how to be a life-speaker FEAT. Elizabeth the cousin of Mary
The year before Jesus our Messiah was born, we peer over the hills of Judah and see a woman wrinkled from years of service exuding luscious laughter of praise. She was a priest’s wife, so you can imagine the amount of eyes that were constantly watching her every move in marriage, to the well, in the temple. She and her husband lived blameless lives according to the ancient law. They were righteous before God. They continued to press on in service to the Father and His church, even after four hundred years of silence from any prophets or angels. While she was held in high regard because of these things, she had one, major reproach before everyone in their community: she was barren. As family making was the primary role of women and families in this day, this was a disgrace to her every time she met a family in the street while she walked alone. But she and her husband walked blamelessly, even before the miracle was a thought in their minds.
This woman was Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary. Her husband was Zechariah, the country priest, the faithful servant, the laughing doubter.
Zechariah was greeted by an angel saying that his wife would give birth. Much like Sarah, they laughed at the thought. Me? At this age? Me? The one disgraced? Me, the one who has been overlooked for all these years? The angel said that their prayers were answered, but Zechariah’s surprise means that perhaps the prayers felt a little too outdated to be answered.
Shortly after the angel left, Zechariah and Elizabeth conceived a baby boy that was to be the herald of the Messiah. In that culture, it was typical for a ruler to have an announcement, someone to pave the way for his reign. God, who spoke the language of their humanity, continued this honored tradition in sending John the Baptist.
Elizabeth would go from reproached to raising a son that was compared to Elijah the prophet; from barren to bearing John the Baptist! She needed time and space to reflect on this massive shift and miracle, so she retreated for five months. We can gather that she spent time in worship and preparation, a woman thinking she’s headed for retirement and thrown into the world of newborns. She exuded joy in her heart’s desire being fulfilled and for the purposes that God would accomplish through her.
When Elizabeth was six months along with John the Baptist, Mary had just heard from the angel about her favor and calling to carry the Messiah. She rushed to tell her girlfriend. (We can relate to that, right?)
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
What would your response have been to a young girl showing up to your doorstep, claiming that she was miraculously bearing the Son of God? Would you have welcomed her? Would you have celebrated her? Perhaps the miracle in Elizabeth’s womb prepared her heart to receive this news from Mary. But either way, Mary nervously makes her way and finds what Elizabeth so beautifully embodies: life, the Holy Spirit, joy, humility, and affirmation.
She confirmed in Mary what she thought could only be a dream. Sometimes it takes a sister to come along to tell you that what was only in your head, should be birthed into the world.
Instead of speaking dread, she spoke life. Most conversations at baby showers include the phrases, “Just you wait.” And while Elizabeth was well acquainted with hardship and surely knew the responsibility of a family, she knew that God’s promises and purposes were bigger than these two women’s inconveniences. In Donald Guthrie’s book Jesus the Messiah, he describes the beauty of Elizabeth’s blessing in this way: “What is cherished in the mind will spring to life when the opportunity demands.” By this we know that Elizabeth preached to her own heart so well that she was able to share it spontaneously with her sister.
She had an extremely generous heart to be happy for Mary. Guthrie continues: ““The sheer blessedness of the woman chosen to be the mother of the Lord powerfully impressed Elizabeth. This was the highest honor any Jewish woman could have. Elizabeth showed the spontaneous reaction of a generous-hearted woman who was content with the lesser honor of being mother of the herald.” Here is this woman who had been waiting her entire life to have a child, and now she would carry the herald of the teenager’s baby. For her to say, “And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” to her younger cousin had to take incredible humility and devotion to 1) what God had individually called her to do and 2) an excitement over God’s plan for all eternity.
Instead of getting lost in comparison, Elizabeth celebrated! She threw a party! Maybe there weren’t sparkling La Croix and popcorn, but there were words of joy that gladdened Mary’s heart. There was a miracle in Elizabeth’s life and a miracle in Mary’s, and their baby boys would grow up to both herald the Kingdom of God. In the womb of Elizabeth, John the Baptist leaped for joy when Mary arrived. When they were grown men and both walking in their ministries, Jesus would call John the Baptist the “greatest born of women.”
And most of all, Elizabeth’s response brought Mary to a place of worship to God. Mary did not sing a song that said, “Wow, I wonder how this is going to happen. I can’t raise the Son of God. What will people think? This isn’t what I planned.” She said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” Her words to Mary did not spark self-centered thoughts of worry or distrust or comparison, but pointed her to the God who called her in the first place. Elizabeth’s graciousness did not leave Mary in awe of her, but to the God that had called them to wild and beautiful lives. Let our words to every brother and sister do the same, in the Spirit’s power (Luke 1v41)!
