Amazed in God's Presence
I used to think that the closer I got to the Lord, the less I needed people in my life. Exactly the opposite is true. The closer we walk to the Lord, the more we see the need for support from and accountability to other people. As the angel vanished, Mary made a decision. She would visit Elizabeth and Zechariah. Mary knew that Elizabeth would be the one person to offer her support and encouragement. When the angels leave, when the thrill of saying yes to God passes and we are in the difficult places of obedience, we need people. The problem we have is that we usually choose to get close to people who are on the same level as we are spiritually (or a little lower), so we are rarely challenged to live a more committed life. It was a mark of Mary's maturity that she recognized her need for Elizabeth's companionship and counsel. Mary needed Elizabeth, an older, wiser friend.
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As soon as Mary entered Elizabeth's house, remarkable things began to happen.1 At Mary's shout of greeting, Elizabeth's unborn baby (later named John), leaped in her womb (Luke 1:41). Any mother will tell you that it's not unusual for a baby to move during pregnancy. But Elizabeth knew by a special work of the Holy Spirit that this movement on this occasion was no ordinary flutter. She said to Mary, "As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy" (v. 44).
God the Spirit also revealed to Elizabeth that Mary was to be the mother of the Messiah. Elizabeth uttered an amazing prophecy: "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? . . . Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" (Luke 1:42-43, 45).
One of the great debates that rocked the early church was over what title to give Mary. In the fifth century at the Council of Ephesus, certain segments of the church wanted to give Mary the title theotokos, "mother of God."2 Originally the title was a reflection on Mary's son; it was a declaration that Jesus was fully divine. Some of the church fathers at that council, however, saw the possibility that the title would be used to focus more attention on Mary. They thought that such a title would give Mary a more exalted place in the plan of redemption. Already in popular belief, people lifted Mary from her humble place as God's servant and propelled her to a status closer to deity. Mary is still addressed as "the Mother of God" by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The Bible, however, never gives her that title. I think we are on better biblical footing to refer to Mary as Elizabeth did — as "the mother of my Lord" — or simply as the mother of Jesus. Mary's child was God, but Mary was merely the vessel through which God the Son became flesh.
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Mary's Song
John, still unborn, recognized Jesus, also unborn. Elizabeth recognized Mary as the mother of the promised Redeemer. Now Mary turns her heart toward God and speaks one of the most beautiful hymns ever heard. The Gospel writer Luke had a deep appreciation for the early hymns of praise and adoration to God. He saw to it that not only Mary's song but Zechariah's burst of praise (Luke 1:67-79) and Simeon's song of blessing (Luke 2:29-32) were preserved for our enjoyment and blessing.
Mary's song is sometimes called the "Magnificat." In the Latin version of the Bible used for hundreds of years in the medieval church, the word magnificat (which means "magnifies" or, as the NIV translates it, "glorifies") is the first word of the text. Probably no other words of Scripture (except Psalm 23) have been put to music more often than Mary's words of exaltation and glory to God. If you are somewhere other than on a crowded subway or in the reading room of the library, you may want to read these words out loud — or even sing the words as a spontaneous expression of praise offered to God:
My soul glorifies the Lordand 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.His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
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He has filled the hungry with good thingsbut has sent the rich away empty.He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be mercifulto Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers. (Luke 1:46-55)
I'm impressed with several things about Mary as I listen to her words. First I'm impressed with her knowledge of the Bible. She skillfully weaves together line after line of quotation or allusion to the Old Testament. In my own study of the song I've traced at least twenty-two lines from the Scriptures that Mary puts together to form a profoundly moving expression of trust in God. Those familiar with the Old Testament will hear echoes from Hannah's song of rejoicing when God allowed her to conceive her son, Samuel (1 Samuel 2:1-5). Even the form of Mary's song parallels the great psalms of Israel. Mary sings back to God the truths about him that she has learned in her study and meditation on his Word.
As I read this song, I'm also impressed with Mary's knowledge of the character and work of God. Mary not only knew her Bible; she also knew her Lord. The song is not about Mary or even directly about Jesus; it's about God, the deliverer of his people. No fewer than sixteen times Mary refers to the Lord God by name, title or appropriate pronoun (he, him or his). More significantly, Mary marks out a number of God's attributes as objects of praise. She knew what God is like. In Luke 1:49 Mary calls God "the Mighty One," a reference to his power, his ability to do whatever he purposes to do. God's people or God's servants may be weak, but they have a mighty God. In the same verse she declares God's holiness — "holy is his name." Everything about God is holy, absolutely set apart from evil or deception. Other aspects of God's character equally praiseworthy are his mercy (v. 50), his justice (vv. 51-53) and
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his unwavering faithfulness (vv. 54-55).
