Introduction
• 3 different people
• All received news
• All made a response
1. Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:39-56)
News: That she would conceive and bring forth the Son of God (confirmed by her cousin Elizabeth conceiving John the Baptist, the forerunner to the Messiah)
Response: A song of praise to God for fulfilment of His saving promise in her.
1. Part of Evening Prayer in the Church of England Common Book of Prayer.
2. Exhibits Mary’s full acquaintance with Scripture- Genesis (Abraham in 17:7-9), Exodus (10 commandments, 2:6), Job, Psalms (33, 34, 98, 103, 107, 118), Micah, and the song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10). We should imitate Mary, letting "the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16).
3. Shows Mary’s deep humility. Her relationship with God is as of a redeemed sinner to her Saviour. She, like David, "made her boast in the Lord" such that "the humble shall here thereof, and be glad" (Psalm 34:2). If we are to be glad with Mary at the Incarnation, we must come humbly to the Lord and boast in His merits alone- "God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14). "A man has just so much Christianity as he has humility," quotes JCR. He continues, "Humility is the grace which is most becoming to human nature."
4. Shows Mary’s lively thankfulness of spirit. Bruce Kuhn leaping in the air! We always have more to thank God about than to be depressed about. In this case, we have our very lives and salvation to thank Him for- "He who is mighty has done great things for me...and His mercy is on those who fear Him" (vv. 49, 50), cf. Philippians 4:6 ("in everything...with thanksgiving"), 1 Thessalonians 5:16 ("rejoice always").
5. Shows how God dealt with people in the past. Humbled: Pharaoh, the Canaanites, Philistines, Sennacherib, Haman, Belshazzar. Exalted: Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, Esther, Daniel. We see in this pattern that the very lowliness of Mary made a her suitable choice for God- "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise..." (1 Corinthians 1:27). If we make a careful study of Bible characters, they will "teach us what to expect, check unwarrantable expectations, and encourage us when cast down. Happy is that man whose mind is well stored with such knowledge. It will make him patient and hopeful."
[We know that God’s dealing in this case is great- His finger (production of lice), His hand (the other Egyptian miracles), His out-stretched arm (redeemed the children of Israel from Egypt). "The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God" (Isaiah 5210). Wise men and shepherds. Jew & Gentile.]
6. Shows Mary’s grasp of Bible promises. In verse 65 she is recollecting God’s promise to Abraham that "in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 22:18). Abraham’s seed is Christ (Galatians 3:16) and Christ is born of Mary. God keeps his promises, even if it takes 4000 years from the first Messianic prophecy (Genesis 3:15) to the birth of the Messiah. Some of God’s promises to us:
• He will forgive our sins if we confess them (1 John 1:9)
• He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5)
• He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6)
• If we seek His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things (necessities of daily living) will be added to us (Matthew 6:33)
• He will save whoever calls on His name (Romans 10:13)
• He will punish those who do not repent and believe in Jesus (John 3:36, Luke 13:5)
• His Son is coming back (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
2. Zacharias’ Benedictus (Luke 1:67-80)
News: The birth of his son, John the Baptist, the forerunner to the Saviour.
Response: His first reaction as soon as he was freed from dumbness was to praise God! He also made a prophecy which commissioned his son’s own prophetic ministry.
• "The last prophecy of the Old Dispensation and the first of the New" (Farrar)
• This is inspired by the Holy Spirit (67)
Thanksgiving for the Messiah (68-70)
68. "What is man that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:4, Hebrews 2:6). Bob. Redeeming- buying back at a high price. A Tale of Two Cities analogy (p. 327).
69. ’Horn’ is a symbol of strength, cf. God’s outstretched arm. "He will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed" (1 Samuel 2:10). In Zion "will I make the horn of David to bud" (Ps. 132:17).
70. "God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds" (Hebrews 1:1-2). These people all predicted Jesus’ coming:
• c. 1450 BC. Moses- Jesus a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18); bones not to be broken (Ex. 12:46)
• c. 1000 BC. David- betrayed by one of His followers (Ps. 41:9); mocked and insulted, die by crucifixion, lots cast for garments (Ps. 22); given vinegar to drink (Ps. 69:21), to be raised from dead (Ps. 16:10), now at God’s right hand (Ps. 110:1)
• c. 700 BC. Micah- the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
• c. 700 BC. Isaiah- born of a virgin (7:14); rejected by his own people, tried and condemned, silent before accusers, suffer with criminals and pray for enemies, die as a sacrifice for our sin (53); struck and spat on by His enemies (50:6)
• c. 500 BC. Zechariah- enter Jerusalem in triumph on an ass (9:9)
The great deliverance (71-75)
71. Deliverance. If this life is all we’ve got, and the Jews were in bondage to the Romans, then they could be delivered by sword and rebellion (look how that worked in AD70); or, if there is an afterlife, they could be freed from their sin and given an eternal life with God. Since Jesus did not save the Jews from the Romans (many were killed by them), we understand that our souls (not bodies) are saved by Him- "do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28); "my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here" {John 18:36).
