. JosephLeckie.
Take it as a broad fact in nature that there is no such thing as emptiness. If
any cornerof the world is vacatedevenfor an instant, something else will

come in instantaneously to fill up the empty space. So by the constitution of
human nature there is no possibility of emptiness in the soul of man. The
spiritual nature " abhors a vacuum." If a man will not let goodinto his life,
evil must and will possessit. If he would ejectevil from his life, he canonly do
so by letting goodinto it. The most striking recognitionof the principle occurs
in Paul's letter to the Christians at Ephesus. He is taking them to" task with
reference to certainabuses which had crept into their Church. Prominent
among these was drunkenness. "Be not drunk with wine," says the apostle,
"but be filled with the Spirit." Wine versus the Spirit! The disease was not
drunkenness. The drunkenness was a casualepisode. The souls of these men
had an empty chamber which must be filled. Their legitimate food was God.
This was rejectedor neglected. But the void remained. That could not be
neglected. It must be filled with God or with a substitute. We may choosethis
substitute for ourselves, but we cannot not-choose it, for nature abhors a
vacuum. The Ephesians had made their choice — it was wine. This was what
Paul saw. To cure it how was he to proceed? He could not enjoin abstinence.
The problem was not the drink, but the vacuum. He must make some
proposal, therefore, about the vacuum. "Fill yourselves," he says, "with the
Spirit of God." There is a valid relation betweenthe stimulus of intoxicants
and the stimulus of religion. Either, so far, will carry out the law of filling the
vacuum. But merely to adjure a man not to be filled with wine is to command
an impossibility. You must give him another stimulus equally absorbing,
intenser, richer, and when the sensualpassionis high and strong your
substitute must be supreme. There is only one thing which will absorb it quite
— the more abundant life of God.
(ProfessorDrummond.)The choice is not betweenGod and an empty heart.
Man is like a house situated betweentwo winds. On the one side comes the
wind from a dreary, bleak desert, laden with fog and disease, blowing across
things foul and rotten. The other side of the house fronts the sunlight, and
winds that blow from the wide, fresh sea, and over gardens, orchards, and
blooming fields. Every one must decide to which side he is going to open. Both
doors cannot be shut. You canonly get the dismal, fatal door shut by opening
wide the door that looks to the sea of eternity, and the sunshine of God. The
wind blowing in through this open door keeps that door of ruin shut.

(Dr. JosephLeckie.)
And many of the children of Israel, &c
J. R. Bailey.
I. To be "children of Israel" not necessarilyequivalent to being spiritually
"sons of Abraham" (John 8:39).
II. As a historical factthe children of Israel overand over againturned from
the Lord, and at the beginning of the Baptist's ministry nearly the whole
nation had sunk into religious formalism.
III. But repentance was still possible to Israel after ages ofunfaithfulness. Still
they might turn to the Lord their God. John's message was"Repent!" and his
preaching produced the effects here foretold (see Luke 3:7-14).
IV. "He shall turn." Recognition ofhuman instrumentality in the doing of the
work which only the Spirit of God cando — the production of conviction
leading to conversion.
(J. R. Bailey.)
Goodness is greatness
Henry R. Burton.
"Nothing can make a man truly great, but being truly good, and a partakerof
God's holiness." "A dram of goodness is worth more than all worldly
greatness." Wealth, honour, power, may constitute a persongreat in the
estimation of man; but faith, love, and true holiness are necessaryto secure
for us God's approbation.
(Henry R. Burton.)
Abstinence and promotion

Christian Chronicle.
When GeneralGrant was in command of the army before Vicksburg, a
number of officers were gatheredat his headquarters. One of them invited the
party to join in a socialglass;all but one accepted. He askedto be excused,
saying that he "neverdrank." The hour passed, and eachwent his way to his
respective command. A few days after this the officerwho declined to drink
receiveda note from GeneralGrant to report at headquarters. He obeyed the
order, and Grant said to him, "You are the officer, I believe, who remarked
the other day that you never drank?" The officer modestly answeredthat he
was. "Then," continued the General, "you are the man I have been looking
for to take charge ofthe CommissaryDepartment, and I order that you be
detailed to that duty." He servedall through the war in that responsible
department, and afterwards, when GeneralGrant became President, the
officer who never drank was againin request. The President, needing a man
on whom he could rely for some important business, gave him the
appointment.
(Christian Chronicle.)
Abstinence and health
Canon BasilWilberforce.
Before I became an abstainerI was much subject to fainting fits. I even
fainted in the pulpit, and my life was a burden; and when I had made up my
mind to abstain my medical man came from London and said, "If you do you
will probably die. You want the 'whip' for your constitution." I did not believe
him, and I said, "Very well, doctor, then I'll die, and there's an end of it." But
I have not died. And when I met that medical man in London three days since
I said, "Now, doctor, what do you think of it?" He said, "You beat me
altogether. I was never more mistaken in any case in my life. And now let me
tell you that if there was no such thing as alcoholI should have to put up my
shutters. Nearlyall the illnesses that come before me have, in one sense or

another, come from that; not always from the personalindulgence of the
patients, but because this is hereditary."
(Canon BasilWilberforce.)
A greatman
A man who can be satisfiedwith nothing less than that which is real and right;
who is content to count all things loss for the attainment of a spiritual aim,
and to fight for it againstall enemies;who deems truth the bread of life and
makes its pursuit his daily labour — he is a greatman.
Personalinfluence in conversion
Dr. Tyng, speaking ofpersonal influence, mentions a young lady whom no
storms of snow or rain ever kept from her class. One afteranother of her
scholars, he says, would come to him, and when he would ask the question,
"What has led you to seek a Saviour's love?" they would mention her name,
until, he says, " I tracedtwenty.five, at least, of my young people who were
convertedthrough her prayers and labours, and among them that beloved son
of mine, at whose bedside I sat for sixteen long hours, wondering why God
had takenhim and left me behind. This was the characterof that girl. Nothing
kept her back."
Conversionmust be a complete surrender
C. H. Spurgeon.
When Henry VIII. had determined to make himself head of the English
Church, he insisted upon it that Convocationshould accepthis headship
without limiting and modifying clauses. He refused to entertain any
compromises, and vowedthat "he would have no tantrums," as he called
them. Thus when a sinner parleys with his Saviour he would fain have a little
of the honour of his salvation, he would save alive some favourite sin, he

would fain amend the humbling terms of grace;but there is no help for it,
Jesus will be all in all, and the sinner must be nothing at all. The surrender
must be complete, there must be no tantrums, but the heart must without
reserve submit to the sovereigntyof the Redeemer.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Importance of one conversion
W. M. Punshon, D,D.
It is impossible to overrate the importance of the conversionof one soul to
Christ, or of the hardening of one heart in sin An old Puritan doctorwrites a
book more than two hundred years ago, called"The Bruised Reed," which
falls into the hands of Richard Baxter, and leads his penitent spirit to its trust
in Christ. Baxter's ministry is like that of a giant in his strength, and when he
dies his "Call to the Unconverted" goes preaching on to thousands to whom
Baxter himself had never spokenwith human tongue. Philip Doddridge,
prepared by his pious mother's teaching, hears this piercing "Call," devotes
the summer of his life to God, and becomes a "burning and a shining light."
Doddridge's "Rise and Progress"fellinto the hands of Wilberforce, and led
him to thought and to prayer. Wilberforce's "PracticalView" clearedthe
faith and fired the zeal of a clergyman in the sunny South, and he wrote the
simple annal of a Methodist girl, which has borne fruit of blessing in every
quarter of the globe;for who has not heard of Legh Richmond and "The
Dairyman!s Daughter"? And then the same book had a ministry in the bleak
North, and in a country parish found out a Scottishclergymanwho was
preaching a gospelwhichhe did not know, and he embraced the fulness of the
glad tidings, and came forth a champion for the truth, "furnished in all things
and ready," until all Scotlandrang with the eloquence of Thomas Chalmers.
(W. M. Punshon, D,D.)
Characterand work of John

