And it came to pass, as Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with [the] Holy Spirit,
Mary greets her cousin Elizabeth, and two things happen at once: the unborn child stirs, and the Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth. How did Elizabeth know who had just arrived?
No one in the world was watching this meeting.
Nothing of its kind is more beautiful than this picture of these godly women together. The world did not know them. Yet they were the instruments of God's grace for carrying out His purpose, and the results are glorious and endless. They keep out of sight, in a scene where nothing enters but godliness and grace. But God is there. The world knew Him as little as it knew these poor women. And He was preparing and accomplishing what the angels long to explore in its depths.
Elizabeth's answer shows she already knows Mary's situation and Mary's faith. No messenger had brought the news.
Mary stepped into her house and greeted her cousin. So the expectant mother of John learned who was to be the mother of her Lord... She knew both Mary's expectations and Mary's faith. When and how did she learn all this? Mary had not had time to speak of it. No whisper of it carried by human means had reached the hill country of Judea. It seems Mary had not even told Joseph, her fiancé, as Matthew teaches us.
Luke gives the answer in the same verse.
What was it that made her address her young relative like that? We are not told that she had heard of the angel's visit to Mary, so how did she know what lay before her? The answer is that she "was filled with the Holy Spirit" (v. 41), and she spoke by divine inspiration.
Notice when this filling happens.
Here again we have filling with the Spirit before Pentecost, showing how distinct it is from sealing and baptism. With Elizabeth and Zacharias it was clearly like prophecy. Scripture even says that Zacharias prophesied. It was a special visit of the Spirit. For that time it gave them the power to speak their joy and praise in inspired words.
Scripture also says "full of the Holy Spirit." The two phrases are not the same.
"Full of the Holy Spirit" seems to tell us what usually marked a person's life... "Filled with the Spirit" is different. Scripture uses it of people God takes up for His service, whether for a longer or a shorter time. You can see examples in Elisabeth and Zacharias (Luke 1:41, 67), in the company at Pentecost, and in Peter and Paul.
This was more than a mother's ordinary feeling. It was the first homage paid to Jesus by a human being.
And earlier still, while yet unborn, He was worshipped, I may say, by the leaping of the child in the womb of Elizabeth, at the greeting of Mary.
That first testimony set the pattern for John's whole life.
Already in his mother's womb he gives his first testimony to the presence of Him who was to come. Then he is kept in the desert until the day he appears publicly to Israel.
The Spirit's power here did not puff Elizabeth up.
Here the living power of the Spirit of God comes with a lowly, humble spirit. It finds delight in the blessing of another, and recognises that Mary is to be the mother of the Lord.
- Greeting — An ordinary hello starts it all. The world sees nothing, but God is there, working out His purpose.
- Leap — The unborn John answers first. He gives his earliest testimony to the One who was coming, before he can speak a word.
- Filling — The Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth long before Pentecost. This is a special visit that gives inspired speech, and it differs from sealing and baptism.
- Voice — Her words are revelation, not information. No one had told her who Mary was carrying.
- Lowliness — The Spirit's power shows itself in humility. Elizabeth takes joy in someone else's blessing.
and cried out with a loud voice and said, Blessed [art] *thou* amongst women, and blessed the fruit of thy womb.
Mary has just heard she will bear the Messiah, and she goes to the hill country to visit her relative Elizabeth. The Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth, and she cries out these words — but where did they come from, and how much honour do they give Mary?
Elizabeth knows Mary's news before Mary has said a word about it. No one could have carried it to her:
She knew both Mary's expectations and Mary's faith. When and how did she learn all this? Mary had not had time to speak of it. No whisper of it carried by human messenger had reached the hill country of Judea. Mary evidently, as Matthew teaches us, had not even told Joseph, to whom she was betrothed.
The answer is in the verse just before: the Holy Spirit filled her. That filling had a purpose:
The Spirit filled her so that she could speak the inspired words she said to Mary: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."
Elizabeth's opening words are not her own invention. Gabriel had already greeted Mary in the same terms. That repetition is the point:
We see at once that Elizabeth, as one "filled with the Holy Spirit," is in complete agreement with the mind of God about Mary. Gabriel had said to her, "Blessed are you among women," and Elizabeth now says, "Blessed are you among women," adding, "and blessed is the fruit of your womb." God's power opened her eyes, so she saw as God saw. She declares His own estimate of the one He had chosen for this singular favour.
The blessing's second half turns from the mother to the Child in her womb:
It is remarkable how beautifully Elizabeth owns that even the child not yet born was the Lord. We find just the same thing with Mary herself. She has no notion of being taken out of the place of a needy sinner. And the miraculous birth of John does not lessen Elizabeth's sense of the Messiah. It adds to it.
