11-27-2022 – “Mary Exalts the Lord Her God”
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November 27, 2022
"Mary Exalts the Lord Her God"
Luke 1:39-50
At our last time together we studied the awesome interaction of the angel Gabriel and a young virgin named Mary to whom he said
(Luke 1:31-32),
“You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,”
Luke 1:35,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”
Mary humbly and obediently believed all that Gabriel told her, saying
(Luke 1:38),
“may it be done to me according to your word,” and then we are told Gabriel left her.
Today we pick up the narrative in
Luke 1:39-40…
39 Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
Mary immediately set off for the hill country of Judah; remember what Gabriel said to her
(Luke 1:36),
“behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.”
Mary “went in a hurry” to see her aunt, no doubt to confirm that all this was really true. Mary herself would have been newly pregnant as she began the 3-4 four day journey south (80-90 miles0 from Nazareth to the hill country of s (about 5-6 miles from Jerusalem). Note: archeologist believe Judah (where John the Baptizer was born) may very well be the same area as Bethlehem (where Christ would be born, six months later than John).
Mary made the journey to her aunt Elizabeth and uncle Zacharias’s house. Greeting Elizabeth, she no doubt told her all that had happened with Gabriel’s announcement to her; and Elizabeth no doubt told Mary of Gabriel’s announcement to Zacharias (at the temple), and all that had happened, i.e., Zacharias was stuck mute and still couldn’t speak
(Luke 1:20).
20 And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
To hear Elizabeth’s account of her miraculous conception, and now in her sixth month of pregnancy had to be affirming to Mary concerning her own pregnancy.
Read Luke 1:41-44…
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.
As Mary told Elizabeth about what had happened to her, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped, and at that moment she was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to declare that Mary was blessed above all women because of the child she carried in her womb.
The filling of the Holy Spirit is often followed by a proclamation of the Word of God. Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit at the birth of his son John
(Luke 1:67),
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
and he began to declare a marvelous prophecy
(Luke 1:68-79),
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of David His servant--
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old--
71 Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES,
And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US;
72 To show mercy toward our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
about what John would fulfill concerning the coming Messiah (Who happened to be John’s younger cousin).
As some of you will recall from our Wednesday night Study in the Book of Acts, on the day of Pentecost, the believers
(Acts 2:4),
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
“were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak [in other languages, not their own,
Acts 2:8-11],
8 And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?
9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabs--we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”
“as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”
Here in Luke 1:42-45,
Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and she cries out in a loud voice a hymn of praise for Mary who has been given this greet honor, and a praise for the child in her womb, God’s Son, the Lord and Savior of all; Elizabeth praises Mary’s Son
(Luke 1:43), as “[her] Lord,” declaring Christ’s deity.
43 And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?
That Elizabeth should be so blessed is overwhelming to her, to be in the presence of God’s Son, her own Lord and Savior, in the womb of Mary, is over whelming to her
(Luke 1:44),
“For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached her ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
Elizabeth now proclaims more blessing upon Mary, not just because Mary will give birth to God’s Son, but also because of Mary’s faith in believing what the angel told her, that God would fulfill His greatest gift to all of humanity. Mary no doubt believed in her heart what the writer of
Hebrews 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
declares, that “God exists and God is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
Let me be clear about something: Although the Roman Catholic Church teaches and observes in its liturgy that Mary is the “Mother of God,” the “Queen of Heaven,” and that she is a co-redeemer, with Christ, of sinful humanity and an intercessor who hears and receives our prayers. No such teachings are found in God’s Word.
Mary is not the mother of God, because God is eternal in nature, and God was never conceived or born, for He has always existed. Mary was the mother of the human Jesus, not the mother of His eternal nature. Mary was a sinner in need of salvation, just like you and me; but Mary’s humble faith and obedient submission to God’s will, is an example of greatness to all believers for all time.
Mary would be horrified that anyone would consider her to be equal with Christ in any way; the very idea that Mary can receive prayers or praise, the confession of someone’s sins, or the granting of forgiveness leading to salvation, is the worse kind of heresy and is antithetical to teaching of God’s Word.
Read Luke 1:46-48…
46 And Mary said:
“My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
Mary, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, expresses the proper attitude of true worship. This section in Luke is called The Magnificat, which translates as, to magnify, to celebrate, to highly esteem, to praise, to glorify.
