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 Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
All Commentaries on Luke 1:15 Go To Luke 1
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
After the angel had assured him of the joy this son should bring to many, he acquaints him of the excellency of his virtue. He shall be great before the Lord. He did not extend the boundaries of empire; he did not obtain the triumphs of war, and force captive and degraded kings to pay him homage: but, what is much greater, preaching in a desert, he renounced the pleasures of the world, and with the greatest fortitude repressed and subdued the concupiscence of the flesh. Therefore it is said, he shall drink no wine, nor strong drink. (St. Ambrose)
And shall drink no wine, nor strong drink: literally, sicera, by which is signified any liquor that is apt to make a man drunk, according to St. Jerome. (Witham)
This prohibition of the angel was a part of the consecration of the Nazarites. See Numbers vi. 3. The word sicera properly signifies wine of the palm-tree; and next to wine of the grape, there was no more common liquor, none more intoxicating. (Bible de Vence)
And he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb; from which words some conjecture, that St. John the Baptist, though conceived in original sin, yet might have been freed from the guilt of it before he came into the world. Of this see St. Augustine, Ep. lvii. now Ep. clxxxvii. ad Dardanum. t. ii, p. 685. Ed. Ben. (Witham)
