Introduction
In our Fifth Lesson this evening, we learned about the angel Gabriel vis-iting Mary and telling her that she would become pregnant with a son. That son would be Jesus.
Gabriel also told Mary that her relative, Elizabeth, had conceived a son and was in her sixth month of pregnancy.
Tonight, I want to tell you about Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. When Eliza-beth saw Mary, she burst out into a song of blessing. We call her song Elizabeth’s Benedicta.
Scripture
Let me read Luke 1:39-45:
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill coun-try, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby 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 from the Lord.”
Lesson
Elizabeth’s song of blessing in Luke 1:39-45 shows us how God confirms faith.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. God Confirms Faith by Personal Confirmation (1:39-40)
2. God Confirms Faith by Physical Confirmation (1:41a, 44)
3. God Confirms Faith by Prophetic Confirmation (1:41b-43, 45)
I. God Confirms Faith by Personal Confirma-tion (1:39-40)
First, God confirms faith by personal confirmation.
Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive a baby by the power of the Holy Spirit and that Elizabeth was already six months pregnant.
So, Luke said that in those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah (1:39), which is where Elizabeth lived.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months (1:56), probably until just after her baby, John, was born.
When Mary arrived, she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth (1:40).
The two women would have shared their amazing recent encounters with the angel Gabriel.
What a wonderful encouragement they would have been to each other!
Gabriel had visited Zechariah and Mary.
He said that Elizabeth and Mary would each conceive miraculously: Eliz-abeth in her old age, and Mary without human intervention.
Now they were both pregnant, and although Mary’s pregnancy was not yet evident, Elizabeth’s pregnancy was clearly apparent for all to see.
So, hearing Elizabeth’s account and seeing her pregnant must have been a tremendous encouragement to Mary.
God gave Mary a personal confirmation that his word to her is indeed accurate.
II. God Confirms Faith by Physical Confirma-tion (1:41a; 44)
Second, God confirms faith by physical confirmation.
Luke said that when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb (1:41).
Apparently, this was not the normal movement of a baby in his moth-er’s womb.
In fact, Elizabeth said to Mary, “For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy” (1:44).
The baby in Elizabeth’s womb was John.
According to Gabriel, he was going to go before (1:17) and announce the arrival of the Christ (3:4-6).
This, then, was John’s first testimony pointing to the arrival of the Christ, the Lord Jesus!
So, the baby’s leap in Elizabeth’s womb provided a wonderful physical confirmation to Mary.
III. God Confirms Faith by Prophetic Confirma-tion (1:41b-43, 45)
And third, God confirms faith by prophetic confirmation.
This is expressed in several different ways.
A. Filling of the Holy Spirit (1:41b)
First, notice the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Luke said that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (1:41b).
In fact, Gabriel had already told Zechariah that his son John would be filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb (1:15).
In biblical times, being filled with the Holy Spirit was often connected to speaking a message from God.
B. Mary Is Blessed (1:42a)
Second, notice that Mary is blessed.
Luke said Elizabeth exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women” (1:42a).
Elizabeth’s point was that Mary was the most blessed of all women be-cause she would bear the greatest child.
Although Gabriel had told Zechariah that his own son would be great, Elizabeth humbly acknowledged that Mary’s son would be greater still.
Elizabeth’s son, John, would be the Christ’s forerunner, but Mary’s son, Jesus, would be the Christ himself.
Elizabeth acknowledged that Mary had received the greater privilege and honor.
Elizabeth was thrilled at the privilege of being the mother of the Christ’s forerunner, but even more so that the Christ was coming.
C. Jesus Is Blessed (1:42b)
Third, notice that Jesus is blessed.
Elizabeth continued her song and said, “And blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (1:42b).
That familiar Old Testament phrase (cf. Genesis 30:2; Deuteronomy 7:13; Psalm 127:3; Isaiah 13:18) is used only here in the New Testament, and it refers to Jesus.
D. Jesus Is Lord (1:43)
Fourth, notice that Jesus is Lord.
Elizabeth then said, “And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (1:43).
Elizabeth referred to Jesus as “my Lord.”
She is therefore the first person in the New Testament to confess her faith in Jesus as Lord.
Clearly, Elizabeth recognized that she was a sinner.
She knew God's promise to send the Christ, who would come and pay the penalty for sin.
And now, even though she could not yet see him, she recognized that the baby in Mary’s womb, Jesus, was her Lord!
E. Faith Is Blessed (1:45)
And finally, notice that faith is blessed.
Elizabeth said, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord”(1:45).
Mary was blessed not only because of her privilege as the mother of the Christ, but primarily because of her faith in the fulfillment of what the Lord had spoken to her.
By using the third-person pronoun “she,” Elizabeth indicated that God would bless everyone who has faith in Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Elizabeth’s Benedicta is a fantastic song of blessing.
This Christmas Eve, that blessing can be yours too.
Put your trust in Jesus.
Believe that he came to be born, to live, and to die to pay the penalty for all your sins.
When you do so, you, too, like Mary and Elizabeth, will be blessed. Amen.
