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In the first chapter of Luke, we see Mary interact with the angel Gabriel, pondering within her heart the miraculous news that she, a virgin, would bear the Son of God.
In Luke's second chapter, we see the shepherds witness an angelic display as they announce to them that the coming Messiah was to be born in the city of David that very night.
In Matthew's Gospel, we witness the first Gentiles, the first non-Jews, see the great star in the East and make their way from foreign lands to pay homage to the King of Kings.
But all of these people were told about the imminent arrival of the Savior by angelic, supernatural, heavenly means.
In fact, there was only one person we see within the pages of Scripture who became aware that he was in the presence of the Son of God without being told--
This person was lower in society than even the shepherds.
In fact, he was of a class that even in our modern time is within the loweset eschelon of society, not possessing any voice or any personal rights, not even of his most basic right to life!
You see, this person was merely a fetus, John the Baptist, still living within the confines of his mother's womb, Elizabeth.
Without the fanfare of angelic hosts or the guidance of a brilliant star, this fetus knew the Lord was within his presence--the God-man, Savior of the World--himself in the womb of the virgin Mary. In fact, Scripture tells us that John was so overcome with joy by the very presence of God that his mother Elizabeth, feeling him literally leap within her womb, became certain herself that she was in the presence of the soon-to-be-born Savior, before Mary even had the chance to tell her the amazing news!
Look at this with me in Luke 1:39-45...
"In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
And so here we see a mere fetus being gifted with the spiritual discernment of recognizing his Savior God! Oh, that no man can boast of the gift of salvation--for it is not by our human logic and reason that we recognize our Savior but a product of the Spirit's revelation to us! Praise be to God for gifting even the lowest class of human individuals with the awesome honor of participating in His great and precious kingdom!
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