Taken from Luke 1:5-44
Elisabeth and Zechariah had wanted children very badly, and had prayed many times that God would give them a child, but they had none; and now they were too old.
It was a Jewish custom to pick a different priest each week to burn incense to the Lord, in the very most sacred place in the Temple, called the inner sanctuary. It was a privilege that came only once in a lifetime, to a very chosen few. Zechariah had waited all his life, hoping to be picked to do this special service. At last, his turn came. While he was burning the incense to the Lord in the inner sanctuary, many people stood outside, praying. Suddenly, an Angel appeared to the right of the altar. Zechariah was frozen with fear.
But then the angel spoke. "Zechariah, don't be afraid. God has heard the prayer of you and your wife, for a child. Elisabeth is going to bear you a son! You will name him John. It will be a time of great joy and happiness, and there will be many who will be overjoyed when he is born. He will be a great prophet. God has a special job for him. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before he is born. He will have the power of Elijah, the great prophet of old. He will be the one who prepares people for the coming of the Messiah."
Zechariah was stunned. He said to the angel, "How can this be? I am an old man, and my wife is too old to have children. How will I know this is going to happen?"
The Angel answered, "I am Gabriel, the angel who stands in the presence of God. It was God who sent me to you. Because you did not believe this good news, you will not be able to speak until the child is born. That will be your sign."
The people who stood outside the sanctuary were wondering why it was taking Zechariah such a long time to come out. When he finally did come out, he was mute. He couldn't speak to them. When he began to use sign language, they realized that he must have seen a vision.
As soon as his week of duty at the temple was over, Zechariah went home to his wife. Not long after, Elisabeth knew that she was going to have a baby. She was so happy, but for five months she kept it a secret from her neighbors, a secret just between her and Zechariah.
In those days it was a disgrace to a married woman if she could not bear children. So every day she praised the Lord because at last she was to have a child. At last her disgrace was removed. But it was not time yet to tell her good news to everyone. But oh, it would be good if she had another women to tell her secret to.
And then when Elisabeth was six months pregnant, a second wonderful thing happened. In a nearby town, the town of Nazareth, lived a young woman by the name of Mary. She was just a teenager, and was not married. One day Mary was in her house doing her work. Possibly she was humming, thinking about Joseph and her upcoming wedding. She was engaged to a good man, Joseph, a carpenter, from the family line of King David of old… When Mary turned her head, she saw Angel Gabriel standing beside her. He said, "Greetings. You are greatly favoured. The Lord God is with you!"
Many people in those days believed that if you saw an angel you would die. So when Mary saw the angel beside her, she was frightened and very confused. What was the Angel trying to say to her? Why had he come to her? She tried hard to think of anything really bad she had done, but she could think of nothing.
The angel saw her fear and said, "Don't be afraid, Mary. God has chosen you to be the mother of the Son of the Most High. You are going to give birth to the Christ Child. You will name the baby, Jesus. He is the promised Messiah. He is coming to save people from their sin. He will eventually set up His Kingdom, which will last forever."
"But how can this be? How can I have a child?" asked Mary, still a little frightened. "Joseph and I are not yet married. I am a virgin."
Then the angel said, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God."
The angel Gabriel went on to tell Mary that her cousin, Elisabeth, was also going to have a child. This surprised Mary, as she knew her cousin was very old, and old people do not usually bear children. But then she heard the angel saying, "I know that everyone who knew Elisabeth thought she would never have a child, but she is already six months pregnant. Nothing is impossible with the Lord."
Mary was no longer frightened. She knew that God had really honoured her, so she bowed her head and responded, "I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept anything God wants of me. I am happy to be used of God."
Young women down through the ages dreamed of being the one chosen to bear the Son of God. The words of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14—A virgin will conceive a child, whose name will be Immanuel) were well known to all the Jewish people. They were read the Scriptures weekly when they came to the Temple. But to have this wonderful thing happen to her! It was amazing! But whom could she tell? No one would believe her. She couldn't even to tell Joseph yet. She thought again of what Gabriel had told her about her cousin Elisabeth. So she packed a bag and went to the nearby city of Judah, where Elisabeth and Zechariah lived.
Zechariah and Elisabeth were happy to see their young cousin, and welcomed her. At last Elisabeth had another women to talk to about her good news of bearing the "Forerunner of the Messiah."
When Mary and Elisabeth were alone in the room, Mary told Elisabeth HER good news, of being chosen to bear the Christ Child. Immediately, as soon as Elisabeth heard the good news, she felt the child within her jump. As God said He would, He filled the baby with the Holy Spirit right then, while he was still in Elisabeth's womb.
Both the women began to praise the Lord, for they were truly two very special women, chosen of God to bear two very special people: John the Baptist, who was later called, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness," and Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind.
Mary returned to her own house just before Elisabeth gave birth to her son, John the Baptist. Six months later Jesus was born. These cousins, sons of two very special women, did not meet each other until thirty years later, when John, the son of Elisabeth and Zacharias, baptized Jesus, the son of God and Mary. And that was the beginning of Jesus' special ministry on earth.
© Helen Dowd
