Luke 1:39-45
Reading 3:
Luke 1:39-45
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Yesterday I considered God’s Word to Mary and then her hearts response. It is important to view God’s leading and a person’s reaction and yesterday’s reading reveals a positive example of this to us. Today I want to consider the passage directly before Mary’s song.
In-between the birth announcement Mary receives and her verbal response is a short six verse account of at least a 270 mile walk in which Mary travels to visit a close relative, Elizabeth. On a side note to put Mary’s travels into context it is around 270 miles from Coalfield TN to Charlotte NC or Atlanta GA. Wow!
Despite the travel and Mary’s movement what I feel is the most interesting and applicable point of application from this passage is this.
In this passage Luke is informing the readers these two boys (John and Jesus) will be united in fulfilling an eternal purpose. These two will be significant however while we need to know who they will be both the response of Mary and Elizabeth provide great examples for us and our own hearts. We learned yesterday the importance of having God’s Word implanted in our hearts and minds from the perspective of Mary. Elizabeth’s response provides an equally important point of application of receiving God’s plan.
As Luke records Elizabeth in her old age is not concerned about the glories within her but what God is doing for her through the Child of Mary. Notice in verse 45 a slight but significant change in verbiage tense. Elizabeth’s wording changes from blessed are you to blessed is she. In Luke’s brilliance as a writer he is showing us the significance of the one whom Mary is carrying.
At this juncture when I consider Mary, Elizabeth, John, and Jesus I ask myself this question. Do I truly believe that the child within the womb of Mary is the end of all the promises of God for my salvation? In other words is Jesus all I need and is He whom I am pursuing with all that is within me?
To be completely honest I have an inner desire to build, to produce, to have, and to gain for myself. I like nice things and the perceived notoriety that comes with things of substance.
After graduating High School I pursued a collage degree with little direction other than motivation to be moving in a positive direction that would allow me opportunities to produce and provide in the future in a respectable manner. God in His providence and His grace did not allow some doors to open for me and kept pursuing me and directing me to use the desires I believe He had given me for His purposes and plans as opposed to my own. Like Elizabeth I began to see that I needed to focus not on what blessing God has birthed within me but in the same way that Elizabeth responded look to Christ and say blessed is He.
This reality gives me clarity and a result direction each day. Life is not about my wants, desires, glories, etc. it is about Christ. Like Elizabeth anything that God chooses to birth from my existence should be used like John’s ministry to lift up, announce, and proclaim Christ. I challenge you today to consider your words, actions, etc. Where is the direction, is is toward Christ?
