Outline Mary is Blessed Among Women Because of Jesus based on Luke 1:39-45

I. Comments about a church member. A Lutheran pastor made these comments: “She was the kind of older person every young pastor wants in his first congregation. She faithfully taught Sunday school with enthusiasm. She admitted her weaknesses and failures, asking forgiveness. She enjoyed the respect and love of others, not only of other older women, but of children, high schoolers, and the middle-aged movers and shakers who made most of the decisions in our small congregation. She was genuinely humble, dignified, warm, and loving.

“At first, it appeared to me that she must have lived an easy life, perhaps even a sheltered one, leaving her unscarred. But I was mistaken. She had felt the impact of abandonment, exploitation, and ridicule. Yet, even to her old age she lived out the conviction that she was blessed by a gracious Father in heaven. Her whole lifestyle was testimony to her conviction.

“Maria was her name. She was walking in the footsteps of another Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, two first-century Christians. Mary had been visited by the angel Gabriel, who told her that she would be the mother of Jesus, the Savior of Israel and of all people everywhere. Mary hurried to the home of Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, to talk about the excitement she shared with Elizabeth, who was also pregnant. Elizabeth recognized how special Mary was. She told Mary that she was blessed beyond belief. And as she was, so are we.”

II. Thoughts about Mary.

III. Luke’s Gospel about Mary and Elizabeth.

IV. Something unusual. Something unusual took place when Mary greeted Elizabeth. Luke, who most likely talked to Mary about this unusual event, recorded in Luke 1:41, “When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.” Once in a while today a mother with a child in her womb will tell others that she can feel her child kicking. The important thing was why the baby leaped in the womb of Elizabeth. According to Luke 1:41-45, “And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

V. Filled with Holy Spirit. Elizabeth, who was close to giving birth to her son who would be named John the Baptizer, was filled with the Holy Spirit. She had a special insight about the child Mary was carrying in her womb. She spoke up with a loud cry that Mary was blessed among women. Mary was not blessed because she was the greatest woman of all time. Mary was blessed because of the “fruit of her womb.” Mary was blessed because she believed the angel Gabriel who had told her in Luke 1:35-37, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” How did Mary respond? Luke 1:38 tells us, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Mary simply believed the promise of God. Unlike Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth, who doubted the words of the angel Gabriel that his wife could have a son in her old age, Mary believed God’s Word.

VI. Mary blessed among women, not perfect.

VII. We are not perfect, but blessed because of Jesus.

VIII. Conclusion. Roland Bainton, a famous historian of the Reformation, wrote concerning the last words of Thomas Hooker (1586–1647), the founding father of Connecticut. Gathered by his [Hooker’s] bedside were his friends, who sought to comfort him, ‘You are now going to receive your reward.’ But the old Puritan turned and retorted, ‘I go to receive mercy’” (Wayne Detzler, New Testament Words in Today’s Language [Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1986] 281). Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.