Elizabeth, Mother of John the Baptist
Elizabeth was chosen by God to be the mother of John the Baptist,
who would prepare the way before Jesus! God chose Zacharias and
Elizabeth for the special task of rearing and teaching the miracle child
He provided. We read about Elizabeth in the book of Luke. John, the
Baptist, was the greatest prophet, and his father and mother were
instrumental in teaching him in the ways of God. Zacharias, John’s
father, was a priest of God.
In order to serve as a priest in the temple, one had to be of the tribe
of Levi and, more specifically, of the Levitical family of Aaron. And
clearly we see that Elizabeth was descendant a daughter of Aaron.
“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest
named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the
daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth” (Luke 1:5).
Elizabeth knew what the angel had previously told Zacharias,
“You shall call his name John” (Luke 1:13). John, for he will be great
in the sight of the LORD. He is never to take wine or other fermented
drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is
born. (Luke 1:15). He was prophesied to be great in the sight of the
Lord, and through his ministry he would turn many of the children of
Israel to the Lord their God. He was to go before Him in the spirit and
power of Elijah, and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord
(Luke 1:16-17).
Elizabeth had never had children and was barren. Zacharias and
Elizabeth had faithfully kept the covenant of their God, and they had
respectfully upheld God’s name. They spoke truth, and they walked in
all the commandments of God and were people of virtue. Elizabeth
stated her gratitude for God’s blessing, “Thus the Lord has dealt with
me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach
among people” (Luke 1:25).
Elizabeth and her husband, Zacharias, lived in the hill country of
Judah. When Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy, Mary
visited Elizabeth. “Now Mary arose in those days and went into the
hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of
Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth” (Luke 1:39-40).
Elizabeth believed, and had faith in God that He would fulfill the
promises He had made. “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit”
(Luke 1:41). Mary had just conceived in her womb, in a miraculous
pregnancy, the Lord Jesus Christ. “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit” (Luke 1:41).
Elizabeth was led by the Holy Spirit to tell Mary, “Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this
granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For
indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the
babe leaped in my womb for joy” (Luke 1:42-44).
Elizabeth gave Mary encouragement with her words, “Blessed is
she who believed, for there shall be a fulfillment of those things
which were told her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45). Elizabeth is the first
person in Luke’s Gospel to refer to Jesus as Lord when she spoke to
Mary. Elizabeth confirmed that Jesus Christ is Lord!
Now, Elizabeth showed courage and obey God by standing up to
relatives when the time came to circumcise John and his father was
unable to speak; “So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to
circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of
his father, Zacharias. His mother answered and said, ‘No, he shall be
called John.’ But they said to her, ‘There is no one among your
relatives who is called by this name (Luke 1:59-61). Then, Zacharias
asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John” (Luke 1:63).
Zacharias and Elizabeth were faithful to God. These were the kind
of parents God chose to instruct John the Baptist. The mothers of
leaders in the Bible are often noted for their influence in the rearing
and teaching of their sons. “Among those born of women, there is not
a greater prophet than John” (Luke 7:28). Elizabeth teaches us to
believe what God says He will do even if it seems impossible!