And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
And the child grew, and waxed strong [ eeuxanen (G837 ) kai (G2532 ) ekrataiouto (G2901 )] in spirit. The grammatical tenses here employed denote the continuance of the action-`kept growing (that is, bodily) and waxing strong in spirit,' or in mental development.
And was in the deserts - probably "the wilderness of Judea," whence we find him issuing on his entrance into public life (Matthew 3:1).
Till the day of his showing unto Israel - or of his presenting himself before the nation as Messiah's Forerunner. Retiring into this wilderness in early life, in the true Nazarite spirit, and there free from rabbinical influences and alone with God, his spirit would be educated, like Moses in the desert of Sinai, for his future high vocation.
Remarks:
(1) While to the believing Gentiles - "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the (1) While to the believing Gentiles - "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise" - the Gospel came with all the freshness of an over-powering novelty; it came to the devout Israelite with all the charm of ancient and oft-repeated promises at length fulfilled, of hopes, divinely kindled but long deferred, in the end unexpectedly realized. It is this latter view of the Gospel which reigns in Zacharias' noble song, in which God is seen 'mindful of His grace and truth' to the house of Israel, accomplishing the high objects of the ancient economy, and introducing His people into the blessedness of a realized salvation, and the dignity of a free and fearless service of their covenant-God.
(2) The "Fearlessness" of the Christian life is no less emphatically celebrated here (Luke 1:74) than its priestly sanctity and enduring character (Luke 1:75): but is this a leading and manifest feature in our current Christianity?
(3) If "the remission of our sins" be the primary element of our salvation (Luke 1:77), why is it that there are so many of God's dear children who "through fear of death are all their lifetime subject to bondage"? For if "the sting of death be [unpardoned] sin," what else than the sense of forgiveness can dissolve that fear? And surely it cannot be God's will that His children should have to meet the last enemy without that weapon which effectually disarms him.
(4) Seasons of comparative retirement have usually preceded and proved a precious preparative for great public usefulness: for example, Moses' sojourn in Midian; the Baptist's stay in the Judean desert (Luke 1:80); our Lord's own privacy at Nazareth; Paul's three years in Arabia; Luther's ten month's seclusion at Wartburg; and Zwingli's two and a half years at Einsiedeln.