I might be stealing a bit of thunder from Sunday, but let’s give some thought to the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel. It is widely agreed that Luke presents the birth announcements to Zechariah and Mary (1:5-38) in such a way that, as the reader, we are meant to compare and contrast them. But it is also interesting to consider a pattern that seems to emerge between the account of Gabriel’s visitation with Mary (26-38) and Mary’s visitation with Elizabeth (39-56). Note the following sequence:
- Gabriel is sent to a city of Galilee (26). Mary goes to a town in Judah (39).
- Gabriel greets Mary (28). Mary greets Elizabeth (40).
- Mary reacts to Gabriel’s greeting (29). John (in the womb) and Elizabeth react to Mary’s greeting (41-42)
- Gabriel announces God’s favor and that Mary’s womb will bear the Son of the Most High (30-33). Elizabeth announces blessing on Mary’s position among women and the fruit of her womb (42).
- Mary asks a question (34). Elizabeth asks a question (43).
- Gabriel reveals the Lord’s plan and that Elizabeth is with child (35-37). Elizabeth reveals her child’s reaction and blesses Mary for believing the Lord’s plan (44-45) (a subtle chiasm, perhaps?).
- Mary responds to Gabriel’s words (38). Mary responds to Elizabeth’s words (46-55).
- Gabriel departs (38). Mary departs (56).
At the very least, we can conclude that the text is masterfully written. As to why Luke would employ this pattern is a more difficult question to answer. However, if we examine the overarching patterns of Luke 1-7, we observe that the scenes switch back and forth between John and Jesus, with Jesus receiving the greater amount of attention and detail. This might give us a clue as to what Luke is doing in chapter 1. By employing these parallels, Luke is emphasizing the announcement of Jesus’ birth, and building the anticipation for its fulfillment. But note again how Luke crafts the story. No sooner does Mary depart from Elizabeth’ s home in v. 56, then the scene switches to the account of John’sbirth. We are left in suspense for twenty-two verses! We have to wait all the way until chapter 2 to read about Jesus’ birth. Then, with the help of angels and shepherds, we begin to understand why Luke went to such great lengths to craft the accounts of chapter 1.