Luke 1:15 (WEB)

Passage

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

Nearby Context

Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

Luke 1:14 You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth.

Luke 1:15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

Luke 1:16 He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God.

Luke 1:17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ 1:17 Malachi 4:6 and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "great", "sight", "lord", "drink", "wine", "strong", and "filled". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "great", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "You will have joy and gladness and..." into verse 16's "He will turn many of the children...", so "Spirit" and "great" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "great" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.