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Luke 1: 39-45
Mary Visits Elizabeth 39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[a] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” |
In Galatians 5, Paul tells us what happens if a Christian walks in the Spirit. We will increase in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Normally we will study these fruits of the Spirit in a reader for Pentecost. However, Luke tells us that all the events in preparation before the birth of Jesus are orchestrated by the Holy Ghost.
It is the Holy Spirit that made Mary pregnant (verse 35). It is the Holy Spirit who filled John before his birth (verse 15). It is by the Holy Spirit Elizabeth knew Mary was pregnant[1] (verse 41), and it is the Holy Spirit who stirred Zacharias to praise God and to tell about the salvation that was soon coming (verse 67).
As we see that the Holy Spirit fills these people, we will also see the fruits that these people bear. In Luke 1 there is one fruit of the Spirit that stands out, namely joy. The unborn John was filled with joy (verse 44) when the sound of the voice of Mary entered his mother’s ears. Later we will read the songs of Mary and Zacharias and I encourage you to taste the joy, gratitude and admiration in these texts.
To have the best Christmas ever, I conclude with Paul: ”Walk in the Spirit”, because if we walk in His Spirit, we will get the fruits of the Spirit and one of them is divine joy.
Andries S
[1] Notice that Mary meets Elizabeth before any signs of pregnancy were visible and any rumours could have been spread (verse 39). Also, Elizabeth blesses Mary with her pregnancy before Mary could even tell her about it (verse 41 - 42). Hence there is no natural way she could have known it and that is what she confirms in verse 44.