Robert Hall.
Much of the wisdom of Providence appears in fitting the instrument to the
work. The work appointed to John was to reclaim the nation from its
departure from God, to rouse a people sunk in insensibility and impenitence,
to preach repentance, to proclaim the approach of the kingdom of heaven, to
usher in a higher economy, a new dispensation;and for all this he was
admirably qualified. He was endued with the spirit and power of Elias. His
spirit was undaunted and unyielding; he rebuked the pride of kings. He was
indifferent and insensible alike to the charms of pleasure, the allurement of
pomp, the smiles of power, and the frowns of greatness. His whole soulwas
concentratedin his object. He was superior to the world; its forms and
fashions made no impression on his mind, and left no traces. He was austere
in his manner, abstemious in his food, rustic in his apparel; he partook of the
wildness of the wilderness in which he first made his appearance.
(Robert Hall.)
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
He shall be greatin the sight of the Lord - That is, before Jesus Christ, whose
forerunner he shall be; or he shall be a truly greatperson, for so this form of
speechmay imply.
Neither wine nor strong drink - Σικερα, i.e. all fermented liquors which have
the property of intoxicating, or producing drunkenness. The originalword
σικερα, sikera, comes from the Hebrew, ‫רכש‬ shakar, to inebriate. "Any
inebriating liquor," says St. Jerome, (Epis. ad Nepot)." is calledsicera,
whether made of corn, apples, honey, dates, or any other fruits." One of the
four prohibited liquors among the EastIndian Moslimans is calledsikkir .
"Sikkiris made by steeping fresh dates in watertill they take effectin

sweetening it: this liquor is abominable and unlawful." Hedaya, vol. iv. p. 158.
Probably this is the very liquor referred to in the text. In the Institutes of
Menu it is said, "Inebriating liquor may be consideredas of three principal
sorts:that extractedfrom dregs of sugar, that extractedfrom bruised rice,
and that extractedfrom the flowers of the madhuca: as one, so are all; they
shall not be tastedby the chief of the twice-born." Chap. xi. Inst. 95. Twice-
born is used by the Brahmins in the same sense as being born again is used by
Christians. It signifies a spiritual regeneration. Fromthis word comes our
English term cyder, or sider, a beverage made of the fermented juice of
apples. See the note on Leviticus 10:9.
Shall be filled with the Holy Ghost - Shall be Divinely designatedto this
particular office, and qualified for it, from his mother's womb - from the
instant of his birth. One MS., two versions, and four of the primitive fathers
read εν τῃ κοιλιᾳ, In the womb of his mother - intimating that even before he
should be born into the world the Holy Spirit should be communicated to him.
Did not this take place on the salutation of the Virgin Mary? - and is not this
what is intended, Luke 1:44;? To be filled with the Holy Ghost, implies having
the soulinfluenced in all its powers, with the illuminating, strengthening, and
sanctifying energyof the Spirit.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/luke-
1.html. 1832.
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Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
Shall be great - Shall be eminent, or distinguished as a preacher.

In the sight of the Lord - Greek, “before the Lord.” That is, shall be “really”
or “truly” great. God shall regardhim as such.
Shall drink neither wine - The kind of wine commonly used in Judea was a
light wine, often not strongerthan cider in this country. It was the common
drink of all classesofthe people. See the notes at John 2:11. The use of wine
was forbidden only to the Nazarite, Numbers 6:3. It was because John
sustainedthis characterthat he abstainedfrom the use of wine.
Strong drink - It is not easyto ascertainpreciselywhatis meant by this word,
but we are certainthat it does not mean strong drink in our sense ofthe term.
Distilled spirits were not then known. The art of distilling was discoveredby
an Arabian chemist in the 9th or 10th century; but distilled liquors are not
used by Arabians. They banished them at once, as if sensible of their
pernicious influence; nor are they used in Easternnations at all. Europe and
America have been the places where this poison has been most extensively
used, and there it has beggaredand ruined millions, and is yearly sweeping
thousands unprepared into a wretchedeternity. The “strong drink” among
the Jews was probably nothing more than fermented liquors, or a drink
obtained from fermented dates, figs, and the juice of the palm, or the lees of
wine, mingled with sugar, and having the property of producing intoxication.
Many of the Jewishwriters say that by the word here translated “strong
drink” was meant nothing more than old wine, which probably had the power
of producing intoxication. See the notes at Isaiah 5:11.
Shall be filled with the Holy Ghost … - Shall be divinely designatedor
appointed to this office, and qualified for it by all needful communications of
the Holy Spirit. To be “filled” with the Holy Spirit is to be illuminated,
sanctified, and guided by his influence. In this place it refers:
1.To the divine intention that he should be setapart to this work, as God
designedthat Paul should be an apostle from his mother‘s womb, Galatians
1:15.
2.It refers to an actual fitting for the work from the birth by the influence of
the Holy Spirit, as was the case with JeremiahJeremiah 1:5, and with the
Messiahhimself, Psalm 22:9-10.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon Luke 1:15". "Barnes'Notes onthe New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/luke-1.html.
1870.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor
strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his
mother's womb.
Greatin the sight of the Lord ... is a far different thing from being greatin the
sight of men, the vicious and unprincipled Herod the Great, just mentioned,
being a classicalexample of the latter type of "greatness."
No wine nor strong drink ... This prohibited, not merely wine, but all
intoxicants, and supports the view that John the Baptistlike Samuel, Samson,
and the Rechabites in the Old Testament, was a Nazarite for life (Numbers
6:1-21); however, as Ash noted, "Some facets ofthe Nazarite vow are not
specifiedhere (e.g., allowing the hair to grow)."[16]The type of ascetic piety
exhibited by John had its proper place in the purpose of God; although John,
strictly speaking, was notin the kingdom, because he precededit.
Nevertheless,Godused him, particularly in the manner of his life style
contrasting so dramatically with that of Jesus.
It is impossible to avoid the significance ofthe contrastin this verse between
intoxicating "spirits" which John would renounce and the "Spirit" who
would be in him, filling him, even from his mother's womb, and for his whole
life. The same contrastwas evident on Pentecostwhenthe apostles were not

"drunk with wine" but filled with "the Spirit." Paul wrote, "And be not
drunken with wine wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians
5:18). Strong drink is an unqualified curse upon the earth; and, although
Christ did not require the kind of abstinence which marked the life of John
the Baptist, drunkenness is forbidden, as well as any associationwith a
drunkard (1 Corinthians 5:11).
ENDNOTE:
[16] Ibid., p. 31.
Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/luke-1.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord,.... Of Jehovah, the Father; with
whom, what is highly esteemedamong men, is oftentimes an abomination; and
of the Lord Jesus Christ, before whom he was to go, and who pronounced him
a prophet, and more than a prophet, and even greaterthan any born of
women, Matthew 11:9 and of the Lord, the Spirit, with whom he was filled
from his mother's womb: he was great, not in birth and blood, in worldly
riches and grandeur, but in gifts and grace, in his work, office, and usefulness,
and in the esteemofGod, and even of men too:
and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; which were forbidden the
Nazarites, Numbers 6:3 where the Jews, by "wine", understand "new wine";

and by "strong drink", old wine: so all the "three Targums", of Onkelos,
Jonathanben Uzziel, and the Jerusalem, paraphrase the words there, "from
wine new and old, he shall separate himself"; and they allow strong drink to a
Nazarite, that has no wine in it: their canonF18 runs thus,
"three things are forbidden a Nazarite, defilement, and shaving, and whatever
proceeds from the vine, whether fruit, or the refuse of fruit; but strong drink
made of dates, or dried figs, and such like, is free for a Nazarite;and the
strong drink which is forbidden him in the law, is strong drink made of
mixture of wine.
But the Hebrew word, ‫,רכש‬ and which is here retained by the evangelist,
signifiesF19any sort of liquor, which is inebriating, whether it is made of
fruits, or honey, or what not. The Jews had no such strong drink as ours,
which we call beeror ale;but they speak of the strong drink of the Medes,
which they say was an inebriating liquor, made of barleyF20:
and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb; or
"whilst in his mother's womb", as the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions
render it: like Jeremiah, he was sanctified, setapart, and ordained to be the
prophet of the Highest, before he came out of his mother's womb; and was
then under such an influence of the Spirit of God, as to leap in it for joy, at the
salutation of the mother of Christ to his, Luke 1:41 and very early appearedto
have the extraordinary gifts and graces ofthe Holy Ghost, qualifying him for
his work,
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
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Bibliography

Gill, John. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "The New John Gill Expositionof
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/luke-
1.html. 1999.
Geneva Study Bible
For he shall be great in the o sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine
nor p strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his
mother's womb.
(o) So the Hebrews saywhen a rare kind of excellencyis signified: so it is said
of Nimrod in (Genesis 10:9), "He was a mighty hunter before the LORD".
(p) Any drink that might make someone drunk.
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon Luke 1:15". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/luke-1.html. 1599-
1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
greatin the sight of the Lord — nearer to Him in official standing than all the
prophets. (See Matthew 11:10, Matthew 11:11.)

drink neither wine nor strong drink — that is, shall be a Nazarite, or “a
separatedone” (Numbers 6:2, etc.). As the leper was the living symbol of sin,
so was the Nazarite of holiness;nothing inflaming was to cross his lips; no
razor to come on his head; no ceremonialdefilement to be contracted. Thus
was he to be “holy to the Lord [ceremonially] all the days of his separation.”
This separationwas in ordinary casestemporary and voluntary: only Samson
(Judges 13:7), Samuel(1 Samuel 1:11), and John Baptist were Nazarites from
the womb. It was fitting that the utmost severity of legalconsecrationshould
be seenin Christ‘s forerunner. HE was the REALITY and PERFECTION of
the Nazarite without the symbol, which perished in that living realization of it:
“Suchan High Priestbecame us, who was SEPARATE FROM SINNERS”
(Hebrews 7:26).
filled with the Holy Ghost, from … womb — a holy vesselfor future service.
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Luke 1:15". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/luke-1.html. 1871-8.
John Lightfoot's Commentary on the Gospels
15. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine
nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his
mother's womb.

