Gospels Part 083
In the last few Daily Doses, we covered the angel Gabriel’s shocking announcement to Mary that she would miraculously conceive and bear a Son who was to be the prophesied Messiah. As proof of this miracle, Gabriel told Mary that her elderly relative Elizabeth, who was past the age of childbearing, was now six months pregnant.
We now pick up the story where Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth in Luke 1:39-40:
“In those days Mary got up and went hurriedly into the hill country, to a town of Judah, and entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (New English Translation [NET]).
We read here that Mary, who has now conceived, “went hurriedly” to visit Elizabeth. This indicates there was very little time between the message from Gabriel, Mary’s conceiving, and her visit to Elizabeth. The wording tells us this happened shortly after Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, which includes the fact that Elizabeth is six months pregnant.
When they met, a physical response occurred as described here, with the unborn child John reacting to the fact that Someone especially important was coming—the newly conceived Jesus, Son of God, in Mary’s womb.
Continuing in Luke 1:42-45:
“She [Elizabeth] exclaimed with a loud voice, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child in your womb! And who am I that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me? For the instant the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled’” (NET).
The circumstances of this meeting were both joyous and miraculous. Elizabeth was clearly overjoyed to see Mary, whom she recognized had been chosen for this unique role. Also consider the contrast between the two—one is elderly and has been married for decades; the other is young and unmarried. Yet both are miraculously pregnant—one despite her advanced age and the other having never been intimate with a man. One carries in her womb the prophesied forerunner of the Messiah; the other carries the Messiah Himself. Both are faithful servants of God through whom He will carry out this next phase of His plan that was foretold centuries earlier.
What do these verses tell us about the lives of children who are in the womb and not yet born? This passage clearly tells us they are alive, and God’s Word views them as individuals distinct from their mothers. It has been proven that babies in the womb can hear voices and music and other sounds, and some have even encouraged fathers-to-be to talk to the baby in the womb so that once it’s born, the baby will recognize its father’s voice.
So, what does this tell us about abortion? It tells us that abortion is a process that kills an individual human being in the womb. It’s appalling that governments have been one of the largest funders of abortion, not to mention at times going so far as to force religious organizations such as hospitals and schools to provide abortion services or abortion-inducing drugs within health care plans offered to employees. Such mandates grossly violate the U.S. Constitution’s freedom of religion guarantees by forcing religious institutions to violate their beliefs and teachings by funding practices that they consider abhorrent and murder.
That's what abortion is—murder of the unborn. In the United States alone, close to 1 million unborn babies are aborted every year. The total number surpasses the total number of people were killed in World War II. For years now, abortion has been the number one cause of death worldwide, outstripping wars, natural disasters, famines, cancer, and other diseases. Statistics can be found here, https://theworlddata.com/abortion-statistics-per-year-in-us/. These numbers don’t consider the abhorrent psychological impact this has on teenagers and young adults, teaching them that the killing of our unborn merely for convenience is normal. So, it’s no wonder, then, that violence, murder, and brutalization of other human beings have become so widespread—virtually the entire world has degraded and disregarded the value of human life.
Is there scriptural support to consider abortion as murder? We see from this passage that there clearly is.
One of life’s great truths is found in Galatians 6:7:
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Eventually, God’s patience will come to an end, and He will pour out His judgments on nations and societies that defy Him and His Word.
To live faithfully to God as Elizabeth and Mary did, we must be sure that our beliefs are rely on God’s Word rather than human emotions and justifications.
© 2026 Scott Ashley. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
UYA Team | uya@ucg.org
United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of the young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.
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Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