72. God’s mercy to the fathers (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) rests upon the work of Christ at Calvary- it is a future promise for Abraham which is now being fulfilled before the eyes of Mary, Zacharias and Simeon (Hebrews 11:13-16).
73. God never breaks His promises.
74. If our security is in Christ in heaven, then we can serve God without fear of those on earth- "the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:6).
75. Holiness- they will belong to God; righteousness- they will live as God’s people should. And as their bondage under the Romans is temporary, so their freedom to worship God will last forever.
The place of John (76-77)
76. Zacharias set the example to his son by putting Jesus first, as he only mentions John now! John’s preparation of the way of the Lord is testimony to the deity of Christ- Isa. 40:3 (God), Matt.3:3 (Jesus). John was the first prophet for 400 years (since Malachi), and he was to get people’s minds and hearts ready to receive Jesus.
77. People who repented were about to be released from the carrying the consequences of their disobedience...
The Messianic salvation (78-79)
78. God’s mercy is tender- Greek, splanchon, the intestines- from His guts (speaking reverently), from the very heart of God. Dayspring- anatole, a rising up- the sun & stars in the east. Or it can mean a shoot or a branch. Cf. Malachi 4:2- "the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings"; "we have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that yet take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19). In heaven, Jesus will be our source of light (Revelation 21:23).
79. "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined" (Isaiah 9:2).
• Darkness means we can’t see or know where we are going- so we fall into ditches (Matt. 15:14, John 12:35); the Light of Christ penetrates the darkness and His life "is the light of men" (John 1)
• Darkness means we shrivel up and die (Matt. 6:23, Jude 13); Jesus said, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12)
• Great darkness is horrifying (Genesis 15:12); the light of the gospel of Jesus is glorious (2 Cor. 4:4)
• Darkness is deadly silent (1 Samuel 2:9) except for wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matt.22:13); the light of God’s presence is filled with His praises (Revelation 4, 5, etc.)
• Darkness is ignorance (Job 38:2, Romans 1:21). Light is understanding and truth (Ps. 119:105; Daniel 5:11)
Peace "does not mean merely freedom from trouble; it means all that makes for a man’s highest good" (Barclay).
Why the desert? Separation?
3. Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:25-35)
News: The long-awaited Messiah had arrived, as God had promised!
Response: He had seen his life’s ambition- now he could depart in peace, confident in the salvation of God’s people.
"In its suppressed rapture and vivid intensity this canticle equals the most beautiful of the Psalms. Since the 5th century it has been used in the evening services of the Church, and has often been the hymn of dying saints."
Just and devout
Just towards men, devout towards God- "these two must always go together, and each will befriend the other, but neither will atone for the defect of the other" (Henry).
The Consolation of Israel
The Trinity- the consolation (paraklesis) of Israel is the Messiah, the Comforter (Menahem). Both the Holy Spirit (parakletos) and the consoling Christ (paraklesis) are God.
Ready to die
When we have turned our eyes upon Jesus, the Prince of Life, we are ready to die: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). If we are to see Christ, we must go to meet Him as He directs us. "I’ll go Lord wherever you lead, because where you are is where I most want to be" (Steven Curtis Chapman).
An Active Faith
Simeon did not only see and believe, but literally grasped hold of Jesus, His salvation. "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast profession before many witnesses" (1 Timothy 6:12). Blondin.
The Relief of the Watchman
Sentinel in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. The manumission of a slave, release from a long task.
The seer sees
"The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God" (Isaiah 52:10). Cf. 1 John 1:1, John 14:9.
The width of the Gospel
The Gospel is not to be "hidden" - "this thing was not done in a corner" (Acts 26:26). It is the "power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). It is before the face of all peoples, and it is our job to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). The Gospel is a revelation to those "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel" so that Jesus "might reconcile both [Jews and Gentiles] unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby" (Ephesians 2:17). Charles Price definition of glory...
• "For there is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:22,23)
• "Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4)
• "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27)
Therefore, Christ is our glory- both Jews and Gentiles alike.
Fall and rise of the redeemed sinner
"God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to the God" (James 4:6,7). "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew 21:44). "Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?" (Nahum 1:6).
Christ the Scandalous Saviour
"Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient" (1 Peter 2:7,8). Smell of death or life?
4.Who do you say that I am?
"That the thoughts of many may be revealed..."
Ronald Reagan- jelly beans.
• "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom hath sent" (John 6:29)
• "But who do you say that I am?" "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:15,16)
For all these people, the birth of Jesus meant their salvation had come. They pinned their hopes on this tiny baby, and the sacrifice He was about to make on their behalf.
What about us?
Is He our Saviour and Lord, by whose death we are made alive? Or is He just some legend, some good man or prophet who only has significance as an interesting historical character. He must be all or nothing. Jesus Christ is either true and alive, and therefore infinitely important; or a liar who did not come back to life though he said He would, and therefore not really important at all. One thing He cannot be is moderately important.
Not church attendance, being a nice person, being baptised, taking communion, not singing hymns, not helping our neighbours or the poor. The news for us is that God came to this earth to live and die, taking the just punishment for our sins. What is our response?
Who do you say that I am?
