The Magnificat – part 2
Luke 1:39-56 (46-56)
September 3, 2017
Last week we began looking at the passage in Luke’s gospel
Commonly referred to as “The Magnificat”
That is a Latin word which means “to magnify”
Which is precisely what Mary does for the Lord.
However, last week we never actually got into what Mary said, instead we looked at the encouraging meeting that prompted Mary’s word of praise.
• Here was Mary (a 13 year old Jewish girl) fresh off of her visit from Gabriel where she learned that she would become pregnant and deliver the Son of God into the world.
• Mary ran to Elizabeth because Elizabeth was God’s appointed confirming sign that He could and would do what He said.
• And when Mary told Elizabeth about all that God had promised to do through her Elizabeth proved to be a tremendous source of encouragement.
• There was no negativity from Elizabeth…
• There was no rationalism from her…
• There was no felt need to explain the coming hardships…
• There was no jealousy or bitterness…
• Elizabeth simply praised Mary for submitting to God.
• Elizabeth helped Mary see what a tremendous thing God was doing.
• Elizabeth rejoiced in the entire situation.
• Elizabeth encouraged Mary to continue to obey God.
We could say that Elizabeth helped Mary
Find the proper perspective of the situation.
And that is evident because what Mary says next
Comes from the heart of a woman who is grateful.
Mary is not bitter…
Mary is not hesitant…
Mary is excited
MARY CHOOSES TO WORSHIP
And incidentally, Mary’s response to God here
Should be the response of all the redeemed.
So last week we looked at Elizabeth’s Encouragement
#2 MARY’S EXALTATION
Luke 1:46-47
Now first let’s just look a little bit at the MANNER of Mary’s worship.
(46-47) “And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
I know we’ve talked about it before so this may be a bit redundant to some of you,
But it is important to understand.
If you want to really simplify it,
There are 3 types of worship we learn about in the Bible.
1) IDOLATRY
Idolatry is simply when we worship the wrong god.
Often times in idolatry the methods are way off as well.
• In the O.T. we have people sacrificing their children in the fire.
• In the N.T. we see fits of drunkenness or sexual immorality.
• We see states of mindless frenzy
You get the idea.
Certainly in idolatry we could take issue with the MANNER
In which the person is worshiping.
But the real problem with idolatry isn’t even a method problem.
The real problem with idolatry is that
People are giving glory to the wrong god.
God is crystal clear in Scripture:
Exodus 20:1-6 “Then God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
Isaiah 42:5-8 “Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it, “I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison. “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”
Isaiah 43:10-13 “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. “I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And I am God. “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”
Isaiah 44:8 “Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.'”
Idolatry is a horrific sin.
It is to ascribe the glory that belongs to God alone
To another who does not deserve it.
(this could range from a demonic being to a block of wood)
Commonly in the Old Testament
This was done through literal worship of pagan deities.
We read about the high places and all the false gods that Israel bowed down to.
Idolatry certainly still exists in that form as there are many false religions,
But idolatry is even bigger than that.
Paul told the Colossians that even things like “greed” equated to idolatry.
• It is to honor things more than you honor God.
• It is trust things more than you trust God.
• It is to love things more than you love God.
• It is to desire things more than you desire God.
That is idolatry.
And it is certainly a condemned type of worship in Scripture.
In fact, all idolaters are consigned to eternal hell.
Revelation 21:8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
So obviously Idolatry is a form of worship, but an unacceptable one.
2) HYPOCRISY
This is when we worship the right God, but we do it in the wrong way.
And the Old Testament is filled with examples of this as well.
Maybe you want to go back the sons of Aaron (Nadab and Abihu) who offered “strange fire” before the Lord and God incinerated them because they didn’t worship Him as He had prescribed.
Or perhaps you read through the prophets and listen to them over and over and over condemn Israel because their worship was all external and not from the heart.
Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”
We continually saw Israel engaged in a system of worship,
But their worship did not affect their heart
And God would not accept it.
