Transcription

Chris
So did you know that, uh, the Virgin Mary was a singer?

Jeff
I didn’t know that.

Chris
Yeah. She came up with an album of her own.

Jeff
Wow. She had her own album?

Chris
No. Not really.

Jeff
No. Okay. But she sang a song.

Chris
She did.

Jeff
Okay. That must be magnificent. So he’s Chris, and I’m Jeff, and we’re the Bible guys.

Chris
Okay. Very clever you are.

Jeff
Yeah. So Mary’s song was called historically is called the Magnificat.

Chris
Right. And you said magnificent. That’s really funny. So, hey, listen, we’re going to pause and we’re gonna.

Jeff
See what I did there. See what I did? Magnificent, magnificent.

Chris
I see where they’re going with this. Um, so, uh, we’re going to do a quick, quick bit today, and it’s the whisper challenge. So we’ll do these are, we’ll do one each. Okay. Okay. Uh, and, uh, I have it loaded up with Taylor Swift.

Jeff
Oh. Of course.

Chris
Uh, and it’s shake it off.

Jeff
I would expect nothing else.

Chris
And it’s going to be very loud. Okay. Are you ready?

Jeff
I’m ready. Oh my goodness, that is loud. Okay, ready? Okay. I’m ready. Can you.

Chris
Hear me? Can you hear me? Okay. My sermons are better than your sermons.

Jeff
I think you said something about. Something is better than something else. But I don’t know. One more time, okay?

Chris
My sermons are better than your sermons.

Jeff
My sermons are better than your sermons.

Chris
Yes.

Jeff
Our listeners would be like, ah, yeah, that’s kind of true.

Chris
That’s funny though, right? Yes. All right, here we go. So I’m going to go and you can feel free to. Oh no I guess I’ll do it. Ready. Yes.

Jeff
Wow. It’s loud. Okay. Um. I know how much you like me to whisper in your ear.

Chris
Wow, I didn’t catch that law one more time.

Jeff
I know how much you like me to whisper in your ear.

Chris
I didn’t catch any of it. I’m so bad at this game.

Jeff
I mean, I usually am too, but I. Okay, I said, I know how much you like for me to whisper in your ear.

Chris
See, yours are too long. Yours are way too long. I have to.

Jeff
My sermons are better than your sermons.

Chris
My sermons are better than your sermons. Yes.

Jeff
I had twice as many syllables.

Chris
Yeah, and you talk very fast. So I was, I was, I was wanting you to get well then.

Jeff
So we used the same amount of time.

Chris
Right. And I failed. Okay. And you win. Well all right.

Jeff
I’m the winner. There we go.

Chris
That’s it.

Jeff
Thank you, uh, Desiree, for finding something I can beat Chris at.

Chris
That’s true.

Jeff
There you go. Yeah. So. Well.

Chris
That’s great. Uh, we are moving on.

Jeff
Thank. Your sermons are better than my sermons.

Chris
Uh.

Jeff
It’s funny. Yeah. What are you preaching about this week?

Chris
Um. Pride. Oh, okay. Yeah. There you go.

Jeff
Good luck with that one.

Chris
Oh, gosh. That was that was really, really great timing. That was awesome.

Jeff
Okay, here we go.

Chris
Good for you. Oh, that was really good.

Jeff
That is what you’re preaching on this week, isn’t it? It is.

Chris
It’s so funny. Dude.

Jeff
I hope this is a really good one. I hope it’s your best effort.

Chris
Well, you know what I think it will be?

Jeff
It doesn’t have to be your best ever. Just better than mine, right?

Chris
That’s so funny. That’s really good. Okay.

Jeff
I love it, man. I really do enjoy doing this stuff. Yeah. Me too. We bust on each other a lot, but I enjoy it. It makes me feel like you’re one of my brothers. Yeah, because that’s how brutal it is at my house.

Chris
Yeah, yeah. Well, I have four older brothers. Oh, yeah? Yeah. And, uh, they just used to punch me and, uh, do mean things to me for the most part. Tommy didn’t. The chucking Donny always did.

Jeff
Besides being mean, did they? Do they tease you? Do you guys have, like, a teasing family?

Chris
We used to. Yeah, but the problem is we don’t really see each other all that much, okay?

Jeff
Our family, our family just teases all the time. Yeah. It’s just always teasing.

Chris
Yeah, yeah, it used to be that way growing up. But to be quite honest with you, it was not good teasing. Oh, yeah. So we were very sort of, you know. Oh, we.

Jeff
Liked each other mostly. Oh, we liked each other. So I tolerated my three younger brothers and they look up to me a lot and they just want to be me. And so, you know, we tease each other a little bit.

