Mary and Elizabeth. (Luke 1:39-45)

When it is announced that a woman is expecting her first child, the reactions of people are usually predictable. You've probably been there, done that, and can imagine what the reactions would be. The first and foremost reaction that comes to mind is usually joy. Usually everybody involved is joyous and excited about the impending arrival of a new baby.

However, sometimes the reaction is shock, especially if the parents, friends, or grandparents weren't expecting it. When Luke picked up his pen to write the book that bears his name, he started with an angel announcing to Zacharias that he was going to have a son named John. This is the first narrative episode after the prologue to his book and we looked at it a couple of days ago.

The second narrative section is similar, in that an angel appears to Mary and tells her she's going to have a son named Jesus. So, from the very beginning, of his account Luke tells us about the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus Christ and it is the continuation of this second narrative we are going to look at today.

This next episode records several further reactions to these announcements. In this case, the two expectant mothers get together. We can imagine what that must have been like, even today expectant mothers get together to share their experiences, especially when they're having their first child. However it might be a surprise for some of us, especially men to some to learn that there are some spiritual lessons for us to learn from their coming together. 

With that in mind, I invite your attention to Luke chapter one, where I'll begin reading with verse 39.

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!”

(Luke 1: 39-45)

In this passage, we witness the first encounter between Elizabeth and Mary after they have been told that they are both expecting their first child. In this brief episode, we observe three distinct reactions to the announcement of Jesus' arrival.

The first reaction, interestingly, is not from Elizabeth or Mary but is actually from John the Baptist, who is six months in the womb of his mother Elizabeth. So, this passage depicts a unique moment between these two expectant mothers as they celebrate the joy of their unusual and amazing pregnancies.

Can you picture that? They sit on the porch, chat together and share their experiences. Maybe they discuss morning sickness, swollen ankles, and everything related to their pregnancies. I don't know much about this, but I can imagine that's the sort of things they'd talk about.

But that's not what Luke focuses on; he zeroes in on something else. 

Look at verse 41: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." 

So, the first reaction is not from Elizabeth or Mary; it's from the baby in the womb of Elizabeth. As we know from the previous verses, this baby is John the Baptist, and he leaps for joy in the womb of his mother. 

Now, I'm talking about something today that I've never personally experienced. I can't tell you what it's like, but I've had mothers tell me that babies, at least some of them, do things in there. Some of them are really quiet; they don't move much, while others are quite active, kicking and squirming. 

Some of you listening to this might be smiling because you know from experience what I'm talking about. Elizabeth said this baby just leaped in the womb, but that isn't explained until later. Drop down and look at verse 44: " As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy."

The text then says that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. I don't know how she knew, but what I do know is that when Jesus comes on the scene, there is joy and a sense of the Holy Spirit in an amazing way. Many have said, that in His presence, there is fullness of joy. 

Let's pause here for a moment and discuss the fact that Jesus brings joy.

To begin, let me ask: what brings people joy? I mean, real joy. 

I can tell you what people often think brings joy, material possessions. In today's society, we're inundated with materialism, convinced that acquiring things will bring us happiness. We're bombarded with commercials and advertisements, making us believe that owning more stuff will make us happier. 

My cousin at one point was one of the wealthiest men in the town in which I lived He had a lavish home an amazing yacht, access to private planes, helicopters. But he was the most miserable cynical of men. In the marina was his yacht; he could go anywhere in the world he had everything you could imagine to make his life happy, yet he was as mean and miserable as you can imagine someone could be.

Joy doesn't come from possessions, and I’ve seen that from personal experience.

Joy doesn't stem from having loads of money or material goods. True joy arises from having a right relationship with the Lord.

Returning to our text, we find John the Baptist leaping in Elizabeth's womb for joy. It may not be the primary focus of the text, but it's an important point to consider. John was in the womb, not yet born, and he leaped for joy. This indicates the presence of a person in the womb, not just living tissue but a living being with emotions. People have joy; living organs and tissues do not experience emotions like joy. This passage is one of many in the Bible that suggests a foetus is indeed a human being.

Let's get back to the story. We'll pick it up again from verse 41:

"When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!"

(Luke 1: 41)

So, Elizabeth says to Mary, "You are blessed." Now, why was she blessed? After all, she's one of those exalted women who ever lived. In this sense, one might think, "What else would you want, right?" That's all true, but I would look at verse 42.

In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear.

While she is indeed special and unique as the one who gave birth to the Messiah, she's just blessed among women, not above other women. But then drop down to verse 45 and we see why she was blessed: "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be fulfilment of those things which were told her from the Lord."

