EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
3/11/2026 8:09 PM
My
Worship Time Focus:
PT-2
“Prophetic Confirmation”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Luke 1:141b-43, 45
Message of the verses: “and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit. And she cried out with a loud
voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your
womb! And how has it happened to me,
that the mother of my Lord would come to me?...And blessed is she who believed
that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
I want to pick up where I left off in this morning’s
SD. The phrase blessed are you among
women is a Hebrew superlative expression that describes Mary as the most
blessed of all women. Judges 5:24 states
“24 ¶ "Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of
Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed.” In the Hebrew culture, a woman’s status
was based to a great extent on her children; her significance was directly tied
to their significance. Thus, when a
woman wanted to honor Mary, she called out to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb
that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed” (Luke 11:27). Now Elizabeth’s point was that Mary was
the most blessed woman of all because she would bear the greatest child ever to
be born, Jesus Christ. Although Gabriel
had informed Zacharias that their own son, John, would be great, Elizabeth
humbly acknowledged that Mary’s would be
greater. Elizabeth’s child would be Messiah’s
forerunner, but Mary’s was the Messiah.
So Elizabeth acknowledged that Mary had received the greater privilege
and the greater honor. Being a righteous
woman (1:6), she was thrilled not on at the privilege of bearing Messiah’s
forerunner, but even more so that Messiah was coming, and the Jews had been
looking forward for that for a very, very long time. “6 And they were both righteous before God,
walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” (Luke
1:6).
MacArthur writes “Elizabeth then blessed Mary’s Son,
crying out, Blessed is the fruit of your womb!” That familiar Old Testament phrase (cf.
Gen 30:2; Deut. 7:13; Ps. 127:3; Isa. 13:18), used only here in the New
Testament, refers to the holy Child that Mary would bear.”
(cf. Gen 30:2; Deut. 7:13; Ps. 127:3;
Isa. 13:18)
“2 Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and
he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of
the womb?"
“13 He will love you, bless you, and multiply you.
He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your
grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of
your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you.”
“3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.”
“18 Their bows will slaughter the young men; they
will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.”
“He is the
Messiah (John 4:25-26); the Savior of the world (John 4:42; 1 John 4:14); the
recipient of all of heaven’s praise (Heb. 1:6); the one who is ‘holy,
innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens (Heb.
7:26); the one whom ‘God highly exalted…and bestowed on Him the name
which is above every name’ (Phil. 2:9); the one who will inherit all that
the Father possesses (John 15:15; 17:19); the Lord of glory 1 Cor. 2:8).
“Elizabeth’s exclamation of wonder
and awe, ‘And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would
come to me?” is in effect a pronouncement of blessing of herself. In her true humility, she felt unworthy to be
in the presence of such an honored person (Luke 5:8).” “8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at
Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’” “That Elizabeth, still speaking under the
control of the Holy Spirit, referred to Mary’s Son as my Lord attests to
His deity. Lord is a divine
title, used more than two dozen times in the first two chapters of Luke’s
gospel to refer to God. Therefore, to
call Jesus Lord is first to call Him God (cf. John 20:28).” “28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!’” “Later
the emphasis will include the consequent total submission to His sovereign
lordship (6:45). “46 "Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not
do what I tell you?”
John MacArthur then writes “Despite
the teaching and liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the New Testament
nowhere gives Mary the title ‘mother of God.’
God, being eternal (Gen. 21:33; Deut. 33:27; Ps. 90:2; Isa. 40:28; Hab.
1:12; Rom. 16:26), was never conceived or born, but has always existed. Mary was the mother of the human Jesus, not
His eternal divine nature.”
(Gen. 21:33; Deut. 33:27; Ps. 90:2;
Isa. 40:28; Hab. 1:12; Rom. 16:26)
“33 ¶ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba
and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.”
“27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and
underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and
said, ‘Destroy.’”
“2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or
ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting
you are God.”
“28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The
LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not
faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”
“12 ¶ Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God,
my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment,
and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof.”
“26 but has now been disclosed and through the
prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command
of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith”
Now once again let us look at Elizabeth’s closing statement,
‘blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had
been spoken to her by the Lord,” supplements her earlier blessing of
Mary. Mary was blessed not only because
of her privilege in being the mother of the Messiah, but also because of her faith
in believing that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to
her by the Lord. But “Elizabeth’s
use of the third person pronoun” writes MacArthur “she broadens the
blessing beyond Mary to encompass all who believe that God fulfills His
promises.”
MacArthur concludes: “Mary is not the mother of God, or the queen
of heaven. She plays no role in the
redemption of sinners, and does not intercede for them or hear their
prayers. But she is a model of faith,
humility, and submission to God’s will.
She is an example to all believers of how to respond obediently,
joyfully, and worshipfully to the Word of God.
Therein lies her true greatness.”
Let me just say that even though
Mary was the mother of the Messiah she to was a sinner and needed to be like
all sinners whose desire to be in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ, must
confess their sins, believe in their heart that God will save them through the life,
death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. There has never been a person who accepts the
forgiveness that God offers through Jesus Christ will then wish that they did
that.
3/11/2026
8:53 PM
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