Mary Visits Elizabeth

Making preparations for the arrival of a new baby is always an exciting yet anxious time in a pregnant woman’s life. As part of this time of preparation ladies spend time with the mother to be and Christians may pass on Words of Wisdom, sharing bible verses of encouragement, and praying for the growing baby. In addition, baby clothes, blankets, and items to keep the newborn clean and dry are provided.

This reminds me of the time that Mary went to visit Elizabeth. We read in Luke 1:41 that, when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

The passage goes on to tell us that Mary remained with Elizabeth for three months and then returned home (Luke 1:56). There was lots of time for Mary and Elizabeth to prepare for the birth of their babies. Perhaps they discussed the importance of cutting the umbilical cord, then after washing the newborn to gently rub salt into the skin before wrapping the infant in linen clothes, known as swaddling.

This is speculation, but I wonder if the clothes used to swaddle Jesus (Luke 2:7,12,16), were a gift from Elizabeth. We know that Elizabeth’s husband was a priest named Zechariah. She would have been familiar with the tradition of passing on priestly garments that were no longer acceptable to be worn during priestly service to the Levitical shepherds, so that shepherds could swaddle the Passover lambs to protect them from harm, for only animals without spot or blemish could be used as sacrifice in the temple.

However, we do know that Elizabeth went on to say, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45). More importantly, Jesus’ birth points to His future sacrifice as the Passover Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29-31).