If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1.
Last Sunday, we heard about Mary's spectacular encounter with the angel Gabriel
and the word that God spoke to her, that she would conceive and bear a son
and that her son would be the Messiah and reign forever.
We heard that she would conceive without a human father by the power of the Holy Spirit overshadowing her
and that as a result, her son would be the very son of God.
Well, this morning, we continue the story as documented by Luke and we are in verse 39 of chapter 1.
At that time, Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea
where she entered Zachariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.
So Mary has just had this amazing encounter with Gabriel
and the sense we get here is that she wastes no time.
She just packs her bags and heads out of town.
She hits the road down to the Judean town where her relatives Elizabeth and Zachariah live.
And we might wonder, why does she do this?
It doesn't say here in the text exactly what Mary's reasons are of her thinking,
but we know from back up in verse 36 that Elizabeth is Mary's relative.
The old King James translation says cousin.
Cousin, 400 years ago, cousin was a more general term referring to kin,
someone who belonged to your extended family or to your clan,
but didn't already have a title like grandma or grandpa or aunt or uncle.
So Mary has that connection with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth is kin.
She's extended family.
And Mary has just heard from Gabriel that she's pregnant,
that Elizabeth is now six months pregnant.
So they have the pregnancy in common.
And if we're listening closely to what Gabriel said to Mary,
the reason Elizabeth is pregnant in her old age
is because no word from God will ever fail.
So there's a bit of a hint there that maybe Mary picked up on,
an allusion to the fact that God had spoken a word about Elizabeth's son as well,
just as he did to Mary about her son.
And then we can add on top of all that, Mary's situation.
She's not yet married.
She's just engaged.
But she's been told that she's going to conceive and be pregnant without Joseph.
Before the wedding, she's going to be with child.
And so you could think of the societal implications of this for her.
Not to mention that what are people going to think
if you tell them that you had a visit from an angel
and that you're going to give birth to the Messiah?
People might say that you're crazy.
So like, who can I talk to about this?
Getting out of town and going to visit Elizabeth
seems like just such a natural choice.
If she too has received a word from God
and as a result has become pregnant,
she might be just the person to share my news with.
So Mary makes the several days journey down to the hill country of Judea
where Elizabeth and Zechariah live
and she enters the house and greets Elizabeth.
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.
Blessed is she who has believed
that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her.
I love this moment.
It's like Mary barely gets in the door.
She just finishes saying hello
and Elizabeth is joyfully shouting back to Mary,
You're pregnant!
And you're going to have a very special child.
You're pregnant with the one who is my Lord.
Now, how did Elizabeth even know
that Mary was pregnant?
It says Mary hurried down
to where Elizabeth was to visit her
and so probably Mary wasn't even showing yet.
How did Elizabeth even know that Mary was pregnant?
Luke mentions two things.
First, the baby in Elizabeth's womb
leaped for joy.
Little baby John,
who was still in the womb of Elizabeth,
leaped for joy.
Sprung about for joy.
Now, if that doesn't express the personality
and humanity of the unborn, pre-born child,
I don't know what does.
And now I know what some of us might be thinking.
Some of us skeptics might wonder,
you know, isn't that just something
that pregnant women sometimes make up?
You know, like,
I know it's a boy
or I know it's a girl
because of these certain movements
that I've been feeling,
only to find out later
when the child is born
that that feeling was wrong.
How could Elizabeth know
that John,
the six-month-old baby
in her womb,
had joy?
And that that's the reason
that he leaped
or sprung about
in her womb.
Well, there's an important detail here
that I think makes sense of it all.
Verse 41.
It says,
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the baby leaped in her womb
and Elizabeth was filled
with the Holy Spirit.
Elizabeth was filled
with the Holy Spirit
in this moment.
Think about this.
God himself
entered into
Elizabeth
in this moment.
This is how Elizabeth knew
that Mary was pregnant
the moment that she walked
in the door.
