Mary's Magnificat Pt. 1
The Son: Meeting Jesus through Luke • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction:
Introduction:
In our time together last week, we saw Mary arrive on the doorstep of Zechariahs and Elizabeth unannounced. We saw the baby in Elizabeths womb leap in prophetic joy, and Elizabeth full of the Holy Spirit, declared Mary to be blessed because she was carrying the savior of the world. The narrative continues in the text before us this morning as Mary begins to sing in majestic calm praise to her Lord.
This song is traditionally called “The Magnificat” because of the Latin form of v.1:46
Mary’s song is a beautiful tapestry that weaves old testaments allusions through out. It carries striking similarities to the song of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. There is a good reason for this. While young girls in this day were not taught how to read for the most part, they were still taught the word of God at home and at the synagogue. Plus every young Israelite knew by heart the songs of Hannah, Deborah and King David as it was custom to sing them during Jewish feast days. It is highly likely that the newly pregnant Mary would have rehearsed Hannah’s song over and over in her head during her journey to see Elizabeth. This is likely the reason her song is similar to Hannah’s, though not exactly the same.
Mary’s song is both lyrically beautiful and theologically deep. It
It is for this reason we will take the next two weeks to cover it. For today, we will place our focus on vs.46-50 where we will see that this is:
A magnificent song. (v.46-47)
A personal song. (v.48-49a)
A theological song (v.49b-50)
1.) A magnificent song. (v.46-47)
1.) A magnificent song. (v.46-47)
46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
The word translated as magnify means to make large or great. To make something to be held in greater esteem through praise or deeds.
This is exactly what Mary is doing. She is exalting the name of her Lord. Understand, we cant make God any bigger or greater than he already is, but, we magnify or enlarge God when we take into our thinking some new aspect of his greatness.
The fuller our knowledge of God’s greatness becomes, the greater our ability to magnify him becomes.
After Mary’s visit from Gabriel and her interaction with Elizabeth she had begun to think of God in bigger and grander ways than she ever had before and to praise him in ways she had never done before.
The same thing happens to us. When we come to Christ in faith, and his life begins to flow through us, we naturally begin to think greater thoughts of God than we ever thought was possible and these thoughts pour from our hearts and onto our lips, we magnify or enlarge the Lord.
v.47 is a form of Hebrew poetic parallelism. (expressing the same thought in two different ways.)
In vs.46 Mary says “My soul magnifies the Lord and now in vs.47 my spirit has rejoiced in God my savior.
The words “soul” and “spirit” here are speaking of the same thing they are referring to that any part of herself. By saying both, she is simply saying “All that I am, magnifies and praises the Lord.”
Magnifying the Lord with all that we are, with every fiber of our being is what God desires from his people.
2.) A personal song. (v.48-49)
2.) A personal song. (v.48-49)
Luke 1:48–49 (NKJV)
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, ...
Mary begins her song by magnifying the Lord, now in these two verses she begins to tell us why she is magnifying the Lord. She begins by expressing how God had done great things for her personally.
What were those great things? v.48 tells us.
A.) God saw her humble condition. (v.48a)
Remember at the outset how I mentioned that Mary’s song was very familiar with the Old Testament song of Hannah?
Hannah was the mother of the prophet Samuel. Prior to his birth, she was barren. This was a shame to married jewish women. In 1 Samuel 1 we see her at the tabernacle begging God and weeping bitterly for him to give her a son.
1 Samuel 1:11 (NKJV)
11 Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me,...”
The word translated as affliction here in the greek Septuagint (Explain what that is) reads the “humiliated (humble) state”. Luke uses the same greek word here that is translated as “lowly”.
Mary’s “humble/lowly” state was not childlessness like it was Hannah’s, but her acknowledging that she was no one special and yet god had chosen her to bare the messiah, the deliverer that the nation of Israel had been longing for in much the same way Hannah had longed for a son. And, in much the same way as Hannah had cast herself upon the Lord as her only hope, Mary had humbly cast herself on the Lord as the only one who could help her in her circumstance.
