Luke 11:28

While the Scribes and Pharisees were tempting our Lord, and uttering blasphemies against Him, a certain woman with great boldness confessed His incarnation, as it follows, And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, &c. by which she refutes both the calumnies of the rulers present, and the unbelief of future heretics. For as then by blaspheming the works of the Holy Spirit, the Jews denied the true Son of God, so in after times the heretics, by denying that the Evervirgin Mary, by the cooperating power of the Holy Spirit, ministered of the substance of her flesh to the birth of the only-begotten Son, have said, that we ought not to confess Him who was the Son of man to be truly of the same substance with the Father. But if the flesh of the Word of God, who was born according to the flesh, is declared alien to the flesh of His Virgin Mother, what cause is there why the womb which bare Him and the paps which gave Him suck are pronounced blessed? By what reasoning do they suppose Him to be nourished by her milk, from whose seed they deny Him to be conceived? Whereas according to the physicians, from one and the same fountain both streams are proved to flow. […]

But He blesses those who keep the word of God, not, however, in order to deprive His Mother of blessedness, but in order to show that even She would have received no benefit from having given birth to Him and nursed Him at Her breast, …

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Christ's discourse in these verses shows two things:-- I. What is the sign we may expect from God for the confirmation of our faith. The great and most convincing proof of Christ's being sent of God, and which they were yet to wait for, after the many signs that had been given them, was the resurrection of Christ from the dead.

A woman is brought before us in this passage of Scripture, of whose name and history we know nothing. We read that, as our Lord spoke, "A certain woman of the company lifted up her voice and said unto him: Blessed is the mother that gave you birth." At once our Lord founds a great lesson on her remark. His perfect wisdom turned every incident within His reach to profit. We should observe in these verses — how great are the privileges of those who hear and keep God's Word.

A woman is brought before us in this passage of Scripture, of whose name and history we know nothing. We read that, as our Lord spoke, "A certain woman of the company lifted up her voice and said unto him: Blessed is the mother that gave you birth." At once our Lord founds a great lesson on her remark. His perfect wisdom turned every incident within His reach to profit. We should observe in these verses — how great are the privileges of those who hear and keep God's Word. They are regarded by Christ with as much honor as if they were His nearest relatives. It is more blessed to be a believer in the Lord Jesus — than it would have been to have been one of the family in which He was born after the flesh. It was a greater honor to Mary herself, to have Christ dwelling in her heart by faith — than to have been the mother of Christ, and to have nursed Him on her bosom. We are generally very slow to receive truths like these. We are apt to imagine that to have seen Christ, and heard Christ, and lived near Christ, and been a relative of Christ according to the flesh — would have had some mighty effect upon our souls. We are all naturally inclined to attach great importance to a religion of sight, and sense, and touch, and eye, and ear . We love a physical, tangible, material Christianity — far better than one of faith. And we need reminding that seeing is not always believing. Thousands saw Christ continually, while He was on earth, and yet clung to their sins. Even His brethren at one time "did not believe in him." (John 7:5.) A mere fleshly knowledge of Christ, saves no one. The words of Paul are very instructive, "Though we have known Christ after the flesh — yet we do not know Him any more in this way." (2 Corinthians 5:16.)

You do not wonder that this enthusiastic woman lifted up her voice in admiration of our Lord. I sometimes wonder when the Gospel is preached—whose message is so sweet, so charming, so enchanting—that we do not more often observe earnest persons breaking the cold rules of propriety and uttering exclamations of delight. Few are the hosannas of the multitude today. Is the blood of the world growing colder as the ages tell upon it? Perhaps our western constitution is too cool and self-contained to allow us to copy the demonstrative manners of the East.

You do not wonder that this enthusiastic woman lifted up her voice in admiration of our Lord. I sometimes wonder when the Gospel is preached—whose message is so sweet, so charming, so enchanting—that we do not more often observe earnest persons breaking the cold rules of propriety and uttering exclamations of delight. Few are the hosannas of the multitude today. Is the blood of the world growing colder as the ages tell upon it? Perhaps our western constitution is too cool and self-contained to allow us to copy the demonstrative manners of the East. Assuredly this woman is not to be blamed, but to be commended for pouring out her heart's love in honor of the Lord! The wonder is not that she spoke as she did, but that men who hear the teaching of Jesus do not more often speak in His praise! Of our blessed Lord, His enemies said, "Never man spoke like this Man." His very tone was melody and His language was the Truth of God set to music! The doctrines which He taught were more than golden—they were light to the head and joy to the heart. He revealed the inmost heart of God and taught as never Prophet or sage had taught before. Oh, "certain woman of the company," though we do not know your name and cannot guess at your history, we are in harmony with your outburst of affection! We thank you for giving utterance to that feeling of delight and admiration with which we are filled. We also cry unto the Lord with you—"Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts which nursed You." This earnest woman did not mean, in the first place, to praise Christ's mother. I do not know that she had even seen Mary, or that she would have entered into her mind, apart from her matchless Son.