15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
1:15
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord,
The second assertion by Gabriel is that John would be “great in the sight of the Lord” (Lu 7:28). God’s perspective of John was that he would be “great.”
and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.
The third assertion about John was that he would not partake of alcohol. The Baptist later took a Nazirite vow, refusing fermented drink (Nu 6:1-21).
He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
The Holy Spirit would fill and empower John to be the forerunner of the Messiah. He would be filled with the Spirit from the beginning (Lu 1:41, 67).
1:16
And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
Zechariah’s son would cause many in Israel to repent and turn to the Lord their God, to the Messiah. As we look at the record, John did turn “many” to the Messiah (Mt 3:5-6; Mark 1:4-5).
PRINCIPLE:
The core of our ministry is the purpose of the Messiah coming into the world.
APPLICATION:
John the Baptist was faithful because he pursued the will of God with abandon. The focus of his ministry was not his lifestyle of wearing sackcloth or living in the wilderness; it was his message of heralding the coming Messiah. He helped many meet the Savior of the world.
