Mary’s Song
Text: Luke 1:39-56
Core Idea: In this broken world, God desires to extend His mercy and grace – which is why He sent Jesus Christ to us. His Kingdom has come, and His Kingdom will one day be completed. Then until that day comes, let’s spur one another on to sing this song of joy knowing that the mighty One has done great things for us.
INTRODUCTION
Good morning, Lighthouse. It is delightful to see you. Well, we are going through the first chapter of Luke – exploring the events leading up to Jesus’ birth. And last week, we learned that when the gospel comes to us, it’s okay to ask questions and even express our doubts but there will be a point when we must come and die to ourselves so that we may begin to live a life pleasing to the Lord. Christianity is not a negotiation but a surrender. We’re not coming to God saying, “If I do this, will You do this?” No, we must be able to say, “God, I don’t know all that You’re going to ask of me, but I’ll do whatever You say whether I like it or not because I know that You’re always working for my good. I’ll patiently accept whatever You send into my life whether I understand it or not because I know that You’re sovereignly in control over all things. Lord, I am Yours. Do as You please. Come what may – I am all in.” In fact, that’s exactly what Mary did – she wasn’t calculating to see if this could add value to her life or if this could somehow help her achieve her greatest dreams. She simply entrusted herself to God. But let’s be honest – this is easier said than done. The truth is that, left to us, we’ll continue to find ways to negotiate the cost, not count it. We’ll continue to be tempted to give up instead of fighting the good fight – which is why we need the Spirit of God to give us the courage and strength to love Him to the end. Now, if you consider that Mary was around 14-15 years old, even though she humbly submitted herself to God’s Word, this call must have still felt like a heavy burden to carry. She must have been scared and anxious not knowing how things would unfold. Then how did she remain faithful? What did she do to strengthen her faith? Well, that’s what we’re about to find out today. So, with this in mind, please open your Bibles to Luke 1:39-56. Let me read this for us.
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her!” 46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is His name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. 51 He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as He promised our ancestors.” 56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Let me share three things that Mary did to strengthen her faith:
· SHE FOUND A COMMUNITY
· SHE REFLECTED ON WHAT GOD DID FOR HER
· SHE SANG ABOUT THE GREAT REVERSAL
1) SHE FOUND A COMMUNITY
Verse 39, “At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.” As soon as the angel left her, Mary quickly got ready and made her way to Elizabeth because she remembered what Gabriel said to her in verse 36, “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” Mary must have thought, “I remember how devastated Elizabeth was when she realized that she was too old to have a baby. Then how is it possible that she’s pregnant? Was Gabriel really telling the truth? I need to see it for myself. And if this really is true, I need to talk to her because she might be the only one who can help me make sense of what just happened.” So, she wasted no time. Even though the journey would’ve been around 160 km in distance, it didn’t faze her in any way – Mary was determined to see Elizabeth because she knew that she couldn’t go through this on her own.
Verse 41, “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” All it took was a greeting from Mary. When baby John felt the presence of Jesus, his little heart was filled with wonder and delight – so much so that he was doing all these gymnastic moves in the womb. And at that moment, Elizabeth was also filled with the Holy Spirit. And through the wisdom of the Spirit, she was able to recognize that God had intervened in Mary’s life just as He did in her life – that the baby in her womb was, in fact, the Promised Messiah that the whole Israelites have been waiting for. So, she began to bless Mary in verse 42, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Remember that Elizabeth’s pregnancy was a miracle as well – which meant that she could’ve been eager to tell Mary about what she experienced and how precious John was to her. Think about it – this was the child that she had been waiting for many years. But for her, it was all about Jesus. Now, this didn’t mean that John wasn’t important to Elizabeth – it just meant that Jesus was more precious than anything in her life. Why? Because Elizabeth saw the baby in Mary’s womb as her Lord. She saw past the baby’s humanity and perceived the baby’s deity. Now, verse 56 tells us that Mary stayed there for three months. Then imagine what these three months of doing life together must have meant for Mary – meditating on the Word together, praying together, encouraging each other. And through their time together, all that Mary was wondering in her mind must have finally made sense and joy must have started to grow in her heart – which is why she burst out in a song of praise in verse 46.