[Neither wine nor strong drink.] That is, if the Jews may be our interpreters
properly enough, "neither new nor old wine";Numbers 6:3. Greek, he shall
separate himself from wine and strong drink. Targum, He shall separate
himself from wine new and old. So Deuteronomy 14:26.
"R. Jose ofGalilee saith, Why doth the Scripture double it, wine and strong
drink? Foris not wine strong drink, and strong drink wine?" Strong drink is
wine no doubt, Numbers 28:7; Thou shalt cause the strong wine to be poured
out before the Lord. Targum, a drink offering of old wine.
Whilst I a little more narrowly considerthat severe interdiction by which the
Nazarite was forbidden the total use of the vine, not only that he should not
drink of the wine, but not so much as taste of the grape, not the pulp nor stone
of the grape, no, not the bark of the vine; I cannot but call to mind,
I. Whether the vine might not be the tree in paradise that had been forbidden
to Adam, by the tasting of which he sinned. The Jewishdoctors positively
affirm this without any scruple.
II. Whether that law about the Nazarites had not some reference to Adam
while he was under that prohibition in the state of innocency. Forif the bodily
and legaluncleannesses,aboutwhich there are such strict precepts, Numbers
5, especiallythe leprosy, the greatestofall uncleannesses, did excellently
decipher the state and nature of sin; might not the laws about Nazarites which
concernedthe greatestpurities in a most pure religion, be something in
commemorationof the state of man before his fall?
There was, as the doctors callit, the wine of command; which they were
bound by precept to drink. Such was "that wine of the tithes," Deuteronomy
12:17,18, thattwas commanded to be drunk at Jerusalem, and the cup of wine
to be drunk at the Passover. Whatmust the Nazarite do in this case? If he
drink, he violates the command of his order; if he do not drink, he breaks the
command about tithes and the laws of his fathers. Let Elias untie this knot
when he comes.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Lightfoot, John. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "John Lightfoot Commentary
on the Gospels".https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jlc/luke-
1.html. 1675.
People's New Testament
Shall drink... nor strong drink. No kind of intoxicant. Like the Nazarites
(Numbers 6).
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Original work done by Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 atThe
RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
Johnson, BartonW. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "People's New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pnt/luke-1.html.
1891.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Strong drink (σικερα — sikera). A Hebrew word transliterated into Greek, an
intoxicating drink. Here only in the N.T. John was to be a personal“dry” or
Nazarite (Numbers 6:3).

Shall not drink (ου μη πιηι — ou mē piēi). Strong prohibition, double negative
and secondaoristsubjunctive.
The Holy Ghost(πνευματος αγιου — pneumatos hagiou). The Holy Spirit in
contrastto the physical excitement of strong drink (Plummer). Luke uses this
phrase 53 times, 12 in the Gospel, Mark and John 4 each, Matthew 5 times.
Even from his mother‘s womb (ετι εκ κοιλιας μητρος αυτου — eti ek koilias
mētros autou). A manifest Hebraism. Cf. Luke 1:41.
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "Robertson'sWord Pictures
of the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/luke-1.html. Broadman
Press 1932,33. Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
Strong drink ( σίκερα )
A Hebrew word, meaning any kind of intoxicating liquor not made from
grapes. Wyc., sydir.
Even from his mother's womb

Ἔτι ,yet, still, means while yet unborn. Tynd., even in his mother's womb.
Compare Luke 1:41.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon Luke 1:15". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/luke-1.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor
strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his
mother's womb.
He shall be greatbefore the Lord — Godthe Father: of the Holy Ghostand
the Sonof Godmention is made immediately after.
And shall drink neither wine nor strong drink — Shall be exemplary for
abstemiousnessand self-denial; and so much the more filled with the Holy
Ghost.
Copyright Statement
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography

Wesley, John. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "JohnWesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/luke-1.html. 1765.
The Fourfold Gospel
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord1, and he shall drink no wine nor
strong drink2; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit3, even from his
mother's womb4.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord. Compare Genesis 1:6.
And he shall drink no wine nor strong drink. Any other fermented liquor.
Wycliffe's versioncalls it "syder", and the Anglo-Saxon versioncalls it
"beor", of which palm wine was the most common kind. As to the temperance
of the Baptist, compare the history of Samson(Judges 13:3-5)and the Law of
the Nazarite (Numbers 6:2-4).
And he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit. The stimulation of the Spirit is
elsewhere thus contrastedwith alcoholic stimulants (Acts 2:15-18;Ephesians
5:18).
Even from his mother's womb. See Luke 1:41.

Copyright Statement
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon Luke 1:15". "The
Fourfold Gospel". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/luke-
1.html. Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
Neither wine nor strong drink; that is, like the ancient prophets, he shall lead
a life of abstemiousnessand self-denial.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Abbott, John S. C. & Abbott, Jacob. "Commentaryon Luke 1:15". "Abbott's
Illustrated New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ain/luke-1.html. 1878.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
15.Forhe shall be greatHe confirms what he said about joy, for John had
been selectedfora great and extraordinary purpose. These words are not so
much intended to extol his eminent virtues as to proclaim his greatand
glorious office;as Christ, when he declares that among them that are born of

women there hath not risen a greaterthan John the Baptist, (Matthew 11:11,)
refers less to the holiness of his life than to his ministry. What follows
immediately afterwards, he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, must
not be understood to mean that John’s abstemiousnesswas a singular virtue,
but that God was pleasedto distinguish his servantby this visible token, by
which the world would acknowledge him to be a continual Nazarite. The
priests too abstained from wine and strong drink, while they were performing
their duties in the temple, (Leviticus 10:9.) The same abstinence was enjoined
on the Nazarites, (Numbers 6:3,) until their vow should be fulfilled. By a
striking mark God showedthat John was dedicatedto him to be a Nazarite
for his whole life, as we learn was also the case withSamson, (Jude 13:3.) But
we must not on this ground imagine that the worship of God consists in
abstinence from wine, as apish copyists selectsome part of the actions of the
fathers for an objectof imitation. Only let all practice temperance, let those
who conceive it to be injurious to drink wine abstain of their ownaccord, and
let those who have it not endure the want with contentment. As to the word
σίκερα, I fully agree with those who think that, like the Hebrew word ‫,רכש‬ it
denotes any sortof manufactured wine.
He shall be filled with the Holy GhostThese words, I think, convey nothing
more than that John would manifest such a disposition as would hold out the
hope of future greatness. Bydisposition I mean not such as is found even in
ungodly men, but what corresponds to the excellence ofhis office. The
meaning is, the powerand grace ofthe Spirit will appearin him not only
when he shall enter upon his public employment, but even from the womb he
shall excelin the gifts of the Spirit, which will be a tokenand pledge of his
future character. From the womb, means from his earliestinfancy. The power
of the Spirit, I acknowledge, did operate in John, while he was yet in his
mother’s womb; but here, in my opinion, the angelmeant something else, that
John, even when a child, would be brought forward to the public gaze,
accompaniedby extraordinary commendationof the grace of God. As to
fullness, there is no occasionfor entering into the subtle disputations, or
rather the trifling, of the sophists;for Scripture conveys nothing more by this
word than the pre-eminent and very uncommon abundance of the gifts of the
Spirit. We know, that to Christ alone the Spirit was given without measure,

(John 3:34,) that we may draw out of his fullness, (John 1:16;) while to others
it is distributed according to a fixed measure, (1 Corinthians 12:11; Ephesians
4:7.) But those who are more plentifully endued with grace beyond the
ordinary capacity, are saidto be full of the Holy Ghost. Now, as the more
plentiful influence of the Spirit was in John an extraordinary gift of God, it
ought to be observedthat the Spirit is not bestowedonall from their very
infancy, but only when it pleases God. John bore from the womb a tokenof
future rank. Saul, while tending the herd, remained long without any mark of
royalty, and, when at length chosento be king, was suddenly turned into
another man, (1 Samuel 10:6.)Let us learn by this example that, from the
earliestinfancy to the latest old age, the operationof the Spirit in men is free.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/luke-1.html. 1840-
57.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
15 For he shall be greatin the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine
nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his
mother’s womb.
Ver. 15. Great in the sight of the Lord] Significatur singularis quaedam
praestantia, ut Genesis 10:9. He shall be singularly qualified.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/luke-1.html.
1865-1868.
Sermon Bible Commentary
Luke 1:15
I. What makes people greatin the sight of men? Severalthings do this; but
birth, money, and talents are the chief things which give this kind of
greatness.
II. What makes people greatin the sight of God? It is not any of the things
which lead to greatnessin man's sight. A person may be born of the greatest
king that ever lived, and be as rich as Stephen Gerard, and have many talents,
and yet be never greatat all in the sight of God. And then, on the other hand,
a person may be born in a garret or a cellar, and never have any money to call
his own, and no talent at all to to do anything that men call great, and yet may
be really greatin the sight of the Lord. What made John the Baptist great?
And, what will make others as great as he was? The answeris—Obedience. It
was simply his obedience which led to all John's greatness. He did just what
God wanted him to do. He did nothing else, and he did this all the time. And if
we obey God, as John did, it will make us greatin His sight too. All the
greatness whichpeople get in men's sight is little and empty; but it is vast,
wonderful, substantial greatness whichthey getwho become greatin the sight
of God.

