After spending time with the two dads of Christmas last week, it seems appropriate to visit with the moms, too. Since the Bible has so much to say about Mary, we'll take a look at her alone next week; today, I want to spend a short while with Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.
The Bible doesn't have much to say about Elizabeth. Luke, the only gospel writer to mention her at all, shows her on three separate occasions, so we'll pull back the curtain on those scenes to get a better view of her character.
Along with her husband, Elizabeth is described as righteous and blameless before God. Sadly, she had no children and was past the age of childbearing. But as we already know from Zechariah's story, God was preparing to miraculously open her womb and bless the couple with a baby. And after Zechariah's angelic encounter and his return home, Elizabeth did indeed conceive a son.
In those days, a woman's worth was often judged by her ability to bear children. People assumed that if you were unable to conceive, God must be displeased with you for some reason. So when Elizabeth became pregnant, she must have seen the miracle as God's vindication of her righteous life, and was eager to give Him thanks for it. In Luke 1:25, she says, "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."
The next time we see Elizabeth, she is in the beginning of her third trimester, and is likely beginning to feel quite tired with the extra weight of a baby, especially given her advanced age. Her cousin Mary, who has just received news of her own miraculous pregnancy, comes to visit. When Elizabeth hears her voice, her baby leaps for joy in her womb, and Elizabeth responds with her own Spirit-filled greeting:
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 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.” (Luke 1:42-45)
Elizabeth's final appearance is in Luke 1:57-64, at the birth of her son. When all the family and friends came around to celebrate with them, they began to call the boy Zechariah, after his father, and it was Elizabeth who stepped in. "No," she corrected. "He shall be called John." This was no ordinary moment, first because, as we observed last week, no one in the family was named John, and second, because women ordinarily had little say in these matters. But Elizabeth stood her ground and was soon supported by her husband. The child would be named John and would later be called by Jesus Himself the greatest man to ever live (Matt. 11:11).
Although these three scenes cover less than one year of Elizabeth's life, I believe God means for us to learn something from her. This is a woman whom God characterized as righteous and blameless, and though she has fewer “speaking lines” than either her husband or her young cousin, I believe her example is one we should emulate.
In the first scene, we see her acknowledgement of God’s favor upon her. How often does God give us an unexpected blessing, and we pass it off as mere coincidence, or automatically look for the negative? I can so imagine myself thinking, that's great that I'm going to have a baby, but I am going to be so old, so tired, so…fill-in-the-blank. Not Elizabeth. Though this blessing came later than it does for most women, she simply accepted God’s gift with a thankful heart.
In the second scene, I am impressed with Elizabeth’s response to Mary’s arrival. Despite her own fairly noteworthy pregnancy, she humbly and joyfully acknowledged the greater import of Mary’s circumstances. Elizabeth herself was a walking miracle, and her son would be a powerful figure in Israel’s history; but she recognized and honored Mary and the Savior that she bore within her.
I also can't help but think what a glad moment that must have been for Mary, who had to have been feeling a mixture of excitement, fear, and uncertainty about her own pregnancy. Elizabeth’s Spirit-filled acknowledgment of her faith and her favored status surely offered Mary a measure of reassurance; in addition, at a time when most folks would be looking down on her in doubt or scorn, Elizabeth’s joyous acceptance of her would have been a welcome relief.
And finally, when we see Elizabeth stand strong in the face of familial (though well-intentioned) opposition, we learn the value of firmly standing on God’s Word. The message had been clear: you are to name the boy John. And Elizabeth was determined to obey in spite of the consensus against her.
Elizabeth’s trust in God gave her a heart that was unmovable in its conviction and joyous in life’s most challenging circumstances. If I could have any description written of me, I hope it would be the same as hers: righteous and blameless before God. How about you?
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture used in "Joy in the Morning" is taken from the English Standard Version.
