GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LUKE 1:36
36 You will see: Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age. And this is the sixth month for her who was called barren!
Some people wrestle with the relationship of Elizabeth and Mary. If Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron, then how could Mary be descended from David? People are quick to point a finger and say that here must be a mistake in Scripture. But I know two women, an aunt and a niece with the same grandfather: the aunt has no Native American ancestry, but the niece is half Native American. There are countless identical examples in the world; Mary and Elizabeth are truly not a very difficult case. Elizabeth was descended from Aaron and Mary was descended from David.
The angel now confirmed what Luke pointed out in verse 26, that Elizabeth was in her sixth month. There could be no mistaking: Elizabeth would be showing her pregnancy by now. Her burden would be a joy.
The angel runs rings around the Greek language in this verse. He begins with idou (ἰδοὺ) “Behold!” Mary would see for herself the truth of what she was being told. Also, he uses the common Greek verb syllambano (συλλαμβάνω) “to catch,” which is the usual word for catching fish in a net (Luke 5:9) or of a woman “catching” a baby in her womb (en gastri Luke 1:31). But here Gabriel says that she has caught a baby in her gerei “old age” rather than in her gastri “womb.” It happens so fast that many readers of the Greek text plow right past without catching the pun (pastors in our fellowship gather together monthly to read the Greek text together to study it more closely; I’ve seen the very thing I’m describing take place more than once).
Elizabeth, who was barren (and even “called” barren by other people) was barren no longer. The Greek term is cruel: steira (στείρᾳ), Latin sterilis from which we get our word “sterile.” When we sterilize our skin or a table top, we do it so that nothing, especially germs, can grow. When a woman is sterile, it means that she cannot grow a baby or “catch” one in her womb. It’s heartbreaking. It’s a cross that must be heavy to bear. But Elizabeth’s burden was lifted. The chances of losing this baby were growing less and less by the day as she sailed through her sixth month. The angel’s announcement is everything short of a command to go and see Elizabeth.
The Messiah was coming. Miracles were starting to happen. The miracles weren’t proof for unbelievers. Unbelievers don’t believe proof even when it’s presented to them: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:28). The miracles were done for the sake of those who already had faith, to strengthen them, to strengthen their faith, and to strengthen their resolve for the troubled times that were coming. Their faith also strengthens ours, because we share and confess the same Savior with them. Peter said that through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, we have received this precious faith (2 Peter 1:1), and his divine power has given us everything we need for eternal life (1:2). Praise him for your faith, which for you is the most precious of miracles, and your own proof of God’s plan and mercy, and your own guarantee of eternal life.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota