Debbie's Perspective

We left off with the shepherds in the field watching their flock at night. All at once, an angel appears as well as the glory of God shining all around them. The angel comes with incredible news; the Messiah has just been born in Bethlehem.

“Then all at once in the night sky, a vast number of glorious angels appeared, the very armies of heaven! And they all praised God, singing:

‘Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven! For there is peace and good hope given to the sons of men.’ Luke 2:13-14 (TPT)

I think one angel with the glory of God would be pretty amazing, but the very armies of heaven, audible and visible…whoa! This news, this life-giving, grace-filled news, needed a whole choir of praise and glory to herald it in. The armies of heaven couldn’t contain themselves because they knew what this would mean for all people everywhere at all times.

“When the choir of angels disappeared and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go! Let’s hurry and find this Word (in Greek, it’s the word Rhema) who is born in Bethlehem and see for ourselves what the Lord has revealed to us.’ So they hurried off and found their way to Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in a feeding trough.” Luke 2:15-16 (TPT)

They heard the message, and they went. The invitation is still given to us today. The Word is not still lying in a manger for us to run and see, but the life-giving, grace-filled news that Jesus came to us, Immanuel, God with us, is still held out. We have the same choice the shepherds had on that night long ago; sit and marvel at the wonder of it all but do nothing, or go, hurry, and run to seek out this Savior sent to set us free.

“Upon seeing this miraculous sign, the shepherds recounted what had just happened. Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was astonished by what they were told.” Luke 2:17-18 (TPT)

Once we find Christ, the Messiah, then it’s up to us to once again do what the shepherds did and share our story. Everyone they shared this story with were astonished. I know not all believed, there had to be those who said, “Crazy shepherds, what are they going on about? Angels, a baby in a feeding trough, who can believe that wild story?” But there had to be others who listened and believed that night, and their lives would never be the same. I’m in the camp of believers, it’s not some sweet story I’ve heard all my life. I heard, I examined, and now I’m sharing this wonderful story with others.

Today’s truth is this; when you hear the message of peace and hope meant for all people everywhere at all times, you have a choice to hear and walk away or believe, receive, and go tell your story.

There were two verses in the middle of the angel telling Mary about Jesus and her response that we didn’t look at. They are important, and they could have had something to do with Mary’s quick response.

“And listen, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.” Luke 36-37 (AMP)

Mary would have known about her relative’s disgrace of being barren for all those years. She would have known her time had passed, but now the angel is telling her about this impossible gift that didn’t just happen but has been for six months. Mary is young and hasn’t had a lifetime of disappointments to cloud her wonder and awe of the things she is hearing. The angel tells her what will happen to her, he tells her what has already happened to Elizabeth, and he’s told her how it will happen. The only thing left is for her to answer, and she says yes, let everything you’ve said about me come true.

In the next few verses, we see Mary immediately heading to visit Zechariah and Elizabeth. Did she want to see for herself that Elizabeth was pregnant, or, more likely, did she need to tell someone she knew would believe her and help support her in all of this?

At the sound of Mary’s voice, the child Elizabeth is carrying leaps within her, and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. Then Mary gets what she possibly came for, the belief and confirmation that all that has happened to her is real.

“Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, ‘God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.’” Luke 1:42-45 (NLT)

One thing Elizabeth said to her jumped out at me.

You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” Luke 1:45 NLT

Mary believed that the Lord does what He says, but this verse doesn’t say “will” do, it says “would” do. It doesn’t mean that she believes that the Lord will do what the angel said at some point, she believed He would do it, that it is going to happen just as He said. 

Tomorrow we will unpack Mary’s beautiful response to Elizabeth.

Today’s truth is that blessings come to those who believe the Lord does what He says.

Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you! ~ Luke 1:28 (NLT)

Mary was favored. Why? What was it about her that caught God’s attention? Why did He choose her to be the mother of His son? Did she do something special, or did He just pick her out of a group of girls her age who were descendants of David? I don’t think so.

Reading further, we can find many clues as to why God chose Mary.

The angel of the Lord visited her and told her she would conceive a son, name him Jesus, he would be great, would be called the Son of the Most High, be given the throne of David, and would reign over Israel forever. Mary’s response is important.

“Mary asked the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’” Luke 1:34 (NLT)

At first, this may seem that it’s the same kind of response Zechariah had, but what she really wants to know is how it will happen physically for her. She is a virgin. She was saying, “What will I have to do to conceive this baby?”

We know her response was different because Gabriel’s response was different.

“The angel replied, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.’” Luke 1:35 (NLT)

“Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.’” And then the angel left her. Luke 1:38 (NLT)

With all that this meant for her; she would be pregnant and not married, and her fiancé, Joseph, would know it wasn’t his. Would anyone believe her story? She could have been stoned for adultery, but she still said yes. Why? We will explore that tomorrow.

Today’s truth is Mary said yes to the Lord’s request even when the ramifications were formidable. She didn’t hesitate but took the position of being the Lord’s servant.

In Luke 1:21-22 we see the people waiting and wondering why Zechariah is taking so long. When a priest would go into the Holy Place and burn incense on the altar, the people waiting outside would see the smoke rise through the roof of the Temple. They would then know that the priest was offering prayers, and the assembly would fall on their face and pray until the priest came out to pray a blessing on them, and it would be over. When Zechariah finally came out, the people realized he had seen a vision because he kept making signs and was unable to speak. 

“When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. Soon afterward, his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. ‘How kind the Lord is!’ she exclaimed. ‘He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.’”  Luke 1:23-25 (NLT)

Zechariah had to continue to work in the Temple for the whole week. While the priests were on duty, they couldn’t go home. He had to be anxious to get home to Elizabeth and try to explain somehow all that had happened to him in the Holy Place. Thankfully they didn’t have to wait very long before they saw evidence that what the angel said was coming true. Was he shocked or had he gone home and had relations with his wife as an act of belief and obedience to the word that was given? I’d like to believe he chose to believe Gabriel and was partnering with the Lord to enable the promise to happen. He did his part and waited on the Lord to do His.

There is nothing in the text or biblical culture that tells us why Elizabeth secluded herself away for five months upon learning she was pregnant. Does she feel protective of this child and not ready to bring the world into this marvelous gift just yet? Is she waiting until there is no denying that she is pregnant to let people know? Her whole married life she’s been barren, and with that came shame and disgrace. She could have been hesitant to set herself up to public ridicule, even if it would be for a short time. She may have not wanted voices of doubt and unbelief spoken over her or the child. She chose to remain silent about this miracle along with her husband.

Whatever reason Elizabeth had for going into seclusion, we will see in the coming verses that she didn’t have to finish out the last three months of her pregnancy alone.

Today’s truth is that we may have moments of unbelief, but when we choose to believe and partner with God, being obedient to our part of the equation, amazing things happen.