Elizabeth and Mary Joyful Encounter

Today were going to look at story of when Mary and Elizabeth come together for the first time after both of them received the news of their unique pregnancies. The angel Gabriel told Zachariah that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son who would be the forerunner of the Messiah. The angel Gabriel told Mary that her son would be the Messiah. Gabriel also told Mary about Elizabeth, and Mary acted upon that news by immediately traveling to see her cousin. What takes place when they first see each other is wonderfully insightful.

Perhaps you’ve read this multiple times or heard other messages about this incident, so it may be very familiar to you. Let’s dig a little deeper to see some of the wonder of this meeting and what we can learn from it about joy.

One of the problems we have is that we know the rest of the story. We know who John the one who was later called John the Baptist was. We know all about Jesus, his birth, his life, his death, and his resurrection. But when this meeting took place, none of that had yet happened. The only things that happened was that the angel Gabriel met with Zachariah and later Elizabeth became pregnant, and Gabriel met with Mary and she would be pregnant with the Messiah.

All that these women knew was what they heard and what Elizabeth experienced as she was miraculously pregnant. Here’s what the text of Luke 1:39-45 says:

Luke 1:39–45 NIV

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

1. There was joy all around.

Did you notice who was joyful during this encounter? Who was the first to have joy?

The baby John in Elizabeth’s womb had joy.

This was actually an amazing response for a number of reasons. There was clearly a supernatural element to Elizabeth’s pregnancy, but this reaction by the baby in her womb is incredible. Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth was in her sixth month. It would seem that this reaction of joy was the fulfillment of Gabriel’s words to Zachariah when he said, “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.” Luke 1:14-15 NIV

Elizabeth had joy.

Elizabeth’s response may have been as much of a surprise to her as it was to Mary. The Holy Spirit filled her and revealed to her that Mary was pregnant, and that her child would be the Messiah.

Mary had joy.

Mary’s response was to praise God and rejoice in what he had done.

The joy was from the Spirit of God. Galatians 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22–23 NIV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Joy is a gift from God for all His children. God wants us to have joy! Thinking about that might be enough to give you joy!

They had a great reason to be joyful.

2. Their joy was because of Jesus.

They didn’t know Him as they Jesus we know. They knew Him as the Messiah.

The baby John, Elizabeth and Mary were all filled with joy about Jesus. What gives you joy? We have joy when something good happens to us or for us. We have joy when we receive an unexpected gift. We have joy when we do something that we like to do.

Part of what is remarkable about their joy, is what they knew about Jesus. Elizabeth and Mary knew of the promised Messiah, the one who would come and redeem Israel and usher in the kingdom of God. They didn’t know anywhere near as much as what we know today. Yet what they knew was enough to give them joy.

There joy was a feeling of emotion anticipating the coming of the Messiah.

What do we know about Jesus today that gives us joy? One of the benefits of reading the Bible and coming to church is that our attention is focused on Jesus. It’s all too easy to go through the day and not think about him unless we do it intentionally.

Elizabeth and Mary were thrust into a situation where their focus was on the coming of the promised Messiah. You and I are sitting here today around 2000 years after Jesus came, after he performed miraculous signs, heal people, cast out demons, and gave his life on the cross for the salvation of all who will trust in him. For Mary and Elizabeth it was anticipatory. For us it’s easy to be about history, but there is also an anticipatory element for us.

They were waiting for the coming of the Messiah, who would change everything. It turns out that God’s plan was for the Messiah to come twice, so although he changed everything relating to salvation, he has not yet fulfilled the promise of God for the literal kingdom of God on the earth. That is something we are still anticipating.

We also have other benefits that Elizabeth and Mary did not have, since Jesus ascended into heaven and sent the Spirit of God as our helper, our comforter, our teacher, to indwell us, help us, and guide us.

This story is in the context of Christmas for us, but it wasn’t in the context of Christmas for them, was it? No, because there was no such thing as Christmas. Elizabeth and Mary experienced their joy as part of their day to day life, as they came face to face with the entrance of the Messiah into the world.

How is it that we interact with the Messiah now that we know far more about him than Mary and Elizabeth did and have the additional benefits of the completed Scriptures and the indwelling Holy Spirit?

It’s worth contemplating, do we, do you, do I, have joy about Jesus every day of our lives? We could, but do we? It won’t happen unless we purposefully focus upon Jesus and his role as Savior, Lord, and provider of all that we need in our lives.

So there joy was about Jesus, but notice it wasn’t about what Jesus had done. At that moment in time, he had not done anything in their lives. In fact, it would be years before Jesus would do anything that we would call messianic. It would be many years before John the Baptist would begin to proclaim the coming of the Messiah. Yet they still had joy and that was because,

1 Peter 1:8 NIV

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

Their joy was independent of their circumstances. The only thing that happened so far was Elizabeth’s pregnancy. That was unlikely

3. Their joy was in a promise.

Elizabeth and Mary’s joy was independent of their circumstances. The only thing that had happened so far was Elizabeth’s pregnancy. That was unlikely, but we don’t know how old she was, so perhaps it wasn’t humanly impossible. But I mean by that is some might explain it away as not being supernatural. So let’s set aside the fact of Elizabeth’s pregnancy and consider what they had to be joyful about.

What had happened to bring them joy? The only thing was the word of the angel Gabriel. (I guess I would have to say that meeting with an angel was an unusual circumstance.) Gabriel said that they would be part of God’s plan to fulfill his promises to his people going all the way back to Abraham and before him to Adam and Eve.

The key to understanding their joy, and our potential for joy is what Elizabeth said in verse 45. “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” The reason for their joy was they believe the promise of God. We read this story knowing that John would become the forerunner of Jesus. We read this story knowing all about Jesus is life. But at this moment in time none of that had happened. At this moment in time Mary was an unwed pregnant teenager and Elizabeth was an older woman facing a high risk, today they call it geriatric, pregnancy.

The amount of uncertainty and fear they were both feeling had to be immense. Yet, they had joy. There joy was because they both believed that the Lord would fulfill his promise to them.

They believed God’s promise and expected it to come true. They looked at God’s promises expectantly.

2 Peter 1:4 NIV

4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Elizabeth and Mary’s secret of how to have joy is to believe God’s promise for us.

Discussion Questions:

What promise(s) of God are you trusting in that haven’t been fulfilled?

What is the basis of your promise? What scripture?

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