The Passage
Luke 1:39-56
"39
Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a
city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41
And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe
leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she
spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 "But why is this granted to me, that
the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 "For indeed, as soon as the
voice of your greeting sounded in
in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
46
And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced
in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is
mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is
on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength
with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52
He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 53 He has
filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He
has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, 55 As He spoke to
our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever."
56
And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house."
A Little Background
When Gabriel announced to Mary that she would become
pregnant with Jesus, he also told her that her very elderly cousin, Elizabeth,
was also pregnant. Mary immediately, with
haste and eagerness, traveled to be with her.
Elizabeth was six months pregnant by this time.
The land of Israel was divided into several regions—Galilee,
Judea, Samaria, Perea, Idumea, and Decapolis.
Mary lived in Nazareth in Galilee.
We don’t know the town where Elizabeth and Zacharias lived, but it was
near to Jerusalem (where Zacharias was a priest). Mary was probably about 80 to 90 miles away
and likely traveled three to four days.
Some Explanation
In a day without phones, email, and radio or TV, it is
likely that Gabriel’s announcement about Elizabeth was news to Mary. It’s also unlikely that Elizabeth knew of
Mary’s news. When Elizabeth saw Mary,
the baby inside her leaped and she became the first person recorded in
Scripture to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
In a very loud voice she declared Mary “Blessed” because she “...has
believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled.”
Mary was blessed, in contrast to Zacharias, who was made mute and
possibly deaf* because of his unbelief.
Mary responded to Elizabeth’s greeting in praise, often
called The Magnificat, meaning, “My
soul magnifies”. Mary’s praise song to
God exalts God for things that He has done for her and Israel. Mary stayed with
Elizabeth for three months, perhaps until she delivered John, though the Bible
doesn’t say this specifically.
Observations and Insights
If these events happened in a modern setting, Elizabeth and
Mary might have stood in church and testified about their experiences and proclaimed
that the Messiah and His forerunner were to be born to them. They would probably have been interviewed by
magazines, and Christian radio and TV personalities. Their stories would be posted on websites and
YouTube. They might even have written
books. However, Luke 1:24 records that
Elizabeth hid herself away for the first five months of her pregnancy, and “Mary arose with haste...” to be with her
(vs. 39). She probably didn’t announce
her pregnancy to the community before she left either.
Why did Elizabeth hide herself and Mary leave town? Was it for shame or embarrassment? In those days, it was a shame for a woman to
be barren. Now Elizabeth was pregnant as
an old woman—an oddity for wagging tongues.
And, of course, Mary was unmarried.
But I don’t think that shame was their motivation at all. Instead, I believe that they were moved by a
great reverence and awe about what was about to happen to them. They were each to carry a promised child whose
life was set apart unto God. No one else
would have been able to understand the profound depth of their calling as
mothers. Drawing apart to support each
other rather than exposing themselves to the wider community would prepare them
for what was to come. When I read Mary’s
response, I see her humility in some of her statements regarding God’s favor
toward her.
·
He has
regarded the lowly state of His maidservant
·
His mercy
is on those who fear Him from generation to generation
·
He has
scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts
·
He has put
down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly
·
He has
filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty
For either Elizabeth or Mary to
proclaim their news abroad would have risked becoming proud in the imagination
of their hearts saying, “My
son is going to prepare the way of the Lord!” or “Look at me! I’m going to be the mother of the
promised Messiah!”
God Himself literally took residence in Mary's body, not because she was worthy of His presence, but precisely because she was not. Mary shows all of us what is required of us—a heart that recognizes its need for a Savior and is quick to submit to God’s Word. Today, God also indwells us by faith as we trust in, or believe that Jesus died on the cross in our place taking the punishment that we deserved. It is the power of His grace in us that teaches us to lay self aside and allow Him to work His good pleasure in us.
Next: Luke 1:57-66
*Luke 1:62 describes that the people made motions or signs to Zacharias.
No comments:
Post a Comment