Lesson 3 – Mary Visits Elizabeth

God remembers Mary, filling her womb with the world’s Savior. God remembers us and through His Word and Sacraments, fills us with Christ Jesus, granting us full salvation. Like Mary, we offer our humble praise.

Opening

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

This lesson will use the Bible. Also paper and pencil will be needed.

When Does Life Begin? Opinions include conception; when the heart beats (18 days in utero: and  can be heard at 8 weeks); when brain waves are detected (6 weeks); when thumb sucking is first observed (7 weeks); when the baby seems to feel pain (9 weeks); when fingerprints are formed (14 weeks); when the baby responds to mom's voice (16-20 weeks); when dreams are first detected (23 weeks); birth (38-42 weeks); when the child can exist outside the womb without support (14 or more years).

Watch the video "When Does Life Begin?”.

How does our culture show confusion about when life begins? United States law allows abortions until a baby is viable or able to live outside the womb, about 24 weeks. Yet doctors take extreme, expensive measures to keep premature babies alive. Babies born as early as 22 weeks have lived. The smallest baby who survived was a twin born at 25 weeks gestation at 8.6 ounces.

The law does not consider an unborn child a person, yet if someone kills a pregnant woman, he or she can be charged with two murders. The speaker said science and the Bible agree on when life begins.

Daniel Weiss from the Brushfires Foundation says both science and the Bible say life begins at conception. The new genetic human is fully present at conception and goes through a process of developing and growing afterward.

Think about whether you agree or disagree with the speaker's point that not protecting babies in utero devalues all of life. Try to to qualify your opinion with examples.

 We'll find out more about life in the womb in this lesson.

Prayer:  Lord God, open our hearts and minds to hear and understand Your Word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

God Speaks

When Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to God's Son, he also said that her relative Elizabeth was six months pregnant with a son in her old age.

Read Luke 1:39.

What do you think Mary did after Gabriel left? She "went with haste" to see Elizabeth!

On the Student Page at the end of the lesson, under A telling event, read the scriptures and answer the questions.

SECTION 1: Read Luke 1:39-45.

Why do you think Mary was in such a hurry to see Elizabeth? Pregnant Elizabeth provided physical, tangible proof that Gabriel's message was true. Mary probably felt excited for Elizabeth and wanted to see her.

Elizabeth would be a safe confidant because she lived in Judea, 50 or more miles away, and was experiencing a miracle herself. Since women who are pregnant at the same time often grow closer, we can imagine how these shared special pregnancies brought the two relatives closer together.

How many months pregnant was Mary? Scripture doesn't say when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, but she visited Elizabeth very early in her pregnancy, before she showed.

What happened to Elizabeth and her baby when they heard Mary's voice (verse 41)? The baby leaped in the womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Why did Elizabeth say her baby leaped in her womb (verses 43-44)? The baby (John) leaped with joy at the presence of his Lord in Mary's womb.

How did Elizabeth know about Mary's pregnancy? The Holy Spirit gave Elizabeth this knowledge. It's unlikely Elizabeth heard ahead of time, but even if she did, she expressed faith that the baby was the Lord.

What three things could Elizabeth know and speak only because the Holy Spirit filled her (verses 42-45)? (1) Mary was blessed because she was pregnant ("fruit of your womb"). (2) Elizabeth knew Mary's baby was her Lord. (3) Before Mary had time to tell her story, Elizabeth blessed her for believing what God said.

Look at the promise Gabriel made about Zechariah and Elizabeth's son in Luke 1:15. How was this promise fulfilled this day? Read 1 Corinthians 12:3. The Holy Spirit filled John even when he was in utero, and he recognized the presence of the Lord in Mary's womb.

SECTION 2: Read Luke 1:46-56.

Why did Mary sing these words of praise (verses 46-47)? To praise God and rejoice in what He had done for her and His people.

What did Mary say God did for her (verses. 48-49)? God looked on her humble life and blessed her. All generations will know this and call her blessed. He did great things for her.

What words describe God's qualities (verses 47, 49-51)? My Savior, mighty, holy is His name, merciful, and strong.

Which two sets of corresponding actions did Mary attribute to God (verses 52-53)? God brought down the mighty from their thrones but exalted the humble. He filled the hungry with good things but sent the rich away empty.

What other actions of God did Mary list (verses 51, 54-55)? God showed strength, scattered the thoughts of the proud, helped His servant Israel, and remembered His mercy and His words to Abraham and his offspring (His covenant).

Mary said generations would call her blessed. The Greek word for "blessed" here is makarios, which means "happy, enviable, and favored." Mary was favored, or blessed, by God in a special way.

How has God favored and blessed you? The biggest and most wonderful ways God favored and blessed us is by giving us His own Son to save us from sin, death, and the devil, and by making us His children in Holy Baptism.

How do we respond to God and offer Him our humble praise? In worship, we pray, sing, give offerings, and hear God's Word. In everyday life, we live as servants of the Lord. We read God's Word, share our faith, and do works of mercy and service.

We Live

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What does this account of John and Jesus meeting in their mothers wombs say about when life begins?  John's leaping in Elizabeth's womb when he sensed the presence of Jesus in Mary's womb. This affirms the Holy Spirit even at work in the womb.

What word in verse 41 describes John in utero? Baby. The Greek word translated as "baby" or "infant" describes "babies both before and after birth, implying that an unborn child is a fully human person". An unborn child is a baby, not an impersonal, partially living fetus.

The New Testament uses the same Greek word translated as "baby" in verse 41 eight times. Look at the list of these under Truly Human on the Student Page.

What can we understand from these references? Young children are referred to with the same word as unborn and newborn children. These verses and many others show value for all human life. God created life and sustains it.

In summary:

• Elizabeth - Was filled with the Holy Spirit when Mary entered the house; said things the Holy Spirit revealed: that Mary was pregnant with her Lord
• John - Filled with the Holy Spirit, he leapt in his mother's womb when he sensed the arrival of Mary, pregnant with Christ.
• Jesus: God in the flesh in Mary's womb.
• Zechariah - Not able to speak.
• Mary - Pregnant with Jesus, God in flesh; praised the Lord in song

Read Luke 1:56

"And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home."

So Elizabeth was six months pregnant when Mary arrived. Mary stayed three months. It's possible Mary stayed for John's birth.

What did the birth of Elizabeth and Zechariah's son confirm to them and to Mary? The birth confirmed that God's Word given through Gabriel was true. Elizabeth was pregnant and the baby was a boy, as Gabriel said.

Gabriel's messages to Zechariah and Mary were prophecies. Mary became pregnant with the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth became pregnant with a son despite her old age.

Closing

Close by praying the Lord's Prayer or say a personal prayer.