III. Why is it better to be greatin the sight of the Lord than in the sight of
men? We may answerthe question by saying that it is so for three reasons. (1)
Greatness in God's sight is better than greatnessin man's sight because it is
more useful. Great men in God's sight are more useful than others by their
example. Now the most useful thing that canbe done to anybody is to make
him a Christian. But there is nothing like the influence of a Christian's
example to help to make others Christians. (2) This greatness is more lasting
than the other. Greatness in man's sight—a greatnessthat connects itselfwith
birth, or money, or talents merely—will soonpass away;but greatnessin
God's sight—a greatness that connects itselfwith our being made goodand
holy—will never pass away. (3) It is within the reach of all. This is not true of
greatness in the sight of men, but it is true of greatness in the sight of God. But
there were three things in John's case thatwe must remember if we want to
succeed:(1) John beganearly; (2) John had the Holy Spirit to help him; (3)
John gave up everything that was likely to hinder him from becoming great.
R. Newton, Rills from the Fountain of Life, p. 71.
References:Luke 1:15.—J. Keble, Sermons for Saints' Days, p. 257;J. H.
Hancock, ChristianWorld Pulpit, vol. xiii., p. 388;New Manual of Sunday
SchoolAddresses, p. 216.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicoll, William R. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "SermonBible
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/sbc/luke-
1.html.

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Luke 1:15. He shall be great, &c.— By this some understand that true
greatness,whereofGodis the sovereignjudge, in opposition to that greatness
which men acknowledge, who very often err in their opinion of things. "He
shall be great in the sight of God, not of man." But greatin the sight of God
seems to be a Hebrew expressionof the same form with αστειος τω Θεω, Acts
7:20 fair to God, or exceeding fair, and signifies, he shall be exceeding great;
namely, in respectof his character, his office, his inspiration, and the success
of his ministry, as it is explained by the angel himself. He was to drink neither
wine nor strong drink; that is, to convince mankind that he was separatedin a
peculiar manner for the service of God. He was to live the life of the Nazarites,
Numbers 6:3 who were esteemedas devotedto God's service in a particular
manner. He was to be filled with the Holy Ghost, which, in Scripture,
commonly signifies that degree of inspiration by which the prophets anciently
spake. Accordingly, in this chapter it is applied to Elizabeth, to Mary, and
Zacharias, in cases where they all spake by a particular inspiration.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentaryon Luke 1:15". Thomas Coke Commentary on
the Holy Bible. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/luke-
1.html. 1801-1803.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
15.]ἐνώπ. τ. κ., signifying the spiritual nature of his office and influence.
The priests were similarly prohibited to drink strong drink; and the Nazarites
even more rigidly: see reff.

σίκ. = ‫ר‬ֵׁ‫כ‬ ָ‫ר‬ (from ‫ר‬ָׁ‫כ‬ ֵׁ‫,ר‬ ‘inebriatus est’),—‘anystrong liquor not made from
grapes.’[Wiclif renders “He schalnot drynke wyne ne sidir.”]
πν. ἁγ. πλ. is a contrastto, and a reasonfor, the not drinking wine nor strong
drink: compare Ephesians 5:18.
Olshausenand Meyer think that (comparing Luke 1:44) the meaning is, the
Holy Spirit should in some wonderful manner acton the child evenbefore his
birth. But (see reff.) this is not necessary,—nay, wouldit not rather be in this
case ἐν κοιλίᾳ …? The ἐκ seems to fix the prior limit of the indwelling of the
Spirit, at his birth. Meyergrounds his view on the meaning of ἔτι as
distinguished from ἤδη, and takes the construction as embracing both
particulars—he shall be so in, and shall become so from … So likewise Bleek,
and Hoffmann, Weiss. und Erfüll. ii. 250 f.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Alford, Henry. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". Greek TestamentCritical
ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/luke-1.html. 1863-1878.
Heinrich Meyer's Critical and ExegeticalCommentaryon the New Testament
Luke 1:15. ΄έγας ἐνώπ. τ. κυρ.] A designationof a truly greatman; “talis enim
quisque vere est, qualis est coramDeo,” Estius. Comp. on Luke 1:6.
καὶ οἶνον κ. τ. λ.] Descriptionof a ‫ָר‬ ‫ִֵׁו‬‫ר‬, as those were called, who had for the
service of God bound themselves to abstain from wine and other intoxicating
drinks (Numbers 6:3 ), and to let the hair of their head grow. John was a
Nazarite, not for a certain time, but for life, like Samson(Judges 13:5) and

Samuel (1 Samuel 1:12). See in general, Ewald, Alterth. p. 96 ff.; Saalschütz,
Mos. R. p 361 f.; Keil, Archäol. I. § 67;Vilmar in the Stud. u. Krit. 1864, p.
438 ff.
τὸ σίκερα ( ‫ר‬ ֵׁ‫ב‬ ‫ו‬‫ר‬ ), which does not occurin the Greek writers, is any exciting
drink of the nature of wine, but not made of grapes;Leviticus 10:9 and
frequently in the LXX. It was prepared from corn, fruit, dates, palms (Pliny,
H. N. xiv. 19), and so forth. Eusebius, Praep. Evang. vi. 10, has the genitive
σίκερος.
ἔτι ἐκ κοιλίας κ. τ. λ.] ἔτι never stands for ἤδη, but: of the Holy Spirit(19) he
shall be full even from his mother’s womb, so that thus already in his
mother’s womb (see Origen)he shall be filled with the Spirit. A pregnant
form of embracing the two points. Comp. Plutarch, consol. ad Apoll. p. 104:
ἔτι ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ἠκολούθηκεν(having therefore already followedἐν ἀρχῇ).
Doubtless the leaping of the child in the mother’s womb, Luke 1:41, is
conceivedof as a manifestation of this being filled with the Spirit. Comp.
Calovius and Maldonatus.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Meyer, Heinrich. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". Heinrich Meyer's Critical
and ExegeticalCommentaryon the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hmc/luke-1.html. 1832.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
Luke 1:15. ἔσται, shall be) viz. that sonshall be.— κυρίου, the Lord) God the
Father is meant. Presentlyafter he speaks alsoofthe Holy Spirit and of the
Son of God. Already, in connectionwith the forerunner of the Messiah, the

economyof the Holy Trinity more fully expands itself to view.— καὶ οἶνον καὶ
σίκερα οὐ μὴ πίῃ, and wine and strong drink he shall not drink) So also
Judges 13:4, μὴ πίης οἶνον καὶ σίκερα. σίκερα is from the Hebr. ‫,רכש‬ and
denotes all drink distinct from wine, and yet intoxicating, as the juice of the
date, malt liquor, etc. Such abstinence was enjoined on John, also on the
mother of Samson.— καὶ, and) Similarly, being filled with the Holy Spirit, is
put in antithesis to being drunk with wine, Ephesians 5:18 .— ἐκ, from) An
abbreviated mode of expression:meaning, in the womb (Luke 1:41; Luke
1:44) and subsequently [from that time forward].
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". Johann Albrecht
Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/luke-1.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
Ver. 15,16. We have a natural ambition to be great, but it is only to be greatin
the sight of men; thence one man covetethriches, another honours and
reputation; but the true greatness is to be
greatin the sight of the Lord, who doth certainly judge with the truest and
most infallible judgment. In God’s sight he is a greatman of whom God
maketh a greatuse, especiallyin turning many souls to himself. Consider
John separatelyfrom his work, and the concurrence of God with his work, he
was a very little man, and so lookedupon by the Pharisees andrulers, who
would not believe in him. His father was an ordinary priest. For titles and
dignities, he had none; John the Baptist was his highest title. For his clothing;

