“And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
- Luke 1:50-55
Mary may have been a poor blue collar working girl, but she had been well-trained in the Bible. Her Magnificat of praise to God is a rich theological work, with massively important truths.
We could spend hundreds of pages writing about these truths, and many have (consider Lloyd-Jones’ treatment here). However, since these are supposed to be short-ish blogs, we’ll consider the four parts of Mary’s theological brilliance only briefly.
MERCY (v. 50) - First, notice that Mary highlights God’s mercy. She points out that the coming of the Messiah is a sign of His mercy on those who fear Him for all generations. God’s act of sending His Son into the world is the great culmination of that perpetual mercy that is in His heart.
Paul identifies this mercy in Eph 2:4-5 - "But God, being rich in mercy….made us alive together with Christ…” God’s great mercy is on display, and is toward His people throughout every generation. Anyone who doubts this mercy would need to take a single glance at the incarnation to know that this is His heart for us!
Mary calls us to worship God with her for His mercy on His people. The arrival of the Messiah - Christmas - is the sign that God has mercy for you today!
STRENGTH (vv. 51-52) - The second attribute of God that Mary explains is His strength. The ‘arm’ of God, an anthropomorphism, is simply a way of expressing the greatness of that strength. Mary understood that the coming of the Messiah was the coming of the King of Kings, the Lord of glory.
No wonder, then, that this baby, slowly growing inside of her, was a sign of God’s massive strength. He didn’t need to come into the world with fanfare or accolades. He didn’t need to bring the trappings of the proud. Instead, He came in abject humility, because His coming was only about His immense power and glory.
And, in that coming, He humbles the proud. The kings of the earth will be humbled under His absolute authority (Psalm 2:2), and that humbling power has come in the most humble of ways.
Again, remember, Jesus rules the world. There is no political ruler, regardless of how evil, that does not ultimately fall under His sovereign authority, both now and forever.
PROVISION (v. 53) - Mary was raised in an agrarian culture. She knew the hardships of a light crop. Undoubtedly she had gone hungry many times in her young life. But her acknowledgement here is more than simply that God provides bread for His people.
The contrast with the rich is important in understand what God is doing. The rich are sent away empty. The point here is that God is the one who provides. It is not man who is able to make rich or provide, and those who trust in riches rather than in God are left empty.
Lest we doubt that God is able to provide all that we need, He has provided the greatest ‘good thing’ in His Son. Christmas reminds us that God will certainly provide all that we need (even if that means faith to starve to death with joy!). We don’t need fleshly power for our provision.
FAITHFULNESS (vv. 54-55) - Mary understood that God’s promises to Israel had not been fulfilled. The nation waited for the coming Seed of Abraham. The promises to Abraham had been made about the nation, and about God’s care for her, and yet they had not yet come to pass.
The coming of the Messiah was the fulness of those promises coming to them! Jesus had come, and God’s faithfulness to His promises to Israel could not possibly be in doubt. God had not abandoned them—no, He remained faithful to every promise made to the fathers, and Jesus had come to bring those promises to life.
Thousands of years, and thousands of promises, and yet God was faithful to them all by sending Jesus. The baby in her womb caused Mary to realize that God would be faithful to every single word He had spoken. And this, of course, is the great message of Christmas for us as well - God is faithful to His word. He sent His Son, and with Him, He will freely give us all things! (Rom 8:32)
And so, this young girl gives us a massive theology lesson. Have you learned it? Perhaps this Christmas remember all that Mary taught us - God is Merciful, Powerful, a Provider, and Faithful - and Jesus’s birth proves these forever!
