Chapter 1:26-38 Jesus' Birth Foretold

1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

The same angel, Gabriel, that was employed in making known to Zacharias God's purpose concerning his son, is employed in this also; for in this, the same glorious work of redemption, which was begun in that, is carried on.

1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

To a virgin espoused - The reflections of pious father Quesnel on this subject are worthy of serious regard. At length the moment is come which is to give a son to a virgin, a savior to the world, a pattern to mankind, a sacrifice to sinners, a temple to the Divinity, and a new principle to the new world. This angel is sent from God, not to the palaces of the great, but to a poor maid, the wife of a carpenter.

1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

And the angel came in unto her — Some think that all this business was transacted in a vision; and that there was no personal appearance of the angel. When Divine visions were given, they are announced as such, in the sacred writings; nor can we with safety attribute any thing to a vision, where a Divine communication is made, unless it be specified as such in the text.
Hail — Analogous to, Peace be to thee - May thou enjoy all possible blessings!
Highly favored — As being chosen in preference to all the women upon earth, to be the mother of the Messiah. 

Not the mother of God, 

for that is blasphemy.

The Lord is with thee — Thou art about to receive the most convincing proofs of God's peculiar favor towards thee.
Blessed art thou among women — That is, thou art favored beyond all others.

1:29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

The best of news may sometimes cause the greatest perturbation of mind and heart. If you feel troubled when you receive a message from God do not be astonished, as though some strange thing had happened unto you. 

--See how Mary, who was told that she was to receive the greatest honor and favor possible to a mortal being, was troubled by the angel’s speech, perplexed by his extraordinary salutation.

1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.

Some court the fickle favor of men; but, even if they gain it, they may well fear that they may shortly lose it, but the angel said, “Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God;”

1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name JESUS.

JESUS — The same as Joshua, יהושע Yehoshua, from ישע yasha, he saved, delivered, put in a state of safety.

1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David:

How true is that prophecy; “He shall be great.” Christ is the greatest of all great ones.

1:33 And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.
That His kingdom shall be spiritual: He shall reign over the house of Jacob, not Israel according to the flesh -- it must therefore be a spiritual kingdom, the house of Israel according to the promise, that he must rule over. 

That it shall be eternal: 

He shall reign for ever, 

and of His kingdom there shall be no end, 

as there had been long since of the temporal reign of David's house, and would shortly be of the state of Israel.

1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Seeing I know not a man — Or, husband. As she was only contracted to Joseph, and not as yet married, she knew that this conception could not have yet taken place; and she modestly inquires by what means the promise of the angel is to be fulfilled in order to regulate her conduct accordingly.

1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee — This conception shall take place suddenly, and the Holy Spirit Himself shall be the grand operator.

1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

Thy cousin Elisabeth — Thy kinswoman, συγγενης. As Elisabeth was of the tribe of Levi, Luke 1:5, and Mary of the tribe of Judah, they could not be relatives but by the mother's side.

She hath also conceived — And this is wrought by the same power and energy through which thou shalt conceive. Thus God has given thee a proof and pledge, in what he has done for Elisabeth, of what He will do for thyself; therefore, have faith in God.

1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
For with God nothing shall be impossible — Words of the very same import with those spoken by the Lord to Sarah, when He foretold the birth of Isaac, Genesis 18:14, Is any thing too hard for the Lord? 

--As there can be no doubt that Mary perceived this allusion to the promise and birth of Isaac, so she must have had her faith considerably strengthened by reflecting on the intervention of God in that case.

1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord — It appears that at the instant of this act of faith, and purposed obedience, the conception of the immaculate humanity of Jesus took place; and it was DONE unto her according to his word.
His mission was accomplished, so he might go back to the glory from which he had come at God’s command.

Chapter 1:5-25 Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

In the days of Herod, the king — This was Herod, surnamed the Great, the son of Antipater, an Idumean by birth, who had professed himself a proselyte to the Jewish religion, but regarded no religion, farther than it promoted his secular interests and ambition. Thus, for the first time, the throne of Judah was filled by a person not of Jewish extraction, who had been forced upon the people by the Roman government. Hence it appears plain that the prophecy of Jacob, Genesis 49:10, was now fulfilled; for the sceptre had departed from Judah: and now was the time, according to another prophecy, to look for the governor from Bethlehem, who should rule and feed the people of Israel: Micah 5:1-2.

1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
They were both righteous — Upright and holy in all their outward conduct in civil life.
Before God — Possessing the spirit of the religion they professed; exercising themselves constantly in the presence of their Maker, whose eye, they knew, was upon all their conduct, and who examined all their motives.

1:7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
Both were now well stricken in years — By the order of God, sterility and old age both met in the person of Elisabeth, to render the birth of a son (humanly speaking) impossible. This was an exact parallel to the case of Sarah and Abraham, Genesis 11:30; Genesis 17:17. Christ must (by the miraculous power of God) be born of a virgin: whatever was connected with, or referred to, his incarnation must be miraculous and impressive. Isaac was his grand type, and therefore must be born miraculously - contrary to the common course and rule of nature.

