As Advent dawns, Luke chapter 1 invites us into the home of an elderly couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah was a priest from the division of Abijah, faithfully carrying out his duties before the Lord. This couple had no children, and Elizabeth was advanced in years, which meant she was well beyond the natural age of bearing a child.
When we look at the Old Testament, we find that bearing children was regarded as a blessing. Motherhood was seen as part of God’s design, and a woman’s desire to raise a family was considered a central part of her God-given role. Barrenness, however, was often viewed as a reproach, a cause for deep sadness and social shame.
Think, for instance, of Abraham and Sarah. When Hagar conceived, she looked down on Sarah, possibly because Sarah could not bear a child. We see Rachel crying out to Jacob because her womb was closed. We see Manoah’s wife, who remained barren until God intervened. We also see Hannah, who prayed so earnestly for a child that the priest thought she was drunk.
These stories show how deeply barren women longed for motherhood. That longing stands in contrast to certain attitudes in parts of today’s society, where motherhood can be viewed as an inconvenience or as something that gets in the way of personal development or career progress. Yet the biblical picture presents motherhood as something precious and God-ordained, part of raising a generation devoted to Him.
Sometimes we imagine that barrenness or delay must be caused by some unrighteous deed. Yet Luke makes an important point when he tells us that Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all His commandments and statutes. He includes this detail to challenge the idea, common in those days, that barrenness must be the result of punishment. We see similar thinking in the book of Job, where people speak confidently and yet without understanding God’s wisdom, assuming that suffering must be a punishment. Scripture makes it clear that this assumption is false.
There are times in life when we experience delay, disappointment, or unanswered questions. Yet all of it falls within God’s timing and God’s plan. As human beings, we struggle to understand the divine timeline. More often than not, we see God’s wisdom only when we look back. Every closed door and every season of waiting fits into His sovereign purpose.
Into this situation God sends Gabriel to speak to Zechariah. Gabriel announces that Elizabeth will conceive a son. Zechariah looks at his own age and at his wife’s age and asks how this could possibly be. His reaction is very human. Like Sarah before him, he almost laughs at the idea. We often do the same. We look at ourselves and say, “My time has passed. It is too late.”
There is a similar pattern in the story of Lazarus. Jesus waited until Lazarus had died and his body had begun to decay before performing the miracle. From our point of view, it seems like a delay. From God’s point of view, it is perfect timing. Martha said, “If you had been here, he would not have died,” yet the Lord knew exactly what He was doing.
Because of Zechariah’s unbelief, he was made unable to speak until the promised events took place. Elizabeth did conceive, and she kept her pregnancy hidden for five months. During this time, she thanked God for taking away her reproach (1,25).
At this point the scene shifts to Mary, a young relative of Elizabeth. When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, Gabriel appeared to Mary. Mary was probably in her late teens. She was betrothed to Joseph, which meant she was legally pledged to him in marriage, and she was a virgin.
Gabriel greeted her with the words, “Greetings, favoured one. The Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled by this greeting, just as Zechariah had been troubled by Gabriel’s appearance. Gabriel reassured her, told her not to fear, and announced that she would conceive a son.
Here the pattern changes. Until now, births had been granted to older barren women. But Mary was young, she was not barren, and she was betrothed yet still a virgin. Two women stand before us: one old and far beyond conceiving, and one young and virgin.
If Mary were found to be pregnant, it would naturally raise suspicion and judgement very different from anything Elizabeth experienced. Society would look upon her with contempt. She would be labelled unfaithful and ostracised. We might wonder whether Mary thought about her parents before saying, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Did she consult Joseph? We are not told. What we do see is that Mary was willing to face stigma for the sake of God’s will. Under the Mosaic law, adultery could result in being stoned. But Mary had committed no act of adultery, yet her miraculous pregnancy could easily have been mistaken for one. And yet she said yes.
Many young people in India experience something very similar when they hear the good news and come to know the Lord from non-Christian backgrounds. Some are thrown out of their homes. Friends may mock them and call them names such as “rice bag”, assuming they converted for some material gain. Relatives may taunt their parents at family gatherings, questioning why their child is no longer following their customs, or suggesting that they must be mentally unstable. Some families stop inviting them to functions altogether, leaving them to live under a cloud of stigma. In more severe cases, they may even face death threats, and many feel compelled to hide their faith out of fear of the consequences. The fear that these young believers carry is very real when Christ enters their lives.
When we read the text, Luke tells us that Mary was favoured in the eyes of God. She had accepted God’s will and plan for her life. Yet in the eyes of society she would no longer appear favoured. She would be regarded as a fornicator, a woman who had conceived a child outside of marriage. At times, when we find favour with God, those around us may not understand. Gossip may spread. People may assume there is something wrong with us. Nazareth is a small village of about fifty households (smaller than my local church in Bangalore); word gets around rather quickly. Mary had no way of convincing others of what Gabriel had told her; they would simply have dismissed her as mad. Many who accept God’s will still face this same kind of misunderstanding today.
The only immediate comfort Mary had was the secret Gabriel shared with her, which Elizabeth had not yet revealed – that Elizabeth was already six months pregnant.
Mary did not wait to justify herself or explain her situation. She went straight to Elizabeth’s house. She knew that the only person who could truly understand her was Elizabeth. Only those who have had an encounter with God can understand someone else who has also had an encounter with God. When you are young, alone, and frightened because you have accepted God’s will, God will bring an older, wiser Elizabeth into your life to understand and encourage you.
Luke tells us that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months, which is until the time Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist. Those three months were needed for the Lord to prepare Joseph to take his rightful place in the divine plan.
When Mary entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She declared Mary blessed among women and called the fruit of her womb blessed as well. And she greeted her as the mother of my Lord.
It takes a Spirit-filled Elizabeth to recognise God’s work in someone else. Others may not call Mary blessed, and her situation may not appear blessed at all from the outside. But Elizabeth, filled with the Spirit, recognised what God was doing.
In our churches today, when we see new believers or young people who have accepted God’s calling and have been rejected by their communities, we need Elizabeths who open their homes and hearts to them.
While Mary was with Elizabeth, she sang the song that we now call the Magnificat, still sung in many liturgical churches today. Mary did not complain or lament her situation. She did not ask why these things had happened to her. Instead, she praised God. Even though her future seemed uncertain, even though she did not know whether Joseph would accept her, even though her life was at risk, she praised God. Some of the most joyful hymns arise not when everything is going well, but when we walk through the most uncertain moments of life and recognise that this, too, is God’s will and that we are blessed.
True blessing in life is not when everything goes according to plan. True blessing is when you accept God’s will, even when there is chaos around you, and you know that God is in control.