Luke 1:41-44:
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice, she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
The Greek word used to describe Elizabeth’s unborn baby is the same word used in Luke 2:12 and 2:16 to describe the newborn baby Jesus and in Luke 18:15 to describe the babies that the people were bringing to Jesus to touch.
The Bible makes no differentiation between a baby in the womb and a baby that has been born.
Elizabeth also called Mary the mother of her Lord. Mary quickly went to see Elizabeth when she received the news from the angel that she would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She was most likely in her first trimester. The Jesus inside of her was referred to as Lord, the same word for Lord that was used hundreds of times in the New Testament to describe the man Jesus.
The Bible makes no differentiation between Jesus in his fetus form and Jesus in his full grown man form.
Exodus 21:22-24
“If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”
Old Testament Law also viewed the unborn as a life. Striking a pregnant woman was a punishable offense. If there was injury to her or the baby as a result, then it was a life for a life. In Num. 35:9-15 there is a law that says anyone who kills someone accidentally may flee to a refugee city. The life for life penalty was not in place.
So accidental injury to a pregnant woman or unborn baby was a more serious offense to God than other accidental deaths. Accidentally causing the death of an unborn child carried the same weight as intentional murder.
There are other scriptures that show God’s special care of pregnant women, babies, and children.
Is 40:11
“He [the Lord] tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”
Matt 19:14, Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Luke 17:2
“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.”
The formation of a human is not just the result of biological forces. God is present in the womb, crafting the new life Himself.
Psalm 139:13-14
“For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
God has a destiny for each child before they are born.
Jer 1:5 “And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Gal 1:15 “But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace…”
Scriptures Affirm the Purpose and Destiny of a Life Exists even before Conception.
Jer 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…”
Eph 1:4-5 4 “For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,…”
Romans 9:10-12“Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac. Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand, not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”
Romans 8:29 “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
grace is my superhero 