“You believe me?” A client had just shared something she had never before spoken. “Absolutely,” I replied. She pushed, “Isn’t it too outrageous to be true? Do you think I’m crazy?” I reassured her that I trusted her and therefore believed her. Her recently surfaced childhood memories were hard, devastating, in fact. Yet I had worked with this client for over two years and she had never given me reason to doubt her before. She was trustworthy. How could I not trust this latest news?
Read Luke 1:39-80
#1 - Elizabeth
After receiving the disturbing, yet glorious news that she would be the Messiah’s mother, Mary set out straight away to visit her elderly cousin, Elizabeth. If anyone might understand what just happened, Elizabeth would! As soon as she heard Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s baby leaped in her womb. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth began to prophesy over her young cousin, “Blessed are you among women, Mary! Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what He has spoken to her!” Had Elizabeth ever prophesied before? Most likely not, yet here she was, without Mary saying anything except “Knock knock…Elizabeth, are you home?” she knew who Mary was - the mother of her Lord!
#2 - Mary
What a faith booster for Mary! She believed the angel and Elizabeth believed her! Mary becomes the second unlikely prophet in our story, as her spirit rejoices in God her Savior and she cites specifically God’s favor and mercy on her and all who fear and worship Him. For reasons she couldn’t understand or explain, the Lord God had looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant. From now on, everyone would call Mary “Blessed,” for the Lord has done great things for her. And not just for Mary, but for his servant Israel and all who fear Him, God was remembering His mercy. (v 54) Had God forgotten to be merciful in the recent past? Not at all! “Zakar,” the Hebrew word for “remember” means “to remember, to call to mind, make mention, recall past distress, remember sins, or remember the dealings of.” The word means more than just the cognitive act of recalling memories and is more about the actions that are taken because of remembering. For example, in Genesis 8:1, “God remembered Noah. as well as all the wildlife and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to subside.” God didn’t suddenly recall that there was a boat out there with Noah on it, slap His forehead and say, “Oops! I need to take care of that!” By remembering them, He acted faithfully on the promise that He had made to Noah.
Similarly, through causing this young virgin to conceive, God was remembering His mercy to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as He spoke to our ancestors. (vv 54-55) This promise went further back than even Father Abraham, though. It went back to the Garden of Eden, following Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, as God was handing out judgements for their disobedience. God promised the serpent, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Gen 3:15) God had put the fulfillment of this promise into motion, remembering that His mercy always triumphs over judgement. This would be critical for Mary to hide in her heart as she would experience much judgement - looks, dismissal, even threats - in the days, weeks and years to come.
#3 - Zechariah
Baby John is born and all of their neighbors and friends rejoice with Zechariah and Elizabeth at the mercy God has shown them. During the circumcision ceremony, Elizabeth was asked, “What is his name?” When she answered, “John,” confusion spread throughout the house, as guests questioned where they came up with that name. It was only when Zechariah publicly wrote on a tablet,
“His name is John” that his mouth was opened, his tongue set free and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. He immediately began prophesying regarding the Lord God of Israel, who had provided redemption for His people and a horn of salvation for them. Most importantly, God had remembered His holy covenant to His beloved Israel and Zechariah’s eyes were wide open to it. I especially love verses 73-75. Life in the world and in Israel was far from perfect. They were living under Roman rule, barely scraping by to pay the required taxes to Rome and provide for their families and yet, “[Yahweh] has given us the privilege, since we have been rescued from the hand of our enemies, to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness in his presence all our days.” (vv 73-75, emphasis mine) Zechariah has been studying the prophets work for the past 10+ months and discovered that the fulfillment of the covenant wasn’t going to look the way he and his contemporaries had thought, but exactly how God told them through His Word He would do it.
Just around the corner, “the Dawn from on High” (v 78) would visit, and make a way to be in God’s presence at all times. Zechariah wouldn’t have to wait for his number to come up again to serve the Lord God in the Holy Place. He was coming to them!
Big Picture Questions for Today:
Are there people in your life who are discouraged and beaten down by their circumstances? Perhaps they have forgotten or don’t know of the promise of the gospel.
Who can you reach out to today, through a note, text, or phone call and remind them of the God we serve who always delivers on His promises?
Pray for eyes to see those around you who need to be encouraged with the truth of the gospel.
