READ THIS: Luke 1:26-38
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered,
“The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?
Here we go!!! Mary coming in! Elizabeth and Mary, it turns out, are related to one another! So two people in the same family were visited by an angel and were told that they would give birth to a baby (when that shouldn't have been possible).
I have two questions when reading this: First, how come Zechariah gets punished for asking a question but Mary doesn't, and, second, why are the stories of Mary and Elizabeth so intertwined?
For the first question, it seems like Zechariah and Mary had very different hearts when asking their questions. Both asked about the impossibility of having a baby, but Gabriel tells Zechariah that Zechariah doesn't believe. On the other hand, Mary, after asking her question, completely buys in. People ask questions for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes, we do it because we are actually curious, and other times we do it to try to make someone else look silly. It seems like Mary might have asked out of genuine curiosity, while Zechariah was trying to show that Elizabeth having a baby was plain impossible, no matter the power of God.
For the second question, there are definitely different reasons for why God acted in that way, and He is the only one who knows for sure. That being said, how kind of God to have two women who knew each other go through the impossible together! Could you imagine having an impossible thing happen that no one else would believe and then having to go through that all alone? God provides people in our lives for a reason, and while there may be more theological reasons for why John and Jesus are relatives, the beauty of it is that Mary and Elizabeth went through the impossibilities of God together!
THINK ABOUT IT:
1. How often do you question God? What is the heart behind your questions of God? Are you actually curious about His answers?
2. Who has God put in your life that has a similar experience to you? What is it like knowing there is someone else who has that similar experience?
TRY THIS:
Think about a question you have that you are genuinely curious about, and ask God about it! After, go see if you can find someone else who shares that same question!
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