The angel continues his announcement in verses 14 & 15: He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

The heart of Zechariah will be filled with whole-hearted gladness. Many others will also rejoice because of the birth of this child. Not only will his very birth bring about instant joy (1:58) but, as the immediate context indicates, in the future when this child has become a man, many people are going to thank the Lord for the fact that John was born.

The angel continues in verse 15: “for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.”

It was about John, Jesus was going to say, “Among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matt. 11:11).

This would be true not only because John was going to be a prophet but also because he was going to be one whose arrival had been predicted. He was destined to become the announcer of the Messiah.

He was going to direct the attention of the people to the long expected One. He was going to say, “Look, the Lamb of God who is taking away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

He was going to emphasize the necessity of true conversion as the only way for the sinner to enter Messiah’s kingdom (Luke 1:76, 77; 3:3).

Since it is the duty of the herald to recede to the background when the King arrives, John was going to resist the temptation of calling attention to himself. Instead, in humility of spirit he was going to say, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Jesus himself, in describing the nature of true greatness, always links it with humility (Luke 7:6, 9; Matt. 8:8, 10; Luke 9:46-48; Matt. 18:1-5; Mark 9:33-37).

Without humility would it be possible for anyone to be “great,” especially “in the sight of the Lord”?

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:10