And Zachariah said unto the angel, How shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well advanced in years.
All Commentaries on Luke 1:18 Go To Luke 1
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
The church observes the birth of John as in some way sacred…. When we celebrate John’s, we also celebrate Christ’s…. John is born of an old woman who is barren. Christ is born of a young woman who is a virgin. Barrenness gives birth to John, virginity to Christ. The normal and proper age of parents was lacking with the birth of John. No marital embrace occurred for the birth of Christ. The former is announced in the declaration of the angel. With the angel’s annunciation the latter is conceived. That John will be born is not believed, and his father is silenced. That Christ will be born is believed, and he is conceived by faith. First of all faith makes its entry into the heart of the virgin, and there follows fruitfulness in the mother’s womb. And yet, Zechariah used nearly the same words, when the angel announced John: “By what shall I know this? For I myself am an old man, and my wife is already advanced in her days,” and by holy Mary when the angel announced that she was going to give birth: “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” These are practically the same words…. Finally, John is born when the daylight begins to diminish and the night begins to grow longer. Christ is born when the night begins to be curtailed and the day begins to increase.
