Mary Sings Magnifying the Lord
The Arrival • Sermon • Submitted
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· 46 viewsIn response to Elizabeth's declaration about Jesus in Mary's womb, Mary breaks into a song of praise.
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46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” 56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
Lk 1:4
We’re in this series we called “The Arrival.” In a way, it is a countdown to the celebration of the birth of Jesus. We started with Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she was going to conceive as a virgin. Then, last week, we looked at how Mary went to visit her old cousin, Elizabeth. And the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped when Mary came near. There is nothing about this arrival that is going to be in the usual way. Jesus is announced before conception by Gabriel. He is recognized by an unborn child in Elizabeth’s womb. These are just amazing things.
But what about Mary? Luke doesn’t record her saying much after talking to Gabriel. We know from the Greek word used to refer to Mary that she is probably somewhere between 12 and 14 years old. Picture this! She’s just a girl! But she has seen Gabriel, a messenger who has stood in the very presence of God. She has conceived a child, but has never been with a man. She journeyed to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was too old to have children, but is now 6 months pregnant with John the Baptist. I could imagine many things that a young girl like that might say in response to all of these amazing things, but I would not have imagined her breaking out in a praise song to God. And that just shows you the limits of my imagination. Because Mary does indeed break into a praise song.
46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” 56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
In the Greek, the first word Mary sings is our word “magnify.” And that is why, in some of your Bibles, this section of Scriptures is called the Magnificat, it is a song that magnifies the greatness of God. Magnify means “to exalt,” “to enlarge,” or “to make large.” So Mary begins by exalting God, by making Him large (in her own mind). When we want to see something that is too small in our eyes, we will use lenses to “magnify” that object. Folks, I submit to you that GOD is too small in most of our eyes. We need to magnify Him in our own hearts and minds. And as we work through this extraordinary song from a girl living in extraordinary times, we will see 5 ways we must magnify the Lord.
1. Magnify Him for who He is
1. Magnify Him for who He is
46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
Luke 1:
Who is this God that we should magnify? He is the Lord, the boss, the ruler of all things, the one we serve. He is our God, our Creator, our Sustainer, our Provider, the focus of our worship. He is our Savior, our Redeemer, our Atoning Sacrifice, our present help in time of trouble. Just in the few words Mary uses in verses 46-47, we see just a glimpse of this great God who deserves to be magnified.
Whenever you are feeling like everything is out of control, remember the LORD is directing everything. He is not surprised. He is not unaware. He is the LORD.
Whenever you draw a breath, remember God created you and everything around you including the very air you are breathing. Magnify Him because you are alive! He is GOD.
Whenever you feel like you have messed up, remember your Savior. He knew your sin. He knew your lostness. And He provided a way for you to be saved from your sin. That way is what Mary is singing about. That way is the baby that is in her womb. That way would be born in the most humble of circumstances. He would grow up and declare,
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
You see, He is our Lord, our God, our Savior. Now, this could be the shortest sermon ever because our Lord, God, and Savior deserves our praise. He deserves to be magnified simply because of who He is. I need go no further, but Mary does. So, magnify Him for who He is and...
2. Magnify Him for what He has done for you
2. Magnify Him for what He has done for you
2. Magnify Him for what He has done for you
2. Magnify Him for what He has done for you
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
Lk 1:
When the Gospel writer, Matthew, tells the story of Jesus’ birth, he gives us the viewpoint of Mary’s husband-to-be, Joseph. When Joseph finds out Mary is pregnant, he considers not marrying her. But an angel visits him and says,
20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
MAtt 1:
This baby in Mary’s womb will save his people from their sins. Jesus is the one who saves! Coming back to Mary’s song in Luke, she has an idea of just how great this child in her womb is and will be. She recognizes her own unworthiness. She says that God “has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” She knows that only God could bring about this child. She recognizes that she has been blessed to be the first person to know Jesus.
There is something special about the relationship between a woman and the child in her womb. Mary knows this child is super special. What she is experiencing is more than the normal mother-child bond. She knows that this child will save his people from their sins. And because of that, she praises God “who is mighty.” He “has done great things for” Mary. She knows that she will be remembered because she carried the Messiah, the Savior, but her praise is reserved for God alone.
Mary had just a glimpse of how great this child in her womb would be. And we, like Mary, sometimes live in the glimpse of what it means to be saved by Jesus. Let me explain.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we start to comprehend just how deadly sin is, we start to understand just how marvelous salvation really is. Imagine for a moment if Mary had had a cavalier attitude about what was happening to her. She might have said something like, “Yep, I’ve got a bun in the oven.” Flippant, cavalier. We would be running to correct her. We might even sing the song, “Mary, Did You Know?” Or we might quote the Gospels and all the amazing things Jesus did. We would correct her that the child she was carrying was much more than just a “bun in the oven.”
