“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.”
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb — great in the sight of the Lord (not in the sight of people) anticipates Jesus' reversal of human greatness categories. The Nazirite-like abstention from wine and strong drink (Numbers 6:3) positions John in the prophetic tradition. Filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb is the most extraordinary element: the Spirit's filling before birth communicates that John's prophetic vocation is established before his first breath.
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