“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” (Lk. 11:27), [1] shouted the woman to Jesus. Her beatitude served as a way of giving homage to Him for in the ancient world “it was customary to praise the child by blessing the mother.”[2]
The woman had just witnessed the exchange between the Lord and the skeptics who accused him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul. She heard Jesus speak on the finger of God, the binding of the strong man, and the peril of a demon’s return. She does not follow the skeptics, but positively responds to the Christ. Deeply moved she confirms a blessing upon the mother who birthed and nursed Him. Her blessing hearkens back to the beatitude spoken by Elizabeth, who being filled with the Holy Spirit conferred upon the virgin Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Lk. 1:42).[3]
Jesus responded to the woman: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Lk. 11:28). Far from negating her declaration, the Lord affirms and expands upon the deeply profound truth uttered. William Hendriksen indicates Jesus “widened the sphere of true blessedness so as to include not only Mary but all genuine believers.”[4]
Christ acknowledges the woman’s voice and respects her insight, while simultaneously inviting her—and all believers—to engage with the Word of God on a deeper level.
Now Mary the mother of Jesus is a prime example of someone who truly heard and kept the word of the Lord. Hendrikson explains,
Mary’s personal blessedness did not consist exclusively or even primarily in the fact that she had given birth to the Messiah but in this, that she had listened carefully to the word of God and had surrendered herself to his will. Confronted with mystery, she had said to Gabriel, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. May it be with me according to your word!” Though she erred at times (2:49; John 2:3, 4), there can be no question of the fact that her faith conquered every obstacle (John 2:5; 19:25; Acts 1:14). And that, after all, is what counts, namely, listening to the word of God and observing it. Thus also Luke 6:47, 48; 8:21; cf. Matt. 7:24; 12:50.[5]
Mary received the word of the Lord, and God used her as a willing servant to take on an appointment of unparalleled significance in redemptive history. While still a virgin, Mary conceived through the Holy Spirit, and gave birth to the Christ. What Child is this, who laid to rest | On Mary’s lap, is sleeping? The Child was in fact the very incarnation of the Son of God.[6]
Childbearing is the superpower of the woman made in the image of God. The first woman is named Eve for “she is the mother of all living” (Gen. 1:27; 3:20).[7] The man made in the image of God, despite his strength and size, neither experience pregnancy nor give birth to a new life. To raise up an exceptional child is indeed a blessing. Moreover, to bring forth the Christ is a profoundly sublime blessing.
But it is wrongheaded to suppose faithfulness to the Word is a formula for a life of ease and prosperity. The Gospel of Matthew reminds us that Joseph, the man to whom she was betrothed, came close to divorcing her, and the megalomaniacal Herod the Great unsuccessfully sought to put the Christ to death, and slaughtered many innocent male infants in the process, but the Lord preserved the Holy Family (Matt. 1-2). Mary faithfully followed through, regardless of the consequences. But God remained on her side during the deepest and darkest time of tribulation.
The Christian is then to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). This is an offensive weapon carried into the battle against spiritual forces of evil. This sword of the Spirit is for the day the wandering demon decides to return with seven others worse than it (cf. Lk. 11:24-26).
God’s Word transforms lives. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work,” writes the Apostle Paul (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Likewise, the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:12-13).
More than just words penned on papyrus or spoken into the air, nouns, verbs, conjunctions, put together according to rules of grammar and genre, the Word of the Lord is ultimately a person. For example, Scriptures specifically mention the Word of the Lord appearing to Abraham (Gen.15:1-6), Samuel (1 Sam. 3), Elijah (1 Kings 17:8-17), Jeremiah (Jer. 1), and Ezekiel (Ezek. 1). The incarnation of the Son of God is the quintessential manifestation of the divine to humanity (Jn. 1:1-4, 14; 1 Jn. 1:1-4). Yes, we have the written Word of God, which is inspired, inerrant, and of incalculable value, but panoply of Scriptures ultimately points us to the living Word of God — the incarnate Son of God, who is none other than Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah (i.e., Christ).
The world blinded by evil finds Christ and the teachings of Christ to be abhorrent. They utter slogans about devotion to the Scriptures being at the root of every problem, and baseless accusations of Christian theology legitimizing vices like avariciousness, bigotry, and misogyny. Nothing can be further than the truth! [8] The antichrist views the Christ performing the miraculous with the finger of God but deems it to be the works performed by the prince of demons. But that is utter nonsense. Rather, the one who is truly blessed hears the Word of God and keeps it. “A servant is not greater than his master,” said Christ, who went on to say, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me” (Jn. 15:20-21).
Luke 11:27-28 captures a brief yet impactful encounter between Jesus and a woman in the crowd. Her beatitude reflects a positive response to the ministry of Christ. She is the antithesis to those who attributed His works to the Devil. She exemplifies the one who receives the Word with gladness and experiences its transformative grace.
— WGN
Notes:
[1] All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), unless noted.
[2] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 11:27–28. Keener adds “this figure of speech occurs in Greco-Roman literature (e.g., the first-century Roman satirist Petronius), rabbinic texts (e.g., sayings attributed to Johanan ben Zakkai) and elsewhere (e.g., 2 Baruch 54:10)” (ibid).
[3] Interestingly, the beatitudes of the woman and Elizabeth are uniquely preserved in Luke’s Gospel.
[4] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke, vol. 11, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 625.
[5] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke, vol. 11, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 625.
[6] The fact that the incarnation of the Son of God came through the virgin’s womb, serves as basis for the reference to Mary as Theotokos, i.e., God bearer.
[7] Infertility among couples is an effect of the fall. Although not necessarily the result of an actual sin committed by a woman, problems with the bodily reproductive system is part and parcel of life in a sinful and fallen world. Words can never describe the despair brought forth in the inability to bear a child. The biblical writers acknowledge the despair of being unable to bear a child, so Sarai (Gen. 16-18), Rebeka (Gen. 29:31-30:22), Hannah (1 Sam. 1:1-19), and Elizabeth (Lk. 1:5-25).
[8] For response on the inflammatory rhetoric about Christ and Christianity being rotten throughout with avarice, bigotry, and misogyny from the secular radical progressives, I found the following extremely helpful: Douglas R. Groothuis, Fire in the Streets: How You Can Confidently Respond to Incendiary Cultural Topics (Washington, D.C.: Salem Books, 2022), Noelle Mering, Awake, Not Woke: A Christian Response to the Cult of Progressive Ideology (Gastonia, NC: TAN Books, 2021), and Nancy R. Pearcy, The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2023).
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