Mary's Visit With Elizabeth Series

We understand why this is news. Many companies need a year-end consumer spending frenzy to stay afloat financially. Yet there’s something in me that doesn’t like people talking about a “bad” Christmas, even when it refers to poor retail sales. How can the celebration of the birth of the Messiah, the Savior of the world, ever be bad?

Let’s once again recapture the joy of the season. Rather than focusing the celebrating, let’s focus on the event we’re celebrating. It’s Jesus birth we are honoring, and that always makes for a good Christmas.] As we focus our attention on Jesus we too can recapture the joy of the Christmas season.

III. THE POWER OF FAITH, 1:45.

Elizabeth continues to affirm Mary’s experience and encourages her still more in verse 45. “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Here Mary herself is called blessed and we learn why Mary can be so blessed. “Blessed is she who believed” in contrast to Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah who did not believe. Mary believed Gabriel’s words (compare v. 20). Mary believed that what God had said would come true. So inspired by the Holy Spirit Elizabeth commends Mary’s faith, encourages her faith and blesses her faith. Blessed is she that believed. Faith brings blessing. Believing souls are blessed souls.

Mary believed that what had never happened before, conception a apart from a human father, would happen to her. She believed that within her virgin womb lived the Messiah. She believed that the Hope of all the ages would be realized in her child. We see her manifest her faith by complete surrender to God’s will. She believed that God keeps His promises.

Elizabeth said Mary was blessed (makaria, “happy”) because she believed what God had told her. We too have the power to affirm and bless each other just as Elizabeth did. Find someone who has surrendered to the will of God and living their life according to His word and then affirm and bless them too.

In CLOSING

Mary responded to the angelic message by going to stay with Elizabeth until just before the birth of her child. Mary’s visit provided further confirmation of the message in that she was greeted by Elizabeth apparently spontaneously with a blessing. She realized that Mary was to be the mother of the Messiah, and she was overjoyed that she should visit her. She would then praise and bless Mary for believing the angel’s word [Marshall, I. H. (1994). Luke. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 983). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press].

Elizabeth’s praise both began and ended with an insightful reference to Mary’s blessedness. Those that have experienced the fulfilment of God’s promises themselves should encourage others to hope that He will be as good as His word to them also [Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1824). Peabody: Hendrickson].