he was not clothedin softraiment, (as princes’ chaplains), he was clothed with
a skin, with camel’s hair, and had a leathern girdle about his loins; yet Christ
saith of him,
Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greaterthan John
the Baptist. He had no palace, no stately habitation; he lived mostly in desert
places little inhabited. Nature was his cook, that provided him locusts and
wild honey. Where was his greatness,but in this—He was a greatand faithful
preacherof the gospel, and God blessedhis labours to convert souls? They are
little men that do little of the work for which God hath sent them into the
world, and do little goodin their generation.
He shall drink neither wine nor strong drink: by strong drink is meant any
drink which ordinarily intoxicates. This was the law of the Nazarites,
Numbers 6:3. It was forbidden the priests during the time of their
ministration upon pain of death, Leviticus 10:9. No lovers of wine and strong
drink can be greatmen in the sight of God. The minister of the gospelmust
not be one given to wine, 1 Timothy 3:3 Titus 1:7.
And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
This is true, both as to prophecy, (which is all extraordinary gift of the Holy
Ghost), and also of the Holy Ghostconsideredas a sanctifying Spirit renewing
the heart.
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. Then it
seems there is another conversionbesides the conversionof men from
paganism. John (with the assistanceofthe Holy Ghost) was an instrument to
turn many of the Israelites, who already verbally ownedthe true God, but
were drenched in errors, and superstitions, and loosenessof life, to the Lord
their God, by repentance;and this he did by preaching both law and gospelto
them. This made him a greatman, for, They that turn many to righteousness
shall shine as the stars for ever and ever, Daniel12:3.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Luke 1:15". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/luke-1.html. 1685.
Alexander MacLaren's Expositions ofHoly Scripture
Luke
ELIJAH COME AGAIN
TRUE GREATNESS
Luke 1:15.
So spake the angel who foretold the birth of John the Baptist. ‘In the sight of
the Lord’-then men are not on a dead level in His eyes. ThoughHe is so high
and we are so low, the country beneath Him that He looks down upon is not
flattened to Him, as it is to us from an elevation, but there are greaterand
smaller men in His sight, too. No epithet is more misused and misapplied than
that of ‘a greatman.’ It is flung about indiscriminately as ribbons and orders
are by some petty State. Every little man that makes a noise for a while gets it
hung round his neck. Think what a set they are that are gatheredin the
world’s Valhalla, and honoured as the world’s greatmen! The mass of people
are so much on a level, and that level is so low, that an inch above the average
looks gigantic. But the tallestblade of grass gets mowndown by the scythe,
and withers as quickly as the restof its greencompanions, and goes its way
into the oven as surely. There is the world’s false estimate of greatness and
there is God’s estimate. If we want to know what the elements of true
greatness are, we may well turn to the life of this man, of whom the prophecy
went before him that he should be ‘great in the sight of the Lord.’ That is gold
that will stand the test.

We may remember, too, that Jesus Christ, looking back on the careerto
which the angelwas looking forward, endorsed the prophecy and declared
that it had become a fact, and that ‘of them that were born of women there
had not arisen a greaterthan John the Baptist.’ With the illumination of His
eulogium we may turn to this life, then, and gather some lessons forour own
guidance.
I. First, we note in John unwavering and immovable firmness and courage.
‘What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shakenwith the
wind?’ Nay! an iron pillar that stoodfirm whatsoeverwinds blew againstit.
This, as I take it, is in some true sense the basis of all moral greatness-thata
man should have a grip which cannot be loosened, like that of the cuttle-fish
with all its tentacles round its prey, upon the truths that dominate his being
and make him a hero. ‘If you want me to weep,’said the old artist-poet, ‘there
must be tears in your own eyes.’If you want me to believe, you yourself must
be aflame with conviction which has penetratedto the very marrow of your
bones. And so, as I take it, the first requisite either for power with others, or
for greatnessin a man’s owndevelopment of character, is that there shall be
this unwavering firmness of graspof clearly-apprehendedtruths, and
unflinching boldness of devotion to them.
I need not remind you how magnificently, all through the life of our typical
example, this quality was stamped upon every utterance and every act. It
reachedits climax, no doubt, in his bearding Herod and Herodias. But moral
characteristicsdo not reacha climax unless there has been much
underground building to bear the lofty pinnacle; and no man, when great
occasions come to him, develops a courage and an unwavering confidence
which are strange to his habitual life. There must be the underground
building; and there must have been many a fighting down of fears, many a
curbing of tremors, many a rebuke of hesitations and doubts in the gaunt,
desert-loving prophet, before he was man enoughto stand before Herod and
say, ‘It is not lawful for thee to have her.’
No doubt there is much to be laid to the accountof temperament, but
whatevertheir temperament may be, the way to this unwavering courage and

firm, clearring of indubitable certainty, is open to every Christian man and
woman; and it is our own fault, our own sin, and our own weakness, ifwe do
not possess these qualities. Temperament!what on earth is the goodof our
religion if it is not to modify and govern our temperament? Has a man a right
to jib on one side, and give up the attempt to clearthe fence, because he feels
that in his ownnatural disposition there is little power to take the leap? Surely
not. Jesus Christ came here for the very purpose of making our weakness
strong, and if we have a firm hold upon Him, then, in the measure in which
His love has permeated our whole nature, will be our unwavering courage,
and out of weaknesswe shallbe made strong.
Of course the highesttype of this undaunted boldness and unwavering
firmness of conviction is not in John and his like. He presented strength in a
lowerform than did the Masterfrom whom his strength came. The willow has
a beauty as well as the oak. Firmness is not obstinacy; courage is not rudeness.
It is possible to have the iron hand in the velvet glove, not of etiquette-
observing politeness, but of a true consideratenessandgentleness. Theywho
are likestHim that was ‘meek and lowly in heart,’ are surestto possessthe
unflinching resolve which set His face like a flint, and enabled Him to go
unhesitatingly and unrecalcitrantto the Cross itself.
Do not let us forget, either, that John’s unwavering firmness wavered; that
over the clear heavenof his convictions there did steala cloud; that he from
whom no violence could wrench his faith felt it slipping out of his grasp when
his muscles were relaxedin the dungeon; and that he sent ‘from the prison’-
which was the excuse for the message-toask the question, ‘After all, art Thou
He that should come?’
Nor let us forget that it was that very moment of tremulousness which Jesus
Christ seized, in order to pour an unstinted flood of praise for the firmness of
his convictions, onthe wavering head of the Forerunner. So, if we feel that
though the needle of our compass points true to the pole, yet when the
compass-frame is shaken, the needle sometimes vibrates awayfrom its true
direction, do not let us be castdown, but believe that a merciful allowance is
made for human weakness. This man was great; first, because he had such
dauntless courage and firmness that, over his headless corpse in the dungeon

at Machaerus, might have been spokenwhat the RegentMoraysaid over John
Knox’s coffin, ‘Here lies one that never feared the face of man.’
II. Another element of true greatness thatcomes nobly out in the life with
which I am dealing is its clearelevationabove worldly good.
That was the secondpoint that our Lord’s eulogium signalised. ‘Whatwent ye
out into the wilderness for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?’ But you
would have gone to a palace, if you had wanted to see that, not to the reed-
beds of Jordan. As we all know, in his life, in his dress, in his food, in the aims
that he set before him, he rose high above all regard for the debasing and
perishable sweetnessesthat appealto flesh, and are ended in time. He lived
conspicuouslyfor the Unseen. His asceticismbelongedto his age, and was not
the highesttype of the virtue which it expressed. As I have said about his
courage, so I sayabout his self-denial-Christ’s is of a higher sort. As the might
of gentleness is greaterthan the might of such strength as John’s, so the
asceticismof John is lowerthan the self-governmentof the Man that came
eating and drinking.
But whilst that is true, I seek,dearbrethren, to urge this old threadbare
lesson, always needed, neverneeded more than amidst the senselessly
luxurious habits of this generation, neededin few places more than in a great
commercialcentre like that in which we live, that one indispensable elementof
true greatness andelevationof characteris that, not the prophet and the
preacheralone, but every one of us, should live high above these temptations
of gross and perishable joys, should.
‘Scorn delights and live laborious days.’
No man has a right to be called‘great’ if his aims are small. And the question
is, not as modern idolatry of intellect, or, still worse, modern idolatry of
success, oftenmakes it out to be, Has he greatcapacities?orhas he won great
prizes? but has he greatly used himself and his life? If your aims are small you
will never be great; and if your highestaims are but to geta goodslice of this
world’s pudding-no matter what powers Godmay have given you to use-you
are essentiallya small man.

I remember a vigorous and contemptuous illustration of St. Bernard’s, who
likens a man that lives for these perishable delights which John spurned, to a
spider spinning a web out of his own substance, and catching in it nothing but
a wretchedprey of poor little flies. Such a one has surely no right to be called
a greatman. Our aims rather than our capacitydetermine our character, and
they who greatlyaspire after the greatestthings within the reachof men,
which are faith, hope, charity, and who, for the sake ofeffecting these
aspirations, put their heels upon the head of the serpent and suppress the
animal in their nature, these are the men ‘great in the sight of the Lord.’
III. Another element of true greatness, taughtus by our type, is fiery
enthusiasm for righteousness.
You may think that that has little to do with greatness.I believe it has
everything to do with it, and that the difference betweenmen is very largelyto
be found here, whether they flame up into the white heatof enthusiasm for the
things that are right, or whether the only things that cankindle them into
anything like earnestnessand emotion are the poor, shabby things of personal
advantage. I need not remind you how, all through John’s career, there
burned, unflickering and undying, that steadfastlight; how he brought to the
service of the plainest teaching of morality a fervour of passionand of zeal
almost unexampled and magnificent. I need not remind you how Jesus Christ
Himself laid His hand upon this characteristic, whenHe said of him that ‘he
was a light kindled and shining.’ But I would lay upon all our hearts the plain,
practicallessonthat, if we keepin that tepid regionof lukewarmness whichis
the utmost approach to tropical heat that moral and religious questions are
capable of raising in many of us, good-bye to all chance of being ‘greatin the
sight of the Lord.’ We heara great deal about the ‘blessings of moderation,’
the ‘dangers of fanaticism,’ and the like. I venture to think that the last thing
which the moral consciousnessofEngland wants today is a refrigerator, and
that what it needs a greatdeal more than that is, that all Christian people
should be brought face to face with this plain truth-that their religion has, as
an indispensable part of it, ‘a Spirit of burning,’ and that if they have not been
baptized in fire, there is little reasonto believe that they have been baptized
with the Holy Ghost.

