"Mary's Song" Sermon: Luke 1:46-55

“Mary’s Song”
[Luke 1:46-55]
December 6, 2009 Second Reformed Church

We continue to look at the songs of the Christmas season, and we turn to the song of Mary on this second Sunday of Advent. This song is the response Mary gave to the angel after she understood what God had planned for her – as much as she could have understood. She had been told, after all, that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Savior of Israel, Who was none other than God Himself.

In the verses preceding this morning’s reading, we are told that the angel Gabriel visited Mary’s cousin Elizabeth. We are told that Elizabeth was now old and she was barren – she and her husband Zechariah did not have any children. Yet, Gabriel came with news that she would conceive, and, in fact, she did. And in the sixth month of her conception, we are told that the angel visited Mary.

We are not told what form the angel Gabriel visited in. By looking at Mary’s response, it seems her fear and trouble came from what he said and not from how he looked, so we can assume that he appeared in human form – we know from the Scripture that angels in their natural form are awesome and startling – possibly, fearsome – looking creatures.

So, Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she was favored by the Lord – the God of Israel – that she had been chosen to bear the Savior of Israel, Who will be the Son of God, and reign eternally on the throne of David.

Being a righteous Jewish woman, she knew and believed the promise that was given amidst the cursing of Adam, Eve, the serpent, and the Creation, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15, ESV). It was understood that the was the Promise of God that He would send a Savior, born of a woman, Who would deliver God’s people from slavery to sin and Satan. Mary was not surprised that she could be the one to bear the Savior. She does not seem particularly surprised that she is favored of the Lord or that the Savior would be the Son of God. What surprises her is that the angel was telling her that she would be with child when she had never had physical relations with a man – she was a virgin in the true biological sense.

Mary understood biology, and she didn’t understand how this could happen without a physical relationship with a man. (That’s why many people today say that this is mythology, or she was young, but not really a virgin.)

Gabriel was ready for this objection and told Mary that God the Holy Spirit would cause her to conceive by His Power, and the child within her would be holy, the Son of God. And as a sign that these things would come to pass, Gabriel told her to go and visit her cousin Elizabeth – the old woman whom was always known to be barren – because she was now in the sixth month of her conception – because nothing will be impossible with God.

Mary humbled herself and received the will of God, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And Gabriel left. And Mary went off to see Elizabeth, and she found everything Gabriel had told her to be true. Elizabeth and the child within her recognized – by the Holy Spirit – what had happened and Who the Child was that Mary now carried. Elizabeth blessed Mary and her Child, and she asked why the mother of God had come to her – the word “Lord” in this text refers to God. Elizabeth told Mary that the child within her recognized Mary’s Child and leapt for joy. (The sixth month old in Elizabeth’s womb recognized the, perhaps, weeks old Child in Mary’s womb. A child exists from the moment of conception.) And Elizabeth again blessed Mary for believing the Word of the Lord.

And Mary, having understood her theology – having understood God and His Word and what He was accomplishing in her – broke out in doxology – in praise to God, as we heard this morning:

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;”

Do you think Mary was being a little arrogant? All generations will call her blessed? How humble was it for her to think that she would be remembered and blessed? Wasn’t it her Son Who was the Center of what was occurring in her?

There is a fine line to be walked. Let us understand: God says that Mary was humble and that she was blessed, and as the mother of God, it was right for her to believe that she would be remembered as such. That is not arrogance – that is believing in God and His Word. The Roman Catholic Church goes to an unbiblical extreme and worships Mary along with Jesus. That is wrong – it is sinful. Mary was merely a human being like us. She is not to be worshiped. Yet, some Protestant Churches almost seem to despise Mary and not want to mention her at all. That is wrong – that is sinful. Mary was the chosen and blessed mother of God, someone we ought to emulate in her humility and obedience.

We ought also recognize that it was right for her to rejoice in her being blessed, because she rejoiced in being blessed as part of what God had done for her. Every one of us who has believed in Jesus Alone for salvation is blessed. We should rejoice and give thanks that God has blessed us in choosing and saving us from our sin and the Wrath of God. I am blessed; you are blessed. We should acknowledge that and give thanks and rejoice in it. We have every reason to be joy-filled and to spread that joy to others. We have no excuse to look and act like we have been sucking on lemons. Look at what you are compared with what you could be – especially as a son or daughter of God – a brother and sister of Jesus Christ – how can we not magnify the Lord with Mary? How can we not rejoice in God our Savior?

“For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.”

Our God – the God of Mary – is the Mighty God – He is the Holy God. He is the God Who has done great things for us. Has God every done anything for you? In times of personal and national tragedy, we hear people cry out, “Where was God? Where was God?” Have we forgotten the Garden of Eden? Have we forgotten that every evil that occurs on the earth has been brought to us by ourselves? Before Adam and Eve sinned, there was no sin in the world. We brought it into the world. And yet – we have life. We have love. We have joy. And even if we find a way to strike down everything we could possibly think of as a great thing that God has done for us, we have the Greatest Thing – that Little Baby that Mary carried – that Greatest of All Things – sent for us and our salvation. When everything else is wrong, is not Jesus Great?

