Sermon Tone Analysis

When we pick up the story here in verse 39, the narrative is hot on the heels of the Angel Gabriel announcing to young Mary that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear the Christ-child.

A brief imagining of this scene might cause us to think that there could be nothing more exciting than a visit from an angel.

A miraculous announcement.

A prophecy of a millenium-changing event.

How amazing would that be?

But imagine the weight that was just immediately put upon the mind of young Mary.

Imagine how her mind was racing.

How she would be perceived.

How she would explain this miraculous child to her betrothed Joseph, to her parents, to the religious leaders.

Yet she says, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Luke 1:

A brief imagining of this scene might cause us to think that there could be nothing more exciting than a visit from an angel.

A miraculous announcement.

A prophecy of a millenium-changing event.

How amazing would that be?

But imagine the weight that was just immediately put upon the mind of young Mary.

Imagine how her mind was racing.

How she would be perceived.

How she would explain this miraculous child to her betrothed Joseph, to her parents, to the religious leaders.

Yet she says, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

R.C. Sproul puts it this way here, “The beginning of Jesus life is marked by a mother who submits to the will of God.”

In that way, young Mary is an example for the believers today - in submitting to the will of God.

It goes without saying that this is our calling, this is our duty, and this is the best possible way to carry out our days, by submitting to God’s will.

Solomon, at the end of his life, says to us:

Fear God, Keep his Commandments.

This is the duty of man.

The idea of God’s Lordship, of his ruling over the earth, of his kingship and power and worthiness to be feared, is quite evident in scripture.

God is indeed the creator of the earth and all that is, God is overseeing every person and every being, but God is not just watching in a distant and uninterested way, rather, God is ruling over all the earth.

He is above all powers, both physical and spiritual, and he is above all creation.

He is King, and He is Lord.

And this title, Lord, is not just limited to God the Father, but this title, as we see in our passage and in many many new testament passages, is given to the Son, Jesus Christ.

We have Seen that Jesus is the I AM - He is very God of very Gods.

We have seen that Jesus is Emmanuel - God with us, bringing us union with God through his work of reconciliation.

We have seen that Jesus is Christ - Messiah - The anointed one of God who brings peace to His people.

We have seen that He is Jesus - The Salvation of God embodied, for he saves his people from their sins.

Finally, on this Christmas Eve, we have chosen to view Jesus Christ in His glorious title of Lord.

In scripture our Savior is portrayed as all these things, he is God, he is with us, he is the messiah, and he is Savior, but He is none of these things unless He is Lord.

In the Psalms we read a minute ago, we notice that the word LORD is in all capital letters.

This is not by mistake, and it is not a typographical error.

The translators do this on purpose in the Old Testament to indicate when the special covenant name for God is used, Yahweh.

This was a name so glorious and awe-inspiring that the Jewish people would not read it as written when they came upon it in a text, but rather they would replace it with another of God’s names, or simply refer to it as Hashem, “The name.”

When we come to the Septuagint, the Greek-translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, we find that the translators used the Greek word Kurios to translate the covenant name Yahweh.

This is significant because that is the very usage we have here in our passage today, and also many places referring to Jesus Christ.

Those who used this term of Jesus knew exactly the significance it had, and they used it purposefully.

What they are saying is that Jesus as revealed in the New Testament is one in the same with Yahweh as revealed in the Old Testament.

And this didn’t just come to be after he had lived a while and proven himself, but rather those who believed God’s promise knew that the Messiah was Yahweh Himself all along, including Elizabeth in our text today.

We see in Scripture that Christ is Lord, He has always been Lord, and he will be Lord forever.

So come along as we view this short interaction and see what Elizabeth Saw, and as we have gathered on this Christmas Eve to do,

Let us worship our Savior, The Lord, for He shall reign forever.

1.

An Unexpected Visit - 39-41

In Luke’s account here, we are not given any indication that there was much time between Gabriel’s announcement to Mary and her travelling to see Elizabeth.

This quick response of Action by Mary has been seen by some as a possible cover-up of the pregnancy, but that is unlikely for she seems to have left before there would be any evidence of her pregnancy at all, and when she returned three months later, it became well known that she was with child.