Chris
Want to be me? Yeah. Well, you know how, like, every generation learns from the mistakes of the previous generation. Yeah. Right. So in other words, like when we were young, we had bullies, right? Yeah, sure. But in today’s day and age, it’s it’s we’re the principles of the high schools are our age. Right. And we’re just anti-bully because we, we we’ve learned. Right. So there’s no teasing like there used to be. Sure. Although they’re still teasing, you know, that kind of thing. But, um, and I think, I think, uh, to be honest with you, uh, the power of words and the whole psychology of it and the therapy and everything else, uh, our family just didn’t understand how destructive, uh, those kind of things, like making fun of people.

Jeff
Yeah, like meanness and playfulness.

Chris
Uh, mostly mean is what I’m saying. Yeah, yeah, what I’m saying. Yeah. But then, so in my.

Jeff
Family, the teasing was only ever playful. Yeah. Like like if we crossed the line from playful over to mean. Yeah, well, my mom and dad would come down on us really hard. Yeah, well, so it’s always just a play. Yeah.

Chris
We grew up in different households there. Yep, yep. Uh, but we would just say, oh, I’m just kidding, you know. So there wasn’t there wasn’t like Love Lost. Yeah. It was just like it’s like, get over it, buckle up and, you know, or buck up, you know?

Jeff
Yeah. Well, that’s not how I hope you never feel like that’s what I’m doing.

Chris
No, not at all.

Jeff
Not at all. Yeah.

Chris
So if anything yours is mild. Yeah. Exactly. Compared to where I grew up. Right. Yep. So anyway. Okay.

Jeff
Well, hey, uh, we’re talking about talking about family members. We’re talking about Mary and Elizabeth. They’re cousins.

Chris
And this is where they meet.

Jeff
They’re both expecting, uh, well, they probably had met before, but this is where they.

Chris
We get a glimpse.

Jeff
They join? Yeah. They join the.

Chris
This is our only glimpse of them meeting.

Jeff
Uh, Luke chapter one, verse 39. It says. A few days later, Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and entered and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said. And then Mary responds with this incredible song that we call the Magnificat, and she says, oh, how my soul praises the Lord! How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For he took notice of his lowly servant girl. And from now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. His mighty arm has done tremendous things. He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He’s helped his servant Israel, and remembered to be merciful. For he made his promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever. And Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.

Chris
Yeah that’s it right. Yep.

Jeff
That’s it. Yeah.

Chris
So um, so yeah, obviously they met before, but I was meaning this is the time I was joking in the Bible when they met. And, uh, and I love how, uh, uh, Elizabeth acknowledges that Mary believed because think about it. Uh, they are months and months into this, uh, uh, thing. And, uh, all of that time, Zechariah still has not spoken a word. Right? Because, you know, he we’re about to see on tomorrow’s podcast that he doesn’t get to speak until, uh, the baby is born. Right? So, um, so think about it. That’s they’re living every day. This one little line gives us insight on how they’re. They’re living every day with the consequences of unbelief. And you know what? It actually, uh, just goes to show you that sometimes, you know, we can choose our choices, but we don’t get to choose our own consequences. Right? Yeah. That’s right. We’re free to make our own choices all day long. Yeah, but sometimes those choices come with consequences and those we can’t choose. So sometimes you live with consequences. And there are people who I was just watching, uh, actually a video on Facebook where this guy was going around. And for some reason, I don’t know why, but this guy said, I will give you $500 if you answer one question. This guy, I think he was in London somewhere, and in this he was an older guy. And and he said, what? And he said, tell, tell me your biggest regret. And the guy said, and think about the answer. He goes, I regret walking out on a girl who she was pregnant and I walked out on her and I don’t know where she is, don’t know where she is in the world, don’t know where my son is, never met him. And he said, and I’ve regretted it every single day. He’s an old man now, every single day. And then he starts crying and says he goes. Every time I think about it, I cry. He goes, and. And I can’t believe you’re getting me to think about it now. Wow. And he was angry. And then and then and then and then the guy asking the question was like, uh, here’s your $500, right? It was so awkward at the end. Right, right. And then and then the kid didn’t know what to say. He was just a kid, right? And he goes, everything’s going to be okay, right? And I’m like, you don’t even know what to say, right? You’re like 21. What do you say? So the point is, is that you can’t sometimes you just make the mistakes and you have to deal with it, and you just have to lean on God’s grace. And this one little sentence gives us insight that that’s exactly what Elizabeth is doing. You know, they’re just trusting God now, in the future. Yeah. And they’re regretting the fact that they didn’t believe him in the past. Yeah.

