[Salvation]

Luke
Chapter 1

 

36

And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived ¹³ a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;

37

for nothing will be impossible for God."

38

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

39

During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah,

40

where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

41

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit,

42

cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

43

And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord ¹⁴ should come to me?

44

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

45

Blessed are you who believed ¹⁵ that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."

 

And the footnotes:

¹⁴ [43] Even before his birth, Jesus is identified in Luke as the Lord.

¹⁵ [45] Blessed are you who believed: Luke portrays Mary as a believer whose faith stands in contrast to the disbelief of Zechariah (Luke 1:20). Mary's role as believer in the infancy narrative should be seen in connection with the explicit mention of her presence among "those who believed" after the resurrection at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:14).

[Salvation]

¹³ [36-37] The sign given to Mary in confirmation of the angel's announcement to her is the pregnancy of her aged relative Elizabeth. If a woman past the childbearing age could become pregnant, why, the angel implies, should there be doubt about Mary's pregnancy, for nothing will be impossible for God.