Before Jesus came to earth, the known world of God’s chosen people had not heard from Him for four centuries. That is a long time of silence! No prophets. No messages. Only growing darkness of destructive deeds, people wandering and wondering with no hope, oppressed, and poor in all kinds of ways became the norm. But still there were a few devout people, (there is always a remnant), whose hearts were completely committed to God, who still clung to what God said, and still lived to obey the commandments God provided for them. For generations, these devoted few taught their children. They heard or read what the prophets foretold about the coming Messiah, the One sent from God, the One and Only who would save them—at last. And they waited—for generations—they waited.
And then, suddenly, God opened the gates of heaven and sent Light into this dark world. The Light, His One and Only Son, a part of Him, descended from His throne in heaven, transforming into the form of a fetus who settled within the womb of a virgin who was engaged to a devout man of God. Mind blowing, right?
This Light would soon pierce the darkness, bringing hope to the hopeless with salvation to those lost in the dark. His name was to be called Jesus. He is the Messiah everyone who believed longed to see come in their day. The Messiah will be The Way back to God, The Truth of who God is with what is right and good, while providing God’s gift of eternal Life. Our part is to believe, really believe—and be saved from the darkness.
Luke 1, The Message
A Virgin Conceives
26-28 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:
Good morning!
You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.
29-33 She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.
He will be great,
be called ‘Son of the Highest.’
The Lord God will give him
the throne of his father David;
He will rule Jacob’s house forever—
no end, ever, to his kingdom.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”
35 The angel answered,
The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore, the child you bring to birth
will be called Holy, Son of God.
36-38 “And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”
And Mary said,
Yes, I see it all now:
I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me
just as you say.
Then the angel left her.
Blessed Among Women
39-45 Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,
You’re so blessed among women,
and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that
the mother of my Lord visits me?
The moment the sound of your
greeting entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
believed every word would come true!
46-55 And Mary said,
I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home.
The Birth of John
57-58 When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.
59-60 On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: “No. He is to be called John.”
61-62 “But,” they said, “no one in your family is named that.” They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named.
63-64 Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, “His name is to be John.” That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah’s mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!
65-66 A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, “What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this.”
67-79 Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he came and set his people free.
He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
and in the very house of David his servant,
Just as he promised long ago
through the preaching of his holy prophets:
Deliverance from our enemies
and every hateful hand;
Mercy to our fathers,
as he remembers to do what he said he’d do,
What he swore to our father Abraham—
a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
So we can worship him without a care in the world,
made holy before him as long as we live.
And you, my child, “Prophet of the Highest,”
will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
Present the offer of salvation to his people,
the forgiveness of their sins.
Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
down the path of peace.
80 The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
We cannot separate this long passage for these two women are pivotal to God’s story of salvation. These devout women encouraged each other as they held and nurtured God’s miracles in their wombs. God gave these two women a work to do that would make the rest of their world raise their eyebrows as they did it. But they obeyed willingly and even joyfully when they were with each other.
They loved and understood each other. Elizabeth mentored Mary while Mary encouraged and helped Elizabeth. I am convinced, (because God’s ways are always perfect), that God gave opportunity for Mary to be with Elizabeth to escape the sarcastic gossip of her community. God also gave Mary, a teenager in our culture, opportunity to serve Elizabeth in her preparation for the birth of John. Both sons had very specific purposes from God. Both women felt blessed by God to obey their mission. Both women praised God no matter what the rest of the world thought! I love that!
Jesus and John
John would prepare the dark world for the Light with the message of hope, telling the world that the coming of the One who would take away the sins of the world for all who believe and repent of their sins has finally arrived. The words from John, “Behold, the Lamb of God”, will change everything. God is no longer silent! God has come to save us!
Jesus was the Light who had the power and authority to save people from their sins. Jesus was God in the flesh who came down from heaven and moved into the neighborhood of humanity who desperately needed a Savior and Lord. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin—becoming the perfect, unblemished sacrifice for all the sins of the world, so that there was no reason for anyone to perish—unless we chose to reject Him.
“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
Because God so loved these women who believed, He gave them to each other to love, support, and cherish their divine pregnancies together. Because of this gift of each other, their praises for God overflowed from their hearts and couldn’t be stopped! Songs of praise burst through the darkness of ridicule, mocking and sarcasm and was replaced with the pure, unspeakable joy of God who enveloped both! This joyous praise was exclaimed in spontaneous songs, thanking God for what He has done and is doing specifically in their lives! What a time of worship between two souls brought together by God’s call and purpose! Wow!
Our response? Trust God and believe what He says! God still does this today! He brings people into our lives who also believe with the desire to do what God says so we can love, support, encourage, and learn from each other. Don’t let an opportunity go by that God has arranged to grow a friendship with someone who provides healthy, mutual spiritual growth. Wherever God guides us in His will for His purpose, He also provides those to come beside us who understand each believers’ part in His Plan to seek and to save the lost.
Lord,
Thank you for the story of your loving servants, Mary and Elizabeth. You have touched my heart by their loving kindness for each other along with their praises to You. You gave them purpose and meaning by giving them You. You do the same for us still today. Cleanse our hearts and make us ready for your will, your agenda for us, today. Remove all that offends you as we repent. Change our minds. Refresh our souls with your new mercies. Restore the joy and peace of your salvation at work within us.
In Jesus Name, Amen
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 