I long that you and myself may be aflame for goodness,may be enthusiastic
over plain morality, and may show that we are so by our daily life, by our
rebuking the opposite, if need be, even if it take us into Herod’s chamber, and
make Herodias our enemy for life.
IV. Lastly, observe the final element of greatnessin this man-absolute
humility of self-abnegationbefore Jesus Christ.
There is nothing that I know in biography anywhere more beautiful, more
striking, than the contrastbetweenthe two halves of the characterand
demeanour of the Baptist; how, on the one side, he fronts all men undaunted
and recognises no superior, and how neither threats nor flatteries nor
anything else will tempt him to step one inch beyond the limitations of which
he is aware, nor to abate one inch of the claims which he urges; and on the
other hand how, like some tall cedar touched by the lightning’s hand, he falls
prone before Jesus Christ and says, ‘He must increase, andI must decrease’:
‘A man can receive nothing exceptit be given him of God.’ He is all boldness
on one side; all submission and dependence on the other.
You remember how, in the face of many temptations, that attitude was
maintained. The very message whichhe had to carry was full of temptations
to a self-seeking manto asserthimself. You remember the almost rough ‘No!’
with which, reiteratedly, he met the suggestions ofthe deputation from
Jerusalemthat sought to induce him to say that he was more than he knew
himself to be, and how he stuck by that infinitely humble and beautiful saying,
‘I am a voice’-thatis all. You remember how the whole nation was in a kind of
conspiracyto tempt him to asserthimself, and was ready to break into a flame
if he had dropped a spark, for all men were musing in their heart whether he
was the Christ or not,’ and all the lawless and restless elements wouldhave
been only too gladto gatherround him, if he had declaredhimself the
Messiah. Rememberhow his own disciples came to him, and tried to play
upon his jealousyand to induce him to asserthimself: ‘Master, He whom thou
didst baptize’-and so didst give Him the first credentials that sentmen on His
course-’has outstripped thee, and all men are coming to Him.’ And you
remember the lovely answerthat opened such depths of unexpected
tenderness in the rough nature: ‘He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; the

friend of the bridegroom heareth the voice;and that is enough to fill my cup
with joy to the very brim.’ And what conceptions of Jesus Christhad John,
that he thus bowed his lofty crestbefore Him, and softenedhis heart into
submission almostabject? He knew Him to be the coming Judge, with the fan
in His hand, who could baptize with fire, and he knew Him to be ‘the Lamb of
God which taketh awaythe sin of the world.’ Therefore he fell before Him.
Brethren, we shall not be ‘great in the sight of the Lord’ unless we copy that
example of utter self-abnegationbefore Jesus Christ. Thomas a Kempis says
somewhere, ‘He is truly great who is small in his ownsight, and thinks
nothing of the giddy heights of worldly honour.’ You and I know far more of
Jesus Christ than John the Baptist did. Do we bow ourselves before Him as he
did? The Source from which he drew his greatness is opento us all. Let us
begin with the recognitionof the Lamb of God that takes awaythe world’s
sin, and with it ours. Let the thought of what He is, and what He has done for
us, bow us in unfeigned submission. Let it shatter all dreams of our own
importance or our own desert. The vision of the Lamb of God, and it only, will
crush in our hearts the serpent’s eggs ofself-esteemand self-regard.
Then, let our closenessto Jesus Christ, and our experience of His power,
kindle in us the fiery enthusiasm with which He baptizes all His true servants,
and let it because we know the sweetnesses thatexcel, take from us all liability
to be tempted awayby the vulgar and coarse delights of earth and of sense.
Let us keepourselves clearof the babble that is round about us, and be strong
because we graspChrist’s hand.
I have been speaking about no characteristic whichmay not be attained by
any man, woman, or child amongstus. ‘The leastin the kingdom of heaven’
may be greaterthan John. It is a poor ambition to seek to be called‘great.’ It
is a noble desire to be ‘great in the sight of the Lord.’ And if we will keep
ourselves close to Jesus Christthat will be attained. It will matter very little
what men think of us, if at lastwe have praise from the lips of Him who
poured such praise on His servant. We may, if we will. And then it will not
hurt us though our names on earth be dark and our memories perish from
among men..

‘Of so much fame in heavenexpect the meed.’
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
MacLaren, Alexander. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". Alexander MacLaren's
Expositions of Holy Scripture.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mac/luke-1.html.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
Shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; he was to be under the law of the
Nazarites from his birth, like Samson. Judges 16:17;compared with Numbers
6:1-6.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Edwards, Justin. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "Family Bible New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/fam/luke-1.html.
American Tract Society. 1851.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges

15. μέγας ἐνώπιον Κυρίου. And therefore greatindeed, since “we are as great
as we are in God’s sight, and no greater.” See Luke 7:24-30;Matthew 11:11.
καὶ οἶνον καὶ σίκερα οὐ μὴ πίῃ. He shall be a Nazarite (Luke 7:33; Numbers
6:1-4); like Samson(Judges 13:2-7); Samuel (1 Samuel 1:12); and the
Rechabites (Jeremiah35:6). ‘Strong drink’ (σίκερα from Heb. Shakar‘he is
intoxicated’) was also forbidden to ministering priests, Leviticus 10:8. The
term seems to have been speciallyapplied to palm wine (Plin. Hist. Nat. XIV.
19), and all intoxicants (e.g. beer, &c.)which are not made of the juice of the
grape. ‘Ne Syder,’ Wyclif.
πνεύματος ἁγίου πλησθήσεται. The contrastbetweenthe false and hateful
excitement of drunkenness and the divine exaltation of spiritual fervour is also
found in Ephesians 5:18, “Be not drunk with wine … but be filled with the
Spirit.” Comp. Acts 2:13.
ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτοῦ. Compare 1 Samuel1:11; Jeremiah1:5.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
"Commentary on Luke 1:15". "Cambridge Greek TestamentforSchools and
Colleges".https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/luke-1.html.
1896.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
15. Neither wine nor strong drink—This is in accordancewith the vow of the
Nazarite, Numbers 6:3-4. Similar announcements were made concerning
Samson, Judges 13:4-5, and Samuel, 1 Samuel 1:11. The Nazarite thus
consecrateshimself to an over self-severity, in order to raise the people to the

idea of self-controland temperance. They were eminent in abstinence, in
order by example to raise the popular standard of mastery over bodily
appetites. They abstained from what was innocent, either in quality or
measure, in order to influence the world to abstain from what was guilty
either in kind or in excessive degree. Johnwas to be Nazarite;Jesus was to be
the model, not of over self-severity, but of practicaland duly measured
innocence and right. Paul gives a rule for Christian Nazaritism in 1
Corinthians 8:13. Our modern temperance societiesare properly a Christian
Nazaritism. They are a moral enterprise, aiming to raise the public practice to
a standard of temperance by exhibiting an abstinence from even an otherwise
innocent measure of indulgence. Strong drink included all exhilarating liquors
besides wine. The chemicalart of distilling the modern inflaming liquors was
unknown to the ancients;but they were able to make intoxicating drinks from
the palm-tree, from apples, and from grains. Drunkenness was by no means
thereby wholly unknown. See Isaiah5:22; Proverbs 23:29-30.
Holy Ghost… from his mother’s womb—Even before birth the plenary
influence of the Holy Spirit shall be upon and in his spirit. As soonas the soul
shall quicken the unborn, there shall rest a holy powerupon it. There is no
Scripture ground for supposing with some that the child, even before birth, is
no possible subject of sanctifying power.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "Whedon's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/luke-1.html.
1874-1909.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Luke 1:15. He shall be greatin the sight of the Lord. Spiritual, not temporal,
greatness is promised.
Neither wine nor strong drink. ‘Sikera,’the Greek word here used, refers to
liquors of an intoxicating character, not prepared from grapes. He was to be a
Nazarite (see Numbers 6). Such vows were not unusual in New Testament
times (see Acts 21:24). John ranks with Isaac, as a sonbegottenin old age;
with Samsonand Samuel, as granted to the barren in answerto prayer, and
as a Nazarite (comp. 13:5;1 Samuel 1:12).
Filled with the Holy Ghost, not with wine (comp. Ephesians 5:18).
Even from his mother’s womb. ‘From his very birth,’ hence the Holy Spirit
may work in and on infants.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Schaff, Philip. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "Schaff's PopularCommentary
on the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/scn/luke-1.html. 1879-90.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 1:15. μέγας, a greatman before the Lord; not merely in God’s sight =
true greatness,but indicating the sphere or type of greatness:in the region of
ethics and religion.— καὶ οἶνον, etc., points to the external badge of the moral
and religious greatness:abstinence as a mark of consecrationand