Isaiah 1:11-15 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”
Amos 5:21-24 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. “But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
It was in this understanding that Micah said:
Micah 6:6-8 “What God Requires of Man With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
And of course Jesus echoed those sentiments (especially to the Jews)
Throughout the gospels.
Later in the New Testament we hear Paul criticizing the Corinthians for they too were all caught up in the motions of worship without understanding the purpose.
We call that hypocrisy.
It is to worship the true God,
But to worship Him in a way which He does not desire.
3) SINCERITY
Worshiping the true God in a manner in which God prescribes.
We’ve been talking about this a lot with our youth on Wednesday nights.
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
If worship is not that which is “acceptable to God”
Then what is the purpose?
If you come and go through the motions but God isn’t pleased, then what have you accomplished?
Worship must be what God desires,
And if you want more on that just read the rest of Romans 12.
Jesus actually addressed this issue head on in John 4
When talking to the woman at the well:
John 4:21-24 “Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
You obviously picked up on the number of times
Jesus used the word “worship” in that statement.
And Jesus made that one statement which really jumps out to us
“the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.”
In light of the false worship of the Bible we understand what Jesus means
People in idolatry worship in spirit, but not in truth.
• They are worshiping sure enough, they are just worshiping the wrong thing.
People in hypocrisy worship in truth, but not in spirit.
• They are worshiping the right God and doing the right things, it’s just not united
with love in their hearts.
What God desires is for people to genuinely love Him
And to then worship Him as He has prescribed.
NOW I BRING THOSE REALITIES TO YOUR MIND
BECAUSE MARY IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE
OF ONE WHO WORSHIPS IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH.
First you recognize her “spirit” and then you recognize her “truth”.
“My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
• Mary isn’t just praising God with her lips,
• She is praising Him with her very soul.
• Her heart magnifies the Lord, not just her mouth.
She is not one who can sit through a church service and sing the songs
Without being moved internally.
There is no hypocrisy here,
What you hear from her on the outside first started on the inside.
She means what she says.
And what we’ll find is that all of this rejoicing in her heart
Rests upon the truth she knows about God.
Mary doesn’t just worship correctly, she worships the right God
And she knows why she worships Him.
Perhaps you’ve heard the statement in regard to worship:
The height of your worship is proportional to the depth of your theology.
That is such a true reality.
You will never ascend higher in worship
Than the distance which you have descended in understanding.
If you’ll remember that was the problem of the woman at the well.
Jesus told her “You worship what you do not know…”
That was a problem.
You have to know God to worship Him accordingly.
Mary’s worship isn’t some misinformed empty emotional cry.
Mary deeply rejoices in God because she has learned who God is.
She worships in spirit and in truth.
And THIS MORNING I just want to make sure
You understand the truth that Mary understood.
I want to make sure you understand why Mary worshiped.
Incidentally, the reasons Mary worships
Are also very important realities to Luke.
The things Mary reveals about God here
Are some of the very truths that Luke will reveal about Christ
Over and over and over throughout this gospel.
It’s no wonder Luke included this doxology.
Mary was saying exactly what Luke wanted to say.
So let’s look at the truths behind Mary’s worship.
Why she worships God with all her soul and spirit.
There are 4 reasons why Mary worships God.
1) HE REGARDS THE UNWORTHY (48-49)
“For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.”
Now first I want you to recognize how she identifies God.
She describes Him in two ways down in verse 49
• She calls Him “the Mighty One”
• And she says “holy is His name”
The term we would use for that would be TRANSCENDANT
That is to say that God is above us and beyond us in every possible way.
Mary clearly understands God in that way.
And that is what makes Him even more remarkable.
Regardless of His might and regardless of His holy perfection,
God is a God who pays attention to nobodies!
“He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave”
“had regard” translates EPIBLEPO
It means “to look on with favor”
Luke 9:38 “And a man from the crowd shouted, saying,
“Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy,”
That is to say, “don’t just look at him, but NOTICE HIM.”
Mary said that is what God did for her.