Elizabeth was carrying a miracle son of her own. Still, she takes the lower place, and one writer draws the lesson:
Herself the object of God's favour, she still took the lowest place before the one who was to become the mother of her Lord. Let this instruction sink deep into our hearts: when the Spirit of God is working in souls, He banishes all envy, strife, and jealousy. Love then flows out freely, and humility is the fruit of love. Then she described the effect Mary's greeting had on her, and proclaimed a third kind of blessedness. Mary was blessed as the object of God's sovereign favour. She was blessed as the vessel for the incarnation of our Lord. And she was blessed because of her faith.
Writers weigh the exact wording here, because people have stretched it far. The quote below uses an older translation of the angel's greeting in verse 28, where the ESV reads "O favored one":
The angel tells her she is "highly favoured" (Luke 1:28). Could any woman have a higher favour than to be the mother of our Lord according to the flesh? "Blessed are you among women" is the angel's greeting. "Blessed" she certainly was. Note, it does not say "Most blessed." The language is restrained.
In her own reply a few verses later, Mary calls God her Saviour:
Though the mother of our Saviour, she herself found her Saviour in God.
Later another woman calls out something very like Elizabeth's words. Jesus answers by pointing elsewhere:
A woman, alive to the joy of having a son like Jesus, declares aloud the value of such a natural family tie to Him. The Lord puts this blessing, as He did in the case of Mary, on those who heard and kept His word.
- Filled — No one had told Elizabeth Mary's news. The Spirit filled her so that she could speak these words.
- Echoed — She repeats Gabriel's own greeting. Her verdict on Mary is God's verdict, not a relative's warm welcome.
- Owned — The blessing runs past the mother to the unborn Child, whom she calls her Lord.
- Freed — Where the Spirit works, envy goes. Elizabeth rejoiced in another woman's honour instead of guarding her own.
- Shared — Mary was blessed as chosen, as the vessel, and for her faith. And Jesus later held out a blessing to anyone who hears God's word and keeps it.
And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Elizabeth is the older woman, and she is expecting a son of her own. Yet when her young relative walks in, she treats the visit as an honour she cannot account for. Her question turns on two words: who is "my Lord," and why should His mother come to her?
Mary's child is not yet born. Elizabeth already speaks of Him as her Lord.
Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, breaks out into an acknowledgment of the place God had given Mary. "And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" It is remarkable how beautifully she acknowledges that even the child not yet born was the Lord.
That confession came before He entered the world.
The One these women spoke of, the Babe of Bethlehem, will soon be acknowledged as supreme in the universe. But before His birth, before He came into this world in lowly Manhood, Elizabeth's words already bore testimony to His supremacy — "my Lord."
In that world "Lord" was also an ordinary word of respect between people. The same word does far more work here.
These words are usually translated "lord." People use them as a term of respect between one person and another… Scripture gives the title "Lord" to God (Ps. 90:1, Adonai). In the New Testament it gives the same title to the Lord Jesus, not only as a term of respect, but as owning His constituted lordship (Acts 2:36; Phil. 2:11). For the Christian He is the Lord above all, eclipsing every other, and the Christian delights to claim Him as "My Lord."
Because the name carries that much, it is not one to handle casually.
How beautiful the language of the older woman calling the Virgin "the mother of my Lord." Surely this was a great revelation she received. With holy reverence we also should use that worthy Name. It has been well said, "Let us remember the deep meaning of the words 'the Lord' and beware of using them lightly and carelessly."
Elizabeth names a secret Mary has had no chance to tell her. So where did she learn it?
Mary crossed the threshold of Elizabeth's house and greeted her cousin. The expectant mother of John then learned who was to be the mother of her Lord… She knew both Mary's expectations and Mary's faith. Mary had not had time to speak of it. No whisper of it had reached the hill country of Judea by any human means. Mary clearly, as Matthew teaches us, had not even told Joseph, to whom she was betrothed (Matt. 1:18-19). How did Elizabeth know?
Nothing in the account says that anyone told her.
What was it that made her address her young relative like that? We are not told that she had heard of the angel's visit to Mary, so how did she know what lay ahead of her? The answer is that she "was filled with the Holy Spirit" (v. 41), and she spoke by divine inspiration.
Elizabeth had God's favour on her own life. Still she puts herself below the younger woman.
With her eyes opened by the power of God, she saw as God saw. She speaks God's own estimate of the one He had chosen for this singular favour. Filled with the Spirit, she also acknowledged with meekness and humility that the grace of God had lifted Mary high… She was herself an object of God's favour. Yet she took the lowest place before the one who was to become the mother of her Lord.