separation—a devotee.—σίκερα = ‫ר‬ֵׁ‫כ‬ ָ‫ר‬ (not Greek), strong drink, extracted
from any kind of fruit but grapes (here only in N. T.).— πνεύματος ἁγίου:in
opposition to wine and strong drink, as in Ephesians 5:18. But the conception
of the Holy Spirit, formed from the Johannine type of piety, is very different
from that of St. Paul, or suggestedby the life of our Lord.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicol, W. Robertson, M.A., L.L.D. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". The
Expositor's Greek Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/egt/luke-1.html. 1897-1910.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
===============================
[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Siceram, Greek:sikera, from the Hebrew shecar, or shacar, ebrius fuit.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Haydock, George Leo. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "GeorgeHaydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/luke-1.html. 1859.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
in the sight of = before.
See note on "before", Luke 1:6.
shall drink neither = shallin no wise (Greek. ou me. App-105.) drink,
strong drink. Greek. sikera, anyintoxicating drink not from grapes.
shall be filled. Verbs of filling take the Genitive of what the personor vesselis
filled with. See App-101. note. Here pneuma hagion is in the Genitive case.
the Holy Ghost= holy spirit. Greek pneuma hagion, or "powerfrom on high".
See App-101.
from. Greek ek. App-104. i.e. before birth. Compare Luke 1:44.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/luke-1.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor
strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his
mother's womb.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord - i:e., greatofficially beyond all
the prophets that went before him (as is evident from Matthew 11:11). In
personalcharacterJohn was indeed among the greatestofmen; but it is the
supereminent dignity of his office, as Messiah's Forerunner, that is here
meant.
And shall drink neither wine nor strong drink - that is he, shall be a Nazarite,
or ' separatedone.'See Numbers 6:1, etc. As the leper was the living symbol
of sin, so was the Nazarite of holiness: nothing inflaming was to cross his lips;
no razor was to come on his head; no ceremonialdefilement was to be
contracted. Thus was he to be ceremonially "holy to the Lord all the days of
his separation." In ordinary casesthis separationwas voluntary and
temporary: we read of three only who were Nazarites from the womb-Samson
(Judges 13:7), Samuel(1 Samuel 1:11), and here John Baptist. It was fitting
that the utmost severity of legalconsecrationshould be in the Forerunner. In
Christ Himself we see the REALITY and PERFECTION ofthe Nazarite
without the symbol, which perished in that living realization of it. "Such an
high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, SEPARATE FROM
SINNERS"(Hebrews 7:26).
And he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit (see Matthew 1:18), even from his
mother's womb - a holy vesselfor future service. This is never said of the
supernatural endowments of ungodly men; and indeed of John it is expressly
said that he "did no miracle" (John 10:41). Nor can the reference be to
inspiration, because this does not appearto have come upon John until his
public ministry commenced, when "the word of God came to John the sonof
Zacharias in the wilderness" (Luke 3:2). It is sanctificationfrom the womb-a
truth of high import in personalChristianity, of weighty bearing on the
standing of the infants of believers in the Church of God, and ministering
precious encouragementto religious parents.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Luke 1:15". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/luke-1.html.
1871-8.
The Bible Study New Testament
He must not drink any wine or strong drink. John was to be a Nazarite (see
the law of Nazarites, Numbers 6). [Jesus was a Nazarene, something entirely
different.]
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Ice, Rhoderick D. "Commentary on Luke 1:15". "The Bible Study New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ice/luke-1.html.
College Press, Joplin, MO. 1974.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(15) And shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.—The child now promised
was to grow up as a Nazarite (Numbers 6:4), and to keepthat vow all his life,
as the representative of the ascetic, the “separated,”form (this is the meaning
of the term) of a consecratedlife. He was to be what Samsonhad been (Judges
13:4), and probably Samuel also (1 Samuel 1:11), and the house of Jonadab

the sonof Rechab(Jeremiah 35:6). The close connectionbetweenthe Nazarite
and the prophetic life is seenin Amos 2:11-12. The absence ofthe lowerform
of stimulation implied the capacityfor the higher enthusiasm which was the
gift of God. The same contrastis seenin St. Paul’s words, “Be not drunk with
wine, but be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).
He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.—The words wouldbe understood by
Zacharias from the Hebrew point of view, not as seenin the fuller light of
Christian theology. As such they would convey the thought of the highest
prophetic inspiration, as in Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 61:1; Joel2:28.
Even from his mother’s womb.—The thought of a life from first to lastin
harmony with itself and consecratedto the prophet’s work, had its prototype
in Jeremiah (Jeremiah1:5).
"and he (John) will be filled with the Holy Spirit"
John the Baptistwas a prophet (Luke 1:76; 7:28) that exercisedthe Holy
Spirit gift of prophecy to such an extent that all Judea and Jerusalemcame
out to hear him.
He was to be separatedfrom the world as a true Nazarite. He was not to drink
either wine or strong drink.
He was to be inspired from the womb. The inspiration from wine was
needless, whenhe was to be borne upwards and constantly exhilarated by the
Spirit of God(cf. Ephesians 5:18).
BARNES, "Verse 15. Shallbe great. {q} Shall be eminent, or distinguished as
a preacher.

In the sight of the Lord. Greek, before the Lord. That is, shall be really or
truly great. God shall regardhim as such.
The child was to be greatin the sight of the Lord. According to the verdict of
our Lord passedafterwards, he was the greatestofthose born of women until
His time. Yet what a strange greatness!A poor man, living in the wilderness
the life of an anchorite, and at length beheaded by a wickedking, buried by
his disciples, and nothing more heard of him! There is another person
mentioned in this chapter who was also calledgreat. Herod the king,
mentioned in the fifth verse, is commonly known as Herod the Great, but he
was not great in the sight of the Lord, only greatin the sight of himself and of
his court, and of those who admired his skill in adding to his kingdom. Which
was the really greatman? Which will appear to be greatwhen the magnitude
of men is tested by God, and when men are weighedin the righteous balances
of God's judgment?
(Bishop Goodwin.)
We are what we are in God's sight, not what men think us, not what we think
ourselves, but what He sees and knows that we are, nothing more, nothing
less.
(DeanChurch.)
Great- Jesus comments later that "“Isay to you, among those born of women
there is no one greaterthan John; yet he who is leastin the kingdom of Godis
greaterthan he.” (Lk 7:28, Mt 11:11)
Luke 7:28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greaterthan
John; yet the one who is leastin the kingdom of God is greaterthan he."

HIS INFERIORITYIN RESPECT OF PRIVILEGE. "Buthe that is leastin
the kingdom of God is greaterthan he." We must take the word "greater"as
signifying more privileged: it will not bear any other meaning. Mostassuredly
Jesus did not mean to say that the man who, being within his kingdom, was
lowestin moral worth, stoodhigher in the favour of Godthan John. Such a
sentiment is quite inconceivable, perfectlyincredible. But our Lord may very
well have meant that any one, howeverhumble his position in the kingdom of
grace, who yet stands within that kingdom, of which John stoodoutside, has a
distinct advantage overthe greatprophet. To know what we, with all our
obscurity and incapacity, do know;to understand and enter into, as we may
do, the glorious purpose of God in Jesus Christ; to comprehend that, by that
death of shame upon the cross, the Redeemerof the world is drawing all men
unto him; and not only to understand all this, but to enter into it by a
personal, living sympathy and co-operation; - this is to stand on a height to
which even John, though he came in sight of it (John 1:36), did not attain.
1. We are the children of privilege; we are "the heirs of all the ages" of
thought, of revealedtruth. If we will read reverently, and inquire diligently
and devoutly, we may know the mind of God concerning us as the greatestof
all the prophets did not know it.
2. Let us take care that we are the children of God; returned from the far
country of estrangementand indifference; dwelling in the home of the
Father's favour; walking with God daily; finding a filial joy in doing and
bearing his holy will; entering by sympathy and effort into his holy purpose. -
C.
It is manifest, then, that the judgment pronounced is not so much on a man as
on an era. It is a judgment on the law given by Moses;and the comparison
made betweenthe last prophet of law and any little one in the kingdom
signifies the immense inferiority of the legaleconomyto the era of grace which

came by Jesus Christ. Paraphrased, the verse means:John, the lastprophet of
the old time, was a greatprophet — none greater. No one who went before
ever did better justice to the law than he; preached it with more powerand
boldness, embodied it in a more upright, blameless life, or gained for its
claims more widespreadand respectful attention. Still, with all that, nay, just
because he is a hero of law, John is a weak, one-sidedman. What he has is
good, but he wants something of far more value, something which puts its
possessors ona different platform altogetherfrom that which he occupies,
insomuch that it may be saidwithout extravagance that those who possessit,
though immeasurably inferior to John in other respects, are greaterthan he.
He wants the spirit of the new time, of the era of the better hope. Strong in
zeal, he is defective in love; strong in denunciation, he is weak in patience
towards the sinful; strong in ascetic abstinence, he is weak in the socialand
sympathetic affections;strong as the whirlwind, the earthquake, and the fire,
he is weak in the moral influence that comes through the still small voice of a
meek and merciful mind. In these respects, any one in the kingdom of heaven
animated by the characteristic spirit of love is greaterthan he. The
programme of Jesus as in contrastto that of John might be summed up in
these two principles: —
1. Salvationby Divine mercy, not by penance.
2. New life by regeneration, notby reform.
(A. B. Bruce, D. D.)
John MacArthur on no one greaterthan John - John was greater than the OT
prophets because he actually saw with his eyes and personally participated in
the fulfillment of what they only prophesied (Mt 11:10, 13;cf. 1Pe 1:10, 11).
But all believers after the cross are greaterstill, because they participate in
the full understanding and experience of something John merely foresaw in
shadowyform—the actualatoning work of Christ.