After a long time of neglect, evangelical Christians have begun to focus their attention on worship. Hymns and choir music used to be seen simply as "filler" before the sermon. We've finally reconnected with a truth that many of our brothers and sisters in other traditions have known all along: Worship and praise to God deserve our time and our best.
Those of us who plan worship services or minister to other believers in music have a lot to learn from Mary's beautiful expression of worship to God. For example, what I feel or what I happen to think about certain issues may make wonderful songs sung for pleasure or entertainment or even encouragement. But songs sung in worship should be based on the solid declarations of God's Word. Above all, we should write or sing our songs of worship in such a way that the one exalted is God — not the singer or songwriter but the One to whom our worship is directed. The "style" of the music doesn't have much to do with it. I've heard African Christians praise God in jubilant worship that involved drums, shouts, handclapping and dance. On the other hand, I've witnessed some of the great old hymns sung in a spirit of pride and self-centeredness that brought some glory to the singer but little glory to God. We look at the outside; God looks at the heart. I have sung praise and worship choruses with a cold heart toward God, and I have been moved to tears of love by the same choruses sung with a heart of tenderness toward him. One of the most moving experiences I've ever had was standing with more than sixty thousand Promise Keepers in the Hoosier Dome singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy." There was no accompaniment, no soloist, no band — just one Audience and sixty thousand men singing the perfections of God's character.
God at Work
Mary's song also picks up several biblical themes that demon-
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strate how God works in our world and in our lives. Mary is careful, for example, to emphasize the overshadowing, overpowering purpose of her life to bring glory to God — "My soul glorifies the Lord" (Luke 1:46). Mary's song rings with pure adoration. She exalts and honors God simply for who he is.
Mary extols the grace of God too. The Lord has at least vindicated the hopes and prayers of his people by choosing her to be the one through whom the promised Messiah would come. Mary is living proof that God is in the habit of showing his kindness not to those who think they deserve it but to those who humbly honor him. Twenty centuries later we are still impressed with Mary's deep sense of gratitude to God for the gracious favor he so lavishly poured out on her.
Mary also had a profound grasp of God' sovereign control over human history. She lived in a world ruled by the strong and the cruel. Even in Israel's worship, religious parties tried to impose the bondage of human tradition on the people. But God was about to turn the normal order of things upside down. He would scatter the proud and bring down rulers while he exalted the people no one noticed very much. The typical humble believer in Mary's day, just like typical, humble believers today, longed for God to set things right in justice and mercy. The poor find compassion in God's new order of things; the hungry are filled; the proud and the rich have to go to the end of the line for a change.
We can hear reverberations of Mary's hymn in the words of her son more than thirty years later:
Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . . Blessed are the meek . . . .
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:3-6).
In God's kingdom everything changed.
Mary's song links the ancient promises of God with the power of God to fulfill those promises. The hopes of a hundred
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generations were being satisfied in one binding flash. David's messianic psalms looked forward with longing to the coming Deliverer; Mary's messianic hymn announces that God is about to keep his word.
Making It Personal
What impresses me most about Mary's song, however, is not her intense words or the powerful expressions of biblical truth. What impresses me most is that Mary knew her own need. At the end of Luke 1:46 Mary calls God her Savior. Was Mary sinless and above fallen humanity? No, Mary needed a Savior too! Mary was saved by putting her faith in her own son, Jesus Christ.
Mary would be called "blessed" by every generation because of the One who blessed her. Mary would be congratulated by uncounted Christians not simply as a passive example of what God can do through the most insignificant of people (humanly speaking) but more pointedly as an active model of a believer's obedient response to God.
God continues to look for men and women like Mary. God can take an unknown person who has a heart for him and can raise that person in grace to a place of enormous spiritual impact. Mary is the proof. God's plan isn't completed yet, so he is still looking for people who are humble enough to give him all the glory. Great works from God's hand and for his honor still wait to be done, and God waits too. He waits for a willing heart.
Chapter 4 || Table of Contents