Mary's reaction and the reason Elizabeth said she was blessed is because Mary was a woman of faith. If you've been tracking with me, you'd recall that we saw yesterday that Zacharias was told about the birth of his child also and he struggled to believe. His unbelief led to consequences as he was struck mute for a period. It's a striking contrast to Mary. When Mary was told, she was going to bear a son, even though she was a virgin, her immediate response was simply to believe the message she had been given.

As I've already pointed out in the previous episode, one of the reactions to the announcement of the coming of Christ is joy. The second reaction is simply faith. I mentioned this last time, but it's worth repeating that some people believe immediately, some believe slowly, and some don't believe at all. Mary is an example of one who believed immediately, and she believed the moment she heard. 

This is the reaction God desires from us the moment we hear about the Lord, we not only should jump for joy, but we should also instantaneously believe the message about Him and the Word of God. That should be our response when we hear the gospel or the Word of God, an immediate belief, accompanied by joy. 

However, there's a third reaction in this message, and it's the one that intrigues me the most.

Let's pick up the story where we left off in verse 43. This is Elizabeth speaking. 

But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me. As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy."

(Luke 1: 43-44)

Isn't that interesting? Elizabeth recognizes what's happening. In verse 43, she uses the term, "The mother of my Lord." That's a Messianic declaration, and she fully recognizes that Mary is the mother of the Messiah. Her response is almost like saying, "I'm unworthy of your visit. You're the mother of the Messiah. Why would you come to see lowly me?" So, may I suggest that her reaction was humility, and she was awestruck by the fact that she could even be part of this divine plan and she expressed her humility with the question, "Why me?"

As somebody wisely once said, "Her humilty opened the gates of true, deep, and jubilant joy."

So, what's your reaction to the Lord? Joy, yes? But how about humility? 

The sum of this story is really simple. Elizabeth realized that Mary was the mother of the Messiah. She pronounced Mary blessed and herself unworthy of the visit of such a blessing. 

It seems to me that the story indicates that there are three reactions here: Joy, and gratitude and  the last one I submit to you is humility.

So, I'm going to conclude, by talking about humility because I don't think we today talk about this enough, and it is so desperately needed. Let me make a couple of suggestions. I believe we need a good dose of humility in and outside the church of Christ. I'm going to suggest we need some personal and national humility.

I've lived a few years now, and I've never seen anything like this. This is the most divided the United Kingdom has been in my lifetime. I suspect we haven't seen anything like this for centuries. And you won’t need me to tell you it’s the same in the U.S.

We're at each other's throats. Now, what's the solution to that? Are we all going to get together and sing "Kumbaya"? Not likely. We have such radically different opinions on things.

So, may I suggest that what we really need is just a good dose of humility? We shouldn't be so cocky and arrogant about our point of view. We need some personal and national sense of humility, and we need it quickly.

After becoming the Prime Minister of Britain in May 1940, Winston Churchill approved a National Day of Prayer just four days later. This was in response to the German onslaught against the British and Allied Forces trapped on the beaches of Belgium and France. The day of prayer was held on May 26, 1940, and people throughout Britain flocked to their local churches and chapels.

Five days later, news reached the country of the successful evacuation of the British army from Dunkirk. Many laymen, as well as clergy, quickly attributed this as a ‘deliverance’ or ‘miracle’ to divine providence and to the day of prayer. Churchill himself became an enthusiast, approving two further national days of prayer in each of the next three years as the war progressed.

He declared that the nation had become too self-sufficient and too proud to pray to the God who made them. We need some national humility that prostrates ourselves before God and recognizes that without His intervention, we are heading for trouble in this world, and in this war.

It feels to me that the  world could explode into violence at any minute, and we need to see humility everywhere. We also need some personal humility, but we also need to stand in awe of the blessings God has given us.

"Why me?" Have you ever asked that question when things don't go your way? When you start focusing on all the negative stuff, do you ask, "Why me?" Elizabeth did, and she recognized the awesome blessing God had given her. So maybe we should be asking, why me? From a different perspective.

So, how are we doing? Are we in agreement so far? We need some national humility and personal humility. I'm going to suggest we also need humility toward each other. 

We're often caught up in wanting to be right and having the last word, and we gloat when we win. We need to build each other up instead of constantly tearing each other down, as Paul discribed in Philippians 2:3-5.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

(Phil 2: 3-5)

It seems to me that we need humility toward God, like the church. Like the churches at Phillippi and Laodicea we are too often inclined to be self-sufficient, thinking we can do it all on our own and that we don't need the Lord.

If you have that attitude, you won't get to experience his closeness because the Bible repeatedly says that the Lord resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.

Sometimes, we just need to see how awesome, big, sovereign, and holy God is. Then we will see how small, simple, and sinful we are. That's what produces real humility. Sometimes we need to go outside and gaze at the night sky and take it all in and then perhaps we might just know that we are small enough to stand before him.