Thoughts on Luke 1:26 to 56

This post is a short teaching I did on Luke 1:26-56. This sort of thing is not really keeping with the theme of the blog but I thought I would post in case anyone is reading :)

Maybe you have heard the little joke about the boy in Sunday school. His teacher asks him, “What is brown and furry, lives in a tree and eats nuts?” The boy replies, “I am fairly sure it is a squirrel but I’ll say Jesus.” More and more I feel like that little boy. In my childhood, I read, heard, memorized and learned many Bible stories. Often they were learned individually in a stand-alone context. They were about David or Moses or Job or Noah. This wasn’t altogether wrong but it was incomplete. As I grow older and read the Bible and read what others write about the Bible, I keep thinking, “Before, if you had asked me what this story is about I would have said David or Moses or Job or Noah. But now, at the end of the day, I am going to go with Jesus.”

The same is true about the story found in Luke 1:26-56. It is the story of what God is doing through Jesus illustrated in one part of this story that involves Mary. When I learned this story there were several themes that were usually present. Mary is faithful to believe God and God works through her. Be like Mary and be faithful and God will work through you. Mary was just a teenager in a very difficult social situation. God uses the weak things of the world, God will use you. This is especially effective if teaching teens. Look at Mary and her faithfulness, straighten up and be like Mary. Now, I do not want to belittle anyone who taught these stories or imply that this is totally wrong. But I do think this approach is misguided. I think it misses the big picture. I think it puts too much attention on the reader and not enough attention on the story—the story of what God is doing and will do.

Why do I think this? Of course, one reason is the rest of the Bible. But within the text I see three things that tell me this story is not ultimately about Mary. The first is Mary’s response to the angel. The second is the angel’s comment about the miracles of Elizabeth and Mary. The last is Mary’s song of praise when she is with Elizabeth.

Mary was greatly troubled

The angel says to Mary, “Greetings O favored one, the Lord is with you.” O favored one or it could be said one who is full of grace. This is great, right? Mary just found out from an angel that she is favored (full of grace) and the Lord is with her. But Mary was greatly troubled at this saying! How could it be? Could it be that Mary knew the weightiness of these words? Might she have realized that was not worthy, in and of herself, to hear such a greeting. Perhaps she knew that if she was full of grace it was because it came from God alone and that there would be a reason that pours out His grace on her. She knew that she couldn’t be the focus of what was going on. She wasn’t.

Nothing will be impossible with God

The angel goes on to tell Mary what will occur. He tells her that she will bear the very Son of God and that her son will reign forever. He tells her that she will remain a virgin yet by the power of the Holy Spirit conceive this child. He tells her about her cousin Elizabeth and how she has conceived in her old age. Then after detailing these miracles he says, “For nothing will be impossible with God”. Nothing will be impossible with God. The same Greek phrase used in the Greek Old Testament when the angel spoke to Sarah. Nothing will be impossible. With Sarah and Elizabeth (and Hannah) God looks down on His servant and creates life where there is none. He does what these women are powerless to do. He creates life in their womb. Through Isaac would follow the lineage that would eventually lead to Jesus. The world would be blessed.

Both of these miracles were almost a foreshadowing or precursors for Mary’s conception. With Sarah and Elizabeth God created the life and miraculously gave women well beyond child-bearing age to ability to give birth but still through human conception. With Mary it would not be so. Mary would remain a virgin and conceive. There would be question that this was God’s action. Nothing like it happened before or since. God would create life in Mary. Neither Mary nor any human would have a hand in creating the baby. This baby would be Jesus and through him God would offer salvation to the world.

This brings us to another point. Where else to we see this language used? The place that comes to mind is Matthew 19:26. When Jesus sends the rich young ruler away his disciples ask ‘who can be saved?’. Jesus answers that with man this is impossible but with God nothing is impossible. I think Jesus uses the same language because Mary’s situation mirrors salvation. There is no way, apart from God, that a virgin could bring forth a child and who child would be Savior. Likewise, there is no way, apart from God, that this Savior would come to spiritually dead people and offer hope, life, forgiveness and freedom.

Mary’s Song of Praise

Mary’s beautiful song of praise to God also tells us something. Mary gets it. Mary understands what is going on here. We can talk about whether or not she always understands Jesus’ work and there are good reasons to believe that she might not have. But right here when she is with Elizabeth, she gets it. I believe this is one of the big ways that Mary is full of grace. She has been given the grace understand what God is going to do through Jesus. What a gift! Then she turns to her Lord and she praises Him with one of the most beautiful passages in Scripture. It is so complete in interweaving the Old Testament teaching about the Messiah. It is so eloquent. It brings together the words of the Prophets in a succinct way.

I said that Mary “gets” what God is doing. Why? Notice her prayer found in Luke 1:46-55:

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

53 he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

55 as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

As I read this, one detail jumped out to me, for some reason. Notice all the subject verb relationships. With three exceptions, all the verbs have for their subject God. Mary’s song is about what God is doing. It has not one word about what she will do. No, Mary sees what is going on and she praises God for what He is doing and what He has done. She gets it. Just as God looked down on Mary and, in an impossible way, created in her, so has He looked down on a fallen, dead world and sent the Life that is Jesus into it in an impossible way. So praise God that through Jesus He has shown the strength of His arm. Thank God that through Jesus he has filled the hungry with good things. Praise the Father that, through the Son, He has exalted us of low estate. Praise God that in Christ He has remembered His mercy to His servants and that this mercy is forever.

Just as God looked down on Mary and, in an impossible way, created in her, so has He looked down on a fallen, dead world and sent the Life that is Jesus into it in an impossible way.