Our God is a God Who delights in showing His Strength – in showing that He is the God of all things. He is not some god who set the earth in motion and walked away. No, ours is the God Who is intimately involved with every person and every moment of history, working all things according to His Plan, and for the good of those who love Him (cf. Romans 8:28). Our God shows His Mercy to us from generation to generation. Until the day that He returns, there will be people chosen out of all the world to be His sons and daughters. He will save from each generation as it pleases Him to save.

Our God is the God Who knows the thoughts of every human being. God is not ignorant – He knows everything. God shows His strength in His time by scattering the proud in heart. The proud will not always stand and put down the poor and the needy – the humble and the godly. And understand, we can be rich and proud and poor and proud. God is not talking about what money we have, but the attitude of our hearts. Although, in this country, it seems that we do easily become prideful about what we have – “he who dies with the most toys wins,” so they say. Or, we become proud because we’re not one of the “fat cats.” Pride is insidious and can affect anyone. And God will knock us down if we become prideful.

In this country we fight fierce and disgusting battles to get our candidates in power, but Mary understood that it is God Who puts kings in power and removes them from power. As Daniel said, “[God] changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him” (Daniel 2:21-22, ESV). And Paul reminds us of the same thing: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement” (Romans 13:1-2, ESV). Politicians come and go, but our God Who sovereignly installs and uses each of them rules forever.

Our God exalts the humble. Mary is a wonderful example of this – a young girl, engaged to marry a carpenter – God exalted her by causing her to become the mother of God. God could have chosen to have the Savior born in the king’s palace – that’s what the magi expected when they came looking for Him. But God chose a young, unknown girl, someone who knew the Word of God and submitted to it – receiving and accepting whatever came from God’s Hand.

Remember this account: “Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to [Jesus] with her sons, and keeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one on your right hand and one on your left, in your kingdom.’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink from the cup that I am to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ He said to them, ‘You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those whom it has been prepared by my Father.’ And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many’” (Matthew 20:20-28, ESV).

It is this type of passage that caused the philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, to say that Christianity is the religion of the weak and women. He didn’t get it. Jesus’ cousin, the son of Elizabeth, did understand. When he was questioned he answered, “‘A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, “I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.” The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease’” (John 3:27-30, ESV). The followers of Christ are exalted in Him as we humbled ourselves and exalt Him – just as Mary did.

Mary said that God fills the hungry and sends the rich away empty. Let us be careful. Mary is not merely talking about money. God has blessed some Christians with money. Money itself is not evil. What Mary is saying is that those who come to God knowing that they are in need, whether it be for daily bread or other needs, God will fill those needs. But those who come to God believing that they don’t need anything, God sends away with what they want – nothing. Remember that Jesus was criticized by the Pharisees for eating with the tax collectors and other sinners, and Jesus said, ‘”Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners’” (Matthew 9:12b-13, ESV). God bids us come, knowing that we are in need of Him. If we deny we need Him, what should we expect from Him?

Mary ends her song, “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” God had promised the elderly Abraham and Sarah a child, and “God said, ‘No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my kingdom with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him’” (Genesis 17:19, ESV). God had promised Abraham that God would make a people of him and through him all the nations of the world would be blessed. What Abraham did not understand is that God’s blessing of Israel was not merely to a landmass or a biological people, as Paul explained, “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (Romans 9:6b-8, ESV). In other words, those to whom God is merciful and helps are those who believe in Him and His Savior by faith – no matter what their biology.

In Mary’s song, the Magnificat, as it is known, we learn:

God has blessed all those who believe in Jesus Alone for salvation, and we are right to consider ourselves blessed by God and to give Him all the glory for our salvation.

Everything we have and are that is good has been given to us by God, especially our salvation, so we always have reason to give God thanks and to praise.

God has called us to a life a humility and service – a life that shows how great He is. In the end, it is those who sincerely, truthfully, live that type of life, that God will exalt in His Kingdom.

God wants us to understand that He is the Source of all good things, and if we have needs, He will fill them day by day. But if we come to Him believing that we have all that we need, He will send us away empty.

And we learn that God has called a people for Himself, and all those whom He has called will believe in Him. People from every tribe and nation and language will come to faith in Jesus Christ Alone through the Mercy and Eternal Plan of God – and by no other means.

Let us rejoice. Let us give thanks. Let us bow down before our Lord and God.

As we receive the bread and the cup of the sacrament, let us come to it believing that we are called to receive the elements by Jesus, as His brothers and sisters. Let us come believing that we need to receive these elements – to commune with Jesus – to receive His Grace – to receive strength to accomplish all that He has set before us. And let us come desiring that He would receive all the glory – in this supper, in this worship, in all that we do as we leave this place, and throughout all of eternity.

Let us pray,
Almighty God, we thank You for the teaching in the song of Mary. We thank You for choosing her and giving her as an example of righteous and humble living for us. We ask that You would make us more like Mary in the ways that she was like Your Son, Jesus. Let our joy be service to You for Your Glory. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.