Imagine that you are just a young, teenaged girl living a quiet life in a small farming town. It’s an average, quiet day and you are going about your chores when suddenly, an angel appears and tells you that you are going to have a baby. You are betrothed, but not yet married, and have probably dreamed most of your life about being a mom (most girls do), but it is unlikely you expected it to be suddenly happening in the immediate future. And not only a baby, but God’s Son, the Messiah.
I am certain that Mary was excited and overwhelmed. She probably was running back and forth from one thing to the next trying to decide what to do and who to tell. But, being unmarried, who could she tell? This was incredibly good news, but at the same time, not something she could tell folks…
Read verses 39-45. We are told that Mary readied herself and hurried off to a town in the hill country of Judea where Zacharias and Elisabeth lived. Elisabeth would have been Mary’s cousin, by marriage, making the babies they were carrying second cousins. These babies would know each other growing up. Here was somewhere Mary could go to share her excitement without having to worry about the judgment of the neighbors. Two relatives, each excited by their questionable pregnancies, sharing this wonderful experience together.
Two things happened to Elisabeth when she heard Mary enter her home and call out to her. What were they? God’s presence was at work. How does Elisabeth refer to Mary?
Think about the words coming from Elisabeth after she is filled with the Holy Spirit. God has given her an understanding of what is happening and who this baby of Mary’s really is. She considers Mary to be blessed and she considers Mary’s child to be blessed. She even considers herself to be blessed to have the opportunity to minister to Mary during her pregnancy.
Verses 46-55 are commonly referred to as “Mary’s Song” and have been named “The Magnificat”. This is a Psalm of praise and worship that came from Mary while she was with Elisabeth. As you read it, list in your journal all the good things Mary credits God for having done. There are two parts to it: what God has done for Mary and what God has done for Israel. It moves from present tense to the past and to the future.
Compare the following verses:
- Luke 1:46 with Psalm 34:2,3
- Luke 1:47 with Isaiah 61:10 and Hab 3:18
- Luke 1:48 with Psalm 138:6
- Luke 1:49 with Psalm 71:19
- Luke 1:50 with Ex 20:6 and Psalm 103:17
- Luke 1:51 with Psalm 98:1 and Isa 40:10
- Luke 1:52 with Haggai 2:22, Job 22:29, and Psalm 10:12
- Luke 1:53 with Psalm 107:9
- Luke 1:54 with Psalm 98:3
- Luke 1:55 with Gen 17:19
Each line of Mary’s Psalm of praise and worship is scriptural. This is not just expressing her feelings and emotions. She is worshipping God with truth she has been taught from God’s Word. Mary is familiar with Scripture. How familiar are we with the Word of God? How much does our praise and worship center around the truth of God that we have learned from faithful and regular Bible study?
We see in verse 56 that Mary stayed with Elisabeth for three months (the rest of Elisabeth’s pregnancy) and then returned home. This would have been a joyous time of enjoying a shared experience while Mary helped care for the older woman in her confinement as well as a place to go while Mary was unmarried and pregnant. When the angel Gabriel told Mary she was going to be pregnant, he had also told her about Elisabeth’s pregnancy, thereby giving Mary a friend to share with and a safe place to go for a while. God looks out for our everyday needs.
Record James 5:13 in your journal.
Responding to God: Praise and worship God using the truths you know about Him from your studies of His Word. Thank Him for how He has cared for you and blessed you in your life. Ask God for opportunities to minister to those who are dealing with difficult situations in their life. Make a list of things God has done for you in your life and make a point to praise Him for them. Make the commitment to learn more about Him through regular Bible study.
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