"Leaping Fetus" Luke 1:39-45

“Leaping Fetus”

[Luke 1:39-45]

December 23, 2018, Second Reformed Church

            Zechariah was the high priest, and his wife, Elizabeth, was barren.  Everyone knew, and they had their own thoughts about why this was.  But an angel came to Zechariah and told him that his wife would bear him a son – Zechariah didn’t believe the angel, so he was struck mute.  But what the angel said came to pass, Elizabeth became pregnant.  It was a miracle – the barren one was with child.

            Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary, was engaged to a carpenter named Joseph – they were younger than Elizabeth and just starting out in life.  And the angel came to Mary and told her that she was going to bear a Child – and not just any child – she had been chosen to bear the Son of God Incarnate – the Savior of all those who would believe.  But she was a virgin – and she wasn’t married yet.  Joseph was also concerned, but the angel said not to worry and to take Mary as his wife – and Mary was found to be with Child – it was a miracle – Mary, who had never had sexual relations was with child.

            Mary decided to visit Elizabeth – who was in her sixth month of pregnancy.  Why?

            A reason is not given in the Scripture, but we can make an educated guess:  Mary went to Elizabeth to strengthen her faith.

            “In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.”

            Being unable to bear a child was a great hardship in those days.  The children were to help with the livelihood of the family and care for their parents when they had need.  It was often seen as a curse to be barren.  But they were old, and they had gotten used to being alone and managing the best they could.

While Zechariah was in the Holy of Holies, ministering as the high priest, we read:  

“And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.’

“And Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.’ And the angel answered him, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time’” (Luke 1:11-20, ESV).

            Can you imagine?

            Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for a child for years – but now they were old.  They had accepted that God’s answer to their pray was “no,” but it wasn’t “no” – the answer was “later” – at the right time.

            And we can understand why Zechariah didn’t believe – despite facing down an angel with good news about the miraculous opening of Elizabeth’s womb and the child that she would bear who would be a major player on the prophetic stage – “I’m an old man – and my wife is aged!”

            Still, the miracle occurred, and word got to Mary.

            Mary had been visited by the angel:

            “In the sixth month [of Elizabeth’s pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’

            “And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’

            “And the angel answered her, ‘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.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her” (Luke 1:26-38, ESV).

            Can you imagine what Mary was feeling – what she was thinking?  The first thing she responds to in the angel’s message is that her cousin, Elizabeth, is pregnant – old, barren Elizabeth is pregnant – a miracle has happened to her – and the angel told Mary a miracle just happened to her as well.

            Mary believes, but she wants to strengthen her faith.  She decides to go to see Elizabeth – to see the miracle that has happened – to be strengthened in the promises the angel gave as the herald of God – and she wants to tell Elizabeth that she, also, has had a miracle happen to her – she is also with child – without the intervention of a man – but God alone.

            Mary goes to see Elizabeth, and she is strengthened in her faith, because she sees it is all true – and she is strengthen in her faith in receiving the Word of God to her of her becoming with child by the Holy Spirit.

            We need to be strengthened in our faith as well – and that happens as we receive all that God has said as true and then engage in the heart-work of belief – of doing the good works God empowers us to do. 

            How do we strengthen our faith?

            When Mary received the word from the angel, she knew her Scripture well enough to know the word was true and how she was to respond to it.  And so we are to turn to the Scripture and read what God has said and see how God’s people have acted.

            Paul commenting on reading the Scripture says of the histories, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (I Corinthians 10:11-12, ESV).

            When we read the Scripture and hear what God has said and done, our faith is strengthened.

            Another way our faith is strengthened is when we talk with each other about the Scripture and what God has been doing in our lives.

            When we hear how God has worked in the lives of others, our faith is strengthened.  That’s why we need to get together outside of worship with each other – in Bible study, or one-on-one, or in small groups to encourage one another – and build up – strengthen – our faith.

            The strengthening of our faith is part of our maturity in Christ.

            Mary goes to Elizabeth to strengthen her faith.

            Once Mary arrives, the Holy Spirit works in John and Elizabeth.

“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!’”

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth and John were filled with the Holy Spirit, and John the Baptist leaped in her womb.

And you can imagine what some scholars say – “This is not a leaping fetus – this is the normal movement of the fetus in the womb of a woman.  A fetus cannot hear through the womb, much less react with such joy or be filled with God the Holy Spirit – the text doesn’t even say that.”

First, for all those people who say, “It’s not a baby, it’s a fetus!”  “Fetus” is the Latin word for baby, so, you’re saying, “It’s not a baby, it’s a baby.”  The boy or girl in the mother’s womb is a human baby.

