Page 16 - November 2025 - Truth & Tidings

ary wasted no time. When (v41). Apparently, John responded even
Gabriel appeared to her, Elisa- before Elisabeth did!
Mbeth was in her sixth month of The question is, why did John leap?
pregnancy (v36). We are informed later There may be two reasons. First, there
that “Mary abode with her about three was a prophet in Elisabeth’s womb, and
months” (v56) just before the birth of this was his first “prophecy.” Recall that
1
John. Therefore, she must have departed Zacharias was told that their son would
almost immediately following Gabriel’s be filled with the Holy Spirit even from
announcement. his mother’s womb (v15). The Holy Spirit
prompted this leaping. It appears that
Mary Running Mary had already conceived, for Elisabeth
Not only did Mary leave quickly, but calls her “the mother of my Lord” (v43),
she traveled quickly, moving “with haste” not “the soon-to-be mother of my Lord.”
(v39) to the home of Zacharias and Elisa- Therefore, John leaped in the presence of
beth. Their dwelling was somewhere in the the One he would have the privilege of
hill country surrounding Jerusalem, 80-100 introducing to the nation of Israel.
miles from Nazareth. Mary had a four- or The second reason he leaped is given by
five-day trip to make, and she would not Elisabeth herself: “For, lo, as soon as the
be stopping to see the sights along the way. voice of thy salutation sounded in mine
She was eager to visit her relative who ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy”
shared a miraculous pregnancy. (v44). Incredibly, John was overcome with
Did Mary go alone on such a long trip? joy while still in the womb of his mother.
Did she connect with a caravan heading We should pause here for a moment
south? Luke doesn’t tell us, so it must not and notice these details about an unborn
be important. What is important is what baby given to us by Dr. Luke. He refers to
happened when she got there. Finally, John in the womb of Elisabeth as a “baby”
she appeared unannounced in the aged (vv41,44). The same Greek word (brephos)
couple’s doorway. “And [Mary] entered is used in the next chapter (2:12,16) to refer
into the house of Zacharias, and saluted to the recently born Jesus in the manger.
Elisabeth” (v40). Whether in or out of the womb, it’s a
baby, a human life. Scripture makes no
John Leaping distinction. We live in a world stained by

We are not given the details of Mary’s the blood of tens of millions of innocent
salutation (greeting), but it was enough to unborn children. Abortion is deemed
cause John to leap. “And it came to pass, acceptable, even preferable, to a society
that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation bound and determined to reduce the
of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb” population as well as our carbon footprint.
Many attempt to quell their consciences on
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the the subject by referring to the “embryo” or
KJV. “fetal tissue” or even the “clump of cells”

336 TRUTH kTidings November 2025