Introduction
Mary heard amazing words from the angel Gabriel that she would become pregnant and give birth to the Son of the Most High, and that she would call his name Jesus. And to Mary, who answered that since she was a virgin, the angel Gabriel said that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, and the power of the Most High would overshadow her, and she would give birth to the Son of God. And the angel Gabriel informed her that Mary's relative Elizabeth, who was said to be barren, was also going to have a child in her old age, and was in her six month.
Mary, hearing the words of the angel, answered: “I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said.” (v. 38). And then the angel left her, Mary got ready and hurried to enter Zechariah's home, which is in a town in the hill country of Judea, a hundred miles from Nazareth in Galilee, and she greeted Elizabeth. Although she had a long way to go, Mary must have wanted to confirm the wonderful truth the angel had told her and shake off all her doubts and insecurities that she might have harbored. When Mary heard the praise of Elizabeth's blessing, all her fears disappeared from her heart, and she was so moved by the grace that God had bestowed upon her that she praised God.
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I. Why Mary praises (vv. 46~47)
How did Mary praise? Look at verses 46 and 47. “And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’” Mary praised the Lord with her soul. The soul refers to the most precious and noble part of a person. And the Greek word for ‘glorify’ is ‘megaruno’, and in English it is magnify. The Latin word is magnificat, which became the title of Mary's song. The meaning of Magnify is ‘to express or to praise at a mega level.’ So Mary praised the Lord very loudly from the depths of her soul. Her praise wasn't just lip service. Mary's soul was so overwhelmed by God's grace, and her heart rejoiced in God her Savior. The God whom Mary called ‘God my Savior’ is not God the Father. It refers to the Son Jesus, who is God in Mary’s womb. The reason why Mary was able to express such incredible expressions was because Elizabeth praised, “But why am I favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (v. 43). Mary received these words and, in response, sang, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
Mary was overflowing with joy at conceiving the Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High. Think about it. The Savior, who is God, was now in Mary's womb as a tiny fetus. How mysterious was it? How could Mary have dared to imagine that God was present as a child in her own womb? Mary was filled with great emotion and told why her soul loudly praised the Lord and rejoiced in the Savior Jesus in her womb. Look at the beginning of verse 48. “For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.” Mary was thankful that God looked at such a humble woman and gave her the grace to conceive the Son of God.
Mary knew very well that she was only a lowly servant girl. In fact, she was a virgin living in a rural village called Nazareth in Galilee that people did not know much about, and Joseph, who was betrothed to her, was nothing more than a carpenter in the rural village. However, Mary became the mother of Jesus, the Messiah. She knew that it was only by the grace of God that she had become what she was. So, Mary praised God and rejoiced over the Savior she had conceived. Dear believers! We too must believe that everything is the grace of God, praise the Holy Trinity, and rejoice in God alone.
Not only that. Look at the end of verse 48. Mary continued singing, “From now on all generations will call me blessed.” This is what Mary said while looking at the amazing salvation that will come to this world through the coming of Christ. Now Mary was a virgin, betrothed, even before her wedding. But her virginity conceived a child, and she was in danger of being criticized by everyone. She was bound to be a sinner who betrayed grace to her parents and to Joseph, her betrothed. However, Mary sang this as a true blessing because she knew how great the result of salvation would be in the future through her own sacrifice.
II. The great things Christ will do (vv. 49~53)
Mary praised the great things that Christ the Savior would do in the future. Look at verse 49. “For the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name.” Mary knew very well what great things God had done for her. Mary's pregnancy was the coming of the Holy God and Sinless Savior into this world. Why did the Holy Savior come to this world? Christ's job was to eliminate all injustice and evil in this world and to bless the Lord's people.
Because of Adam and Eve's original sin, man was separated from God and his soul was dead. So there is absolutely no possibility of people being saved through their own efforts. However, the mighty God sent his Son to this earth to save sinners. The great thing that God did was to be conceived in the body of a woman to become a human being. Jesus Christ came to this world to cleanse people of the pain and curse caused by their sins.
If Mary looked at herself from a personal perspective, giving birth to a child as virgin would have been fearful and painful. However, from the perspective of all mankind, the coming of the Son of God in human form is a tremendous salvation and blessing. It is like a doctor coming to a patient with an incurable disease with a medicine that can cure it. So look at verse 50. “His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.” Mary confessed that God's mercy came to her when she was afraid. The reason God did great things for her was not because she had any qualifications or merits. It was entirely God's grace. Mary knew this well. She also knew that God's mercy was not just for her. Thus, Mary praised, quoting Psalm 103:17, which states that God's mercy is for all who fear God from generation to generation.
