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 unto him, Fear not. Thus by two familiar endeared, exhilarating words, was the silence of four centuries broken, and thus unexpectedly, yet all noiselessly, was the curtain of a stupendous and enduring Economy in this world's history at once drawn up! And was it not worth all the terror which Zacharias experienced to be greeted with so gladsome a salutation! It is God's prerogative, indeed, to dispel our fears - "Thou drewest near (sings Jeremiah) in the day that I called upon Thee; Thou saidst, Fear not" (Lamentations 3:57) - but angels, we see, are privileged to convey the message from heaven; nay, all who have themselves been divinely cheered are bidden "Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not" (Isaiah 35:4).
Zacharias! How sweet is it to hear the name of this lowly mortal man sounded forth by an exalted messenger from the very presence-chamber of the Most High! Does it not bring vividly before us the nearness of heaven to earth, God's intimate knowledge of those who serve Him here below, and the tender interest which He takes in them?
For thy prayer is heard - doubtless for offspring, which, by some presentiment, perhaps, he had even until now been kept from quite despairing of.
And thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John, х Yowchaanaan (H3076), Yªhochaanaan (H3110)] - the "Johanan" so frequent in the Old Testament, meaning Yahweh's gracious gift.