NET Note on he who is leastin the kingdom of God is greaterthan he - After
John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so greatthat the lowestmember of
it (the one who is leastin the kingdom of God) is greaterthan the greatestone
of the previous era.
Ryle on he who is leastin the kingdom of God is greaterthan he - The second
point which demands our attention in these verses is, the vast superiority of
the privileges enjoyed by believers under the New Testament, comparedto
those of believers under the Old. This is a lessonwhich appears to be taught
by one expressionused by our Lord respecting John the Baptist. After
commending his graces andgifts, He adds these remarkable words, “He that
is leastin the kingdom of God is greaterthan he.”
Our Lord’s meaning in using this expressionappears to be simply this. He
declares that the religious light of the leastdisciple who lived after His
crucifixion and resurrection, would be far greaterthan that of John Baptist,
who died before those mighty events took place. The weakestbelieving hearer
of St. Paul would understand things, by the light of Christ’s death on the
cross, whichJohn the Baptist could never have explained. Great as that holy
man was in faith and courage, the humblest Christian would, in one sense, be
greaterthan he. Greaterin grace and works he certainly could not be. But
beyond doubt he would be greaterin privileges and knowledge.
Shall drink neither wine. The kind of wine commonly used in Judea was a
light wine, often not strongerthan cider in this country Shall be filled with the
Holy Ghost, {s} &c. Shall be divinely designatedor appointed to this office,
and qualified for it by all needful communications of the Holy Spirit. To be
filled with the Holy Spirit is to be illuminated, sanctified, and guided by his
influence. In this place it refers --
1st. To the divine intention that he should be setapart to this work, as God
designedthat Paul should be an apostle from his mother's womb, Galatians
1:15.

Galatians 1:15 But when God, who setme apart from my mother's womb and
calledme by his grace,
2nd. It refers to an actualfitting for the work from the birth by the influence
of the Holy Spirit, as was the case with Jeremiah (Jeremiah1:5), and with the
Messiahhimself, Psalms 22:9,10.
Jeremiah1:5 5"BeforeI formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were
born I setyou apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
Psalm22:9-10 9Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in
you, even at my mother's breast. 10Frombirth I was castonyou; from my
mother's womb you have been my God.
SPIRIT FILLED AND
CONTROLLED FROM BIRTH!
For - Always pause to ponder and query this term of explanation.
Great- Jesus comments later that "“Isay to you, among those born of women
there is no one greaterthan John; yet he who is leastin the kingdom of Godis
greaterthan he.” (Lk 7:28, Mt 11:11)
Matthew 11:11 11Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not
risen anyone greaterthan John the Baptist; yet whoeveris leastin the
kingdom of heaven is greaterthan he.
Note that the world has a standard of "greatness"but this is a heavenly
standard, God's estimate of greatnessand betweenthem there is a vast gulf,
the world's being false and temporal, the Lord's being true and eternal.
DIVINE POSSESSION. Filledwith the Holy Spirit. Yielded up to the will of
God as taught by His Spirit abiding within. Be not drunk with wine, but be
filled with the Spirit. All true greatness comesfrom Him who alone is great.

Greatin wisdom, holiness, and power. "Thy gentleness hath made me great"
(2 Sam. 22:36). 3. HEAVENLY WISDOM. To be filled with the Spirit is to be
filled with the knowledge ofHis will, so that every thought and actmay be in
perfect harmony with the mind of God. He workethin us both to will and to
do of His goodpleasure. Ye are wise in Christ. (Great) 3. Among his
fellowmen. "Many of the children of Israelshall he turn to the Lord their
God." This greatness thenlies in holiness and usefulness. It is not something
given us for our own honour, ease, oraggrandisement, but whereby the power
of God may come into contactwith others. If you would have this greatness
you must not seek it for yourself. He will not give His glory to another. Here
we see—1. GREAT FAITHFULNESS. His ministry gives abundant evidence
of his fearlessnessand devotion to the work of God. Like the apostle of the
Gentiles he could say, "This one thing I do" (Phil. 3:13) .2. GREAT POWER.
Like the greaterOne who was to come after him, he spoke with power. His
word was sharp, and quick, and powerful, because it was a word that burned
in his bones. He was in vital sympathy with his message.It was to him no task
committed to memory, but the living truth, blazing in a living soul, and
dropping from his glowing tongue like coals of fire. 3. GREAT SUCCESS.
"Many turned to the Lord." A Holy Ghostministry is always a success. Itis
not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Fatherwhich is in you. The Spirit of
your Father will never speak without telling effect. The secretof his success
lay in his exalting the Lord and not himself. He must increase, and I must
decrease. "Go thou and do likewise" (Luke 10:37).(Handfuls of Purpose)
As Thomas à Kempis once said "What thou art in the sight of God, that thou
truly art."
Like parents, like son - Parents "both righteous in the sight of God," (Lk 1:6)
and John "greatin the sight of the Lord."
J R Miller applies this truth to our lives - There are people who are greatin
their own eyes or in the eyes of their friends—who in God's sight are very
small. It is well to have people's approval of us and our work—butit is
incalculably better to have God's approval. We should strive always to be and
to do—what Christ would have us to be and to do. It is well to ask ourselves

quiet often—whatGod thinks of us. We like to please men; let us seek to
please God. (DevotionalHours with the Bible)
Lord (master, owner)(2962)(kurios)describesthe supreme one, the one who is
sovereignand possessesabsolute authority, absolute ownershipand
uncontestedpower.
The description of John the Baptistrecalls to mind the OT descriptionof one
who took a Nazarite vow...
(Nu. 6:2-4) “Speak to the sons of Israeland sayto them, ‘When a man or
woman makes a specialvow, the vow of a Nazarite, to dedicate himself to the
LORD, 3 he shall abstainfrom wine and strong drink; he shall drink no
vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any
grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. 4 ‘All the days of his separationhe
shall not eatanything that is produced by the grape vine, from [the] seeds
even to [the] skin.
Liquor - More literally "strong drink." Oikera described a sweetintoxicating
beverage usually made from something other than grapes (e.g. barley beer).
Vincent says this is a "Hebrew word, meaning any kind of intoxicating liquor
not made from grapes."
Spurgeon- I do not say that it is the duty of every man to drink neither wine
nor strong drink, but I beg every man to notice that if anyone was to be
peculiarly consecratedto a holy calling, it was always to be so; “He shall be
greatin the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.”
If there be nothing defiling about wine or strong drink, there is certainly
nothing sanctifying about it; and the tendency seems to lie the other way, else
it is a strange thing that men dedicatedto God were so continually bidden to
drink neither wine nor strong drink.
This passagedescribing John is paralleledin Ephesians by Paul's dual
command, first negative, then positive, calling for all saints to be "Nazarite-
like," like John the Baptist, even from the day of our spiritual birth to the last
day on earth! (Jn 3:3-6)!

And do not getdrunk (the negative command - present imperative with a
negative)with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled (the positive command
- present imperative = continually!) with the Spirit, (Eph 5:18-note)
Comment - Both commands are passive voice, which means the effecting
agentexerts its influence from outside of our own personality. But we are not
spiritual puppets, so we still must make the daily (even moment by moment)
choice to allow either the negative or the positive "power" to influence and
control us. It is still our choice to whom we will surrender eachmorning -- to
the world with its antichrist spirit or to the Word and the Spirit of the living
God! It's up to you dear child of God! Choose wisely!
Filled (4092)(pimplemi from the obsolete pláō = to fill) to fill, to make full, to
complete. Figuratively of persons filled with something which means they are
wholly affected, controlledor influenced with or by what fills them, especially
the Holy Spirit
J Vernon McGee -The son of Elisabeth and Zacharias was to be a Nazarite.
One of the things the Nazarite vowedwas that he would not drink strong
drink or wine. He was to find his joy in the Holy Spirit and in God. That is the
reasonPaul, in Ephesians 5:18-note, says, “And be not drunk with wine,
wherein is excess;but be filled with the Spirit.” Getyour joy from God, not
from a bottle. There are a lot of bottle-babies today. I am not speaking of crib
babies but of adult babies hanging over a bar. And there are some Christians
today who have to be pepped up and hepped up in order to face life. We need
to recognize that the Holy Spirit of God cangive us the strength to face life.
(E.g., read Ro 15:13-note)
Romans 15:13 13Maythe God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you
trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the powerof the Holy
Spirit.
Yet in his mother's womb - This reminds us of Jeremiah1:5 where Jehovah
tells his prophet "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before
you were born I consecratedyou; I have appointed you a prophet to the
nations." Note God's omniscience and His sovereigntyover salvation.

Holy spirit and john the baptist

Holy spirit and john the baptist

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