Mary is experiencing and expressing her supreme joy in the Lord. Notice, she declares how her soul exalts the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior. The words soul and spirit are interchangeable, as they refer to the whole inner person, i.e., the fullness of worshipping God with all that you are in Christ.
You can only worship God if you have received forgiveness for sins and eternal life.
Notice in Luke 1:47,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Mary’s renewed spirit praised the Lord, God her Savior, for she was a sinner like everyone else, in need of the Savior. God’s mercy and grace had been given to and received by Mary and her soul and spirit was rejoicing.
Deuteronomy 6:5,
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Matthew 22:37,
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
Mark 12:30,
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
Luke 10:27,
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.”
When Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman about worship that is acceptable to God, He told her
(John 4:23-24),
“true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for… God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Mary is worshipping with her heart, soul, mind and strength, or might (this is internal fortitude, spiritual strength of character, firmness of purpose, strength of mind, i.e., steadfast intent to bring praise, honor, and glory to God).
Romans 12:1-2,
"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. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Colossians 3:17,
“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Colossians 3:23-24,
you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
Look again at Luke 1:48a…
48 “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
Mary is so thankful for what God has done, that He would choose her, from all the women in the world, to have the blessing of carrying and giving birth to God’s Son.
Mary was just an ordinary girl, growing up in a nondescript village, far from the main travel routes that led to Jerusalem.
Mary calls herself “His [God’s] bondslave” [this is the feminine form of the Greek word for slave. Mary is the first one in the New Testament to call herself a slave of God. Even though she was the mother of the Messiah, she reached no special place of prominence among those first Christians.
Acts 1:13-15,
“When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together).”
Read Luke 1:49-50…
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 “AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
Mary now begins to praise God for all He has done throughout the ages, verse 50 is quoted from
Psalm 103:17,
17 But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children,
telling how God’s salvation will be offered to all who fear Him, to all who revere His Name and seek to do His will, while giving glory to Him and Him alone.
Read Luke 1:51-53…
51 “He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
53 “HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
Mary speaks of God’s mighty deeds in destroying the proud and wicked (e.g., the Philistines, Canaanites, Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, etc.), while at the same time giving aid to the humble, to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for God alone is sovereign and worthy of praise and worship.
Isaiah 65:13,
“Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ’Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.’”
Read Luke 1:54-55…
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.”
God went out of His way to care for Israel (like a loving father cares for a wayward or prodigal son), time after time Israel turned away from God and did evil in His eyes, and yet God continued to love them.
Jeremiah 29:11-14,
“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’”
Mary closes this prophetic proclamation of praise to God in
Luke 1:54-55,
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.”
by speaking of the covenant God made with Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and the Tribe of Judah, through whom Jesus Christ would ultimately be born to a descendant of David, in the town of Bethlehem, to a virgin named Mary.
God’s covenant to Abraham would be made effectual through the death of the Child Mary was carrying in her womb; the Lamb of God who dies for our sins, so that everybody who believes in Him receives forgiveness for sin and eternal life.
Notice. in Luke 1:55,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.”
that God’s promises are “to Abraham and his descendants forever.” This is not talking about the nation of Israel or those who have descended from the blood line of Abraham; this is talking about eternal descendants, those who have been born again by the Spirit of God, through belief in Christ.
Galatians 3:26-29,
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
Read Luke 1:56…
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
Luke 1:26-39
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
39 Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah,
tells us that when Gabriel visited Mary with the news of her conception by the Holy Spirit, it was during the sixth month of her aunt Elizabeth’s pregnancy, at which time Mary hurried off to Judah to see Elizabeth, where she stayed “for about three months,” and then she went home to Nazareth.
Next Sunday we will read through
Luke 2:1-20,
1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
about the birth of Jesus, the Savior, who is Christ the Lord, born to Mary, in Bethlehem, just six months after Elizabeth gave birth to her son John. Was all this just a coincidence? No, it was the fulfillment of God’s sovereign plan, purpose, and provision to save us through the sacrifice of His own Son.
Jesus is the Reason for the Season.
You cannot celebrate Christmas without Him.
Pastor Mike
>’(((><