And not just pregnant,
but pregnant with a blessed child,
pregnant with,
in Elizabeth's words,
my Lord.
Only God,
by his spirit,
could reveal
this to Elizabeth,
this secret of Mary's
in a moment like this.
Think about how
strange this moment
would be
to an outsider
looking in.
I mean,
an elderly woman
just called the child
in a young girl's womb
her Lord.
How could she know
that that's who
Mary's baby was?
But by the Spirit of God
who had filled her
in that moment,
and I think
it's also reasonable
to conclude
that it was by
the Spirit
that Elizabeth knew
of the joy
in little John's heart
even though he's
only six months old.
How else could she know that?
That it was for joy,
that that was the reason
he sprung about
in the womb.
All of this
is yet another sign
that God
is at work.
That everything
that God has been saying
through these
angelic visitations
is coming true.
that Elizabeth's son
will be
who Gabriel said
and that Mary's son
will be
the Messiah,
the Son of God.
Elizabeth commends
Mary for her faith
in the Lord's promise.
She says,
blessed is she
who has believed
that the Lord
would fulfill
his promises
to her.
and then at this point
we read about
Mary's response.
Verse 46,
and Mary said,
and what follows
is a fairly lengthy
thing that Mary says
from verse 46
all the way down
to verse 55.
And we're going to
dig into the meaning
of this
in just a moment.
But first,
before we get to that,
what is this thing
that Mary utters?
Many of the little
subtitles in our Bibles
may say something like
Mary's song.
This utterance of Mary's
has been traditionally
called
the Magnificat.
And it's called that
because
in the Latin translation
of this passage,
Magnificat
is the first word,
the word for glorifies
or magnifies.
And there's a lot
of debate
and discussion
over what this passage is.
Is it a song
that Mary composed
or sung?
Or is it just
a declaration
that she made?
Did she say this
right on the spot
after Elizabeth said
what she did
in verse 45?
Or did Mary
write this later
as sort of
a personal reflection
about what God
was doing
around the time
when she became pregnant?
Well, first of all,
there's nothing here
in this passage
that says
that it is a song.
The subtitles
in the Bible
may say Mary's song,
but they're not
part of the original text.
They're not inspired.
They're added later
by editors
to help us know
what's in a section,
where one section ends
and another begins
and what that section's about.
Luke says,
Mary said,
and then the words
that follow
are spoke,
not Mary sung
this song.
And so I would take
this as a spoken word
from Mary.
But,
there is
a very obvious
poetic characteristics
to Mary's words.
Scholars who know
the original languages
better than I do
discern a pattern
of meter
and rhythm
in these words
that's common
in the Psalms
and in other
poetic passages
found in the Bible.
Not only that,
but there is
that signature
characteristic
of Hebrew poetry,
which is parallelism.
Some English
translations today
even adjust
the formatting
to reflect
the various lines
of this poetic utterance.
And so,
it's understandable
that some have concluded
that this was
a song or a hymn.
At the very least,
it's psalm-like
in its form.
And so I'm comfortable
calling it a psalm.
Whether Mary spoke
this aloud
in the moments
immediately following
her arrival
at Elizabeth's house
or composed this
a little bit later,
personally,
I don't see why
either couldn't
be the case.
But some of the
discussion around this,
some have a hard time
imagining how Mary
could utter
something so
wonderfully poetic
and true
of this length
on the spot,
spontaneously.
Others suggest
that, well,
maybe she's been
crafting this expression
of praise
in her mind
from the time
that she heard
the word
from Gabriel
till now,
which I guess
would mean
that she's been
composing this
during her trip
down from Nazareth.
Others notice
that this psalm
of Mary's
is just rich
with allusions
to the Old Testament.
And some wonder
how Mary,
being so young,
could know
the scriptures
that well.
or is it
possible
that just like
Elizabeth
moments ago,
Mary herself
is also filled
with the Spirit
of God
and that God's
Spirit gives
her these words
just like he did
for the psalmists
long ago.
