The Birth of a King: The Magnificat
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How do you handle good news?
Building?
Being proposed to
Hearing her say yes to your proposal
The good news of your favorite team winning it all
The good news that you’re expecting a child?
Even yesterday I heard a shout of joy when the countertops came together in the building.
Its amazing how often when we hear good news, really good news, we want to shout and and sing!
We serve a singing God, so it makes sense that we, as his image bearers, sing when we are excited.
This is not only true of us, but this is also true of Mary.
How do you think Mary responded to unbelievable news that she would be the mother of the Son of God, the promised King?
She sings one of the most amazing songs ever sung.
However, the story to get to the song helps us understand how we are to read and hear Mary’s glorious song of celebration.
Now remember the story,
The Angel Gabriel comes to Mary to tell her that she would give birth to the Christ.
The Angel emphasizes that Mary will carry in her womb the high and exalted King, the one whom Israel had been waiting.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
The angel says he will be great!
He will be worthy of all praise
He will save his people from their sins
He will be a greater David, a greater Joshua, a greater Samson.
He will be the one who will put Satan under his foot and crush his head.
He will be the one who will trample down death by death
He will be the one who will ascend and sit on the eternal cosmic throne ruling and reigning with eyes of fire and a sword coming out of his mouth.
He will be great!
He will establish his kingdom, and he will rule his kingdom forever!
The heart of Gabriel's message to Mary is that, The King has arrived.
However, Gabriel also lets her know that another miracle has taken place
He tells her that her cousin, Elizabeth, is also pregnant.
And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
Elizabeth is believed to have been 88 years old when she became pregnant with her son, John.
So when Mary hears that not only is she pregnant, but that her 88 year old cousin is also six months along, Mary believed the angels words that nothing is impossible with God.
So after hearing this incredible news, Mary got her stuff together quickly and hurried to visit Elizabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist.
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Mary arrived I am sure Elizabeth was excited to see her.
Her house had been pretty quite for sometime, as her Husband Zechariah had been mute, unable to talk, for over six months because, unlike Mary, he did not believe Gabriels message to him, that he and Elizabeth would have a son.
He doubted the words of the Angel, so God took away his ability to speak until 8 days after John was born.
So Zechariah was not much of a conversation partner for Elizabeth for the last 6 or 7 months.
Not only that, but after conceiving, Elizebeth kept herself hidden for five months.
Upon arrival I’m sure both Mary and Elizabeth were thrilled to see each other. However, neither of them, especially Elizabeth was prepared for what would happen when Mary walk into the room.
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
Could you imagine this!
88 year old Elizabeth, six months along in her pregnancy, sees her young cousin Mary walk through the door, and when Mary greeted her, her baby leaped for joy in her womb!
The first person to rejoice at the arrival of Jesus, was an unborn infant child in the womb of an old barren women.
There are some beautiful notes of symbolism here as well.
Elizabeth womb is a symbol of Israel at the time of Christ’s birth.
It is old and spiritually barren.
Yet, through the grace of God comes new life.
By the Grace of God out of the dead womb of Israel he raised up the last prophet of the old covenant.
The last and the greatest, the one who would from his mothers womb announce the arrival of the Messiah!
John’s whole life and ministry was dedicated to the prophesying, preaching and rejoicing at the coming of the Lord.
John would later describe himself as the voice crying out in the wilderness, yet first he was the infant child leaping for joy in the womb… and both for the same reason… calling all to make straight the way of the Lord.
Elizabeth rejoices when she felt John leap in her womb… the prophetic testimony of her unborn child was enough for Elizabeth to worship and bless the Lord!
and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
I love how how she She exclaimed with a loud cry…
I love it because this is how we are to greet the Lord.
This is how we respond to good news!
Elizabeth was not capable of praising the Lord with the devotion of a moderate voice.
Being full of the Holy Spirit, she was on fire, harboring in her womb the greatest of all prophets who is literally dancing for Joy within her!
Elizabeth then says to Mary,
And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
John’s leaping for joy caused Elizabeth to recognize that in Mary’s womb was her Lord.
Ah my friends, we must never underestimate the way in which God uses his children, even his infant children, in the lives of his covenant people.
For out of the mouths of babes he establishes his praise - we would do well to follow Elizabeth’s example and turn our hearts and ears to the little ones in our midst.
For the Lord speaks through them with much power!
All of the excitement of Elizabeth and John causes Mary to essentially explode with exhilaration and joy
And what better way to show your excitement then to sing a song.
This is what happens to us when we get really excited… you start singing!
And often times, if you’re like me, you start mixing lyrics from all sorts of different songs and tunes and even making up your own words to songs that you know.
This is essentially what Mary does for the next 10 verses.
She mixes lyrics and tunes from dozens of OT texts!
From the law and the prophets, from the psalms, from Hanna’s prayer of praise when the angel tell her that she is pregnant.
When Mary sings her song its like the OT comes flowing forth from her mouth in a glorious fashion.
Mary praises the Lord by singing a prayer to God that we often call, The Magnificat.
Magnificat means to magnify to adore, to make much of.
In latin the first word of this song is the word Magnificat which means to magnify.
This song is one of the greatest songs in Christian history.
God’s people have been singing this song for 2000 years
Mary sang this song from the deepest chamber of her soul.
What we see in this song is that Mary, from the depths of her being, wants God to be exalted. She is a model of what it looks like to praise and adore the Lord.
Now, what so often happens when we read this song is that we divorce it from the immediate context of the two women, both miraculously pregnant, who are so excited and giddy that they are singing for joy!
Rather than reading this song as a song of excitement and joy, we read it as a solemn prayer, a quite and meek whisper.
And to read in this way is a tragedy.
