And blessed [is] she that has believed, for there shall be a fulfilment of the things spoken to her from [the] Lord.
Elizabeth ends her greeting with a word about Mary's faith, not about her honour. Mary is blessed because she believed God would do what He said. So what makes believing God's word a blessing? And how does it differ from the unbelief seen a few verses earlier, in this same house?
Words from the Spirit
Elizabeth is not paying Mary the warm compliment of an older relative. Something else is at work in her words.
Notice at once that Elizabeth, "filled with the Holy Spirit," shares God's own mind about Mary. Gabriel had said to her, "Blessed are you among women." Elizabeth now says the same, and adds, "and blessed is the fruit of your womb." God had opened her eyes. She saw as God saw, and she spoke His own verdict on the woman He had chosen for this rare honour.
Three kinds of blessedness
The greeting names more than one blessing, and this verse supplies the last of them. It rests on something Mary did — she took God at His word.
Mary was blessed as the object of God's sovereign favour. She was blessed as the one through whom our Lord came into the world as a man. And she was blessed because of her faith — a faith that rose above every obstacle and rested on the almighty power of God. Like Abraham, she did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but "found strength in faith," giving glory to God. She had taken a firm hold of God's word. She had no doubt that He would do what He had promised. She honoured God in this way, and now God gave her, through Elizabeth's lips, the assurance that the Lord's word to her would come true.
A question that was not doubt
Mary had asked the angel how such a birth could happen. Commentators are careful to distinguish that question from unbelief.
God had shown Mary such favour that she asks with holy confidence how this would happen, since it lay outside the natural order. She has no doubt that it would happen — Elizabeth calls her the one who believed.
The contrast inside that house
Elizabeth had watched her own husband, Zacharias, lose his speech because he did not believe. That memory gives her words their edge.
At the same time she acknowledges that God has shown special favour to Mary's soul. "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." Elizabeth knew that unbelief was what had struck her husband. She sets his failure against Mary's humble, believing heart.
Where the guarantee lies
The certainty is not in the strength of Mary's believing but in the source of the message. It came from the Lord Himself.
She calls Mary the mother of her Lord — the One at whose voice her own baby had leaped for joy. She declares her blessed as well for the faith that received God's message. And what the Lord had spoken to her would surely happen.
Blessed, and still needing a Saviour
The blessing pronounced here honours Mary's faith. It does not lift her out of the ranks of those who need saving — her own song, moments later, says otherwise.
Mary was the mother of our Lord as a man. She was "blessed among women," chosen for the highest honour a woman could have. Yet in her song of praise she says, "my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47). If Mary had been sinless, she would have had no need of a Savior. But she did need one, just like the rest of us.
The same ground, open to us
What Elizabeth commends is not unique to Mary. Anyone who rests on what God has said stands on the same ground.
Gabriel brought Mary a message from heaven, and she answered, "let it be to me according to Your word" (Luke 1:38). That answer is the language of everyone who rests on what God has said. How simple! How beautiful! Faith never makes itself an object. It looks up to the Lord and says, "I want no better guarantee of certain blessing than the one 'Your word' gives me."
Summary
- Word spoken. The certainty rests on the source. The Lord Himself spoke to Mary, so His word would stand.
- Word believed. Mary's question was about how, never about whether — asking God for understanding is not the same as doubting Him.
- Word doubted. God left Zacharias unable to speak because of his unbelief, in the very house Mary entered. Elizabeth sets his failure beside Mary's believing heart.
- Word confirmed. Elizabeth, filled with the Spirit, saw as God saw. Through her, God assured Mary that He would keep His promise.
- Word for us. Faith never makes itself the object. It asks no better guarantee than God's own word. That ground is open to anyone — even to Mary, who called God her Savior.