BLESSED ARE YOU AMONG WOMENģ9 Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.Ĥ1 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. The birth of John to barren Elizabeth resembles the birth of Samuel to barren Hannah (1 Samuel 1).The annunciation to Zechariah, his unbelief, and the subsequent birth of John closely resemble the annunciation to Abraham (Genesis 18:1-10), Sarah’s laughter (Genesis 18:11-15), and the birth of Isaac (Genesis 21:1-7).These stories are shot through with Old Testament allusions: Given the age difference between Elizabeth and Mary, it seems likely that Elizabeth is a generation older-perhaps Mary’s aunt. We usually think of John as Jesus’ cousin, but that is based on 1:36, so our knowledge of their relationship is inexact. Luke 1:36 identifies Elizabeth as Mary’s kinswoman or relative (Greek: sungenis), but we don’t know their exact relationship. Major differences include the contrast between Zechariah’s unbelief (1:18) and Mary’s belief (1:38)-as well as Jesus’ superiority over John, as demonstrated by the fact that Elizabeth was only aged when she gave birth to John, while Mary will give birth as a virgin to Jesus (Farris, 290-291).Parallels between the two panels include the angelic announcement of the births (1:8-17, 26-33), the angel’s “Don’t be afraid” (1:13, 30), objections by Zechariah and Mary (1:18, 34), and the angel’s response to the objections (1:19-20, 35-37).Farris characterizes this chapter as a diptych (a pair of hinged panels revealing two related pictures) with the birth of John the Baptist on one side and the birth of Jesus on the other:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |