Church Fathers Commentary Luke 1:76

"Yea and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High: For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways;" — Luke 1:76 (ASV)

St. Ambrose of Milan: In prophesying about the Lord, he rightly addresses the prophet, showing that prophecy is also a gift of the Lord, so that while enumerating public benefits, he would not seem so ungrateful as to be silent about his own. Hence it is said: And you, child, shall be called the Prophet of the Highest.

Origen of Alexandria: I suppose the reason Zacharias hastened to speak to his son was that he knew John was soon to be a sojourner in the wilderness, and that he himself would see him no more.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Now, some may think it an absurd extravagance of the mind to address a child of eight days old. But if we keep our eyes fixed on higher things, we can surely understand that the son could hear his father's voice, who before he was born heard the salutation of Mary. The Prophet knew that there were certain organs of hearing in a Prophet that were opened by the Spirit of God, not by the growth of the body. He who was moved by the feeling of exultation possessed the faculty of understanding.

The Venerable Bede: Unless, indeed, Zacharias is supposed to have wished, as soon as he was able to speak, to proclaim for the instruction of those who were present the future gifts of his son, which he had long before learned from the Angel. However, let the Arians hear that our Lord Christ, whom John went before, prophesying of Him, is called “the Most High” by Zacharias, as it is said in the Psalms: A man was as born in her, and the most highest has established her.

St. John Chrysostom: But just as kings have their companions in arms who stand nearest to them, so John, who was the friend of the Bridegroom, went before Him near to His coming. And this is what follows: For you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. For some prophets preached the mystery of Christ from a distance, but he preached it nearer the time, so that he could both see Christ and declare Him to others.

St. Gregory the Great: But all those who by preaching cleanse the hearts of their hearers from the filth of their sins prepare a way for wisdom to come into the heart.