Second, while our text only says that Elizabeth is filled with God the Holy Spirit – when the angel came to Elizabeth, he said, “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.”

So, if God says that God the Holy Spirit indwelled John the Baptist at six months old in the womb, we may surely believe that a 24 week-old baby growing in the womb can be indwelled with God the Holy Spirit and react by leaping around for joy in the womb – knowledgeable that the Baby in the womb of the woman speaking is God the Savior.

And if John the Baptist could be indwelled with God the Holy Spirit at 24 weeks, so can other human babies – which we ought to add to our thoughts about life and conception.

Here, John the Baptist is filled with God the Holy Spirit because the work God had for him to do would begin immediately – beginning with this first identifying of God the Savior in the womb of Mary.

Elizabeth is also filled with God the Holy Spirit and she says that Mary is blessed – just like the angel did – and she is blessed among women – Mary received the blessing of being the Mother of God – which no other woman would ever receive – a remarkable honor bestowed upon her – and so we are to honor and respect her for what she did as a servant of God.

Because – the first reason that Mary is blessed is that she is carrying the blessed Savior.  Mary is blessed because He Son is blessed.  Mary is blessed because of Who her Son is.

And so, whenever we think of Jesus, we also think of Mary – who she is, what she did, and her blessedness.  Roman Catholics tend to make Mary out to be a lesser god.  Protestants tend to dismiss Mary as nothing more than an incubator.  Neither position is right – we are to look up to Mary and honor her as the most blessed of women for her character, her devotion, her willingness to bear God the Son and raise Him with Joseph.

As we consider all the blessings that we have as Christians – because we are blessed – as Paul writes, “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14, ESV) – we are to be reminded that the blessings we have are not due to how wonderful we are – no, it is in Christ that we are blessed and receive our blessings.  It is because we have lived and died and risen and will rise again in Christ because He has lived and died and risen and risen again to save us – a people for Himself.

And so, we begin to see how the Holy Spirit worked in John and Elizabeth.

And Elizabeth identifies Jesus as God the Savior.

“’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.’”

The word that is used for “Lord” indicates that this Baby is also God:

John Gill writes, “Elisabeth was far from envying the superior honour [conferred on her kinswoman, who was both meaner and younger than she; that she esteems it a wonderful favour, that she should be indulged with a visit from her, who had already conceived the Messiah: and in due time would be the mother of him, as man; who, in his divine nature, is Lord of all angels, and men, and every creature; and in an especial manner was her Lord, and the Lord of all the saints; by his Father's gift from eternity, by his own purchase in time, and by the power of his grace on each of their souls. Thus the virgin is said to be the mother of our Lord, and so may be called the mother of God; because she was parent of that child, which was in union with him, who is truly Lord and God: Just in such sense as the Lord of life and glory is said to be crucified, and God is said to purchase the church with his own blood,” [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/luke/1.htm].

And Paul writes, “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory” (I Timothy 3:16, ESV).

The second part of this is that Elizabeth proclaims that Mary is also blessed for believing the Word of the Lord.  The angel spoke to her and she believed it in her heart and knew it would come to pass.  And we remember at the birth of our God and Savior, Mary “pondered all these things in her heart.”  Mary believed that all the things that were said to her would be fulfilled.

Again, this is a reason for us to look up to and honor Mary as a fellow believer who received blessing and honor from God far above any other human as the Mother of God.  Mary’s example then is that it is always right to know and believe the Word of God is true and will come to pass exactly as God has promised.

Also, that the Word of God is true and means what it says – God means what He says in His Word.  There is One Way to Salvation through the Son of Mary, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and God has gifted us and blessed us and given us His Word, so how can we neglect it?  How can we doubt it?  How can we refuse to follow after all that God has said in faith and thanks for all He has done in sending His Son to earth as a fragile human baby to save His people?

We are always right to believe God’s Word and to respond to it rightly in faith and obedience, love and thanksgiving.

Shall we follow these examples in the history of the birth of our God and Savior?

Shall we seek to strengthen our faith by going to the Word of God to seek how God has worked and what He has said?  Shall we gather with each other to tell each other how God has worked in and through us and how we are receiving His Word?

Shall we honor Mary, even as we recognize that her blessedness is in Christ, just as our blessedness is to be found in Christ?

Shall we believe and proclaim that Jesus is God, the One God, come to earth in the flesh to save His people?  Shall we receive everything that God has said as the Word of God – always believing it?

Then let us leap with John the Baptist:  Christ has come.  Christ has died.  Christ has risen.  Christ will come again.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for the history of the birth of Your Son on earth.  We thank You for the examples of Mary and Elizabeth, for the clear statement of the authority of Your Word, and the Divinity of Jesus, the Son of Mary.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.