Then what does this mean for us? This teaches us that it is utterly impossible for us to do faith alone – we need a community of believers in our faith journey because this is how our understanding of God deepens, how our faith strengthens, and how our joy for the Lord intensifies. Mary didn’t try to make sense of her life on her own – she entered into a fellowship with Elizabeth to wrestle together. And as they did life together, their faith deepened tremendously. In fact, this is the pattern we see throughout the Bible. Moses encouraged Joshua. Ruth comforted Naomi. Nathan rebuked David. Elijah mentored Elisha. Jesus did life with the disciples. Paul corrected Peter. No Christian is an island. The Bible repeatedly shows how God matures people’s faith and deepens their intimacy with God through other believers. In his book Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wonderfully writes, “The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer. The Christian in exile sees in the companionship of a fellow Christian a physical sign of the gracious presence of the triune God. They receive and meet each other as one meets the Lord, in reverence, humility, and joy. They receive each other’s benedictions as the benediction of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if there is so much blessing and joy even in a single encounter of brother with brother, how inexhaustible are the riches that open up for those who by God’s will are privileged to live in the daily fellowship of life with other Christians! It is true that what is an unspeakable gift of God for the lonely individual is easily disregarded and trodden under foot by those who have the gift every day [as in we take the community for granted]. It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us. Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.”
Brothers and sisters, are you intentionally entering into a community with other believers or are you trying to do faith alone? Do you see others as a source of your joy and strength or a source of your frustration and complaints? Are you thankful for the people that God has placed in your life, or do you simply see them as a burden you want to remove from your life? Friends, I don’t say this lightly, but I want you to know that you are not here by chance. God has deliberately placed you here in this community because He knows that this community will be the source of your joy, strength, and sanctification. Then don’t take this community lightly. Don’t take your friendship here lightly. Instead, thank God for the people you do life together – those who encourage you, comfort you, support you, guide you, and even rebuke you to strengthen your faith in the Lord. Show your love to them. Write them a Christmas card to tell them how much you’re grateful for them. Comfort them if they’re grieving and rejoice with them if they’re celebrating. Find ways to serve them if they’re in need. But most importantly, spend meaningful time with them. Eat together. Sing together. Pray for one another. Share what God has been teaching you or how God has been ministering to you so that you’ll both be encouraged. In fact, I challenge you to do this not just with those who are familiar to you but with those who may be outside of your circle of friends. Get to know people in other life stages – and thank them, love them, encourage them. What’s fascinating about this story is that there was no generational gap between Mary and Elizabeth. Think about it – Mary was barely a teenager and Elizabeth must have been in her sixties, seventies, or eighties. And yet the gospel brought them together. Then I pray that many godly friendships over generations would be formed in this community. Young people, take advantage of the wisdom that our older saints can offer you. Older people, be encouraged and inspired by the passion that our younger saints have for the Lord. Let’s learn to do life together because it will bless us in ways that we would never have imagined. This is how we strengthen our faith.