Whatever the case,
here it is,
the very words
of Mary
which describe
something of
what she was
feeling and thinking
at the time
when she became
pregnant
with the Son
of God.
Mary said,
My soul
glorifies the Lord
and my spirit
rejoices
in God
my Savior
for he has been
mindful
of the humble
state of his servant.
From now on
all generations
will call me
blessed
for the mighty
one has done
great things
for me.
Holy
is his name.
His mercy
extends to those
who fear him
from generation
to generation.
He has performed
mighty deeds
with his arm.
He has scattered
those who are proud
in their inmost
thoughts.
He has brought
down rulers
from their
thrones
but has lifted
up the humble.
He has filled
the hungry
with good
things
but has sent
the rich
away empty.
He has helped
his servant
Israel
remembering
to be merciful
to Abraham
and his descendants
forever
just as he
promised
our ancestors.
In the first
lines of this
psalm
Mary describes
her own
response
to all
that's
happening
with her.
She says
my soul
glorifies
the Lord
and my
spirit
rejoices
in God
my Savior.
The parallelism
is quite obvious
here.
My soul
and my
spirit
both refer
to Mary's
inner
inner being.
The Lord
and God
are both
referring to
the same
person.
But notice
the words
glorifies
and rejoice
which are
parallels
but slightly
different.
What is
Mary's
response
in all
this?
It is
both
worship
and
rejoicing.
It's a
joyful
worship
that's just
flowing out
of the
very depths
of her
being.
Her soul
her very
spirit
is just
joyfully
praising
God
giving glory
to him.
We get
the sense
that this
is not
a difficult
thing for
Mary to
say.
These
words
declare the
worthiness
and greatness
of God
but it's not
as though
she had to
sit down
and think
about what
do I
write about
him?
They're just
ready to
burst
forth from
deep down
inside of
her
like a
fountain.
Notice
that Mary
calls God
her savior.
Why that?
At this
point in the
story she
likely has
very little
understanding
of the
idea of
God
saving her
from the
penalty of
her sins.
God
but if we
look back
into the
Old Testament
we see
that God
is referred
to many
times as
my savior
or our
savior.
King David
was one
who referred
to God
many times
in the
Psalms
this way
and for
David it
was often
salvation
from enemies
or from
troubles
that he
found himself
in.
God
himself even
takes up
this title
of savior
as he
speaks later
on through
the prophet
Isaiah.
Isaiah 43
verse 3
For I am
the Lord
your God
the Holy
One of
Israel
your savior.
A little
further down
in verse 11
of the same
chapter
I
even I
am the
Lord
and apart
from me
there is
no savior.
In
chapter 45
verse 15
Truly
you are a
God who
has been
hiding himself
the God
and savior
of Israel.
All the
makers of
idols
will be
put to
shame
and
disgraced.
They will
go off
into
disgrace
together
but Israel
will be
saved
by the
Lord
with an
everlasting
salvation.
You will
never be
put to
shame
or
disgraced
to
ages
everlasting.
And what's
interesting about
all of these
mentions of
God as
savior is
that they're
not so much
focused on
the sin
and atoning
part.
They're
focused on
the plight
of Israel
at this
time.
There are
nations that
are coming
against them.
God is
handing them
over
in judgment
and he is
promising to
bring them
back and
to save
them from
exile,
to bring
them back
into the
land.
And there's
even an
ultimate
kind of
finality to
it as well.
we see
that
Israel
will be
saved
by the
Lord
with an
everlasting
salvation.
The
prophet
Habakkuk,
he also
refers to
God as
savior in
this
familiar
passage,
Habakkuk
317,
though the
fig tree
does not
bud and
there are
no grapes
on the
vines,
though the
olive crop
fails and
the fields
produce no
food,
though there
are no
sheep in
the pen
and no
cattle in
the stalls,
yet I
will rejoice
in the
Lord,
I will
be joyful
in God
my savior.
