“The Birth of Jesus” Why did Mary go”with haste”to visit Elizabeth? At that time I believe that Mary had just been engaged but not married to Joseph yet. The time frame was really close to the appearance of the angel to Mary and Joseph. Mary was already pregnant at the time. Probably Mary went to see Elizabeth to talk about her situation. But in a deeper sense the meeting with Elizabeth was to encourage Mary’s faith, she was given the sign that her kinswoman, Elizabeth, was also the object of God’s grace in the gift of a miraculously conceived son (Layman 28).3. What is Mary asking for with her question in Luke 1:34?Mary’s complete question was: “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”Her question implies two things. The first a simple how, she is asking how could she have had a child when she knows no man before. The second implication of her question was deeper and contains more complication. The announcement made to her could well have had frightful social consequences. In Jewish custom of that day, an engagement was as binding as a marriage. To be God’s servant, Mary had to expose herself to Josephs misunderstanding, to the possible loss of her reputation and the curse of being a sinful woman and to possible death by stoning (Balmer, 29).If she is marrying Joseph, wouldn’t having a child sometime in the future be a very normal expectation?The problem was that the angel said that she would have a child, and at that time she was not married to Joseph yet. This would lead to misunderstandings by the society that she was unfaithful. What happened to her is something that cannot be explained in human understanding. And no one would believe her.Mary however surrendered to God. In Luke 1:38 she said “I am the Lord’s servant”. This statement was a full surrender to God’s will even though there can be many misunderstandings and even possible persecuti...