So what was the first thing that Christ the Savior would do when he came to this world? Look at the verses 51 and front part of verse 52. “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 …” The first thing Christ would do was to break the power of the proud and the rulers. Here, the proud and powerful may be seen as people who oppress the weak, but they fundamentally mean Satan. The purpose of the Son of God coming to this world was to destroy the devil, who controls people and holds the power of death (1 John 3:8, Hebrews 2:14).
How did Christ destroy the devil? Christ showed strength with his arms. Jesus Christ struck down the devil by dying on the cross with his arms spread out. Jesus Christ died on the cross, bearing all the sins of people. And on the third day he was resurrected, overcoming the power of death. Therefore, Satan can no longer threaten to kill anyone who believes in Jesus Christ for their mistakes. This is because the Savior Jesus Christ paid for all our sins by dying on the cross.
However, God does not treat people in this world equally. Look at the latter part of verse 52 and verse 53. “… But has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” Those to whom God delights to give grace are those who are poor in spirit. Proud and rich people have nothing to gain from God. Because God sends the rich away empty-handed. God likes humble people. Adam and Eve sinned because they did not obey God's words and were arrogant in their desire to be like God. So when God gives grace, he does not look at other conditions and only looks for people with a hungry heart. So, those who seek God with a hungry heart will never return empty-handed. God always exalts the humble and fills the hungry with grace. But God gives nothing to proud people.
Therefore, being sick and suffering in this world should not be considered miserable, but rather an invitation from God to come to Him. When we are in trouble or sick, we must know that God is calling us.
III. God keeps the covenant he made to fathers (vv. 54~56)
Mary revealed that salvation through Christ the Savior is not just a story, but the fulfillment of God's promise to their fathers long ago. Look at verses 54 and 55. “He has help his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.” Throughout the history of Israel, God has always had mercy on and helped his servants, the Israelites, and has been with them forever. What was the reason? It was because of the promise God made to his father Abraham. God said He would forever keep His promises to the fathers of Israel, and He was always faithful to keep His promises. What was that promise?
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God's word and committed the sin of eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God taught them the only way to solve man's sin. It was said that the woman's offspring would crush the serpent's head and the serpent would strike his heel. In other words, the woman's descendant, the Son of God, came as a man and died on the cross to break the power of Satan that was shackling people and save them. However, it was through Abraham, the father of faith, that the woman's descendant would break the serpent's head in the form of a specific promise.
In Genesis 12:2~3, God made a promise to Abraham. In the future, his name will be made great, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through him. And in Genesis 15:4~6, when God said to Abraham, ‘Out of his body will come an heir, and his descendants will be like the stars at the heavens, Abraham believed the LORD, and God credited it to him as righteousness.’ Abraham was justified by believing the word of God.
In Genesis 22:16~18, God informed Abraham, who was justified by faith, about the woman's descendants in more detail. It was ‘His descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through his offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.’ Abraham firmly believed the word of God. He not only believed, but also rejoiced at the thought of seeing the day of Christ the Savior; he saw it and was glad. (John 8:56).
Because God is holy, He can never lie. God always keeps what he has promised. Because of the promises God made to the fathers of Israel, He continued to help Israel, have mercy on them, and remember them. However, after the prophet Malachi, the Israelites did not hear God's voice, so they thought that God did not remember them and had abandoned them. However, with the coming of Christ the Savior, God again ‘remembered Israel, had mercy on them, and kept the covenant he made to their fathers.’ However, the true object of the covenant is not physical Israel but spiritual Israel (Romans 9:6, Galatians 3:16, 6:16).
Conclusion
In order to keep the promise of salvation made to their fathers, God conceived Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in Mary’s womb. In this way, God's promise is eternal. All of God's promises were fulfilled in the past, and they are still being fulfilled today. They will be fully realized in the future. Therefore, we must always stand firm on the words that God has promised.
Just as Abraham believed in God's promise and was recognized as righteous, sinners are recognized as righteous by God and are saved when they believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for their sins.
Mary was truly happy, praising her Lord from the depths of her soul because of the fact that Christ, the Savior whom the Israelites had been waiting for so longingly, came through the body of a lowly servant girl. What about us? We have already been saved through faith in Jesus Christ. We have been moved from death to life. I hope that we can rejoice and praise God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who moved us from eternal destruction to eternal life, with all our heart, mind, and soul.