I believe rather her visit was evidence of her faith, for Gabriel had told her that her relative Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant though she had before been barren.

Mary travelled to share in excitement and wonder of what God was doing.

The travel itself should not be overlooked.

Although we do not have a specific location as in a city given, the reference here has been taken by many to refer to the region near Jerusalem.

This would have been nearly a 4 day journey for anyone, let alone a young girl.

It was unheard of for a situation like this to take place.

Not only is a young girl traveling outside her home town alone, but a four day journey, and all the while knowing she was pregnant.

But it seems as if Mary saw this as a matter of obedience and of great importance, for she went in a hurry and arrived safely by God’s good care.

When she entered into the house and greeted Elizabeth, Several things happened.

Elizabeth heard the greeting, the baby in her womb leaped for joy, and Elizabeth began in great excitement and full of the Holy Spirit to rejoice and to exclaim.

We must remember a couple things here to get our minds in context.

First, there would have been no way to announce such a hasty visit beforehand.

A young, poor girl such as Mary would have had no means to send ahead and announce of her travels.

This would be reserved for the kings and the noble, not for mere commoners.

It would not have been possible for Mary to make a brief phone call, or send a text, or shoot a facebook message, or even to send a telegram or a brief message via pony express.

Rather, when we see Mary stepping inside the home and giving a greeting, this would have been a complete surprise visit.

The Greeting itself is not to be overlooked, either.

This would not have been simply a “hello,” or a, “hey elizabeth, its mary from Nazareth.”

or a “hi, how are you?”

Rather, the Oriental Greeting was a formal greeting.

It would include in it well-wishes for the one being greeted, the purpose of the visit, a backstory and a catching-up on what has transpired, and it could last several minutes.

Mary would have had time over the 4 day journey to prepare exactly what she was going to say to Elizabeth about the angel, her pregnancy, her concerns, her joy, and what God was doing.

We must also not forget that Elizabeth’s being filled with the Spirit here is not to be taken for granted, but rather this is a special happening, a miraculous moment given as a gift by God in this situation to confirm what she had just heard from Mary.

Again, while we see Mary and Elizabeth appearing in the pages of the New Testament, they are not living in the New Testament.

They are still living within the timeframe between the two testaments, and the operation of the Holy Spirit would have been as it was in the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, we see the Holy Spirit coming upon people for short periods of time for specific, miraculous reasons - and this is no different.

God’s presence was with his people constantly, but his spirit did not dwell in his people as it does today.

Jesus explains this in

“He dwells with you and will be in you.”

God has always been with His people, but in the New Covenant we are privileged to be indwelt with God’s Holy Spirit constantly.

What a blessing, what a privilege, and may we not take for granted the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit of God.

But with Elizabeth’s miraculous filling of the Holy Spirit comes her response, which was not scripted and planned like Mary’s greeting, but rather it was Spirit-inspired.

2. An Unrehearsed Blessing - 42-44

Immediately Elizabeth breaks out in spirit-inspired dual-eulogy.

Now, when we think of Eulogy, we think of a funeral.

This was not a funeral, however.

Rather, it was quite the opposite!

This was a eulogy of birth, not of death.

The word used for “blessed” is the word from which we get our english word eulogy, and it simple means to speak well of, or in this case, that someone is well-spoken of.

Perhaps it is a shame that we save our eulogies for the deceased, although it is more difficult for it to go to their head at that point!

In all seriousness, what we have here is a spirit-inspired exclamation coupled with the natural excitement and wonder at what Elizabeth had just heard.

The word used for “exclaim” is the word for shouting!

It was a shriek of excitement.

We have all heard the excited shrieks when an older woman hears that a younger woman is pregnant.

Perhaps it is a first grandchild, or a close friend, or someone who has been attempting to have children for some time.

In any case, it is a cause for elation - but in this case, the cause is much greater!

Not only is young Mary pregnant, but the child she is bearing is miraculous and blessed.

Elizabeth says first, “blessed are you among women.”