This song is a ruckus song, a song that should be sung with a clap and a stomp.
Its the gospel before the gospel
Its a song of victory
Its a song of promises fulfilled
Its a song all about Christ the King
Its a song about the power of his kingdom
Its a song of great rejoicing
This song overflows from a heart that longs to see Christ exalted, and it comes from a heart that is thankful to God for his faithfulness and blessings.
Look with me at verses 46-48
And Mary said, “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;
“My SOUL magnifies the Lord, she said…
That is the very core of her being, her heart of hearts, the deepest part of her, she says, magnifies the Lord.
She wants more than anything for God to be made much of in her life.
She wants the Lord to be center stage, she wants the glory of the Lord to be seen by all!
Mary also recognized something of great importance in these verses:
And that is that God knew who she was.
He noticed her.
As a peasant girl of Nazareth she was not considered to be important by anybody except her family.
Yet God selected Mary to be the mother of Christ.
So from the depths of her heart she cries out,
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant”’
Mary experienced what every human being wants to experience: a sense of dignity.
She was seen, she was known, she was loved.
My goodness, these are some of those core longings we all have.
To be seen, known, and loved is what we all long for.
Its easy to say that we know that God, sees, knows, and loves us… yet the best way for us to experience this is to be seen, known, and loved by Christ’s body.
This is what we must offer to each other as the church.
The dignity of being seen, known, and loved should not be lost on anyone at Exodus Church.
This is what the Lord gives to us, and this is what we are to give to each other.
And for this dignity given to her by the Lord, Mary is grateful!
Her gratitude to God is accompanied by a prophecy as well, “from now on all generations will call me blessed”
Two thousand years later Mary is still regarded as the most blessed woman in the history of the human race.
Look now at vv.49-50
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.
Mary praises God for he has acted in his strength to do great things for her.
Yet not only for her, but she says, his mercy is for those who hear him from generation to generation.
The blessings, the mercy, the dignity, the grace she has received from God, is not hers only… but rather it is for all his people, from generation to generation.
It is for you and for your children and your grandchildren.
Here Mary begins to describe the kingdom that the king in her womb is about to establish.
His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, thus his mercy and grace, his love and power, his peace and justice will be established for generations.
And this is not just a spiritual reality for Mary, nor should it be for us.
When the king comes, when his kingdom advances, it makes a real world impact.
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;
The pomp and circumstance of the emperors in the ancient world was truly over the top.
They would march in procession and have slaves bearing their thrones along the way.
As they were being carried along, the crowds would bow down to them, sing to them, wish they were them.
They were elevated themselves a self-made gods worthy of adoration.
It is no different in our day.
The wicked exalt themselves
draw attention to themselves
demand that those around them serve their egos
Empires are built upon the the false glory of those who possess riches and fame.
We try to build mini empires ourselves,
Among family and friends we try to exalt ourselves.
arrogance and pride takes hold and convinces us that we are greater than we actually are.
its not only the rich and famous who exalt themselves, but all who have a sinful heart seek to build empires of our own egos.
However, these empires will not last, they all crumble and fall.
Christ, with one flick of his wrist, topples emperors and kings of the ancient world, and with his flick of his wrist he causes the modern day empires to crash and fall.
This is what Mary says, ‘He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.’
This is what the righteous King will do throughout his world.
Wherever his kingdom is established the King upon the throne begins to knock over those evil forces that stand against his rule and reign.
This is what the gospel does in the hearts of man.
The good news of the gospel calls us to die to our sinful ways so that Christ might rule in our lives.
And not only rule in the hearts of man, but also in families, and communities, and towns and cities.
in the arts and in politics.
in entertainment and education
Wherever the gospel goes it tears down arguments and idea that stand opposed to the kingship of Christ.
Mary sees this revolution beginning with her, and the baby in her womb.
Not only will he humble the prideful, but he will exalt the humble.
he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
The birth of the king turned the world upside down and inside out.
The mighty will fall and the humble will be exalted
the first shall be last and the last shall be first
the hungry will be filled an the rich will be sent away empty.
Every kingdom that seeks to rise up against the kingdom of Christ will be exposed as a counterfeit kingdom.
Every ego that seeks the glory that belongs to God will be exposed as a feeble.
Mary rejoices for this is the reality that will be ushered into existence with the child in her womb.
For the King, the ruler of nations, the exalted one now lives within her.
Mary concludes her song of praise by praising God for remembering his covenant.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Mary and Elizabeth soaked themselves in the in the psalms and prophetic writing which spoke of mercy, hope, fulfilment, reversal, revolution, victory over evil, and of God coming to the rescue.
They remembered the promises given to Abraham and to the Fathers.
They remembered God’s promises…
And now Mary is praising God that he too remembers!
God remembers his promises, my friends.
Christmas can be a celebration of many aspects of Christ’s coming into the world.
We can celebrate the joy that Christ brings
We can celebrate the hope that he gives us
We can celebrate the peace that he establishes
we can celebrate the love that he demonstrated.
And we should celebrate these things… but let us also celebrate the fact that the birth of Christ is God demonstrating that he has not forgotten his promises.
And not only do we celebrate that he has not forgotten, but we also call on him to remember what he has promised us in Christ.
This is what we do each week when we come to the Table.
We remind God of the covenant he has made with us in Christ.
We proclaim Christ’s death until he comes again.
We proclaim and celebrate his victory
And we call on God to remember us, not alone, but as members of Christ. Washed in his blood, united to his body, drenched in his grace.
As we enter this last week of advent moving toward Christmas morning.
Let us, like Mary, rejoice for God has not forgotten his covenant toward us.
Let us praise his name for he remembers his promises,
And let us give thanks, and my our souls magnify the Lord for he has been so good to us.
Lets pray.