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The Book of Luke, The Worship of Mary and Elizabeth, Part III – Lesson 9
Luke 1:46- 54, And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. 50And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. 51He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. 54He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; 55As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. (1) Mary’s psalm of praise reveals a repeated use of the terminology and theology of the Old Testament. Mary was well versed in the scriptures then known. (2) Mary’s praise begins with a personal reference as she gratefully responds to the grace God has shown to her, a humble servant of the Lord. (For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:) (3) In verse 50 Mary’s extends her praise as she views God’s grace to her so that He may apply his grace to His chosen people, Israel.
50And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
God has not just singled Mary out for blessing, leaving others broken-hearted and without the blessings of God.
Mary saw her blessing as but an illustration, one instance of God’s grace, which leads her to praise God for His grace to all those who fear Him, from one generation to another generation.
We are not to think that we receive blessings from God in order to keep those blessings to ourselves but we are to remember that the blessings we receive are to multiply from us to others.
Gods’ blessing is but a seed that he plants to bear fruit for him in our lives and in the lives of others.
Mary thus presses from the specific to the general, from her personal benefits to the blessings which all of God’s people (those who “fear Him”) experience.
(1) In verses 51-55, Mary’s praise focuses on the faithfulness of God to His promises and His purposes, especially His covenant with Abraham and his descendants. 51He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich (these are the self rich, those who depend on themselves) he hath sent empty away. 54He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; 55As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. If verse 50 spells out the principle that God blesses His people, from generation to generation, verses 51-55 give some specific ways in which God has done and in which God will do.
Mary relates that God’s deliverances have been demonstrated in Israel’s history, to a great degree, but that they will finally and fully be realized in the future, as a result of Messiah’s coming.
Much of what she relates, perhaps most of what she relates, will be fully fulfilled in the second coming of Christ, rather than in His first coming.
In His first coming, Christ came to reveal God to men, and to accomplish eternal redemption for all who would believe.
In His second coming, Christ will come to “set things straight,” to bring justice to the earth and judgment to the wicked.
The book of Revelation speaks much of these themes, and prophesies their fulfillment.
(2) Mary’s praise does not focus on the child she will bear, but on the Father who is sending His Messiah.
A commentator of Luke named “Geldenhuys” has written this pertinent commentary,
“It strikes us that Mary in this hymn does not utter a direct word in connection with the Son promised to her. Nevertheless she assumes throughout that He has indeed been promised her. Her whole hymn is inspired by this fact. It seems to me that this is a very significant fact. We would expect Mary to be taken with the fact that she will have a baby, and that this baby will be the Son of God. While this is certainly true, Mary chose to focus on what the child would be and accomplish as an adult, and not what her child would be as a child. In other words, Mary’s praise does not focus on the immediate blessedness of her having this child, but on the ultimate outcome of the coming of Messiah.
(This certainly ought to be a pattern for us in the rearing of our children, Not boasting in what they are now but what will they do for the Lord? What is to be there ultimate outcome?)
She looks at the long range, not the short term. She views this event in terms of the distant past, in terms of the covenant promises of God, in terms of the history of Israel, where God’s mercy was shown in generation after generation, and in terms of the distant future, when at His second coming Messiah will set things straight. At this time the social order will undergo a radical and violent reversal. The lofty will be put down and the humble will be exalted (vv. 51-52). The hungry will be fed and the well-fed will be hungry. The poor will be helped, but the rich will be sent away (v. 53).”
(3) No doubt without knowing it Mary focused more on the results of Christ’s second coming than she did the first.
When you ponder the specific results of Messiah’s incarnation as outlined in Mary’s “Magnificat” they have to do with Christ’s second coming, more than with His first coming.
51He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. 54He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; 55As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
There is no indication that Mary was aware of the fact that Christ would come to earth twice, to achieve two distinct purposes.
There also is nothing given that Mary understood that the purpose of redemption that was to be performed in Christ’s first coming would be accomplished by His death on a cross at the hands of evil men.
Even this is a manifestation of God’s grace, for at this early point in time such knowledge would only have caused Mary unnecessary and premature pain.
Remember Simeon’s words in chapter 2 (v. 35) allude to this pain, but do not explain what its cause will be.
Luke 2:34,35, And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
God is gracious in what He does not tell us, as well as in what He does tell us.
(4) Mary’s theology, as reflected in her “Magnificat” is vastly superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees, who would become the arch enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we study Mary’s psalm of praise it is apparent that her theology was like that of her Son, and likewise, that it was very different from that of the scribes and Pharisees.
There are several areas of contrast between Mary’s theology, her understanding of the Old Testament, and that of the scribes and Pharisees.
Mary did not mention the Law of Moses, the Mosaic Covenant, but only God’s promise to Abraham, the Abrahamic Covenant.
Mary understood that Israel’s hope was rooted in the Abrahamic Covenant, not in the Mosaic.
Abraham is the father of faith and faith is what Israel’s hope and our hope is rooted in.
The scribes and Pharisees seemed as though they could only think and talk in terms of the Law of Moses.
Mary viewed all of God’s dealings in the light of His grace; the religious leaders only thought in terms of human works.
Mary understood the great themes of the Old Testament, such as God’s mercy and compassion, God’s concern for the poor and the helpless.
These were the themes of the Old Testament prophets.
They were not, however, the themes of the scribes and Pharisees.
In His rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus constantly referred to these great themes, and to the fact that legalistic Judaism violated them (cf. Matthew 23).
Mary also understood the purposes of God as a plan which He had been carrying out throughout Israel’s history.
She viewed history in the light of this plan.
The scribes and Pharisees, however, seemed only to grasp a few of the particulars, but missed the plan.
They “strained the gnats” but they swallowed the camels.
Mary grasped the “camels” and the religious leaders only grasped at the “gnats.”
There are those who have distorted the truth of God’s word about Mary.
And rather than regarding her blessed above all women, have honored her as above mankind, worshipping her and praying to her as though she were on the level of deity, or even above Messiah.
As we read and study this passage in Luke the worship of Mary by some is in complete disregard of the teaching of the Bible.
But as followers of the Bible we ought not to let this keep us from seeing Mary as an ideal or a model disciple and we can learn much by seeing Mary as she is presented by the scriptures.
Disciple-A learner, a scholar; one who receives or professes to receive instruction from another; an adherent to the doctrines of another, Hence the constant attendants of Christ were called his disciples and hence all Christians are called his disciples, as they profess to learn and receive his doctrines and precepts
Let us consider some of the ways in which Mary provides us with a model of discipleship. |