Reasons for Joy | Luke 1:39–56
Notes
Transcript
If you have your Bible’s, and I hope you do, go ahead and grab them and head on over to the book of Luke. We are going to pick up where we left off last week walking through Luke’s narrative of Christ’s birth story. I’m super thankful to Frank for kicking us off in this last week, and I’m really excited to continue pressing into it.
Most people in our country have some sort of familiarity with this story, whether you were raised in church or not. You can drive around town and see nativity scenes and commercials, shows, and social media is full of references to it. Maybe not Luke’s specific recounting of it, but of the general narrative. And you know what they say, “familiarity breeds contempt.” What I fear is that this story has just become another thing we do during this season; the miraculous has become mundane. But maybe it’s even more than that.
I know that for many, even in this room, Christmas isn’t a reminder of the coming savior, it’s a reminder of what we don’t have, or maybe what we once had, or maybe what we’ll never have. This season actually brings about immense sorrow and sadness. I’m not saying that that is not an unjustified feeling, but what this story does, and what we will look at this week, and what we looked at last week and even in the weeks to come is it tells us that we have a reason for real joy this Christmas—one that supplants, one that overcomes, one that is greater than any sorrow that we might feel in this season.
You have a reason for real joy this Christmas.
My prayer has been that as we study this that the Lord would renew our wonder at what He’s done and restore our joy over the fact that Christ has come. What we’re going to see in these verses this morning is 2 reason for that joy and 2 responses that should flow out of having received that joy. So let’s read Luke 1:39-56, pray, and then see why we can have joy this Christmas season.
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. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 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. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
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;
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 away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
This is God’s Word for God’s people. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray.
The why and the what of this passage. Let’s look into them. There’s two reasons we can have joy this Christmas. Here’s the first:
The Lord comes to the lowly.
The Lord comes to the lowly.
Last week we started on this journey through the birth narrative of Jesus in the book of Luke. Luke is writing this to a guy named Theophilus. We don’t know a lot about who he was, but we do know that he was high up in Roman circles. And we do know that Luke would’ve written this book well after Christ had ascended into heaven.
When writing to someone of great importance or authority, especially in Luke’s day, it would’ve been normative to bloviate—to go on about how wonderful Theophilus is and how worthwhile the letter he was writing was. But instead, Luke quickly jumps into the purpose of the letter by recounting how two different people receive two miraculous messages.
We have Elizabeth, who is this older woman who is barren; she can’t have children. Which in her day that would’ve been a source of deep shame. If you look back to Luke 1:25 her barrenness caused her to be a reproach among people. She was an outcast. The one thing she was supposed to be able to do she was not able to do.
Yet, an angel of the Lord appears and tells Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah, that she would conceive and bear a child. This seems impossible to Zechariah due to her age, but God does what only God can do. When Zechariah returns home he and his wife are able to conceive despite their old age.
Then the scene shifts to this teenage girl from the backwoods town of Nazareth—Mary. The angel announces to her that she too will conceive a child, yet not just any child, this child will be the Christ, the snake crusher, the redeemer of all creation, the one foretold of all the way back in Genesis. But her conception won’t come by the normal means, instead, hers will be a virgin birth.
When we pick up in verse 39 Luke is taking these two separate narratives of these two women and beginning to weave them together showing us how God is continuing the work that he began all the way back in Genesis 1 through two ladies with two wildly different stories full of deep shame. God is taking what would’ve been looked down upon and is redeeming it to accomplish his purposes. He is using lowly women, that according to societies standards were outcast, to change the course of history.
Church, this is what God does. He redeems shameful stories of people that are looked down upon. But he doesn’t just use those stories, look at how he does it.
Mary comes to Elizabeth and she walks in the door and says, “auntie, I’m home.” Immediately, the Spirit of the Lord fills Elizabeth and John, and like we saw last week, God keeps another promise. The Lord’s presence and the Spirit’s indwelling causes John to jump for joy, signaling as to what has arrived. Even in the womb he is fulfilling his calling. And then, what does Elizabeth do when the Spirit fills her? She exclaims! Loudly! She launches into this Spirit filled proclamation that recognizes the significance of what God is doing. Two things that are worth noting in her proclamation.