I don't
think it's
a stretch
to say
that Mary
probably
borrowed
from
Habakkuk's
words,
just the
way it's
phrased,
it has the
same
parallelism
as she
made her
own
statement
of praise.
But we
notice in
all these
passages that
the title
of savior
or deliverer
is just
loaded with
meaning.
God is
the great
savior and
deliverer of
Israel.
both in
times past
and through
the words
of the
prophets,
we see
that he
will be
the savior
and deliverer
in the
ultimate
future
and the
end times.
The main
thrust of
God as
savior up
until this
point in
the story
is in
relation to
trouble
and calamity,
personal
hardship,
the attacks
of enemies,
oppression
by foreign
powers.
sinners.
And the
sin and
that stuff,
the guilt,
that's
coming.
We're
going to
hear more
about that
from Jesus.
But let's
go on to
the next
verse and
see how
Mary is
thinking
here.
My spirit
rejoices in
God my
savior for
he has
been mindful
of the
humble
state of
his
servant.
He has
been mindful
of the
humble
state of
his
servant.
Quite
literally,
he has
looked upon
the humble
or low
state of
his slave.
And from
now on,
all generations
will call
me blessed.
What does
Mary have
in mind
when she
says that
God has
been mindful
of her
humble
state,
state?
Her
low
state.
Now I
don't think
she's just
saying something
out of
false humility
here or
just saying
some kind
of a
humble
word just
to be
spiritual.
She's
deeply
moved in
the core
of her
being that
God would
choose her
in her
humble,
low,
nothing
state to
be the
bearer of
his son.
It's like
Mary is
saying,
God,
you're
taking me
from the
very bottom
and now
you're
lifting me
up,
exalting
me.
Even the
next
generations
of people
will consider
me
specially
blessed
by you.
And so
Mary,
according to
her own
words,
has just
now experienced
this great
reversal in
her life
from down
here to
now up
here.
And this
is not
something that
a lot of
people tend
to talk
about,
but could
it be that
up until
now,
Mary has
known a
hard life,
a life
of poverty
perhaps,
or some
other
hardship?
Is that
what she's
alluding to
when she
says,
for he
has been
mindful of
the humble
state of
his servant?
think about
where Mary
has been
living,
in
Nazareth,
that little
town in
the hill
country of
Galilee
about which
Nathaniel
would later
say,
Nazareth,
can anything
good come
from Nazareth?
Now,
we don't know
anything about
Mary's life
before all
this,
but perhaps
Mary's words
here are a
veiled reference
to how difficult
things have
been for her.
Could it be
that Mary
is calling
God her
savior,
deliverer,
not just
because that's
who he is
and has been
throughout all
of history,
but because
that's what
she feels
like is
happening in
her life
right now.
God's
lifting her
up from
the dust
of whatever
low and
humble and
hard things
she's lived
through,
to now
knowing one
of the
greatest
gifts ever
given to
a woman,
to be the
mother of
the Messiah,
to carry
and give
birth to
the very
son of
God.
One thing
is for
certain,
do you see
any sort
of hint
here that
Mary thinks
God is
doing this
for her
because of
how good
she's been?
No.
It's a
total opposite.
Like,
despite my
humble,
low estate,
he has
done great
things for
me.
Mary calls
God the
mighty one,
which is
another name
ascribed to
God in the
Old Testament
times.
As far back
as the book
of Genesis,
God is called
the mighty
one of
Jacob,
the mighty
one of
Israel.
Holy is
his name,
she says.
It's another
expression also
found in the
Psalms in the
Old Testament.
Testament.
There's
nobody like
you,
Lord.
Verse 50.
His mercy
extends to
those who
fear him
from generation
to generation.
It's another
truth that's
been spoken in
the Old
Testament before
about God.
But there's a
sense maybe in
which Mary just
feels and
understands and
appreciates this
even more
deeply.
