Dear Explorer,
Mary stayed with Zechariah and Elizabeth for the first 3 months of her pregnancy. These were 3 months of preparation – spiritually, emotionally and physically. I'm sure that Elizabeth was very familiar with the Jewish Scripture and its teachings concerning Messiah and was sharing that information with Mary. Zechariah was probably pointing them to his scrolls and showing them the prophecies. Of course, he couldn't speak!
Note: We call the first part of our Bible the Old Testament. But the Jews call this same collection of God's teachings the Law and the Prophets. But it's the same writings.
I'm sure they started way back in Genesis 3:15 when God told Satan that an offspring of woman would one day crush (or bruise) his head. Then they would have looked at the promises of Messiah that were given to Abraham and later to King David. Then I think they would have spent a lot of time in the Old Testament book of Isaiah looking at all the prophecies there. Since there are over 300 prophecies made about the coming Messiah, they were pretty busy. Yes, these were busy and important days that would strengthen and prepare Mary for the days ahead. As she studied the Scripture and heard all the things that were promised, I'm sure that she was filled with incredible joy and peace and excitement!
Read Luke 1:46-56
I'm not sure whether Mary said this poetic piece when she first arrived at Elizabeth and Zechariah's home or later. But it is a beautiful poem that she composed and is sometimes call the Magnificat. Most people believed that she sang it and it has been set to music by various composers.
I felt from reading it that Mary had a pretty good understanding of her role. How do you think she got this understanding?
I don't know whether she composed this song when she first arrived at Elizabeth's or whether it was later. If it was later, then I would say it was from her studies with Elizabeth and Zechariah and their encouragement to her. But, if indeed she said this to Elizabeth when she first arrived, that raises an interesting question. Do you think that the Holy Spirit that filled her physical body with Jesus, was also filling her mind with spiritual information?
Maybe so. We know that she was filled with incredible joy. And we're told in Galatians 5:22 that joy is a fruit (or evidence) of the presence of the Holy Spirit. I personally believe that the Holy Spirit was equipping her to do this task. Because things are about to get rough.
We are told that as Elizabeth approached full term and was ready to give birth, Mary returned to her home. Drum roll. Sinister music playing in the background. What do you think she encountered there?
Now, she may or may not have told her parents about the encounter with the angel and her supernatural pregnancy before she left, but now, there's no hiding it. Between the 3rd and 5th month of pregnancy, a woman begins to show her “baby bump”. If the little village of Nazareth hadn't heard the rumors by now – the streets were full of talk. This may have been the first time Joseph had heard of it. We don't know. But we can be assured that it was not a pleasant time for Mary.
Now, any time a woman became pregnant without marriage, she would claim that God had sent “the Messiah.” So, this “excuse” would have been ridiculed.
I personally believe that she must have struggled emotionally during this time, but that God continued to be faithful to provide her with encouragement and strength to get through it.
You will discover that God's Holy Spirit wants to fill you with joy and peace and love even in the middle of really hard times.
In His service, dale
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