Mary Visits Elizabeth, Luke 1:39-56
Luke 1:39 Now [a]at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country1, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit2. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And [b]how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord3 would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed10 is she who [c]believed4 that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her [d]by the Lord.”
46 And Mary said:5 “My soul [e]exalts6 the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced7 in God my Savior8.
48 “For He has had regard9 for the humble state of His [f]bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed10.
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.
50 “And His mercy11 is [g]upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.
51 “He has done [h]mighty deeds with His arm12; He has scattered those who were proud in the [i]thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted13 those who were humble.
53 “He has filled the hungry14 with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant, [j]In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers15, To Abraham and his [k]descendants16 forever.”
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
Footnotes:
- Luke 1:39 Lit in these days
- Luke 1:43 Lit from where this to me
- Luke 1:45 Or believed, because there will be
- Luke 1:45 Lit from
- Luke 1:46 Lit makes great
- Luke 1:48 I.e. female slave
- Luke 1:50 Lit unto generations and generations
- Luke 1:51 Lit might
- Luke 1:51 Lit thought, attitude
- Luke 1:54 Lit So as to remember
- Luke 1:55 Lit seed
Commentary
Mary’s trip from Nazareth to visit Elizabeth would have been sixty plus miles (Nelson’s KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1266), to the same area where David sought refuge in the caves during his flight from Saul. It was a rugged journey over wasteland peppered with cliffs and canyons, favored far more by fugitives, rebels and hermits than by pregnant women (The Word in Life Study Bible pg. 1765). The Word in Life Study Bible gives a personality profile of Mary, which states that she is sometimes also known as the Virgin and Miryam (of Nazareth), not to be confused with Mary of Bethany (the sister of Lazarus), Mary, the mother of James and Joses from Matt. 27:55-61, or Mary, the mother of John Mark from Acts 12:12. Mary, the mother of Jesus went on to have four other sons – James, Joses, Judas, and Simon – as well as daughters (Matt. 13:55-56) (The Word in Life Study Bible pg. 1763).
In the interest of space, I don’t always keep scripture in the form of poetry, as it often appears in the Bible. However, the Magnificat is significant and beautiful, and I wanted to be able to look at it as a song or poem. I did condense each Bible verse into a single line, so where you see a capital letter in the middle of a line, that phrase appeared as a second line in the Bible text. This utterance of Mary’s in many ways mirrors the prayer of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, and “it illustrates Mary’s rich acquaintance with the Old Testament Scriptures and the closeness of her fellowship with the Lord” (Nelson’s KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1266). The word Magnificat comes from the Latin ‘magnificare”, which is the first word of the passage when written in Latin. Magnifying the Lord means praising Him, which Mary does by listing many of His great works; he helps the lowly (including Mary), the hungry, Israel, and those who fear Him, and he humbles the proud, the mighty, and the rich (The Word in Life Study Bible pg. 1765).
I’m always interested by records of speeches like Hannah’s and Mary’s. Who was the immediate audience, and who recorded the words through oral tradition before they were written down? I haven’t seen any insight into that during this week’s study, but what Christians believe about the Bible is that the words and subject matter are given to human authors via the Holy Spirit. Before I studied this passage, I hadn’t realized that I thought the Holy Spirit only became active among humanity after Jesus left the Earth (John 14:15-31). However, as I was listening to this sermon http://www.northshorechurch.net/resources/sermons/message/the-greater-miracle/watch , I realized how often angels and scripture refer to the Holy Spirit before Jesus was even born, and, due to the lack of explanation from the angel, it seems the hearers were totally familiar with the concept.
See the next post here https://onthepath.online/2018/12/23/the-angel-visits-joseph/
Scripture References
Ge 17:7 I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants16 after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants16 after you.
15Ge 17:19 But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
Jos 20:7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah1.
Jos 21:11 Thus they gave them Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron), in the hill country of Judah1, with its surrounding pasture lands.
1 Sa 2:1 Then Hannah prayed and said,5 “My heart exults in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation. 2 “There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. 3 “Boast no more so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the Lord is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed. 4 “The bows of the mighty are shattered, But the feeble gird on strength. 5 “Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to hunger. Even the barren gives birth to seven, But she who has many children languishes. 6 “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7 “The Lord makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. 8 “He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the world on them. 9 “He keeps the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail. 10 “Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.”
Job 5:11 So that He sets on high13 those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety.
Ps 34:2 My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. 3 O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt6 His name together.
Ps 35:9 And my soul shall rejoice7 in the Lord; It shall exult in His salvation.
Ps 98:1 O sing to the Lord a new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm12 have gained the victory for Him.
11Ps 103:17 But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children,
Ps 107:9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry14 soul He has filled with what is good.
Ps 118:15 The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand12 of the Lord does valiantly.
15Ps 132:11 The Lord has sworn to David A truth from which He will not turn back: “Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne
Ps 138:6 For though the Lord is exalted, Yet He regards9 the lowly, But the haughty He knows from afar.
Hab 3:18 Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice7 in the God of my salvation.
Matt 13:55-56 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”
Lk 1:20 And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe4 my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
Lk 1:65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea1.
Lk 1:67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit2, and prophesied, saying:
Lk 2:11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord3.
Jn 14:15 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. 25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. 28 You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. 30 I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; 31 but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.
Ac 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit2 and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
Ac 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit2, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,
Ac 9:17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit2.”
15Gal 3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.
1 Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior8, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,
1 Ti 2:3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior8,
Tit 1:3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior8,
Tit 2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior8 in every respect.
Tit 3:4 But when the kindness of God our Savior8 and His love for mankind appeared,
Jude 25 to the only God our Savior8, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
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