First, she says blessed are you. She’s blessed because of the fruit of her womb and because of the faith she had to believe. This is really important to note, because both of those things are not things she conjured up or did. Both her faith and her child are things the Lord granted her. Elizabeth isn’t worshipping Mary. She is recognizing that God is doing something significant and he’s chosen to bless Mary by allowing her to be a part of it.
Then second, look at the core of her confession in Luke 1:43.
And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Here is an old woman who has been barren all her life, but has conceived a child. God has granted her and her husbands lifelong prayer. And not just any child, this is the one who will prepare the way of the Lord. Yet Elizabeth doesn’t say, look at me! Look at what God has done. Look at what I have. No her response is, why me? And not, why would God grant me this child? It’s why would the mother of my Lord come to me? Her astonishment is the kindness of God in even sending the mother of her Lord to her. Ultimately, what Luke is signaling here, is that the Lord has come to Elizabeth. Lowly Elizabeth, the woman too old to conceive, the reproach of her people, teenage Mary pregnant outside of wedlock. Yet, here the Lord is.
This is the joy of Christmas. The Lord has come to one of no consequence, to one of extreme insignificance, to one who has carried a lifetime of shame. What reason for hope. What reason for joy. That phrase, “my Lord should come to me,” has stuck with me all week. We can look at this and look at Elizabeth and see a deep sense of humility. You can see in her a Spirit given recognition as to who has just walked in the door, and all of that is great and true, but more important than that, what does this tell us of the Lord? He is the kind of God who comes, not just visits, but dwells with, people who are lowly.
So this morning, if you find yourself with stories of shame, if you feel insignificant and lowly or of great unimportance, the good news of the gospel that brings about great joy is that the Lord comes to the lowly. Now there’s a lot of things that we could tease out with that truth, but I think this text forces us to ask the question: have you received him?
You might go, how would I know, or how do I receive him? I think Elizabeth’s response is instructive here. To receive him there must be a great sense of humility that acknowledges his Lordship. One that confesses our sinfulness and receives him as Lord. Any other response would actually be one of rejection.
Imagine for just a second if Elizabeth opened the door and said, hey glad to see you, but we’re too busy. Or if she said, I don’t really need you now, or I’ve got what I need. Or if she said something along the lines of, yes come on in that way I can use you when I want you. What would those responses ultimately have been? They would’ve been a rejection of him. Instead it was with joy, humility and an open door that she said, who am I? Come on in. Those who see no need of him do not receive him, but to those who are lowly, the Lord comes, and for that we can have great joy.
Mary in response to Elizabeth’s exclamation bursts out in song. This famous song, known as the Magnificat, reaches it’s high point in v.52 in which we see our second reason for joy this Christmas:
The Lord exalts the humble.
The Lord exalts the humble.
Now we’ve already spent some time reflecting on Mary & Elizabeth and the identities that they would’ve carried. We can be tempted to allow them to become the main character of the story, but in doing so we’d hijack the narrative. It’d be like taking the movie Finding Nemo, and making Nemo the main character of the story when really, that movie is about his dad overcoming insurmountable odds to rescue his son. I mean imagine for just a second if that movie was just about Nemo figuring out how to make the best of life in a fish tank. We’d clap for Nemo, but the story wouldn’t really be that good. Trapped by a tank while an ocean is outside the window.
To make Mary & Elizabeth the focal point here would be to miss the reason for joy which is why the majority of Mary’s song isn’t about her at all. Yes she does reflect personally, but look at what the purpose of that reflection is:
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
The point of her personal reflection is to make the Lord big in her heart. It’s to enlarge her soul’s vision of the God who has come to save her. But even think about that statement…as one commentator said, “It describes the future of God’s Son with the certainty of a past event. Mary saw as already accomplished what God would do through her son.” Even her personal reflections that are magnifying the Lord to her own soul aren’t about her. You might go, well look just a few lines later. “All generations will call me blessed.” Yes, but bear with me; zoom out to the song as a whole.
