Luke 1:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

St. Luke commences the history of his Gospel with Zacharias and the birth of John; relating one marvellous event before another, the less before the greater. For since a virgin was about to become a mother, it had been fore-ordained by grace that the old should previously conceive. He fixes the time, when he says, In the days of Herod, and in the following words adds his rank, king of Judæa. (in Matt. cap. 2.). There was another Herod, who killed John; he was tetrarch, whereas this one was king.

Wishing to shew also that John was legally of Priestly descent, Luke adds, And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth, for it was not permitted to the Jews to take a wife from any other tribe but their own. Elisabeth by interpretation signifies “rest,” Zacharias “the remembrance of the land.”

Divine Scripture teaches us with respect to those whom we commemorate, that not only the characters of the men themselves, but of their parents also, ought to be praised, that they might be distinguished by an inheritance, as it were, handed down to them of unspotted purity. Now not only from his parents, but also from his ancestors, St. John derives his illustrious descent, a descent not exalted by secular power, but venerable from its sanctity. Complete then is that praise which comprehends birth, character, office, actions, and judgments.

The spouses of the righteous, even when they are virtuous themselves, frequently remain without children. This illustrates the point that divine law demands not merely physical but spiritual offspring.

In honor of the revered and blessed John the Baptist, whose nativity we commemorate today, I find myself at a loss for words: should I declare that his birth was miraculous or that his death was also extraordinary? He was born as foretold and faithfully embraced mortality. His birth heralded the arrival of the Savior, while his death served to denounce the wicked deeds of Herod. As a holy and just man, he entered the world through natural means, yet he was granted the grace by God to transcend the demise of this earthly existence. The body he received as a divine gift, he dedicated to the Lord by proclaiming the truth. Thus, John fulfilled the divine purpose in all his actions, for the glory of whom he lived and perished.

Now the time of Herod, i. e. of a foreign king, bears witness to our Lord’s coming, for it had been foretold, The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. (Gen. 49:12.) For from the time that our fathers came out of Egypt, they were governed by judges of their own nation, until the Prophet Samuel; and then by kings, until the carrying away to Babylon. But after the return from Babylon, the chief power was in the hands of priests, until the time of Hyrcanus, who was both king and high priest.

‘And they shall not have children.’ The righteous couple depicted in the Old Testament were left without offspring, and they are not the only ones; earlier righteous figures also faced barrenness. Although the law granted the righteous the option of polygamy, they experienced lifetimes devoid of children, just as Elizabeth would eventually express (Luke 1:25). Both before and after they reached adulthood, the law of the Church regarded the righteous in a marital context. God allowed them to endure this type of trial, as seen in Abraham’s experience. This form of suffering represented the greatest distress in the Old Testament and was often interpreted as a mark of disgrace.

The family of Joseph was also connected to the priestly lineage of Zechariah. The exact nature of this relationship and the individuals involved remain unclear; however, it is known that only Elizabeth, Zechariah's wife, had a close bond with Mary. Zacharias was a man of virtue who, against the backdrop of moral decline in society, sought to lead a life of integrity and righteousness. His service as an Israelite and in his priestly duties was marked by a sincere reverence for God rather than mere technical proficiency. Such a devoted husband would naturally long to witness the arrival of the Messiah, who would bring about a transformation and enable all people, as he once expressed, to serve God faithfully and sincerely throughout their lives.

During the reign of Herod the Great, the first king of Idumean lineage, there resided among the Jewish people, in one of the Levite towns of Judah (as noted in Luke 1:39, possibly in Hebron or nearby Veto in Utah, according to Joshua 15:55), a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the division of Abijah (the eighth of the twenty-four divisions, as recorded in 1 Chronicles 24:10). His wife, Elizabeth, also hailed from a priestly heritage, being a descendant of Aaron. They were both righteous individuals, esteemed not only by their contemporaries but also in the eyes of God. Their lives reflected a genuine spiritual devotion, which shaped their adherence to the commandments of the Mosaic law beyond mere outward observance. Nonetheless, they experienced profound sorrow; they remained childless well into their later years, losing all expectation of bearing children.

Zacharias and his aged spouse Elizabeth were well-respected, not just for their meticulous adherence to all commandments and laws, but also for their upright conduct and genuine righteousness. However, they remained without children, a situation that many among the Jewish community viewed as a sign of divine judgment for their shortcomings.

Childlessness was viewed negatively among the Jews, as they considered it a sign of disfavor, reflecting their unworthiness to receive the blessing of procreation that had been promised to Abraham.

Throughout their lives, they embodied the greatest expectations of their faith and adherence to divine law, for they were both righteous in the sight of God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and decrees of the Lord. Yet, even with this righteousness that brought tranquility to their souls, a hidden anguish plagued their hearts, afflicting both of them. Their esteemed heritage, which had long produced faithful servants of God for over a millennium and a half, faced the peril of extinction, since they were advanced in years and had not been blessed with children. Infertility was a significant misfortune and shame for women in biblical times, prompting many to weep bitterly and fervently plead with God to remove this stigma from their lives (Gen. 30:1, 2, 22; 1 Sam.

"Though they were without children, the righteous observance of the law was believed to bring the distinctive favor of God, often manifested in the abundance of descendants among the Jewish people. However, Zacharias and Elizabeth remained childless, a situation that seemed to signify God's displeasure toward them. In truth, this was a test of their faith, intended to fortify it and elevate their righteousness, ultimately preparing them to be the parents of the Lord's Forerunner. As they were 'already of advanced years', they had reached a stage where, according to natural human fertility, the hope of bearing children had long been relinquished. This was a particularly sorrowful reality for every devout Jew, especially those who anticipated the arrival of the Messiah."

With remarkable gradualness, in accordance with human limitations, God unveils to the world the profound mystery, hidden for countless ages (1 Tim. 3:16; Col. 1:26). From the initial promise made in the garden of Eden regarding the triumphant Seed of the woman, humanity was slowly prepared over many centuries to receive the Savior. Yet, even at the arrival of the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4), the appearance of the incarnate Word of God on earth is heralded and accompanied by extraordinary signs that foster faith in those who longed for Israel's redemption (Luke 2:25). Simultaneously, this event is shrouded in a mystery that reflects the remarkable significance of this unique occurrence, the only one of its kind in all of creation (Ecclesiastes 1:10).