Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary: Luke
Ver. 71. That he would save us, &c. Literally, salvation from our enemies. The construction and sense is, that God, as he had declared by his prophets, would grant us salvation, or would save us. (Witham) --- This is not to be understood of temporal, but of spiritual enemies. For the Lord Jesus, strong in battle, came to destroy all our enemies, and thus to deliver us from their snares and temptations. (Origen, hom. xvi.) --- He is that King of Glory, the Lord strong and powerful, the Lord powerful in battle. (Psalm xxiii.)
Ver. 72. To remember his holy covenant, i.e. of his promise, or of the covenant made with Abraham, that he would bless all nations in his seed. (Witham) --- At the coming of Christ, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were made partakers of his mercy. For, we cannot suppose that they who saw his day, and were glad, should not participate in the fruit of his coming; since St. Paul says: he maketh peace through the blood of the cross, both to the things that are on earth, and the things that are in heaven. (Colossians i. 20.) (Origen, hom. x.)
Ver. 73-74. According to the oath which he swore.[11] The words according to, are no addition to the letter of the text: they only barely express what is here signified; to wit, that God swore to Abraham, that he would grant us, or make it come to pass, that being delivered from our enemies, sin and the devil, we should be in a condition to serve him without fear, in holiness, &c. (Witham)
Ver. 75. It is possible, we here see, to have true justice, not only in the sight of man, or by the imputation of God, but in his sight; and the coming of Christ was to give men such justice.
Ver. 77. Jesus is our salvation, and St. John [the Baptist] was sent to give to the people the knowledge of this salvation: he bore testimony of Christ; (Theophylactus) by whom alone remission of sins can be obtained.
Ver. 78. The rising light,[12] or the rising sun, hath visited us from on high. The Rheims translation hath the Orient, the Protestant, the day-spring. Both seem more obscure than they need be. The Latin, as well as the Greek, hath a noun substantive, by which Christ himself is signified. Yet the same word, in both languages, is sometimes taken for a rising light, and sometimes for a bud, or branch; in which latter sense it is expounded by St. Jerome. (Comment in Zachar. p. 1737, tom. 3, Ed. Ben.) But in this place it is rather taken for a light that riseth, by the following words, to enlighten them that sit in darkness, &c. (Witham) --- The Orient. It is one of the titles of the Messias, the true light of the world, and the sun of justice. (Challoner) --- By this he shews that God has forgiven us our sins, not through our merits, but through his own most tender mercy; (Theophylactus) and that we are to solicit this forgiveness through the bowels of his most tender mercy.
Ver. 79. The Gentiles were in darkness, and given to the adoration of idols, till the light arose and dispelled the darkness, spreading on all sides the splendour of truth. (St. Basil on Isai.) --- With reason it is said in this place, who sit in darkness; for we did not walk in darkness, but sat down, as if destitute of all hopes of being delivered. (St. Chrysostom, hom. xiv. on S. Matt.) --- Then our steps are directed in the paths of peace, when in our every action we act conformably to the grace of the Almighty. (St. Gregory, hom. xxxii.)
Ver. 80. St. John remained in the desert till the 30th year of his age. The reason why he concealed himself so long was because he feared the cruelty of Herod; for, though he was not under his jurisdiction, not being on the confines of Bethlehem, yet on account of the remarkable events that took place at his birth, by which he was declared the precursor of the Messias, he had reason to dread the cruelty of the jealous and suspicious Herod. Peter of Alexandria, Nicephorus, Baronius, and others, say, that when he was yet in his mother's arms, he was conveyed into the desert, and there concealed in the caves and fissures of the rocks, where people concealed themselves on the approach of their enemies. Cedrinus adds, that 40 days after their flight, the mother of St. John died; after which, an angel is said to have undertaken the care of the Baptist; but most probably this office was performed by some attendant on St. Elizabeth. (Tirinus) --- The Baptist remained in the desert till he began his public ministry, which by a law of the Jews could not be much before he had attained his 30th year. He is styled by antiquity the first hermit. See St. Jerome in Vita Pauli.
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[1] Ver. 1. Completæ sunt. peplerophoremenon. I know the pretended differences betwixt plerophoreisthai, and plerousthai. But divers learned critics, after St. Chrysostom take notice, that they are many times taken for the same. So 2 Timothy iv. 5. Ministerium tuum imple. plerophoreson, toutesti, says St. Chrysostom, plerosou. log. th. p. 371. Ed. Savil. and on the 17th ver. of the same chapter, ut per me impleretur, plerophorethe, toutesti, plerothe. (Ibid. p. 376.)
[2] Ver. 5. De vice Abia, ex ephemerias.
[3] Ver. 6. Sine querela, amemptoi, irreprehensibiles.
[4] Ver. 15. Siceram, sikera, from the Hebrew shecar, or shacar, ebrius fuit.
[5] Ver. 28. Gratia plena. See Lucas Burgensis on this place.
[6] Ver. 34. Quia virum non cognosco. St. Augustine, quod profecto non diceret, nisi Deo Virginem se ante vovisset. (De Virginitate, chap. iv, tom. 6, p. 343. Ed. Ben.)
[7] Ver. 41. Exultavit, eskirtese. Which signifies to leap, or skip like lambs, &c.
[8] Ver. 47. Salutari meo, soteri mou, Salvatori meo.
[9] Ver. 48. Humilitatem, tapeinosin, not tapeinophrosunen. By which latter word is signified the virtue of humility of mind and heart. But humilis, and humilitas, in Latin, even in Cicero, is put to signify vilem et abjectam conditionem: and so also tapeinos, and tapeinosis in Greek, as in the 70 [the Septuagint] 1 King i. 11. the Latin Vulgate for tapeinesin, has afflictionem famulæ tuæ. And this is the sense in this and the 52d verse; as it is confirmed by the antithesis, or opposition, betwixt those of a high, and of a low state or condition.
[10] Ver. 69. Cornu salutis, keras soterias. Abscissum est cornu Moab. (Jeremias xlviii. 25.) Cornu David. (Psalm lxxiv. 5.) See also Psalm cxxxi. 17, &c.
[11] Ver. 73. Jusjurandum quod juravit, orkon on in the accusative case, for kat orkon, secundum juramentum. Ibid. daturum se nobis, i.e. se effecturum, &c. tou dounai emin, &c.
[12] Ver. 78. Oriens. e anatole. Vulgò ortus Solis. See Mr. Legh Crit. Sacra on anatello, orior, germino, S. Hierom [St. Jerome] on Jeremias, chap. xxiii. ver. 5. tom. 3, p. 634. suscitabo David germen justum, sive orientem justum. And on Zacharias vi. 12, p. 1737. Ecce vir, oriens nomen ejus, where he expounds it by anatole, anaphue, and blastema.
Bible Text & Commentary:
The conception of John the Baptist, and of Christ: the visitation and canticle of the blessed Virgin: the birth of the Baptist, and the canticle of Zachary.
1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth, in order, a narration of the things that have been accomplished among us:
2 According as they have delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word;
3 It seemed good to me also, having diligently attained to all things from the beginning, to write to thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4 That thou mayest know the truth of those words in which thou hast been instructed.
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, *of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.
6 And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame.
7 And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priestly office before God, in the order of his course,
9 According to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord;
10 *And all the multitude of the people were praying without, at the hour of incense.
11 And there appeared to him an Angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him.