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
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 away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Yes, there are direct benefits of the Lord’s looking upon his humble servant, but it’s not about the benefits, it’s about the Lord who grants them. So Mary begins her song by reflecting on a God who is working for her, but that personal reflection moves outward pretty quickly. She moves from personal reflection to the sovereign work of God throughout all of history.
The merciful nature of God is what brackets his acts. He is rich in mercy for those who fear him. That mercy leads to his action that makes all wrongs right. All sad things untrue. This is the great reversal. The strength of his arm scatters the proud in their thoughts.
Remember in the book of Daniel King Nebuchadnezzar thought he was all that and a bag of chips. He had conquered the Israelite people and was the most powerful ruler in the world. In the peak of his pride the Lord caused him to lose his mind. He ended up eating grass like a cow and grew his hair out like a hippie until he recognized that he was not God, but the Lord was.
The merciful nature of God causes his strong arm to bring down the mighty from their thrones. This isn’t just a reference to the Lord’s ability to topple nations and empires like we saw in Daniel. No it’s much greater than that. Paul says in Ephesians 1:20
that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
Their isn’t ruler alive or that has lived or that will live that will not bow their knee to the true king, but he’s not a king of dominance, but of exaltation. Look at what he does with those of humble estate—look at Mary & Elizabeth. Think about people like Rahab or Ruth. Abraham & Moses. All people who in their beginning were of no consequence, yet the Lord pulled them out of obscure places, even pagan places for his purposes. In his covenant keeping redemptive narrative God exalted these lowly people not so that they would become the main character of their stories, but because He is the main character of their stories.
His mercy doesn’t stop there, however. He shows the strength of his arm by bringing down the mighty from their thrones, by exalting the humble, and in v53 by filling the hungry and emptying the rich. What Mary is pointing to is that this Lord executes justice towards those who have done wrong and fills those who have been left empty. As John Piper says, “It is clear from Mary’s words that God is not partial to the rich, the powerful, or the proud.” But how could he be? These things are more often than not serve as substitutes for God rather than pointers to him. Instead of bringing joy, riches, power, and pride actually uproot it.
I was reading Haggai this week in my Bible reading and I came across Haggai 1:6 that points towards this:
You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
We spend our days working to fill bags with holes full of wealth, power and pride. (Religious competence, moral respectability). And at the end of the day what we actually stand in awe of, what we magnify in our hearts, is either what we accomplished, or what we failed to accomplish. And where does that leave us? Scattered in the thoughts of our hearts, brought down from our mighty thrones, and sent away empty.
And that’s why this story is packed so full of a reason for joy. The one by whom all things are held together comes down to a teenage girl and is born in manager. But that’s not low enough, 22 chapters from now this same Lord will be nailed to a cross and placed in tomb. He’s brought all the way to point of burial, yet 3 day later he is exalted through his resurrection showing that there is nothing too low for him. The Lord exalts the humble, because the Lord is humble.
This is why the Scriptures are full of statements like James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Or we could go Old Testament 2 Chron. 7:14
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
We could continue, but the point is, if you will humbly recognize and receive the Lord who comes to the lowly and exalts the humble, then you too will be filled. Not with power, and riches and authority; no with something much greater, something eternal. Something that your heart actually longs for. This what Jesus promised in Mt. 5:6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
You will be blessed with righteousness, because Christ, through his life, death, and resurrections, has purchased your freedom from the things of this earth and granted to you through faith his blessedness & his righteousness. Those are things that can’t be taken away. That is a bag that doesn’t have holes. The approval, the comfort, the control that your heart longs for is found in the one Lord who comes to the lowly and exalts the humble.
