C. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (1:39–45)
C. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (1:39–45)
39–40. Mary lost no time in paying a visit to her kinswoman. Gabriel visited her in Elizabeth’s sixth month (36) and she returned home after a visit of about three months (56), apparently before the birth of John. She must therefore have set out almost immediately after the angel’s visit. The hill country of Judah ‘Judah’ not Judeaa emphasizes the connection with the great patriarch) does not locate the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth with any precision, but it does make it clear that they were country folk. Attempts to identify the place have not been successful.
41–42. At the moment of Mary’s greeting the baby moved in Elizabeth’s womb. Movements of the foetus are not, of course, uncommon. But Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and under his inspiration interpreted the movement as the expression of her unborn baby’s joy (44). Her loud cry (or ‘shout’, kraugē) shows excitement. Her words are printed as prose in our Bibles, but actually they form a little poem. She greets Mary as Blessed … among women (which reflects a Hebrew construction meaning ‘the most blessed of women’). There may be a contrast with Zechariah, who had a visit from an angel but who responded very differently.
43–45. The use of the title my Lord shows that Elizabeth recognized that Mary’s child would be the Messiah (cf. Ps. 110:1; ‘Lord’ is used of God twenty-five times in chs. 1 – 2; it is an exalted title). She goes on to explain that at Mary’s greeting her own baby leaped for joy (the word means ‘exultation’) in her womb. It was this that enabled her to recognize Mary for what she was. She concludes with a further blessing of Mary. We should probably take her words to mean ‘Blessed is she who believed, for there will be … ’ (the Greek is ambiguous, but ‘for’ seems better than ‘that’). Elizabeth is affirming that the fulfilment will certainly take place, not saying that Mary believed it would.
We should not miss the absence of all jealousy in Elizabeth’s attitude to Mary. The older woman, who had received such a signal blessing from the Lord, might well have tried to guard her position jealously. But in genuine humility she recognized the greater blessing God had given to Mary. A further point of interest is that John the Baptist did not recognize Jesus as Messiah until the baptism (John 1:32f.). Apparently Elizabeth’s recognition that he is Lord was inspired, but personal. John had to find it out for himself.