Luke 1:80

Luke 1:80. And the child grew, etc. A summing up of John's development in body and spirit, during his youth.

In the deserts, i.e., the wilderness of Judah (see Matthew 3:1),which was not far from his home ‘in the hill-country' (Luke 1:39; Luke 1:65). The Essenes, a mystic and ascetic Jewish sect, dwelt in the same region, but there is not the slightest evidence that John came in contact with them. This retirement was combined with abstemiousness (Matthew 3:4).

Till the day of his manifestation unto Israel. The opening of his official life, when he announced himself as the forerunner of the Messiah. In the case of John, temporary retirement was followed by public usefulness, the one as the preparation for the other. The mistake of monastic life consists in making the retirement permanent, leading to idleness or selfish piety; but Protestants often overlook the need of such temporary withdrawal, to gain time for calm reflection, rest from conflicts and cares, as well as strength for future work, in communing with God. This conclusion, together with the peculiar style of the narrative (from Luke 1:5 to the close of the chapter), has led to the theory that the whole was taken from some trustworthy document found by Luke. The Old Testament spirit and phraseology has led to the further conjecture, that it was originally written in Hebrew.