Sunday November 27, 2022
Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye
When the time came for God to send His only Son to this earth to be born of a woman, God chose a man, John the Baptist, to be the forerunner of Christ’s birth, to proclaim the coming of the Lord. As the world blindly continued on, God was unveiling the greatest miracle of all to provide salvation for that same sleeping world.
Elizabeth and Zechariah, the chosen parents of this forerunner, were a Godly couple, righteous before God. Zechariah, serving as a priest, was chosen to burn incense in the temple of the Lord. While there, an angel of the Lord appeared to him with startling news; Elizabeth, his wife, though late in years, was to give birth to a son, whom he should name John. His son, John, would be used by the Lord to turn the hearts of the people toward righteousness, preparing them for the coming of the Lord.
What of Elizabeth? We are not told much about Elizabeth; it seemed as though she received her husband’s news joyfully with no doubt in her mind as to its possibility. God fulfilled the words of the angel, and Elizabeth became pregnant. We are told that in her sixth month, Mary came to visit her.
Mary had made the journey all the way from Nazareth to visit her relative Elizabeth. The same angel who had spoken to Zechariah in the temple had whispered the secret of the older woman’s pregnancy to the virgin, who was also with child. The magnificent song of praise that burst from Mary’s lips during their meeting may have taken shape during the course of her sixty-mile journey south, to the hill country of Judea where Elizabeth lived.
I have always loved this interchange between Mary and Elizabeth. I picture it happened something like this:
The older woman stepped carefully down the stairs and into the house to welcome her guest. But with the young woman’s words of greeting came something that felt like a gale force wind, shaking the beams and rafters of the house. Steadying herself, the older woman felt suddenly invigorated. Her unborn baby leapt inside her as she shouted out a welcoming response:
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (Lk.1:41-45 NIV)
When Elizabeth recognized the miracle within Mary, she did not react with jealousy or envy. She instead blessed Mary and encouraged her in the fulfillment of His Word. To encourage means, “the process of being built up, progressively advancing in knowledge and holiness.”
Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. (1 Thess.5:11)
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. (Eph.4:29)
Remember, Elizabeth was dealing with many things before Mary arrived. First, she was dealing with the consequences of an unbelieving husband…not unbelieving of God Himself, but of His ability to work miracles and fulfill promises. We also know that she had been in seclusion for five months (Lk.1:24). On top of it all, she was six months pregnant! But she laid down her life for the sake of a frightened and lonely young mother-to-be. She greeted her with a holy gentleness. A woman past menopause and a teenage virgin…what a faith stretcher!! (See WORD WISDOM for a deeper study of gentleness)
Now Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months…just think of the time they had together discussing the miraculous way God was working in their lives. What is most impressive is their immediate acceptance and faith of God’s working in their lives. Oh, to have that kind of faith in our own daily lives!
The two women held each other, their bonds of kinship now stronger than what mere flesh and blood could forge. For Israel’s God—the God of Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Deborah, Naomi, Ruth, Abigail, and Hannah—was on the move again, bringing the long-ago promise to fulfillment. And blessed was she who did not doubt that what the Lord had said to her would be accomplished.
God always keeps His promises! For hundreds of years, God had been telling the people of Israel that he would send a Messiah. One who would provide a direct bridge to God Himself… One whose sacrifice would provide redemption for all time. The events in this first chapter of Luke are just the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise to His people. With Mary we can say:
My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! (Lk.1:46-47 NIV)
This same God is alive and at work in our lives as well. Nothing that God has ordained to come to pass will fail; everything is according to His great love and mercy. His plan for man continues to advance exactly on schedule.
As we think of the miraculous events of the Christmas story, especially of the faith of Elizabeth, may we, too, be filled with joy that God has so worked in the lives of man that His only Son came to this earth, born as a baby, for the sole purpose of saving a people for Himself. How amazing is that?! Comfort someone with His story this Christmas…it’s what the Good News is all about!
