Luke 1:13 — Community Reflections

LUKE 1:13 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“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.”

But the angel said to him: do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John — do not be afraid is the angel's invariable opening in the birth announcement narratives — to Zechariah, to Mary, to the shepherds. Your prayer has been heard (eisēkousthē) — the prayer for a son that Zechariah may have given up hope for, or perhaps the prayer for Israel's redemption, or both. You are to call him John (Iōannēs, the Lord is gracious) — the name given by divine appointment establishes the child's identity and mission before his birth.

Church Fathers on Luke 1:13

When Zacharias entered into the temple to offer up prayers to God for all men, interceding between God and man, he saw an angel standing within, as it is said, And there appeared to him an angel.
Chrysostom · 4th century

It is well said that there appeared an angel to Zacharias, who suddenly beheld him; and this is the expression especially used by Divine Scripture with respect to angels or God, that what cannot be seen beforehand may be said to appear. For things which are the objects of our senses are not seen as He is seen, Who is seen only as He will, and Whose nature is not to be seen.
Ambrose · 4th century

And we speak thus not only of the present time, but also of the future. When we shall have passed from the world, God will not appear to all men, nor will the angels, but to him only who has a clean heart. The place will neither hinder nor serve any one.
Origen · 3rd century

Read all 20 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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