2) SHE REFLECTED ON WHAT GOD DID FOR HER
As she stood there, listening to Elizabeth’s words, Mary was filled with wonder – and she couldn’t help but break out into a song. Verse 46, “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is His name.” When I first read this passage, the first thing that came to my mind was, “If I were in her shoes, would I be able to sing like her?” Think with me – her life in one sense was ruined by this baby. She would forever be known as the girl who had a baby out of wedlock – as the girl who betrayed her husband. The weight of shame and disgrace she’ll have to carry would be unbearable. And here’s the thing – God did this to her. He could’ve done it any other way – but He chose to do it this way. Then it would’ve been completely understandable if Mary said something like this, “God, why does Your plan have to bring so much pain in my life? Couldn’t You have chosen someone else? This is too hard. I can’t do this.” But that’s not what she said. Instead, she magnified the Lord for all that He has done for her – in fact, she called them “great things.” How? How was she able to perceive her life as blessed? Because she embraced God as her Lord and Savior. If you think about it, nothing has changed in her circumstances – which means that she’s not ultimately rejoicing in what God has given to her, but what God has become to her in Christ. She knew that she had nothing to boast about. She was just an ordinary girl from a place of nowhere. There was nothing in her that made her more honorable or admirable than others. In fact, she knew that she was a great sinner, and that God had all the reasons to reject her. But in His mercy, this mighty God was mindful of her. Not because she was worthy, not because she had earned it, but simply because of His grace, He saved her and gave her this awesome privilege and responsibility of being the mother of the Promised Messiah, the Savior King – and thinking about this caused her to overflow with worship to God. She knew that her life was indebted to His grace and that her life now belonged to Him. What brought her joy wasn’t seeing her life unfold the way she desired but her joy was found in the fact that the Lord was mindful of her, that the Lord had saved her, that the Lord was now orchestrating all things to accomplish His will in and through her. The storms of her heart subsided when she remembered that God was her Lord and Savior – that this God was for her. And it was this truth that enabled her to sing.
Then, in the same way, whenever you find yourself wavering in your faith, you should remember that this gospel story was written for you. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the sum and definition of glory – the culmination of all the promises and prophecies in the OT. He is the reason why all things exist and have life. He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the King of kings, the Lord of lords – which is why at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. And yet this holy and magnificent God willingly emptied Himself of everything He had and was born in a manger as a helpless babe for you and for me. Jesus was willing to submit to the Father’s will, willing to serve when He deserved to be served, willing to endure rejection and injustice, willing to die for His enemies all because of His love for us so that we would not be without hope, so that we would not be under the curse of sin, so that we may have life and life to the full. Friends, have you embraced Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Do you truly believe that Christ has done this for you? If so, remember that your life now belongs to Him – your joy should be found in Him, not in your circumstances. Paul says it like this in Galatian 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Then here are two practical ways of responding to this truth. First, magnify the Lord this Christmas. The word “glorifies” in verse 46 literally means enlarge or magnify. Now, there are two ways of magnifying something. You can either magnify something the way a microscope does (taking something small and making it look bigger than it is) or the way a telescope does (taking something big but far and making it look more like it really is). Let me explain the latter a little more. When it comes to stars in the night sky, they don’t appear as they really are. They seem small and not that bright because they’re far away – which is why a telescope comes in handy. We use a telescope not to make the stars look bigger than they are but to help us see how great they really are. Then obviously, when we magnify the Lord, we’re talking about the second type of magnification. At times, God seems small to us – so, we need to magnify Him to see Him for who He really is. Sadly, we often do the opposite – we take our problems and magnify them so that they seem even bigger than they really are. Now, I’m not in any way implying that our problems are small – I’m just saying that we should never make our problems bigger than they really are, especially in light of who our God is. Then this Christmas, I invite you to magnify the Lord, not your problems. See Him for who He really is because the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
Second, share your personal testimony with others this Christmas. Reflect on how God saved you personally and share that joy with others in your life – it could be a friend or the people in your CG. Now, I want to remind you that our stories don’t need to be dramatic to be engaging. Sometimes we’re hesitant to share because it feels like our story isn’t as exciting as someone else’s story. But remember that we’re telling God’s story in the context of our story. The climax of our testimony is always the work of Christ – not the events of our lives. So, share with confidence not because of what you have experienced, but because of the amazing thing God has done in your life through Jesus Christ. Do this because you’ll be freshly reminded of His grace for your life today – and it’ll strengthen you to face tomorrow.