Jeff
I think it’s interesting. The Bible doesn’t say, um, a lot about, you know, did Mary travel by herself? Doesn’t say anything about that. She just shows up. And, you know, Elizabeth and Zechariah live outside of Jerusalem, in the hill country of Judea. You’ve been there. You know how steep it is. The it’s it’s very steep hills. There’s not a lot of grass or trees. It’s kind of a stark area and a lot of those, those places. And then all of a sudden you come over on the other side of the hill and it’s grass and, you know, beautiful. So I would imagine if they’re trying to make a living, priests typically wound up being farmers and or shopkeepers of some sort because they didn’t have an inheritance like the rest of the the people of Israel did. So probably somewhere where you could grow grass, raise some sheep, keep a business going, um, 70 miles from Nazareth. And you got this girl who just got the craziest news ever. And, uh, try and probably. Who knows, maybe she had to move out of the house. I don’t know why she’s here. And it doesn’t say anything about how she got there. It doesn’t say that her family came with her. But the greeting that Elizabeth gave her is so beautiful to me, and I think is a lesson for us. Um. When when she, she says, you know, she gives us glad cry. God has blessed you above all women, women and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored that the Lord of my, uh, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? Um. And she just. She loves Mary in this moment. Now, the Holy Spirit had confirmed it in her. But there’s something about that. Sometimes, you know, somebody shows up with a baby they weren’t expecting, you know, a single mom. Yeah. And a lot of times, Christians are quick to ostracize and push them, push them away, bring judgment on them. Hey, uh, you know, when we sin, there’s consequences to our sin. And judgment comes. Certainly. And and God’s going to deal with that.

Chris
And I’d like to go on the record and say, I don’t have time for those Christians in my life.

Jeff
But, um, I think Mary’s response is such a beautiful lesson, regardless of the circumstances, uh, we can love the person and we can love this new baby right now. The Holy Spirit confirmed in her that this really was the Son of God, right? And John the Baptist leapt inside of her womb when when he even got close to Jesus. Right.

Chris
And that’s another thing. That’s another thing that is super cool.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. You just start kicking, man. Having a party and, uh, I don’t know that I will.

Chris
Well, it said that the Holy Spirit will be with you in the womb. Yeah, right. So that that was the promise given. That’s right. Like he would be filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb. So. That’s right. And by the way, that’s another thing about like, you know, when does life begin kind of a thing. Yeah. Pretty serious topic that I just opened the can of worms to. But this, this, uh, this tiny baby unborn.

Jeff
I don’t think you opened a can of worms. I think it’s pretty clear what happened there.

Chris
Yeah, it’s all clear here. I’m just saying, like, in general.

Jeff
This baby was aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit of God right inside the.

Chris
Womb. Yeah. Which is incredible. Yeah.

Jeff
So as a Christian, I don’t get to pick and choose what parts of the Bible I like or don’t like. That’s right. Right. Uh, or which is true and which is not. And in this situation, John the Baptist responded to the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Chris
Yeah. And he was six months old. Yeah. At this time. Yeah. So three months away from even being born. Right. And, uh, and I think that it’s awesome because it does start this little, you know, the passage that we read starts with a few days later. So think about it. So the angel left her, and then Mary has been only pregnant for just a few days. Right? Right. And then it says that she, you know, went to where Zechariah lived and Elizabeth and told her the story. And that’s why Elizabeth said, you know, uh, blessed are you for believing God. Uh, but, you know, she was already, uh, conceived. So think about this. We just mentioned that John the Baptist was six months old. Yeah, but John had been.

Jeff
Conceived six months before. Six. He was not yet born.

Chris
I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Six months conceived in the womb. Right. But think about this. So, John, the John, the infant, the unborn infant, um, recognized the life of Jesus three days after conception. Right? So boom. Yeah. There you go. There’s there’s another. It’s huge. It’s huge.

Jeff
Yeah. This is this is a very significant moment with regard to, um, life in general with regard to the Holy Spirit. Uh, this is the first time in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit, um, other than the Holy Spirit, was going to come on to Mary, come upon Mary, the Bible says, and she would conceive. And then the Holy Spirit, uh, indwelt, um, uh, Elizabeth, in this moment and just the importance of understanding, even for you and me, that God is using normal people. Uh, Elizabeth is a housewife in a in a priestly family. But her husband wasn’t a high priest. He was just a priest. Right? Right. And, you know, he worked in the temple two weeks a year. And the rest of the time, they scratched out a living. That’s how it worked. They got a little stipend from the temple, but for the most part, they couldn’t live on it. So he’s probably some kind of business owner or farmer or something. She’s a home, a homemaker. And then this teenage girl shows up. This is who God chose to use. And the reason why they, they and their offspring changed the world wasn’t because they were great. It was because of the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. And the fact that yesterday Mary ended the whole thing saying, whatever you say. I’m for whatever God decides to do. I’m okay. Elizabeth. She’s in the same place. And it’s the power of the Holy Spirit on normal people that changed the course of history.