Now, think about your own salvation. Think about how Christ has saved you. Think about the sin that condemned you to the death penalty. Think about Jesus dying in your place because of His love for you. ALL OF THAT is what we mean when we say we have been saved. But do we just flippantly say, “Yep, I’m a Christian.” We have been saved from our sin to walk in glorious light! This is a miracle of God. He had done great and awesome things for us. And we should magnify HIM for what He had done! Magnify Him for who He is. Magnify Him for what He has done.
3. Magnify Him for His mercy
3. Magnify Him for His mercy
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
This is tied very tightly to what He has done for us. He has shown us mercy. And not just us, but He has shown mercy for thousands of years. You see, as a race, humanity lives in rebellion towards our Holy God and Creator. That is what sin is. And that I read a moment ago tells us that everyone has sinned. tells us that the wages of that sin is death. So we all deserve to die. Everyone in this room. Everyone that has ever drawn breath on this planet, except for Jesus. In other words, because of sin there should be no humanity. None is righteous, no not one. If God were to give us what we deserve, we would simply cease to exist. POOF! We’re all gone to a place of eternal suffering. That is what we deserve. That is what we have earned. But God has shown us mercy. He has not given us what we deserve. He has not paid us what we have earned. And not just us, but every human being from the beginning of time. Or, as Mary sings, from generation to generation. Magnify Him for His mercy. Magnify Him for who He is. Magnify Him for what He has done. And magnify Him for His mercy!
4. Magnify Him for His justice
4. Magnify Him for His justice
51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
Lk 1:
Verses 46-50 focused on magnifying God for personally touching and blessing Mary. But verses 51-55 broaden the scope to what God has done for the nation of Israel. And, by implication, for all of us who call Him Lord. And He does show justice. He has shown His strength as nation after nation and power after power have tried to extinguish His light. Countless kings or presidents or dictators or despots have tried to snuff out those who worship at the throne of the most Holy God. And none of them have succeeded. They have arrogantly thought they were better than, stronger than, and wiser than God. But, sometimes over a long period of time, they are no more. God is victorious over them. He humbles those who have thought themselves above Him. He brings them down from their thrones. He conquers them. And He lifts up those who humbly follow Him.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Mary’s song says he fills the hungry with good things. And someone here is thinking that God has not fed all the hungry in our world. But I know He has fed hungry people. Yet, Mary doesn’t say He feeds all the hungry. She says He has filled the hungry with good things. What is better a full belly or a saved soul? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we should ignore poverty and hunger and just hammer home the Gospel. I heard a missionary say, “If their stomach is rumbling loudly, they can’t hear the words of the Gospel.” I think we should work hard to serve the poor. However, God will fill them with good things.
So, if I can sum up what Mary is singing here in verses 51-53, it doesn’t matter what the world thinks of you, God can save you. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, powerful or humble, God is the one who is in charge. And in His perfect justice, He will care for those who need caring for. And He will bring down those who are too proud to trust Him. Because of His perfect justice, we should magnify Him. We should exalt Him. Magnify Him for who He is. Magnify Him for what He has done. Magnify Him for His mercy. Magnify Him for His justice.
5. Magnify Him for His faithfulness
5. Magnify Him for His faithfulness
54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Mary is recalling all that God has done for Israel over the centuries. He promised Abraham that he would have descendants outnumbering the stars in the sky or the sand on the sea shore. And Mary is one of those descendants. God faithfully kept His promise. This same God is the one who looked favorably on Mary. The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob is the same God who has miraculously made the virgin conceive a child. The God who opened Sarah’s womb when she was too old to bear children is the same God who opened Elizabeth’s womb. The God who saved His people from captivity in Egypt is the same God who will save people from the captivity of sin. There is no one as faithful as God. Only God could promise salvation before the beginning of time and then bring it about at the exact right time.
Folks, God is faithful! If He said it, He will do it. God is faithful! No matter how you try to change Him, God is faithful. Mary reminds us of how faithful God has been. And we should join her in magnifying God for His faithfulness.
Magnify Him for who He is. Magnify Him for what He has done. Magnify Him for His mercy. Magnify Him for His justice. Magnify Him for His faithfulness. I have given you 5 ways we must magnify Him. I would hope you could come up with a million more ways to magnify Him. He is worthy of our attention, our focus, our praise, and, yes, our worship. We should magnify Him. In this crazy time of year when so many things tempt us to get caught up in the season while forgetting it is a celebration of a miraculous birth, we should magnify Him more. We need to keep Jesus at the forefront of our thinking. This world would like to diminish Him. Let those who know, magnify the Lord. And that is our takeaway today:
MAGNIFY THE LORD
MAGNIFY THE LORD
Let’s PRAY...