3) SHE SANG ABOUT THE GREAT REVERSAL
Let’s look at the rest of her song in verse 50. If the first part of the song was intensely personal (in that it focused a lot on what God did for Mary), this second part is completely focused on what God has done in general. This is really important to see because it teaches us that the Christmas message is not first and foremost a call for us to do something, but a call to receive what God has done. Then what did God do? He worked powerfully for those who couldn’t work but dismissed those who were proud. He brought the rulers down from their thrones but lifted up the humble. He filled the hungry with good things but sent the rich away empty. In other words, God was turning the world upside down. This is not the way the world works. The strong are admired and the weak are despised. The proud move up and the humble get trampled upon. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. If you want to be accepted, you must prove yourself worthy. But with the coming of the Messiah, God was going to bring a great reversal to the world. Mary was telling us that this King won’t rule like others. Listen to the things that this King taught His disciples. Mark 10:43-45, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Luke 6:20-26, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.” Matthew 5:38-42, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” I could go on and on, but the point is that a great reversal was coming. God will love you, embrace you, work for you, stand with you, and bless you not because you have proven yourself worthy but simply because you have nothing to offer. You’ll enter the Kingdom of God not because you are a somebody but a nobody in the eyes of the world. You’ll be welcomed by the King not because you have a great resume but because you’re coming with your hands lifted up – throwing yourself to His mercy. Why? So that no one may boast before the King. And this was what Mary was singing about.
This is good news for us because it means that no matter who we are, no matter what we’ve done, no matter what was done to us, we can enter the Kingdom of God simply by trusting in the work of the King. The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23) – and it also says that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). In other words, all of us were destined for eternal death – receiving the fullness of God’s wrath against our sins. And the most devastating truth was that we were not able to save ourselves – no matter how much we tried, we would’ve always fallen short of what God desired of us. We had no hope. We had no future – until the King came to us. 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by His wounds you have been healed.’” The most astonishing thing about this King isn’t the fact that He will inaugurate a kingdom of love and compassion (though that is certainly incredible) – the most astonishing thing about this King is that He died to save His people. He gave up His life so that the people would not be left outside but be brought into the Kingdom. And the Bible tells us that this King’s name is Jesus – the baby in the womb of Mary.
Then let me speak to those who have yet to give their lives to Jesus and those who aren’t sure if it’s really worth giving your life to Jesus. Friends, without Christ, your life will continue to be hopeless and meaningless. You’ll continue to search but you will never find it. I say this with a humble and broken heart knowing that I too was in this darkness until God in His infinite loving wisdom rescued me through Jesus Christ. He really is all that you need, and He will satisfy you in ways that this world cannot. Then surrender yourself to Him today for He will save you.
Christians, I invite you to declare this great reversal to the world. The truth is that the world we’re living in is becoming more secular by the day – and the scary thing is that it’s becoming easier for believers to blend in, to become more like the world rather than Christ. So, instead of publicly identifying our allegiance to the King, we privatize our faith and learn to compartmentalize our faith from the rest of our lives. But remember that we are called to go and make disciples of all nations – to proclaim this good news to the nations (Matt. 28:18-20). Then let’s be faithful to this call. In fact, when we share, it’ll strengthen our faith because it forces us to better grasp the central truths of God’s Word. Issues like God’s character, sin, grace, and the cross of Christ all come into sharp focus because we’re constantly wrestling to better explain these concepts to different people in different circumstances. These treasured truths become clearer to us as we explain them to others. Then let’s not stay silent – let’s join Mary as we sing the gospel to those around us this Christmas.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, Christmas is a window into God’s very heart. In this broken and hopeless world, God desires to extend His mercy and grace – which is why He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to us. His Kingdom has come, and His Kingdom will one day be completed. Then until that day comes, let’s spur one another on to sing this song of joy knowing that the mighty One has done great things for us.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) What do you do when you waver in your faith, when you’re overwhelmed with anxiety, when you’re filled with questions and doubts about God’s love for you?
2) How did her interaction with Elizabeth help Mary? Have you ever been encouraged or strengthened by your community? Share your experience and pray a prayer of thanksgiving for one another.
3) Mary sang about all the great things that God had done for her (v. 46-49). Share your testimony and pray for each other.
4) Mary declared the coming of great reversal through Jesus Christ (v. 50-55). What is the upside-down kingdom that Jesus is inaugurating? Why is this good news to the world? Who in your life needs to hear this? Pray for them.