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The [[Apostle Luke]] clearly was aware that wine was forbidden in Nazaritic ascetic practice, for the [[angel]] ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 1:15) that announces the birth of [[John the Baptist]] foretells that "he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." The implication is that John would take a lifelong Nazarite vow (see also [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 7:33).
Luke also mentions how [[Apostle Paul|Paul]] was advised to avoid the hostility of the Jews in [[Jerusalem]] by taking Nazaritic vows, a strategem that only delayed the inevitable mob assault on him ([[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 21:20-24). When Paul is advised to take the Nazarite vow, although in the previous verse it is stated he is meeting with [[James the Just|James]], the author of Acts clearly ascribes the advice to the general group of elders. It is not clear whether this is because Luke confused the word ''nazir'' with ''netzer'' (meaning "branch," an allusion to [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 11:1), and felt it did not apply to James, or whether (as [[Judaizers]] might claim) Luke intentionally minimized James' importance as other Pauline Christians did. The ''Orthodox Study Bible'' notes that
:the vow of Paul is no compromise with Judaism. It is an expression of Christian charity from Paul, a Jewish Christian, toward the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem in order to dispel false rumors and to build their trust (p. 320).