• He didn’t just look at her, He noticed her.
• He paid attention to her.
He saw her…
• A 13 year old Jewish girl from Nazareth
• A nobody in the eyes of the world
• An insignificant person to both Israel and Rome
Based on Mary’s statement I kind of get the feeling
That Mary looked upon herself like the type of girl who could enter a room and no one would notice.
You wouldn’t see here when she arrived; you wouldn’t miss her when she left.
She was a member of the overlooked and unimportant.
But not to God…
• Despite her humility…
• Despite her lowly role as a servant…
• God “had regard” for her.
And of course implied is not simply that God noticed her,
But that God noticed her to the point
Of entrusting a tremendous purpose to her.
Mary was the type of girl who you might not have even thought of
To feed your dog while you were gone,
God saw her as the girl He would use to deliver His Son into the world.
• He saw what she was made of…
• He saw who she could be…
Of course this is characteristic of God.
I love the story of how Jesus looked at Simon and called him “Peter” (rock)
And you and I know that Peter was anything but a rock,
he was as fickle and wishy washy as they come.
Jesus didn’t see him for what he was,
But for what He would make him to be.
God did the same for Mary.
And He entrusted a tremendous responsibility to her.
And the result of that would be that “from this time on all generations will count me blessed.”
NOT “count me worthy” but rather “count me blessed”
(and not the “praise her” type of “blessed”, but the “happy” type of “blessed”)
Mary was not anticipating all the false worship that has been thrown her way throughout the centuries.
Mary was simply saying that
God has done things for me that are beyond what I deserve
And beyond what anyone else would have done,
And that will be forever obvious to everyone.
Mary was worshiping God because: HE REGARDS THE UNWORTHY
We call that: GRACE
God gives unworthy people what they do not deserve.
Mary recognized that
And because she understood God’s grace her soul magnified Him.
2) HE REPRIEVES THE FEARFUL (50)
(50) “AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.”
This verse alone is enough to make Mary’s point.
Namely that God is merciful.
He takes those who have every reason to be afraid of Him
(namely because they know what they are and they know who He is)
And yet God gives those people mercy.
You can see that just from the verse that Mary quoted.
But there is even more there than the verse she stated.
TURN TO: PSALMS 103
(Mary quotes Psalms 103:17)
READ 1-14
Do you recognize that Psalm?
It is a Psalm that highlights God’s mercy
Toward people who do not deserve it.
You see people in weakness and brokenness and sickness and infirmity;
Why?
BECAUSE THEY ARE IN SIN.
They are transgressors who have
Brought enormous difficulty into their lives by reason of their sin.
And while God would have every right to just sit back
And watch them lie in the bed they made, He doesn’t.
He gives them mercy.
He doesn’t treat them as they deserve to be treated.
That is the theological fact regarding God.
And Mary knows that, in fact she quotes from that Psalm.
READ 15-18
There is the verse Mary quoted.
And we can learn a little there about worshiping in truth.
Mary knew God was merciful, not just because of what He did for her,
But because of what she learned about Him in His word.
What God did for her merely confirmed for Mary
What she had already learned about Him in Scripture.
Her worship was not just some misinformed emotional response.
Mary had read God’s word, she knew what Psalm 103 said, and when God entrusted this great work to her that Psalm came alive.
• She was one of those who had received His mercy.
• She was one of those who feared Him
• She was one of those who knew who He was and who she was and the problem that was.
Instead of treating her as her sins deserved, God was merciful.
And Mary worshiped because of this.
Not only does God regard the unworthy, but God reprieves the fearful.
He has mercy on those who revere Him.
3) HE RECOMPENSES THE PROUD & REWARDS THE HUMBLE (51-53)
(51-53) “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. “HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; And sent away the rich empty-handed.”
This is yet another fundamental truth
That Mary had learned about God throughout her life.
God does things that are peculiar to humanity.
“He has done mighty deeds with His arm”
• Mary knew about God parting the Red Sea
• Mary knew about God toppling that giant for David
• Mary knew about God delivering those Hebrew boys from the fiery furnace
Mary knew God had been at work,
AND that God’s work was always on behalf of the humble.
