Elizabeth: The First to Call Him Lord
1 November 2025 · 1 min read · Understanding the Bible
Elizabeth had lived the long ache: righteous before God, walking in all the commandments blameless — and barren, in a culture that read barrenness as reproach. Then, in old age, the angel's promise to her husband: a son, to be called John.
And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
The greeting that leapt
When young Mary arrived carrying her secret, Elizabeth needed no explanation. The babe leaped in her womb, she was filled with the Holy Ghost, and she cried the first human blessing over the incarnate Christ: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Whence is this to me, she marvelled, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? An old woman in the hill country became the first person on record to confess Jesus as Lord — before his birth.
And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
The encourager of Mary
Consider what Elizabeth gave Mary: three months of shelter, understanding, and faith-confirming company at the most vulnerable moment of her life. Blessed is she that believed, Elizabeth told her — and Mary's Magnificat pours out moments later, sung under Elizabeth's roof.
Some are called to bear the headline miracle; others to host and bless it. Elizabeth did the second with such Spirit-filled grace that the church still repeats her words. Be an Elizabeth to somebody's fragile beginning.