Both Hannah’s prayer in the Old Testament and Marys song here teach us something about the Lord. That he comes to those who realize their need, that they are unable to save themselves so they humbly submit to Him as Lord.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
6 The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
For those who would learn God’s ways, humility is the first thing, humility is the second, humility is the third.
Augustine of Hippo
B.) God has made her to be called blessed. (v.48b)
What a mind-boggling thought this must have been for the young teenaged Mary. That for the rest of time when people would here the name of Mary they would think of her as the one who God saw fit to allow to give birth to the Christ.
The name “Mary” or “Maria” is the most popular name for women in the entire world. According to SSA.GOV in the united states alone from 1922-2021 there have been 3,124,584 girls named Mary. It is the number one most common name for girls for the last 100 years. That’s just in the US.
According to forebears.io there are 11,303,767 in the entire word and another 61,134,526 Marias (A latin form of Mary)
Mary certainly was and is still “blessed.”
No doubt just as your children bear resemblance to you, the son of God, while walking this earth would have resembled Mary. Perhaps the shape of his smile, the crown of his forehead, his walk, his accent, his colloquialisms.
Mary must always be blessed and honored, but never worshipped!
3.) A theological song. (v.49-50)
3.) A theological song. (v.49-50)
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
Mary is not only magnifying the Lord, for what He has done for her, but also for who He is. She mentions three divine attributes of God here in these two verses.
A.) His power. (v.49a)
Notice she calls him “He who is mighty” or your translation may say “the Mighty One.” Might is another way of saying powerful.
Mary had already experienced God’s power at the conception of Jesus in Luke 1:35
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah testified of the child in Marys womb in Isaiah 9:6
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The Lord is “the Mighty one.” he makes barren and virgin wombs conceive, he raises the dead, heals the sick, gives sight to the blind. hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, he can make a crippled man walk, he can make sure the sandals on feet and the clothes on back don’t wear out for 40 years, he can walk on water, he can split the seas in two and cause dry ground to appear, he can make bread fall from the sky, he can cause the flour and the oil to never run out, he can make an axe head swim, kill a giant with one smooth stone, stop the mouths of lions, hang out in the flames with three Hebrew boys, defeat an army with 300 men and some clay pots or just a little noise in the tree tops, he can take away the cravings of the addict, bring peace to the angry and the anxious, and he can take a heart of stone and make it alive.
27 But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Why? Because He is “the Mighty one.”
Thats why Paul could say in Romans 1:16-17
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
B.) His holiness. (v.49b)
Mary was the first one to know that the child in her womb was “the Holy One” because the angel Gabriel had told her so in 1:35. So it makes sense she would praise God by saying “holy is His name.”
If there is one attribute of God that describes Him better than any other it is His holiness. It describes the very essence of His being. He is set apart and different from all others in every way. He is both a pure being and pure in being. Both a perfect being and perfect in being. He is holy in name and in being.
11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
9 Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the Lord our God is holy.
C.) His mercy. (v.50)
Mercy is God’s gracious faithfulness. It characterizes God’s dealings with His children. Mary recognizes that it extends to all generations. That is to say to all people, everywhere.
John Donne is a 17th century theologian and poet.
“God’s mercy hath no relation to time, no limitation in time.… Whom God loves He loves to the end; and not only to their end, to their death, but to His end; and His end is, that He might love them still.”
Interestingly, it is God’s mercy that he chooses to have us experience above his power and holiness.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children,
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Mary magnified the Lord because of what He did for her. He came to her in her “lowly state.” God met her in her helplessness and weakness and made her blessed for all generations. This is how He comes to us as well. He comes to us in our broken and sinful sate when we call upon him and gives us everlasting life. For this, we also can magnify the Lord.
Mary magnified the Lord for who He is. She had experienced his power, his holiness and his mercy firsthand. All of these and more we experience in Christ as well. For this, we too magnify the Lord.