For “He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.”
• After parting the Red Sea God crushed the Egyptians
• After delivering Goliath into David’s hand, God scattered the Philistines
• After delivering the Hebrew boys God sent Nebuchadnezzar into a 7 year trip of insanity
God is in the business of crushing pride and exalting humility.
“He has brought down rulers from their thrones”
• Ask Saul…
“And has exalted those who were humble.”
• Ask David…
“He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed.”
• Which is to say that time after time God honored those the world rejected and God rejected those the world honored.
WHAT DO WE CALL THIS?
Justice
• He is a God of grace to the unworthy…
• He is a God of mercy to the reverent…
• He is a God of justice to the afflicted…
• He is a God of judgment to the arrogant…
And Mary worshiped because she knew these truths about God.
And Mary knew this was true because God had chosen to exalt her.
Mary was not high on the world’s list, but she was on God’s list.
4) HE REMEMBERS HIS PROMISES (54-55)
(54-55) “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.”
I love this final reason Mary gives for worship.
It reveals to us that Mary’s worship isn’t about her.
She’s not worshiping because she gets this great role.
She’s worshiping because
God is finally sending the Savior He has long since promised.
• Mary knew that the Messiah was coming as “help to Israel”
• Mary knew that God was sending Him “In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers,”
And instantly our mind runs with all of those Messianic promises.
• We remember Him promising Eve that her seed would crush the serpent’s head…
• We remember Him promising Abraham that in his Seed all the nations of the world would be blessed…
• We remember Him promising Moses that He would send a prophet greater than him to the people…
• We remember Him promising David that his heir would rein forever…
• We remember Him promising Isaiah that a child would be born to us whose name would be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…
• We remember Jeremiah promising that Righteous Branch…
• We remember Malachi promising that reigning King…
God had been promising this Savior for generations
Mary is worshiping because in Jesus
All of those promises are fulfilled!
God has maintained His faithfulness!!!
See Mary didn’t just see that Jesus was coming through her,
Mary saw that JESUS WAS COMING TO HER.
He would be her Savior.
He would be her Deliverer.
He was the One she had longed for.
Mary was here rejoicing
Because God was gracious and merciful and just and faithful.
He was willing to use unworthy people, so long as they revered Him,
And would humble themselves before Him.
And Mary is worshiping God for those things.
Now, if you can see it, Mary is actually voicing Luke’s very point!
Throughout this book these are the things
That Luke most wants you to see.
• He wants you to see that GOD REGARDS THE UNWORTHY
• He wants you to see that GOD REPRIEVES THE FEARFUL
• He wants you to see that GOD REWARDS THE HUMBLE AND
RECOMPENSES THE PROUD
• He wants you to see that GOD REMEMBERS HIS PROMISES
That is his whole point and he includes this exaltation from Mary
Because Mary perfectly voices it.
What is more, this is the worship of all the redeemed.
• Can we not see that if God did not regard the unworthy that we would not be saved?
• Can we not see that if God did not reprieve (give mercy) to the fearful that we would be in grave danger?
• Can we not see that if God did not reward the humble then we would be forever discarded?
• Can we not see that if God did not remember His promises there would be no salvation?
FRIEND, THIS IS WHY WE WORSHIP.
THESE ARE THE THINGS LUKE WANTS YOU TO KNOW ABOUT GOD.
And incidentally, all of those realities are rolled up totally in Jesus.
When God takes up human form and dwells among us, He is going to be the epitome of all of those things.
And it is Luke’s desire for you to know that about Him.
Amidst all the stories that floated around about Jesus,
These were the things that Luke most wanted you to know about Him.
And the implication is clear.
• Humble yourself before Him…
• Revere His holy name…
• Trust in His promises…
• And rejoice in the reality of His grace…
This is the expectation of the Savior that is about to appear before Mary,
And she nails the worship He deserves.
