[Luke 1:56, BSB] “56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.”
- Most likely, Mary stayed until the birth of John the Baptist and then went back home.
[Luke 1:57, BSB] “57 When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son.”
- The birth of John shows that God keeps His word and what is written will come to pass.
Everything we read in the Scriptures is trustworthy. We can be confident that those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ will go to heaven after death.
[Luke 1:58, BSB] “58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.”
- God’s hand was evident in Elizabeth’s life. Through God’s miracle, the Lord received glory.
Obedience to the Word of God will bring God’s blessing on you, and in turn, people around you who witnessed it or heard about it will bring them closer to the knowledge of Jesus Christ for salvation.
[Luke 1:59, BSB] “59 On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah.”
- In Leviticus 12:2-3, God commands the Israelites that all boys who are born must be circumcised after seven days, which the Lord prescribed for the mother’s uncleanness [referring to her bleeding while giving birth].
- Circumcision was a covenant that God made between Abraham and his future children, the Israelites. The word “covenant” means that both parties are in league with each other through a treaty. Every Israelite male had to get circumcised to show that they were bound to God and followers of the true God. Circumcision also showed that the circumcised person worships the true God while the non-circumcised one believes in a false god.
- In the New Testament, the fulfillment of circumcision was by receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit in a person distinguishes him from a non-believer.
Romans 2:29
“No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.”
[Luke 1:60, BSB] “60 But his mother replied, “No! He shall be called John.”
- Elizabeth objected to naming her son with the father’s name since God’s angel specifically told Zechariah to give him the name John as seen in verse 13.
All Scriptures are taken from the Berean Study Bible version (BSB). Permission has been acquired.
Spiritual Minefield 