The Affirmation of the Promise

December 11, 2016 Background Scripture: Luke 1:39 – 56 Lesson Passage: Luke 1:39 – 56 Let’s face it; it’s difficult to keep an exciting experience to yourself. This is even more so the case when the experience involves a divinely inspired encounter. In other words, when the experience is in fact a testimony about God’s dealing with you. Mary had a testimony that she could not keep to herself. Mary had just received the strangest and most wonderful news of her life. And it appears that she was still a young woman. This was not hearsay or a feeling that she had but instead the angel Gabriel, who is privileged to stand in the very presence of God and serve as God’s personal messenger to persons across the ages who have found favor in God’s sight, had delivered a personal message to Mary from the very throne of God. The time was approaching for the son of God to be born into the world in human flesh and God chose Mary to be Jesus’ mother. Gabriel delivered the news to her. Furthermore, Gabriel informed Mary that God had also blessed her formerly barren cousin, Elizabeth, to conceive a baby and she was in her sixth month of pregnancy. Sometimes, the easiest person to share this kind of good news with is someone who is experiencing some good news of their own. So Mary headed out for the hill country to share some time and conversation with Elizabeth. Upon arrival at Elizabeth’s house and before Mary could share her good news, the unborn John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice greeting Elizabeth. This set off a chain reaction inside of Elizabeth whereby she was filled with the Holy Spirit and received the revelation of Mary’s news directly from Heaven. Elizabeth received the good news from the Holy Spirit before Mary had time to share it. Elizabeth celebrated by declaring the blessing of Mary’s presence because she was the one chosen by God to bring the Lord into the world by childbirth. The chain reaction set off by Elizabeth’s unborn baby convinced her that she was blessed by the presence of Mary in her house. Mary responded by declaring praise and worship for God who had chosen someone of low estate such as herself. After their celebration of praise for God, Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months—which would have been up to the time of Elizabeth giving birth to John the Baptist. The greetings and the aftermath which followed were the affirmation of the promises of God concerning the Messiah’s birth. God could have accomplished all of this without the praise and adoration from Mary and Elizabeth. He could have involved all of the religious leaders of Galilee and Judea. Instead, He chose two poor Jewish women and shared with them the fullness of His divine actions surrounding the birth of the Savior. There were things of theological significance that were too complicated for them to comprehend and that very well would have confounded the Jewish religious scholars. The details were previously given in prophetic messages but they remained hidden in plain sight for centuries. But when God affirmed the promise, the details were affirmed as well. Robert C. Hudson November 21, 2016