MARY AND ELIZABETH
LUKE 1:39-56 - SPIRIT-FILLED
UNBORN BABY
JUMPS FOR JOY!
Luke 1:39 And Mary arose in
those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 40 And
entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
Susan: Mary may have fled Nazareth to avoid prying eyes and whispering
lips as her own pregnancy developed.
Susie: But I believe she wanted to see the miracle of Elisabeth’s
pregnancy in person as well.
Luke 1:41 And it came to pass,
that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb;
and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
Susie: When Mary spoke a greeting to her relative Elisabeth, the unborn
baby John jumped for joy!
Susan: Elisabeth was overjoyed as she was overcome by the Spirit of the
Lord.
Luke 1:42 And she spake out
with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the
fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord
should come to me? 44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded
in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she that
believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her
from the Lord.
Susie: John, who Gabriel foretold would be filled with the Spirit in the
womb, leapt when Mary greeted His mother.
Susan: An UNBORN baby was the first to recognize the Savior while HE was
yet UNBORN. This is a strong argument for the fact that an embryo is already
the person God is forming inside their mother.
Susie: Embryo John’s reaction, caused Elizabeth who was also filled with
the Holy Spirit at the moment he moved within her to rejoice as well.
Susan: Elizabeth questioned her worthiness to be visited by the mother of
the Son of God, but she boldly prophesied concerning Mary because the Holy
Spirit empowered her.
Susie: Elizabeth called Mary “the mother of my Lord,” which says that she
already believed Jesus would be the Messiah. No human had told her this. Mary
had just arrived, so they had not had time to even discuss the fact that Mary
was pregnant and all that Gabriel had told her (Remember: Mary could not phone
ahead or send Elizabeth a Facebook message or Tweet about her pregnancy).
Susan: The Holy Spirit prompted Elizabeth to honor Mary’s faith in
believing the Lord.
Susie: Somehow, in the moment that baby John moved excitedly in her womb,
the Lord caused Elizabeth to know exactly what was going on with her relative,
Mary. For this moment in time, the Lord was using Elizabeth as His prophetess.
John
MacArthur Study Bible
1:46–55 Mary’s Magnificat (the
first word in the Latin translation; see notes on vv. 68–79; 2:29–32) is filled
with OT allusions and quotations. It reveals that Mary’s heart and mind were
saturated with the Word of God. It contains repeated echoes of Hannah’s
prayers, e.g., 1 Sam. 1:11; 2:1–10. These verses also contain numerous
allusions to the law, the psalms, and the prophets. The entire passage is a
point-by-point reciting of the covenant promises of God.
Luke 1:46 And Mary said, My
soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Susie: Mary broke out rejoicing in song, humbly praising the Lord for all
He was doing through her. This is known as the Magnificat because that is
the first word of Mary’s praise song in Latin.
Susan: Mary says that her soul magnifies, exalts the Lord. She identifies
God as Savior, highlighting the purpose for which Jesus was coming as a man. I
think it is significant that the one chosen to bear the Messiah sees her own
need for salvation and knows that God is meeting that need.
Luke 1:48 For he hath regarded
the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations
shall call me blessed. 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;
and holy is his name.
Susan: Mary viewed herself as God’s servant, his handmaiden.
Susie: She was probably poor, not significant in any way. Therefore, she
realized she was extremely blessed to be chosen to conceive and carry her
Redeemer in her womb. She acknowledged that this was not her doing but was the
choice and work of God in her life.
Susan: She needed the Seed of God she carried as much as the world He
would be born into needed her Baby.
Luke 1:50 And his mercy is on
them that fear him from generation to generation.
Susie: Mary may have had several passages from the Psalms in mind. We
looked up “them that fear him” on www.biblegateway.com
and came up with these as well as others: Psalms 25:14, 33:18, 34:7, 34:9,
85:9, 103:11, 13 & 17, 111:5, 145:19, and 147:11. Psalm 103 has been a
favorite of mine (Susie’s) for a long time:
Psalm
103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them
that fear him.
Psalm
103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that
fear him.
Psalm
103:17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them
that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
Luke 1:51 He hath shewed
strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their
hearts. 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of
low degree.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he
hath sent empty away.
Psalm
103:5-6 (KJV) Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is
renewed like the eagle's. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all
that are oppressed.
Susie: In Jewish thought, riches were a reward from God, which in essence
they are. However, they believed the opposite was true as well, that poverty
was a curse from God. Mary espoused the truth that God would bring down the
proud and boastful and elevate the poor and downtrodden.
Susan: In the Magnificat, Mary was announcing prophetic reality that God
would bring forth, in the fullness of time, the bringing down of the proud and
elevation of the humble. God’s salvation would be for all people who believed.
Luke 1:54 He hath helped his
servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; 55 As he spake to our fathers, to
Abraham, and to his seed forever.
Susie: God would fulfill His promise to Abraham to redeem His
people.
Susan: The time was drawing near for the Messiah to be revealed. The baby
Mary was carrying was the long awaited Anointed One promised to Abraham and
Sarah, the Savior descended from their son Isaac.
Galatians
4:4-5 (NASB) “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son,
born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were
under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
Luke 1:56 And Mary abode with
her about three months, and returned to her own house.
Susan: Mary stayed with Elizabeth her final trimester of pregnancy and
probably until John was born.
Susie: Then she went back home to Nazareth.
1.
John was filled with the Spirit even while in his mother’s womb.
2.
John jumped for joy at the sound of Mary’s voice because he
recognized by the power of the Spirit that she was carrying the Messiah.
3.
Jesus was recognized by John even though Mary was probably not
even showing yet, even though by today’s modern medical standards He would not
be “viable.”
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