Mary and Elizabeth, Both Miraculously Pregnant, Have a ‘Visitation’ by Myra Kahn Adams for Red State
The verses we study today preface “the reason for the season” — the birth of Jesus Christ. However, months before Christmas Eve, there occurred two fascinating conversations with world-changing implications. The first is called “The Annunciation,” and the second conversation is known as “The Visitation.”
The Annunciation, better known in secular culture, is recorded in the New Testament Gospel of Luke. The Christmas story begins when the angel Gabriel visits Mary — an unmarried Jewish teenager at her home in Nazareth, Israel — saying, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28).
After telling Mary, “Do not be afraid,” Gabriel shares the miraculous news that ultimately changes the course of humankind:
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You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31-33).
As one would expect, Mary does not understand, asking, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34).
Answer: “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
As if that news was not enough to process, Gabriel shares another family surprise:
“And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God”(Luke 1:36-37).
Mary is shocked, thrilled, and terrified, but most important, accepting, and obedient to God’s will for her saying:
