In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Luke 1:39–45
I recently learned more about Zechariah and Elizabeth, and appreciated Zechariah’s response to the angel Gabriel. When informed that his wife would bear a son, and that his name would be John, Zechariah proclaimed, “I am an old man, and my wife is beyond her childbearing years.” Our pastor noted that Zechariah was a smart man and intentionally did not refer to his wife as old. But imagine Elizabeth, who had prayed for a child, finally witnessing the answer to her prayers, but her husband isn’t able to speak during her entire pregnancy!
Thankfully her young relative, Mary, arrives to visit and shares a similar story about an angel appearing to her. The faith and witness of these two women, unexpectedly expecting John the Baptist and Jesus Christ the Messiah, is one I wish we knew more about. Scripture does not expound on their relationship, on the conversations that ensued over the months that they were together. We know they were filled with the Holy Spirit and we can speculate on their conversations about the dreams they had for their unborn children. I’m confident the stories they shared about Gabriel were both daunting and comforting.
Altogether, this brief passage tells us a lot about Mary and Elizabeth. They are women of great faith who found God’s favor. They were among the first people to learn about the Messiah! They were intentional about spending time together during their pregnancies and, presumably, throughout their lives. Scripture does say that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and more than likely witnessed the birth of John the Baptist.
Mary went on her way, returning to Nazareth to tell Joseph the news. I’m also confident that Elizabeth gave her great words of wisdom on how to navigate that conversation.
May we all be a bit more like Elizabeth this holiday season: welcoming, trusting, faithful, confident and wise.
Chanda Slenk is the director of communications for the Office of Philanthropy and Engagement at Hope College.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.