|
In Luke 1:41, Luke informs the reader that Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit: "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." This is most significant. The Holy Spirit would come upon people in the Old Testament, but since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon followers of Jesus and dwelled. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, and she does what Holy-Spirit-filled people do, and that is speak. Acts 4:31 states, "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness."
Thabiti Anyabwile writes, "By the filling of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth gets loud and blesses Mary as well as her baby Jesus in the womb. Apparently Elizabeth receives a revelation from God. Once Mary walks into the room, Elizabeth announces without prior communication that Mary carries her Lord. Elizabeth knows that Mary has believed the word she received from the Lord. Even the fetus John leaps for joy in his mother's womb when Mary, carrying Jesus, enters." (Source: Anyabwile, Exalting Jesus in Luke)
Joy changes us. This elderly lady Elizabeth is about to get loud. Verse 42 says she spoke with a megas phone, a loud voice. Why? Was Mary hard of hearing? No; her cousin was so excited that she had to speak up and speak out! Joy does that to us. More specifically, Jesus' joy does that for us, His people.
Notice in Luke 1:42 that Elizabeth blesses both Mary and the Baby she is carrying. The Greek word translated "blessed" is eulogeo, which means a good word and praise. Stein brings up a helpful exegetical point when he writes, "Although the two blessings stand essentially parallel, i.e., they are in parataxis, the first stands logically in subordination to the second. Mary's blessedness was based on the blessedness of the child she would bear. This fits an OT pattern in which the second blessing gives the cause of the first (cf. Gen 14:19–20; Deuteronomy 7:14; Ruth 2:20)." (Source: Stein, Luke, p. 90)
Joyful hearts have no difficulty or hesitancy in blessing, affirming, and encouraging others.
In Luke 1:43 we see the humility and accuracy of Elizabeth. I love the fact she asks why she has been so favored or blessed that Mary would come to her. Notice what she calls the Baby that her cousin Mary is carrying; she calls Him "my Lord." That is most revealing and a powerful declaration. Even before Peter makes his profession of faith that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16), here you have Elizabeth making the proclamation that Mary's Baby is Lord (the Greek word is kyrios).
Thabiti Anyabwile states,
|
Apple
Spotify
Deezer
YouTube
