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One week from today is Christmas Day! Some of you have all your decorations in order, have finished all your shopping, and cannot wait for the big day. Others are working hard to wrap up work and squeeze out some time to go shopping for presents. May God bless each of you as we slow down and ponder anew the amazing miracle of that first Christmas, the day God came to earth in the form of a baby.
This week in our devotions, we are walking through Luke 1:39-45, where Mary, the mother of Jesus, travels to meet her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. It is a powerful story that teaches us many truths. Luke 1:40 states, "and [she] entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth." This seems like a simple statement of fact: Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth. But notice that once she arrived, she greeted her. The word in Greek means to salute. I like that. It also means to wish well and receive joyfully.
The joy of Jesus changes us: it changes our outlook on life, how we respond to people, treat others, and interact with others. I love the testimonies of how God invades our unknown and scary moments and revolutionizes our circumstances.
One of the neat truths I gathered from my study of this text is in verses 41 and 44: "And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy." Joy empowers us to bring others joy.
Verse 41 is a very powerful and revealing verse in the Bible. Mary's greeting was not some humdrum "Hello, Cuz. What's happening?" Nor did she greet with a complaint; rather, she was excited, and she had much joy. This is what the presence of Jesus does for us all; His presence brings everlasting joy. The verse says the baby (John) leaped in her (Elizabeth's) womb, and verse 44 expounds upon it, stating that the baby leaped with joy. I love this. There are four people in this scene: Mary and Elizabeth, whom we see, and Jesus and John, whom we do not see. Even though we cannot see them, they are very much alive! Robert Stein writes, "Just as John the Baptist in his ministry was to be Jesus' precursor and prepare his way (1:17, 76), so even here he prepared the way, i.e., he announced the Messiah's presence by leaping in his mother's womb." (Source: Stein, Luke, p. 89)
Here is the picture I have been looking forward to sharing with you:
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