Jump For Joy

Jump for Joy

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. . . . He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.”

Luke 1:13-15

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.”

Luke 1:41-44

One of the most exciting times in a woman’s pregnancy is when she begins to feel her child move inside her. It all becomes more real as the mother begins to feel the baby shift positions, stick out an arm, or even hiccup.

When the angel told Zechariah that his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son, he said that this baby would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And when Elizabeth was six months pregnant, her relative Mary came to visit. When Mary, carrying Jesus in her womb, walked in the door, something happened. The baby inside Elizabeth jumped for joy. It must have taken Elizabeth’s breath away. She could feel her baby’s excitement, and she knew why he was excited. “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,” says Luke 1:41. Both mother and child were filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit enabled them to sense the presence of the Messiah.

We all need the Holy Spirit to cause us to recognize Jesus. And when the Holy Spirit does this, we want to jump for joy too.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Can you remember a time when you have been so happy and excited that you jumped for joy (or wished you could)?

What do you think the conversations between Elizabeth and Mary would have been like when Mary came to visit?

What other examples can you think of from the Bible when the Spirit gave someone the ability to recognize who Jesus was?