Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

 Visit of Mary to Elizabeth- Sharing the Good News

Exodus 15:19-21

 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There, in the tent,” he said.  Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.
. vs 9-10

Mary’s visit to Elizabeth is discussed in Luke 1:39-56, preceding the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5–24), and Angel Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary of the Incarnation, the miracle of Jesus as God in human flesh (Luke 1:26–38).

Exodus 15:19-21 records the song of prophetess Miriam, following the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, where Pharaoh and his army drowned while the people of Israel walked on dry ground. Miriam led the women of Israel in dancing with tambourines, as a sequel to the song of Moses to the LORD (Exodus 15:1-18).

Both the Red Sea and the Incarnation miracles demonstrate the glorious triumph of the Lord, a God like no other (Isaiah 44:6). Just as God parted the Red Sea to deliver the people of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, and sent them onto the Promised Land, God has rescued and redeemed humanity from the slavery of sin through the Incarnation, granting them eternal life. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth celebrated the good news of the Incarnation, confirming Christ as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, emphasized by Matthew more than the other three Gospel writers. In particular, in Matthew’s account (Chapter 2) of the Magi from the East worshipping Jesus, Joseph flees to Egypt with Mary and Jesus—directed by an angel in a dream—following King Herod’s decree to kill all the boys in the region, who were two years old and under. Joseph and  family returned from Egypt only after the death of Herod (Matthew 2:15), fulfilling Hosea’s prophecy (Hosea 11:1b), “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Just as God called the nation of Israel, governed by the covenant relationship with Abraham—out of Egypt at the time of Exodus, God brought His only begotten son, Jesus, out of Egypt for the new Exodus. 

Through His Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), Jesus has commanded Christians to proclaim and share the Gospel, the good news of the reconciliation between Holy God and sinful humanity through Jesus, who died on the cross as a substitute for sinners, bearing the guilt and punishment for sin (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

Prayer
 Jesus, Our Lord, and Our God embolden us to share the Gospel. 

Thought of the Day
 Sharing the Gospel is an outstanding mandate for Christians.

Dr. Cherian Samuel
Immanuel MTC, Virginia

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