Every story has a “back story.”  Here is the Truth of how God demonstrated His love for us through the pregnancies of Elizabeth and Mary.

“Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.  He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:11-17

 ^“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

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 favored, 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 fulfill his promises to her!”  Luke 1:26-45

TWO COUSINS SENT BY GOD TO BRING THE WORLD TO THEIR KNEES!

One was John, son of a priest and his wife. 

The other one was Jesus, the son of God, born to a virgin and a carpenter.

Yes, John was the earthly cousin of Jesus.  He was born of Elizabeth who was a cousin of Mary.  From before John was born, God gave him purpose and a deep sense of compassion for the lost living in sin without God.  It didn’t matter who you were or what you did, John wanted to bring you to God in repentance to God.  There was no hint of making the message pretty and palatable, John spoke Truth with power and passion from God.  John lived a minimalist lifestyle in the dessert by a river who prepared the path for Jesus, God’s Son.  Jesus would pick up where John left off with the message and same ministry of seeking and saving the lost.  There were differences in the way the two men ministered; but both had the same central focus and mission.  The lost can be saved through repentance of sin to God.  The lost can be found and be known as children of God who live God’s Kingdom ways.

Most were drawn to this passion and power of delivery of what God wants from all of us—to turn back to Him, repent and be saved forever—but others chose to say no even though they were enticed by God’s message, to live until death with a guilty conscience.  Herod was one of them.

Mark 6, The Message

The Death of John

¹⁴ King Herod heard of all this, for by this time the name of Jesus was on everyone’s lips. He said, “This has to be John the Baptizer come back from the dead—that’s why he’s able to work miracles!”

¹⁵ Others said, “No, it’s Elijah.”

Others said, “He’s a prophet, just like one of the old-time prophets.”

¹⁶ But Herod wouldn’t budge: “It’s John, sure enough. I cut off his head, and now he’s back, alive.”

^17-20 Herod was the one who had ordered the arrest of John, put him in chains, and sent him to prison at the nagging of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had provoked Herod by naming his relationship with Herodias “adultery.” Herodias, smoldering with hate, wanted to kill him, but didn’t dare because Herod was in awe of John. Convinced that he was a holy man, he gave him special treatment. Whenever he listened to him he was miserable with guilt—and yet he couldn’t stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back.

^21-22 But a portentous day arrived when Herod threw a birthday party, inviting all the brass and bluebloods in Galilee. Herodias’s daughter entered the banquet hall and danced for the guests. She charmed Herod and the guests.

^22-23 The king said to the girl, “Ask me anything. I’ll give you anything you want.” Carried away, he kept on, “I swear, I’ll split my kingdom with you if you say so!”

²⁴ She went back to her mother and said, “What should I ask for?”

“Ask for the head of John the Baptizer.”

²⁵ Excited, she ran back to the king and said, “I want the head of John the Baptizer served up on a platter. And I want it now!”

^26-29 That sobered the king up fast. But unwilling to lose face with his guests, he caved in and let her have her wish. The king sent the executioner off to the prison with orders to bring back John’s head. He went, cut off John’s head, brought it back on a platter, and presented it to the girl, who gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and got the body and gave it a decent burial.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God created each one of us with a purpose and plan because of His love for us:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

John led the world to God, then to Jesus, God Son, who would save us forever.

Believe, repent of sins, and be saved and made whole!  As redeemed people devoted to follow Jesus, we are guilt free!  We are free to live in His Presence as He abides in us.  We are free to love like He loves.  We are free to grow in His character—with the help of His Holy Spirit.  We are free and ready to live in expectant hope of life forever with Him!  Yes, repentance of sins to One without sin who paid our debt of sin for us sets us all free!

No more guilty conscience but a life abundant and free!  What does this mean?  We are not perfect, but we are perfectly forgiven.  If we fall or begin to stray, and we will, because God’s love never stops and never gives up on us, His Holy Spirit convicts us so we can get right back on the path again.

Don’t live in guilt—it’s a miserable place to hang out—just ask Herod who died in guilt.

Lord,

Thank you for different slant of perspective on a familiar story.  Thank you for the thoughts you put in our minds to keep us from falling back into the old habits of our old life. Thank you for pulling us back in with the power and wisdom of your Holy Spirit who lives in the hearts of the redeemed.  Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, refresh and fill our souls of your new mercies fresh every morning and restore the joy and peace of your salvation at work with us.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

In Jesus Name, Amen