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? - Luke 1:30-31
Greetings in the ancient near east were complex affairs. They were formal, and required specific protocol, even among family members. Elizabeth and Mary were related, though probably loosely. The term in Greek for ‘cousin’ simply indicates family. Since they were from different tribes (Mary from Judah, Elizabeth from Levi), this relationship was likely through Mary’s mother.
Regardless of how they were related though, we do know that Elizabeth was substantially older than Mary. Ancient near eastern culture was profoundly honorific, and so Mary owed homage and honor to Elizabeth, her elder family member.
However, when Mary arrives at Elizabeth’s home, something remarkable happens. Elizabeth blesses Mary, and blesses the fruit of her womb.
This verse has often been used incorrectly to honor Mary. However, a simpler reading of the text proves that Elizabeth is not honoring Mary, but blessing her. Notice what she says - ‘blessed are you among women’. She doesn’t say that Mary is the source of blessing, but that Mary is the recipient of blessing.
And this blessing isn’t small. Elizabeth says that Mary is the most blessed woman in all of history. That’s a remarkable statement, until we remember the promise made to Eve thousands of years before.
In Genesis 3:15, God promises Satan that a Seed of the woman would come and crush his head. A woman would bring the Conquerer into the world.
For 5000 years, babies were born. Generations came and went. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of mothers gave birth, generation after generation. All those babies were special. But none of them was the One.
But when Mary visited Elizabeth that day in ancient Israel, Elizabeth understood that the most remarkable thing in human history had happened to her young cousin. She would bring the Messiah into the world.
No wonder then, that Elizabeth remarks with absolute shock that Mary has visited her! But the shock isn’t about Mary - she says, “How has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me?” It isn’t anything special about Mary that causes Elizabeth to rejoice, but about the infant she is carrying in her womb.
That infant, even in the earliest stages of pregnancy, wasn’t just another of the million babies born for all those generations. No - that baby was the Lord.
And so, Elizabeth blesses Mary. The older blesses the younger. Cultural norms aren’t broken after all. In fact, quite the opposite. Elizabeth confirms that God has richly blessed Mary because she carries in her womb the Lord of all creation—the sovereign One, come as a baby—Jesus.