All these
generations and
years later,
here she is,
a little girl
in Nazareth
and she
fears the
Lord and
now God
has extended
his kindness,
his mercy,
his love
to her.
Verse 51.
He has
performed mighty
deeds with
his arm.
He has
scattered those
who are proud
in their inmost
thoughts.
hearts.
At this
point,
Mary now
begins to
speak about
the mighty
acts of
God and
specifically how
God often
deals with
different kinds
of people.
And the whole
Old Testament
is really the
story of God
doing mighty
deeds with
his arm.
With his arm
is a poetic
figure of
speech.
But all
through the
scriptures up
until now,
we see these
kind of great
moments in
Israel's history.
history, the
parting of
the Red Sea
and deliverance
for Israel
from the
once powerful
and great
Egyptian
Pharaoh and
his horde of
chariots
comes to
mind.
Other great
deliverances
and big
battles and
times when
his people
were in need
come to
mind throughout
the centuries.
And then
Mary specifically
puts words to
how God has
dealt with
the proud.
She says,
he has
scattered those
who are proud
in their
inmost thoughts.
The Tower
of Babel
comes to
mind.
He has
scattered
those who
are proud
in their
inmost thoughts.
The Philistines
fleeing for
their lives
after the
shepherd boy
David
slew Goliath
comes to
mind.
And again,
there are so
many of these
moments in
history in
which God
has displayed
his might
and his
power by
scattering
the proud.
Mary goes
on with
this.
Verse 52,
he has
brought down
rulers from
their thrones,
but has
lifted up
the humble.
This is an
amazing
thing that
we see
God do
again and
again in
the Old
Testament.
He brings
down proud
rulers.
Think of the
four kings
who conquered
Sodom and
Gomorrah.
God brought
them and
their armies
down before
Abraham,
the shepherd,
in Genesis
chapter 14.
He brought
the kings of
Sodom and
Gomorrah
down in
Genesis
19 when
he destroyed
those two
cities with
fire and
brimstone from
heaven.
He brought
Pharaoh and
his mighty
armies down
at the Red
Sea.
All of
Pharaoh's
proud boasts
against God
came to
nothing.
He brought
the kings
east of the
Jordan River
down before
his people
after 40
years of
them wandering
in the desert.
he brought
31 kings of
the Canaanite
peoples down
before the
children of
Israel when
they entered
the promised
land as
detailed in
the book of
Joshua.
He brought
down the
kings of
the Moabites
and the
Midianites
and the
Ammonites
and the
Amorites
and through
all these
delivers that
he raised
up through
the period
of the
judges.
He brought
the kings
of the
Philistines
to their
knees before
his anointed
king David
and Solomon
and even
the kings
of Israel
the northern
kingdom
the wicked
ones.
He brought
them down
too.
Men like
Ahab
Jeroboam
even the
wicked kings
of Judah.
God brought
the proud
Babylonian
king
Nebuchadnezzar
down in
spectacular fashion
as detailed
in the book
of Daniel.
He brought
down the
arrogant
Belshazzar
and the
list just
goes on
and on
and on.
This is
one of
God's
signature
acts of
power.
He will
only permit
an arrogant
or proud
ruler to
hold sway
for so
long and
then he
brings them
down.
But the
flip side
of this
there's a
flip side
to this
signature
act of
God.
God
has brought
down
rulers
from their
thrones
but has
lifted
up
the
humble.
God
not only
uses his
great power
to humble
the proud
but he
also uses
it to
exalt
the lowly.
Who was
Abraham?
A
nomadic
shepherd
and foreigner
from the east
whose wife
was barren.
He had
no children
of his own
and God
promised to
make him
the father
of nations.
Who was
Moses?
A
Hebrew
baby
set adrift
in a
basket.
The
child of
a slave.
And God
rose him
up to be
the prince
of Egypt
and then
he went
back down
after committing
murder.
He fled
and he
became a
lowly
shepherd
in
Midian.
And then
God
raised him
up to be
a great
prophet
and deliverer
and leader
for the
whole
nation.
