Luke 1:39-80
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child 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 by the Lord.”
Mary’s Song of Praise
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
78 By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon[d] us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.
What does the passage say?
V. 39-45 After the messenger left, Mary visits Elizabeth, who also had the same kind of visit. As soon as Elizabeth knows that Mary is approaching, she becomes full of Spirit and prophesizes. She blesses Mary and rejoices how God’s words will be revealed through them.
V. 46-55 This is a significant proclamation of Mary. The message that she bore was sensational at that time. It involved the risk of being stoned to death, at that culture. However, we see how her fear had transformed into joy. She rejoices in the Lord and embraces her identity and call to become a God-bearer to this world.
V. 57-66 The story shifts to the birth of John. Instead of being named, as the traditional family name, he is named Joh, which was in God’s plan.
V. 67-80 Zechariah, John’s father who was dumb during pregnancy, was finally able to open his mouth. The first thing he does is to praise God for his faithfulness.
What does the passage say to you and me?
“His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50, NRSV)
This is what Mary proclaims. We need to understand this verse well. It starts with God’s grace, and mercy continuing to flow in God’s chosen nation. Through Jesus Christ, God is fulfilling the promise God made with Abraham. And God’s grace has been overflowing in the nation. Mary sees it.
However, there is a prerequisite. It is to fear God. ‘Fear’ is not the fear that we know when it is used for being intimidated by God. It is more close to reverence. Like it is used in Proverbs, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10 NASB). It is respecting God and honoring God. For God’s grace and mercy to continue in our lives, we need to make sure we respect and honor God.
Some say that God’s Love is unbounded that it reaches out to us before we ask. I agree that God’s love is bigger than I can ever comprehend. However, I have seen, too many times, even though God’s love reaches out to a person, in a form of a miracle or other, if that person doesn’t respect or honor God, there is no transformation.
So we need to go back and focus on how to honor our Lord, with our lives, in reverence. It starts with our personal and public worship. When we see how our worship to our Lord is restored, we will also see how God’s mercy was evident, and see how it will continue.
Let’s Pray
Lord, we are thankful for your mercy. Even though we don’t deserve your grace, we see how your grace is new every day. Help us to fear you, Lord. Help us to honor you, with our lives. Help us, and this generation to see your mercy, as we humble our lives to you. In Christ name we pray, Amen.
What are your thoughts?
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