“And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
The full verse · Luke 1:43 · KJV
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Asked by
Elizabeth: Elisabeth in the KJV, wife of the priest Zacharias, six months with child in her old age when Mary visited (Luke 1:5, 36, 40)
Asked to
Mary: the virgin of Nazareth, newly told by Gabriel that she would bear the Son of the Highest, who came with haste to Elisabeth's house (Luke 1:31-32, 39-40)
The Scene
Soon after Gabriel's visit, Mary travels to the hill country of Juda and greets Elisabeth in Zacharias' house; the babe leaps in Elisabeth's womb and she is filled with the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:39-41).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionElisabeth marveled at the honor of Mary's visit. Luke records no one telling her what Gabriel said to Mary, yet as soon as she hears Mary's greeting she is "filled with the Holy Ghost" and cries out with a loud voice (Luke 1:41-42). She calls Mary "the mother of my Lord," so she already knew the child Mary carried was her Lord. Her question is not asking for an explanation. Barnes calls it "An expression of humility." Gill paraphrases her thought: "How comes it to pass, that such notice is taken of me, such an honour is done me." She explains what moved her in the next breath: "the babe leaped in my womb for joy" (Luke 1:44).
The Response
What Scripture recordsElisabeth answered her own wonder with a blessing: "blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord" (Luke 1:45). Mary's reply was not about herself but about God: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour" (Luke 1:46-47). She too marveled that God "hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden" (Luke 1:48). Mary stayed with Elisabeth "about three months" before returning home (Luke 1:56).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsMary went "into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda" (Luke 1:39), a journey south from Nazareth in Galilee (Luke 1:26). Luke does not name the city. Gabriel had told Mary that Elisabeth was her "cousin" and that this was "the sixth month with her" (Luke 1:36). He had also said that Elisabeth's son would be "filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb" (Luke 1:15). The word "Lord" (Greek kyrios) can mean more than one thing. Barnes notes that it "sometimes denotes divinity, and sometimes superior, master, teacher, or governor." Barnes adds that it is clear only that Elisabeth used it of great dignity and honor. Gill takes it here in the highest sense, of Christ who "in his divine nature, is Lord of all angels, and men, and every creature."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyElisabeth's question shows the Holy Spirit revealing Jesus before He is even born. Filled with the Spirit, she calls the unborn child "my Lord" (Luke 1:43). In Luke's Gospel, the first human voice to call Jesus Lord belongs to an older woman in the hill country.
Her question also shows humility rather than rivalry. Elisabeth had just received her own miracle (Luke 1:24-25), yet Gill says she "was far from envying the superior honour conferred on her kinswoman." Later her son would say of Jesus, "one mightier than I cometh" (Luke 3:16). Mother and son share the same posture: glad to make much of the One who comes after them.
Look Closer
How did Elisabeth know the child Mary carried was her Lord?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, where have You come near to me in ways I have not stopped to wonder at?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Elisabeth rejoiced in Mary's blessing without comparing it to her own. What makes it hard to celebrate how God is working in someone else?
- Tell about a time when another believer's visit or words made you more aware of the Lord's presence.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Elisabeth's question is a good one to carry: "whence is this to me?" When the Lord comes near, the right response is wonder, not a sense that you deserved it.
Notice too how Elisabeth treated Mary. She had her own miracle to talk about, but she used her voice to bless Mary and honor Mary's Lord (Luke 1:42-45). You can do the same when God is at work in a friend's life: name it, bless it, and point to Him.
This does not mean ignoring what God has done for you. Elisabeth had already said, "Thus hath the Lord dealt with me" (Luke 1:25). Gratitude for your own story and joy in someone else's belong together.
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