“When the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me.” —Luke 1:44
The leaping Elizabeth felt in her womb is the same word used in the Old Testament to describe Jacob and Esau struggling together in their mother’s womb (Gen. 25:22). But in Psalm 114:4, its usage is even more descriptive of the intensity of this word, where the writer captured the joy of Israel’s release from Egypt: “The mountains skipped like rams, the hills, like lambs.”
Skipping, leaping—that’s what Mary’s arrival made Elizabeth’s yet unborn son, John the Baptist, feel like doing.
He “leaped for joy” because of what God was doing to bring about the redemption of His people. Darkness was turning to light. Death was being brought to life. Despair was being turned into hope. The great and glorious God, before whom angels covered their faces, was coming to earth as a Man. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
That’s something to leap for joy about!
Make it Personal
What changes could you incorporate to make this Christmas a season of wonder and joy at what Jesus has done?