Mary answers Elizabeth moments later. Her reply shows how she took the honour given her.
Mary had no thought of exaltation. She says, "all generations will call me blessed," but not a blesser. She was the object of blessing, not the giver or mediator of it. "He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name" — not a word of her own. "And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation" — not for those who pray to or worship me.
Both women keep their eyes on the same Person, not on each other.
Humility and contented lowliness mark their whole conversation… He was the One who filled their vision… Mary herself is content to take the "humble estate" of a "servant." God's mighty thoughts were not to reach their completion in Mary. Someone else has well said of her — "she lost her place if she made anything of herself, but in truth she did not," a helpful word for today!
- Lord already. Before Bethlehem, before He was born, Elizabeth calls the unborn child her Lord.
- Lord revealed. No one told Elizabeth. The Holy Spirit filled her, so she saw as God saw and spoke by inspiration.
- Lord honoured. Because He is Lord, the older woman takes the lowest place before the younger. She asks why such a visit should come to her at all.
- Lord alone the blesser. Mary is the object of blessing, never its giver — called blessed by all generations, but "not a blesser."
- Lord mine. The Christian claims Him as "My Lord" — a name too weighty to use lightly.
For behold, as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped with joy in my womb.
Two expectant mothers meet in the hill country, and neither child has been born yet. The first to welcome Jesus is the baby inside Elizabeth, who leaps at the sound of Mary's voice.
Nobody had told Elizabeth. Mary had only just arrived, and no news of her had reached the hill country.
Mary crossed the threshold of Elizabeth's house, greeted her cousin, and the expectant mother of John learned who was to be the mother of her Lord. We do not know what words Mary used, but we have her answer. It came from a woman filled with the Holy Spirit. She lifted up her voice with a loud cry. She knew both Mary's expectations and Mary's faith. When and how did she learn all this? Mary had not had time to speak of it. No whisper of it carried by human means had reached the hill country of Judea. How did Elizabeth know? She told it, as she alone could declare it: "For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy." The mother of her Lord was there.
The baby's leap honoured Mary. But the honour behind it was for the Messiah she carried.
Mary then arises, enters the house of Zacharias and greets her relative Elizabeth. This gives occasion to the wonderful homage paid even by the unborn child, Elizabeth's son. He paid it to Mary, the chosen mother of the Messiah, in honour of the Messiah Himself. The result was that Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, breaks out into an acknowledgment of the place God had given Mary. "And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" It is remarkable how beautifully she owns that even the child not yet born was the Lord.
Years later John and Jesus would meet at the Jordan as men who had never met — John raised in Judea, Jesus in Galilee — and John would still know Him instantly. That instinct has a starting point in this verse.
On the Lord's approaching John to be baptized, John at once acknowledged Him — acknowledged Him without any introduction. There seems to have been in his soul some consciousness that this was He. He had, indeed, acknowledged Him even before He was born (Luke 1:44). The world knew Him not, but John knows Him, and so condemns the world.
John gave up wine, one of the ordinary pleasures men enjoy together. From the outside his life looked joyless. It was not.
He deprived himself of wine — the sign of joy to the heart of the natural man in the company of his equals. ... This passage shows him as set apart in a special way from everything that makes up the joy of a sociable man. The world, on seeing him, would no doubt have said, "He is a sad and gloomy man who hates people." What a mistake! The world knows only this natural joy. In the prophet's heart another joy took its place — the joy that communion with the Saviour gives.
Elizabeth had a child of her own coming. Her inspired words go to Mary's blessing instead.
As Mary entered the house and spoke, the baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, broke out in a short but beautiful prophecy. Here the living power of the Spirit of God goes together with a lowly humility. She finds delight in the blessing of another, and she recognizes that Mary is to be the mother of the Lord.
The greeting Mary got at the door did something for her own faith.
The greeting Mary received shows that her visit to Elizabeth was of the Lord. That greeting must have confirmed her faith in a remarkable way. As soon as Elizabeth heard her relative's greeting, it reminded her of her own condition. At the same moment the Holy Spirit filled her and moved her to proclaim the blessedness of the one whom the Lord had so honoured by His grace.
- Joy first. John leaped in the womb. It is the first honour Jesus received, and neither child had been born.
- Joy revealed. No messenger had reached the hill country. The Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth, and she knew who stood at her door.
- Joy confessed. Elizabeth worships instead of pointing to herself. She calls the unborn child "my Lord" and she delights in another woman's blessing.
- Joy sustained. John gave up the ordinary pleasures the world lives on. Communion with the Saviour gave him a different joy in their place.
- Joy that lasts. What began with a leap in the womb ended at the Jordan. There John knew Jesus with no introduction, while the world did not.