Chris
Yeah. For good. And by the way, uh, Mary’s song, uh, the Magnificat. Yeah. Um, I think it’s incredibly, uh, insightful and has so much wisdom. So we already mentioned that Mary is a teenager, you know, she’s 13 or 14, perhaps maybe 15 or something like this. And she says, uh, and from now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One is holy. And he has done great things for me. It shows his mercy. And she just goes on and on. Think about that. So you have been given an announcement by Gabriel. He says, here’s what’s going to happen. And then she has enough insight to look down the road and say. Every generation will call me blessed. That is incredible. It shows you just a little tiny glimpse into the character of Mary. And we saw her character, like you mentioned already by saying, uh, you know, whatever the Lord wills. Uh, we saw her character because she immediately believed she did not question the angel at all. She did ask, uh, an information question. How can this be since I’m a virgin? Right, right, right. But that wasn’t doubt. No, no, no, that was that was also wisdom. Yeah, yeah. Just to know how to.

Jeff
Explain this to me.

Chris
So I can explain it more importantly to Joseph. Right. And so and so it’s a, uh, but it just gives you some insight into the character of Mary. And then and then, you know, she, uh, you know, the Bible says in another version, right? She pondered these things in her heart. Yeah, right. I don’t think we’re going to read that one. Are we?

Jeff
Uh, we’ll get there.

Chris
Oh, we’re going to get there. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jeff
So so that’s at the birth of Christ.

Chris
Oh, that’s that’s right. That’s at the birth. That’s right. And then and then um, so you know, just the character and, you know, then she writes this great song of worship. So we know that she was an exceptional person of character and faith.

Jeff
And I think, uh, kudos to her parents. If her dad had decided to kick her out of the house. Yeah. The customary thing would have been that a girl that’s kicked out of the house, there’s no jobs for them. It’s not like you go somewhere. It usually meant that they would devolve into a life of prostitution and begging. Right. But her parents apparently didn’t kick her out of the house, right? Joseph didn’t kick her to the curb. She was surrounded by good people, godly people, right, who were willing to bear some of the shame with her. They they had to bear the shame too. So there was a thing I read here. Uh, well, you read it along with me, but I never thought of it before. Uh, how how far along was Elizabeth when Mary shows up?

Chris
Uh, six months.

Jeff
Six months. Verse 56 says, Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months. Oh, and then went back to her own home. So Mary was probably there when Elizabeth gave birth.

Chris
Oh, wow.

Jeff
Right. So, um. And then six months later, Mary gave birth. Right. So how important has it been throughout history that the previous generation teach the next generation how this all happens and works? You know, just just the basics of life, how how life works, how all these things. And so not only she wasn’t abandoned, she wasn’t thrown away. She was sent to help. What a help she would have been to Elizabeth at that point in her pregnancy. An older woman that’s expecting. And you got this young woman that is expecting. But she’s able to learn. She’s able to learn what’s going to happen three months from now, six months from now. How do I deliver a baby? All these things. And, uh, what a blessing it is to have people in your life who’ve been down that road a little ahead of you. Right? And that’s that’s what how God used Elizabeth in Mary’s life.

Chris
Yeah. So I’m looking ahead for tomorrow. And it doesn’t say that Mary was present, but, uh, if it says that she was just over six months and she stayed around three months. Can you even imagine Mary being with somebody, her cousin, for three months, and then, uh, Elizabeth getting ready to get, you know, to have, uh, give birth, and then Mary going. Well, I’m out of here. Yeah, well, I’m due next Tuesday. That’s okay. Yeah, I’ve been here three months. I’m out of here. I’m not interested. There is no way for a young pregnant woman she would want to stay.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I also think it’s not insignificant. The Bible should be recognized for what it does say as much as for what it doesn’t say. So there’s a reason why it says she was pregnant six months. And there’s a reason why it says Mary waited three months and left. Right. We can do the math on that. Right. So it doesn’t have to explicitly say she left the day after John the Baptist was born, right. I think she was sent there to care for her aunt or her cousin. While they were waiting for John the Baptist to be born, John was born. She was there. She learned and went home. I think I really believe that’s what happened. Yeah. And that’s the perfect time. First trimester.

Chris
And as she’s watching the birth, she’s terrified for herself. Yeah. What just happened? I’m sorry. That’s what.

Speaker D
Oh, that’s really terrifying, man.

Jeff
If it was up to men, there’d be no babies.

Chris
That’s right, that’s right. Right. That’s right. So, um, so I think that’s probably a good place to end. I think that, uh, you know, for, for us today, we could, uh, understand, um, you know, we talked about life. We talked about, uh, you know, God arranging the circumstances of them being together. Uh, Mary’s character and, uh, the significance of the Holy Spirit. Yeah. And, uh, I think.

Jeff
That’s a really. And the love of the family and the love of the family. Yeah. Family.

Chris
Yeah, I think it’s. I think it’s a lot to be found right there in those few verses.

Jeff
Yeah.

Chris
It’s great. All right. Well, we’ll see you tomorrow hopefully on The Bible Guys.