Morning Moments

PART II

MARY AND ELIZABETH REJOICE - Luke 1:39-56

I. The Journey

LUKE 1:39. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 40. And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

The Bible Background Commentary says that the journey may have taken three to five days. One can only imagine, despite the assurance of the Holy Spirit, the thoughts that might have been running through this young girl's mind. With whom can I safely share this wonderful news? "I know, I know" she might have exclaimed, "I must go and visit the two most godly people I know, Zacharias and Elisabeth, after all they are family and love the God who has brought this miracle to me." And with that plans were made that she join a caravan so that she would be safe, and off she went.

Casting pearl before swine is a real danger in our walk with the Lord. Mary was very discerning. She knew in her heart who would understand and who would rejoice with her at this amazing news of great joy.

II. The Joy

41. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

The very sound of the voice of Mary in her greeting stirred the forerunner in the womb of Elisabeth. Movement in the womb at that point is nothing particularly unusual, but for one babe in the womb to respond to the other babe in the womb in such a manner is miraculous.

God gives confirmation in some pretty strange ways of what He is doing or has done. Aged Elisabeth knew that the God of miracles had brought the mother of the Messiah to her home and both began to praise the Lord and John was supernaturally filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother's womb.

III. The Jubilation

A. From Elisabeth
42. And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44. For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Mary is blessed because she has been chosen from all the women in the world to house in her womb the One who created it all, and amazingly, in the form of a tiny baby. Once again the "how" fades into oblivion when one understands the "Who". This is the covenant keeping God mysteriously and miraculously becoming a Man in a way no one could have imagined. It's just like God to do something in a way that has never been done, could never be done by man, and in a way that appears so natural but is so supernatural.

B. From Mary

46. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. 50. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. 51. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. 54. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; 55. As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. 56. And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

There is so much to see in these verses, but for the sake of space I only want to look at three:

Mary's Body, soul, and spirit. The body is the world conscious part of every human being. It is the means by which we communicate with the world and the world with us through sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. It is the part of you that houses you and it was the part of Mary that "housed" the Lord.

Secondly is the soul which is the part of every human that consists of the intellect or mind, the will, and the emotions. This is where we made our choices, develop our opinions and our feelings. This is the self conscious part of each of us and this is the part upon which psychology focuses.

Then there is the deepest part of us which is called spirit and was designed to be the place of worship. It is the inner sanctum of every person and is that part of us that is a void of vacuum without the Spirit of God. It is there, when we become believers that the Spirit of God testifies to our spirits that we ARE the children of God.

This is called the Magnificat and is a true example of worship. We can see how filled her heart was with the Word of God as she quotes parts of no less than seventeen different Scripture passages.

So in essence, the totally of Mary's being was given over to God in worship for what He had done. It should be the same for us.

BLESSINGS!