Luke 1:46-56
“A Magnificent Reflection” – In Two Parts
Let’s read Luke 1:46-56 once more:
“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.
We ended last week with Mary’s glorious, magnificent worship of God. As she considers the history of salvation culminating in her giving birth to the Messiah:
SHE IS FILLED WITH JOY. HER PRAISE IS INTERNAL AND INTENSE.
Mary’s Magnificat draws us into true worship.
The next thing the Magnificat does is it models for us the character of a true worshiper of God.
Mary first says, “For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.”
Mark that word…humble. Later, in verses fifty-one and fifty-two, she says, “He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones.” The second word to mark is proud. That’s a negative character attribute we explored in our series on the prophet Obadiah.
What’s the point of the denunciation of pride in Mary’s Magnificat?
Pride gets in the way of understanding the Word of God and how God works in our lives. Here’s the point with a story. Almost three decades ago, a couple in a church I served had quit attending worship before I got there. It was suggested that perhaps I pay them a visit. I guess the thinking behind the suggestion was that the new guy could get them jump-started back into the life of the church. I am not good at stuff like that. But I called on them.
In a nutshell, they were surprisingly honest in sharing with me. They said things were going so well in their lives, they saw no need for God or the church. Nothing like success to breed spiritual indifference.
“He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.”
You have to love Mary’s spiritual maturity. Pride always interrupts worship. Pride severely interferes with a healthy, thriving relationship with God. Proud people can’t really be thankful because they think whatever they have they’re earned or worked for or deserve. They have an elevated
sense of self-sufficiency. As Isaiah 13:11 says:
“I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity;I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.”
The proud have no sense of the otherworldliness of God. Their exaggerated sense of self trumps any sense of the sovereign will of God. Who needs a Savior when you are the driver of your own destiny?
What is the cure for pride? As Mary says in verse forty-nine, “For he who is mighty has done great things for me.” What is her first thought? The greatness of God. God is in charge. God’s sovereign will drives history. I
love how Alistair Begg sums it up:
"Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has died as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and that to know Him is to know life, both now and forever…Jesus Christ is the only Savior, because Jesus is the only one who is qualified to save."
Anytime you feel pride trying to get a toe in the doorway to your soul,
here’s a good verbal practice. Sometimes our best defense is reprogramming how we think. And sometimes the key to reprogramming how we think is through the way we talk.
Both examples are from two different episodes of House Hunters.
In the first, a couple said they were proud of themselves that they were able to buy a house at such a young age.
In the second, another young couple, said they felt truly blessed by God that they were able to buy a house. They recognized that it was the Lord God Almighty who had done great things for them.
They reframed their thinking. We’re blessed…we’re thankful…we’re not worthy…God has been so kind…we owe it all to His grace…where would we be without the mercy of God? It’s easy to strike proud and pride from your vocabulary. And when you do, your life will be more reflective of the spirituality Mary expresses in her Magnificat. I hope you’re with me on that.
It’s always a good thing when we grow in alignment with God’s Word.
One last thought on scattering the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. It’s something else you might want to write down:
GOD OPPOSES THE PROUD BECAUSE OF THEIR EXAGGERATED OPINION OF THEMSELVES.
Let’s now move on to the next profound observation in Mary’s Magnificat. “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.” This absolutely needs some explaining. Why do we call her blessed?
We know Mary has already described her low social status. “He has looked down on the humble state of his servant.” She recognizes that she is a sinner. As a sinner, she knows she is unworthy of God’s special favor. How can God, the Mighty One, who is perfectly holy, link this sinner to his salvation history? It’s more than Mary can comprehend. The whole point here is Mary doesn’t have an exalted sense of herself. She has an exalted sense of God. Why would He use her?
As someone once said, “It staggers her that all generations in the future are going to look back at her and note the unique and singular blessing that God bestowed upon her when He caused her to conceive the Messiah.” It’s a staggering thought. The One, True, and Holy God would interact with a sinner. It is mind-boggling.
Mary worships God whose gift of salvation is now coming into history through her child. That’s the first and foremost thing she praises God for. God is our Savior from sin. We are sinners, deserving the punishment of eternal separation from God. Yet God chose to save us from our sin. How can that be? Only through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The beauty of that truth is so simple. No matter what troubles you have, in the light of knowing the end, there’s nothing to be worried about.
Here’s something else to write down:
OUR SALVATION IS ETERNAL AND IT IS SECURE.
Our salvation from sin and death is the primary point of Mary’s Magnificat. But there is a secondary point. We hear it in phrases like, he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away, and he has brought down the mighty from their thrones. Thirty years later, the three years of Jesus’ ministry will be punctuated by calls to acts of mercy and kindness. Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, forgiving those who have sinned against us, and on and on.
Here’s the secondary point of the Magnificat. Because our salvation is eternal and secure, we have a desire to make this world a better place. In Galatians, Paul calls it exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit. We are loving and joyful and peaceful and patient and kind and good and faithful and gentle and self-controlled. In other words, we are decent, generous people in response to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. We’re going to see how Jesus spells it out as we make our journey through Luke.
But here’s the important point. The point is to transform awful, horrible people into those who do good for their neighbors. More than anything else, the social justice side of Mary’s Magnificat is a celebration of God’s
action on behalf of all people through Jesus Christ. Salvation is for all people. Here’s the last thing you might want to write down:
THE HOLY GOD HELPS THE LOWLY
What staggering news that is. Whatever our status in life, we are all sinners in need of salvation.
Finally, who better to wrap things up than Charles Spurgeon:
“We know that to die is not to renounce existence; we understand that death is but a passage into a higher and a nobler existence. The soul emancipated from all sinfulness passes the Jordan, and is presented without fault before the throne of God.”
Until next week:
SOLI DEO GLORIA…
To the Glory of God Alone
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