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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.
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
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,
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
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,
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.
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
This is tied very tightly to what He has done for us.
He has shown us mercy.
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