Who was
Hannah?
She was
the barren
wife of
Elkanah
who was
constantly
being provoked
by her
rival
and probably
other women
she knew
until one
day God
opened her
womb
and gave
her a son
and made
her the
mother of
the great
prophet
Samuel.
Who was
King David?
He was
the least
of Jesse's
sons.
He was
the one
that they
didn't even
invite
to come
meet
the prophet
Samuel
when he
came.
They left
him out
to look
after the
sheep
and yet
God
took him
from the
pasture
and raised
him up
to the
throne
of Israel.
Again
and again
we see
this tendency
of God
to use
his power
to lift
up the
humble
and to
exalt
them.
And why
is Mary
declaring this
wonderful thing
that God
does?
Because she
is one of
these lowly
people.
A nothing
girl from
Nazareth
now exalted
above all
women
with this
gift that
God has
given to
her
to be
the mother
of Jesus.
Verse 53
He has
filled the
hungry with
good things
but has
sent the
rich away
empty.
perhaps
this is
another
possible
hint
of what
Mary
has
known
up
until
now.
Has
she
known
hunger?
Has
she
known
poverty?
She
seems to
speak of
the rich
as though
she
isn't
one of
them.
Now
the promise
of the
angel
wasn't to
put more
food on
the table
or to
put more
money
in her
purse
but it
will be
something
even more
deeply
satisfying
and
wonderful
fulfilling
a deeper
hunger
of the
heart
and
soul
this
son
that
she
will
bear.
She
closes in
this way
He has
helped
his servant
Israel
remembering
to be
merciful
to Abraham
and his
descendants
forever
just as
he promised
our
ancestors.
here Mary
reflects on
how this
wonderful
gift of
God
the Messiah
whom she
will bear
is not
just a
gift to
her
but to
all
Israel.
God
hasn't
forgotten
us.
He has
not
forgotten
to show
mercy.
even
before
baby
Jesus
is
born
you
can
see
it
in
her
words
Mary
recognizes
her
son
as
the
one
through
whom
God
will
keep
the
promises
he
has
made
the
promises
which
first
started
coming
to
Abraham
and
then
were
added
to
later
to
Isaac
to
Jacob
to
Moses
to
David
and
on
this
is
it
Mary
sees
it
she
understands
just
who
her
son
is
and
will
be
she
really
did
take
those
words
of
Gabriel
to
heart
and
believe
them
Mary
stayed
with
Elizabeth
for
about
three
months
and
then
returned
home
there
are
so
many
ways
that
some
of
these
words
could
touch
us
or
speak
to
us
we
could
reflect
a lot
on
Mary's
life
we
could
compare
that
to
what
maybe
some
of
you
are
going
through
right
now
we
could
think
a lot
about
God's
mighty
deeds
and
how
he
humbles
the
proud
and
how
he
exalts
the
humble
these
things
relate
to us
in so
many
ways
but
more
than
anything
what
does
God
want
our
response
to
all
this
to
be
why
is
it
here
why
is
Luke
telling
us
this
he's
showing
us
what
Elizabeth's
response
to
all
this
was
he's
showing
us
what
Mary's
response
to
all
this
was
and
I
think
there's
a
question
for
us
in
this
do
we
realize
do
we
recognize
just
who
this
child
of
Mary's
was
and
is
do
we
know
that
this
baby
who
was
in
Mary's
womb
is
our
Lord
do
we
recognize
that
all
of
God's
promises
made
through
the
generations
leading
up to
this
are
fulfilled
in
this
one
son
Jesus
he
is
everything
do
you
know
this
do
you
believe
this
do
you
see
it
all
the
signs
are
pointing
to
this
2,000
years
ago
that's
what
Luke's
trying
to
show
us
do
you
see
it
I
want
to
invite
the
worship
team
to
come
up
and
we're
going
to
sing
our
response
movimiento
to
do
,
together
to
foam
let's
do
not