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There are two spellings to her name, Elizabeth and Elisabeth. Elisabeth is the spelling that
is used in the scriptures. She is no doubt one of the notable women of the New Testament. Though
she is well known, the scriptures has little to say of her. This we do know; she was the wife of
Zachariah (Luke 1:5) and the mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1:13). Elisabeth was also the cousin
of Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:36).
While Zacharias was performing his religious duties in the Temple, an angel appeared to him
and announced that his prayers for a child had been answered. Elisabeth, his wife, would bear a son.
The angel instructed Zacharias to name his son John, and predicted that the child would be filled
with the Holy Spirit, and would prepare the people for the coming of the Lord.
When Zacharias heard the message of the angel, he doubted if it could really be true. He
felt that he and Elisabeth were too old to have a child. Therefore, because of unbelief, Zacharias
was deprived of his speech until the child was born.
Elisabeth had been carrying her baby for about six months when the angel announced to her
cousin, Mary that she too would bear a son. Thrilled with this wonderful news, Mary visited
Elisabeth. Elisabeth greeted Mary with these words: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed
is the fruit of thy womb.” The child John leaped within the womb of Elisabeth. This important link
between the Savior and His herald, John the Baptist, was established even in the womb.
Shortly after Elisabeth had given birth to her son, her relatives proposed that the child be
named for Zacharias, his father. Elisabeth refused and said that he would be called John. The
relatives then appealed to the father, sure that he would agree. But Zacharias took a tablet and wrote:
“His name is John." Immediately his tongue was loosed and his speech returned.
Unlike her husband, Elisabeth evidently never doubted for a moment that God, if He so
willed, could bless her with a child regardless of age. Her faith is what we would expect in a woman
so highly honored by God. How blessed, Elisabeth was chosen to be the mother of John the Baptist,
the herald of the Messiah.
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