‘And it came about that, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the crowd lifted up her voice, and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bare you, and the breasts which you sucked.” '
‘While he was saying these things'. When Luke puts in a connection like this it has a purpose. What follows is to be linked with what has gone before.
A woman in the crowd cries out, “Blessed is the womb that bare you, and the breasts which you sucked.” Her view was that Jesus' home is blessed, and His mother is blessed. And in a sense she was right. But the point is being made that neither it or she are as blessed as they should be. (Like Martha she is distracted by much serving). The contrast is made clearly. She is not of those who hear the word of God as proclaimed by Jesus. She has not as yet entered under the Kingly Rule of God by response to the King. Were Jesus to return home He would not find it ‘cleansed and put in order'. He would find it still under the old regime. Jesus does not deny to her limited blessing. He simply points out that as yet she has not received the true blessing.