Luke 1:13 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Thy prayer is heard;— We cannot imagine that this holy man, at so advanced an age, and on such an occasion, would pray for the pregnancy of his wife, who was very old. The priests in this office considered themselves as the mouth of the people, and made the welfare of the nation the subject of their prayers. Wherefore, since it is reasonable to suppose that Zacharias now interceded for the coming of the Messiah, in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed, we may consider the angel's words as having a reference to such a prayer, thus: "The Messiah, for whose coming thou prayedst, is about to be born; for thy wife shall bring forth his forerunner." Some indeed are of opinion, that those prayers are meant which Zacharias may have put up for offspring when he and his wife were young; yet the time and place of the vision give reason to believe that the object of it was a matter of more general concernment. It was the office of the father to name the child, as appears from Luke 1:62. John, in the Hebrew tongue, signifies The grace of God. Hence it was fitly given to the Messiah's forerunner, who was sent to proclaim the immediateaccomplishmentofGod'smercifulintentionstowardsmen,theexpectation of which had been raised in them by all the preceding dispensations of religion. Αγαλλιασις, which we render gladness, in the next verse, properly answers to the word exultation or leaping for joy. See 1 Peter 1:8; 1 Peter 4:13 and Matthew 5:12.