Hence this passage leaves us with a very strong warning. Remember, the aim of Mary is to magnify—to make God big. “The only people whose soul can truly magnify the Lord are people like Elizabeth & Mary. People who acknowledge their lowly estate and are overwhelmed by the condescension of the magnificent God.” You see, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
Does the coming Lord warm your heart? Is it your reason for joy this Christmas season? What I’m really asking is are you humble & lowly? On a certain level, that feels a little like a “gotcha” question, but I do think it is the core of what we’re asking. You see if you say, yeah, I think I am humble & lowly then immediately we go, no you’re not. Humble people don’t think they’re humble. But if you say, no, I’m not humble and lowly. I do think I am the main character of my story. I do chase power & wealth and am proud of all I’ve done or the type of person that I’ve become. Then listen to Mary today, and don’t magnify yourself, but magnify the Lord. Humble yourself by recognizing that your hope doesn’t rest in your ability to humble yourself enough, but in the one who humbled himself completely on your behalf. Rejoice in the God who has come to save you.
You have two real reasons for joy this Christmas: The Lord comes to the lowly and exalts the humble. Is that you? If not, then there’s hope yet. You can still repent and believe that Christ has come and done what you could not do. You can find salvation in the God who became a man and died the death we deserved to die but would rise three days later being exalted to the right hand of the Father.
But if you do have joy because you have been humbled and brought low, then don’t let that joy remain quiet. This text actually doesn’t allow that. Joy that comes from the Lord’s arrival always moves outward. It demands expression. What do Mary & Elizabeth do in this part of the narrative? Elizabeth exclaims and Mary sings. So what are two ways to live out joy today?
Proclaim the Lord’s arrival.
Sing of the Lord’s work.
The Lord’s coming stirs in Elizabeth a reason to shout. It causes the baby in her belly to jump for joy. They can’t keep it in.
Mary, having traveled all these miles, and certainly having pondered what’s transpired & what’s ahead erupts into song. Almost certainly there was fear and uncertainty, yet she she sings a song of personal reflection, a song of God’s exalting work, a song of covenantal accomplishment. Her words are are steeped in Scriptures and tie back to truths she’s been taught her whole life.
Elizabeth’s and Mary’s humble receiving of the Lord’s coming cause them to respond in proclamation and singing.
So here’s what I want to do to wrap this up. I want everyone to get a sheet of paper out, maybe you’re already taking notes. You can just continue. I want you on a piece of paper to write out—to proclaim—how the Lord has come to you. Not how you found Him. Not how you figured things out, but how he came to you.
Maybe you can’t do that today. Maybe you don’t know how he has come to you. Maybe what you need to write is Lord, show me. Lord come to me and help me see and know you. Help me to humbly receive you.
But some of you know exactly how he’s come. Maybe it’s your testimony of how he saved you. Maybe it’s how he came to you this week or through a song we sang this morning or even through this sermon and brought both conviction and hope. Get your paper and write it down. Maybe, you’re like me and you just want to put some bullet points and not write the whole thing, but right now, write now. Write out the Lord’s arrival to you.
Everybody got it done? Everybody have something? No? That’s ok. You can take it home and finish. Here’s my question…did you really just proclaim the Lord’s arrival? No. Not really. You acknowledged it. But now, you have something you can proclaim, so I want you this week to take that information and proclaim the Lord’s arrival. Tell someone. I know, I know. Scary, but what if the Lord uses your testimony to come to someone else? What if, like Mary & Elizabeth, he uses what you’ve written to bring joy to someone who has none?! How glorious!
Now, here’s the next thing we’re going to do…what’d Mary do? She sang. So guess what we’re going to do? Sing. Music team, you guys go ahead and come on up. As they’re making their way up here, friends, let me remind you this morning that you have a reason to sing. Loudly. Joyfully. With awe. Not because of you and what you’ve accomplished, but because the Lord comes to the lowly and the Lord exalts the humble, and because he has come to you. There’s joy; joy for sinners and sufferers; joy for the outcast and the lowly; joy for those who are empty; joy for me and joy for you. Let’s pray, and then let’s sing like people who believe that’s true.
