Day 8 of Preparing Your Heart for Advent

I love reading and re-reading the Bible. I'm always amazed at the fresh perspective God gives me as I study His word, no matter how many times I've studied a passage before. This can certainly be said of the Christmas story. How many times have we read this story? I mean, I think many of us know it so well that we often skim over parts of it because our brain recognizes it. This year, I've slowed down and purposefully have been studying it through a Bible study that I'm doing. In case you haven't guessed, I'm sharing little pieces that I've been studying throughout. Take a look at this passage below.
"A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, 'God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said." (Luke 1:39-42)

Backing up to earlier in the passage, an angel comes to tell Zechariah that he will have a son, call him John the Baptist, and will turn many Israelites to the Lord, among other things he says. Zechariah, who is by this time old and whose wife, Elizabeth, is old and has been unable to bear children, doubts what the angel tells him. He asks for a sign. So since he has doubted, he is made silent until John the Baptist is born. An angel then goes to Mary and tells her she will give birth to Jesus, the Son of God. She believes and responds with "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true." (v.38)

Now that we have a little background, we pick up with the passage quoted above. Mary travels 80-100 miles, which is believed to be about a 4-day journey, while pregnant, to see her relative Elizabeth. When Elizabeth hears Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped. How incredible if you think about it.

How did John the Baptist know Mary? Well, John had the Holy Spirit in him from before birth, according to verse 15b where an angel tells Zechariah "He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth." Then the passage above tells us that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. They knew Jesus and saw that prophecy was being fulfilled. It was a neat realization to see that these women and children were the first to have the Holy Spirit.

Now this is not a life-changing revelation, but it is something truly awesome to think about and to ponder. They knew Jesus and believed and were a part of the prophecy being fulfilled. Do we believe or do we doubt?