This is a republish from 12/13/2017
MARY VISITS ELIZABETH
Luke 1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
The term “with haste” probably means as soon as she was able to make arrangements for the journey, as a betrothed wife was not allowed to travel alone. The views of commentators range from “immediately”, which is highly improbable, to “after Joseph had taken her to be his wife”, which appears to be contradicted in verse 56.
We are not told what city this was, but most commentators assume it to be Hebron, a Levitical city near Jerusalem (Joshua 21:8-11). If so, it would have been about 70 to 120 miles from Nazareth, depending on who you ask.
40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
This is the moment for which Mary had made the journey. At first glance, she would have known for certain that Gabriel’s words were true.
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:
In verse 15, Gabriel told Zacharias that his son John would be filled with the Holy Ghost, from his mother’s womb. Some commentators believe that this is the moment of his being filled. While John would be empowered with a life-long filling, Elizabeth appears to only be temporarily filled so she could supernaturally understand the situation and to prophesy. 2 Peter 1:21 says, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”.
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth repeats the words of Gabriel in verse 28, and reinforces his words in verses 31-33. This would be further confirmation for Mary.
“Blessed is the fruit of thy womb”- a Jewish belief was that the six measures of barley that Boaz gave Ruth (Ruth 3:15) indicated six pious men (one of which is the Messiah), with six excellencies (Isaiah 11:1-2), would be descended from her.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
At this point, there would have been neither evidence that Mary was pregnant, nor had she yet related the events. Elizabeth understood by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The word translated here as “Lord”, can refer to God or to a human master. Catholics claim it means God, thus their phrase “mother of God”. Protestants believe it means master, and thus refers to the Messiah. This is basically the same argument that Jesus refers to in Luke 20:41-44 when He speaks of the messiah being both David’s Lord and son..
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
The leaping appears to be an extraordinary movement of the child. The word used in this verse, and verse 41, is only found elsewhere in Luke 6:23 when Jesus says, “Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven”.
45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
Not only did Mary have to accept God’s will (verse 38), she had to believe it. (See also- John 20:29)
Catholics view this verse as “blessed is Mary”. Protestants view this verse as “Mary is subject to blessings because she believed”. Jesus, however, seems to contradict the former view. Luke 11:27-28 says, “And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
Verses 46-55 are called the song of Mary. The word translated “magnify” means to exalt or to enlarge. Mary is basically saying that, to the very core of her being, God has become more magnificent.
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Some suggest that “God my saviour” refers to Jesus (who is God) which comes to save the world from their sins. Yet, I think Mary is referring to God the Father, as the phrase is common in the Old Testament. (See also- 1 Timothy 1:1; 2:3-5)
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
The term “the low estate” means humble or humiliation. Many commentators view the term to be a reference to her status in society. Yet, Mary specifically notes her submissive estate of being God’s handmaiden. Otherwise, her reference to herself of being the Lord’s handmaiden would be self-commendation, and nullify her humbleness.
The word translated here as “shall call me blessed” is only used one other place in the Bible- James 5:11 (a reference to prophets who suffered affliction). It literally means “pronounced blessed for having received blessings”.
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
This verse continues the point of the last verse- “…all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things…”. Mary now begins to shift from her own condition, to the attributes of God.
The term “He is mighty” refers to God’s omnipotence, and reiterates the words of Gabriel (verse 37) that “with God nothing shall be impossible”.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
Many Christians get uncomfortable when the Bible talks about fearing God, since they feel we are to love God, not fear Him. Most commentators try to soften the word “fear” and translate it into “reverence”, “respect”, or “a sense of awe”. But, the word literally means “flee in terror”. This is the same word used, in Matthew 17:6, to describe the fear that the disciples felt when they fell face-down, petrified with terror at hearing the voice of God. It is the same word used, in Mark 4:35-41, to describe the fear of death that the disciples felt when about to drown in a great storm. They didn’t have respect or reverence for the storm, they were terrified of it. It is the word used, in Mark 5:33, to describe how a woman felt when faced the strong possibility of death by stoning.
Yet, ironically, the fear of God does not drive us away from Him, it draws us to Him. We can only understand the love of God, if we understand the judgment of God. We can never really understand the death of Jesus, on the cross, unless we understand that we should have been the ones to die there. We can never understand the love of God, unless we understand why we should fear Him. Jesus said, in Matthew 10:28; Luke 12:5, that we should not be afraid of someone who can kill us, but to be afraid of the one who can kill us and cast us into hell. When we truly realize the punishment we deserve, then we can begin to realize how loving and merciful God is toward us. (See- Psalm 103:10-17)
Fearing God allows us to see how great is His mercy toward us. The more we understand what God could (justly) do to us, the more we see His mercy. The more intense our fear of God, the more we will see His love, and the less we fear Him. I believe that is why most Christians have, at best, a mediocre relationship with God. We have never allowed ourselves to understand the fear of God.
51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
The proud imagined, in their hearts, that they were better than others. Yet, Mary gives a picture of the winnowing of wheat, in which the chaff is blown away.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
The word, translated here as “put down”, generally refers to destruction or demolition. The mighty, in their seats, refers to kings and rulers. Daniel 2:21 says, “he removeth kings, and setteth up kings”.
Jesus said, in Luke 18:14, “…for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
It is generally agreed that this refers to both physical and spiritual blessings.
54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
The word for “servant”, can also be translated “child”, which would read- His child Israel (see- Isaiah 46:3-4; 49:14-16).
55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
Some say this verse should read “…his mercy to Abraham (as he spake to our fathers), and to his seed for ever.” God’s mercy was that through Abraham, all the world should be blessed (Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14).
56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
As Luke shifts his focus to Elizabeth, and Mary is no longer mentioned in this setting, many suppose that Mary was not present at the birth of John. Yet logic suggests that her departure was not until after Elizabeth delivered her child.
There is much debate on whether “her home” refers to her parents home, or Joseph’s home. Luke apparently felt that both points of debate in this verse were too unimportant to give further details.
NEXT- THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
the coming tribulation 