1:8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
Before God — In the temple, where God used to manifest his presence, though long before this time he had forsaken it; yet, on this important occasion, the angel of his presence had visited it.

1:9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
His lot was, - We are informed in the Talmud, that it was the custom of the priests to divide the different functions of the sacerdotal office among themselves by lot: and, in this case, the decision of the lot was, that Zacharias should at that time burn the incense before the Lord, in the holy place.

1:10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
The whole multitude - were praying — The incense was itself an emblem of the prayers and praises of the people of God: see Psalms 141:2. While, therefore, the rite is performing by the priest, the people are employed in the thing signified.

1:11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
There appeared - an angel of the Lord — There had been neither prophecy nor angelic ministry vouchsafed to this people for about 400 years. 

But now, as the Sun of righteousness is about

 to arise upon them, 

the day-spring from on high visits them, 

that they may be prepared for that kingdom of God which was at hand.

1:12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

Zacharias - was troubled — Or, confounded at his sudden and unexpected appearance; and fear fell upon him, lest this heavenly messenger were come to denounce the judgments of God against a faithless and disobedient people.

1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Thy prayer is heard — This probably refers, 1st, to the frequent prayers which he had offered to God for a son; and 2dly, to those which he had offered for the deliverance and consolation of Israel.

1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
Many shall rejoice at His birth — he shall be the minister of God for good to multitudes, who shall, through his preaching, be turned from the error of their ways, and converted to God their Savior.

1:15 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.
He shall be great in the sight of the Lord — That is, before Jesus Christ, whose forerunner he shall be; or he shall be a truly great person, for so this form of speech may imply.
Neither wine nor strong drink — σικερα, i.e. all fermented liquors which have the property of intoxicating, or producing drunkenness. The original word σικερα, sikera, comes from the Hebrew, שכר shakar, to inebriate.
Shall be filled with the Holy Ghost — Shall be Divinely designated to this particular office, and qualified for it, from his mother's womb-from the instant of his birth.

1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
Many of the children of Israel shall he turn — See this prediction fulfilled, Luke 3:10-18.

1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
He shall go in the spirit and power of Elias - That is, First, He shall be such a man as Elias was, and do such work as Elias did,—shall, like him, preach the necessity of repentance and reformation to a very corrupt and degenerate age,—shall, like him, be bold and zealous in reproving sin and witnessing against it even in the greatest, and be hated and persecuted for it by a Herod and his Herodias, as Elijah was by an Ahab and his Jezebel. He shall be carried on in his work, as Elijah was, by a divine spirit and power, which shall crown his ministry with wonderful success.

The disobedient — Or unbelieving, απειθεις, the persons who would no longer credit the predictions of the prophets, relative to the manifestation of the Messiah. Unbelief and disobedience are so intimately connected, that the same word in the sacred writings often serves for both.

1:18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
Whereby shall I know this? — All things are possible to God: no natural impediment can have any power when God has declared he will accomplish his purpose. 

--He has a right to be believed on His own word alone;-- 

and it is impious, when we are convinced that it is His word, to demand a sign or pledge for its fulfilment.

1:19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. 

I am Gabriel — This angel is mentioned, Daniel 8:16; Daniel 9:21. The original גבריאל is exceedingly expressive: it is compounded of גבורה geburah, and אל el, the might of the strong God. An angel with such a name was exceedingly proper for the occasion;
The angel stops his mouth, by asserting his authority. Doth he ask, Whereby shall I know this? Let him know it by this, I am Gabriel, He puts his name to his prophecy, doth as it were sign it with his own hand—take my word for it.

1:20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
Thou shalt be dumb — σιωπων silent; this translation is literal; the angel immediately explains it, thou shalt not be able to speak.

1:21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
The people waited — The time spent in burning the incense was probably about half an hour, during which there was a profound silence, as the people stood without engaged in mental prayer. To this there is an allusion in Revelation 8:1-5. Zacharias had spent not only the time necessary for burning the incense, but also that which the discourse between him and the angel took up.

1:22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
They perceived that he had seen a vision — As the sanctuary was separated from the court by a great veil, the people could not see what passed, but they understood this from Zacharias himself, who, ην διανευων, made signs, or nodded unto them to that purpose.

1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
As soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished — Each family of the priesthood officiated one whole week, 2 Kings 11:17.

1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Hid herself five months — That she might have the fullest proof of the accomplishment of God's promise before she appeared in public, or spoke of her mercies. 

1:25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

To take away my reproach — As fruitfulness was a part of the promise of God to his people, Genesis 17:6, and children, on this account, being considered as a particular blessing from heaven, Exodus 23:20; Leviticus 26:9: Psalms 127:3; so barrenness was considered among the Jews as a reproach, and a token of the disapprobation of the Lord. 1 Samuel 1:6.