Barry Metz 12/11/16

Mary- the Quintessential DiscipleLuke 1:26-56

When I think of Mary the mother of Jesus, a host of images fill my mind. I see the outline of a man leading a donkey with a pregnant woman on it along a ridgeline. I see Mary kneeling by the manger looking at her newborn son. Time passes in Jesus’s life and I can call up a picture of Mary frantically looking for Jesus when he was a boy and had stayed behind in Jerusalem during one of the family’s annual Passover trips. Still further along in the timeline of Jesus’ life, I can see her at the wedding of Cana beckoning Jesus to come to the aid of the host who let the wine run out. And I can almost hear her words to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”1 And finally, as Jesus paid for the penalty of our sins, I can see her at the foot of the cross watching her son die. When I put it altogether, I see Mary as a wonderful, caring, faithful mother.

I was reminded that our Catholic friends have a much more exalted picture of Mary. They believe that she herself, though conceived the normal way, was without original sin or its stains. Their term for this is the Immaculate Conception.2 (It has nothing to do with Jesus’ birth and everything to do with Mary’s birth.)They believe that Mary was perpetually a virgin—that she had no other children. They believe that when she died she was taken to heaven body and soul.3 Their term for this is the Assumption. And many Catholics believe that she is now in heaven as a co-redemptrix (she plays a role in the redemption of man)4 and a mediatrix (she is a mediator of sorts praying for believers and giving them grace).

I’m sure you’ve heard of the rosary. It’s a devotion in honor of the virgin Mary. It consists of a set number of specific prayers that Catholics say with special beads. One of those prayers is called the ‘Hail Mary’….And all this time I thought the ‘Hail Mary’ was a football play….

1 John 2:52 We believe that Mary is the Mother, who remained ever a Virgin, of the Incarnate Word, our God and Savior Jesus Christ, and that by reason of this singular election, she was, in consideration of the merits of her Son, redeemed in a more eminent manner, preserved from all stain of original sin and filled with the gift of grace more than all other creatures.3 John Damascene (d. 749) reported a story reportedly told at the Council of Chalcedon (451) that Mary had died in the presence of the Apostles, but when they opened her tomb they found it empty “wherefrom the apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven”4 Joined by a close and indissoluble bond to the Mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption, the Blessed Virgin, the Immaculate, was at the end of her earthly life raised body and soul to heavenly glory and likened to her risen Son in anticipation of the future lot of all the just; and we believe that the Blessed Mother of God, the New Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven her maternal role with regard to Christ's members, cooperating with the birth and growth of divine life in the souls of the redeemed.

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Let me highlight two things from the ‘Hail Mary’ prayer on this slide. First, the biblical justification for most of the phrases in the prayer come from our passage today. Secondly, the phrase ‘Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death’ doesn’t really have any biblical justification in my way of thinking5 --Revelation 5 does mention the elders holding golden bowls of incense which are the prayers of the saints and I suppose Mary is seen as a saint—well this petition was added around the time of the Reformation.6

But here’s the question--Who is Mary to us? Our Catholic friends elevate her to an almost untenable height and believe that we should seek her to pray for us. I’m sure you and I would never go that far. But who is Mary to us?

This morning, I’d like to suggest that she’s the quintessential disciple. If we want to get a picture of a true disciple, I think Mary’s a great example for us to follow. And I’d like to look at the thirty or so verses in Luke 1 through that lens.

Last week the angel Gabriel made the trek all the way to Jerusalem from heaven to speak with an aged priest Zechariah. This week, roughly six months later, Gabriel is on the road again to an out of the way place called Nazareth to speak to a young virgin by the name of Mary.

If you have your Bibles this morning, we begin in Luke chapter 1, verse 26…Luke 1, verse 26. Follow with me as I read verse 26-27. 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

The first few words of verse 26 “In the sixth month,” tie this story with the one preceding it. We learned last week in verse 24 of this same chapter that after Elizabeth—John the Baptist’s mother—became pregnant with John that she stayed in seclusion for five months. In the sixth month then the next phase of the story begins as God sends Gabriel to Nazareth in Galilee.

5 Catholics use Revelation 5:8 which mentions the elders falling down before the lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 6 To the greeting and praise of Mary of which the prayer thus consisted, a petition "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen," was added later. The petition first appeared in print in 1495 in Girolamo Savonarola's "Esposizione sopra l’Ave Maria."[7][8] The "Hail Mary" prayer in Savonarola's exposition reads: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen [9] The petition was commonly added around the time of the Council of Trent. The Dutch Jesuit St. Petrus Canisius is credited with adding in 1555 in his Catechism the sentence: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners.[10]Eleven years later, the sentence was included in the Catechism of the Council of Trent of 1566. The "Catechism of the Council of Trent" says that to the first part of the Hail Mary, by which "we render to God the highest praise and return Him most gracious thanks, because He has bestowed all His heavenly gifts on the most holy Virgin ... the Church of God has wisely added prayers and an invocation addressed to the most holy Mother of God ... we should earnestly implore her help and assistance; for that she possesses exalted merits with God, and that she is most desirous to assist us by her prayers, no one can doubt without impiety and wickedness."[11]

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That Gabriel would make his way to Nazareth is startling because Nazareth was a “non-place”. It’s never once mentioned in the Old Testament. When the land was settled in the book of Joshua and the towns of Galilee were listed there for the tribe of Zebulun to take—Joshua chapter 19—Nazareth doesn’t even show up on the radar screen.

At the time of Jesus’ birth, the town apparently had a very bad reputation. Perhaps you remember the discussion Phillip and John had about Jesus in John 1. Philip said… “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael, missing everything that Philip said except the name Nazareth, said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Some suggest that that the town’s seedy reputation came from its location overlooking the highway between the pagan cities of Tyre and Sidon, and Jerusalem. All kinds of riffraff traveled that highway.7

So the angel Gabriel was sent by God to the no-named, backwater city of Nazareth27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

Last week we pointed out John the Baptist’s pedigree—that he had a father and mother who had priestly connections. Here we meet Jesus’ parents and all we find out is that Joseph was from the house of David. Mary’s family is not even mentioned.

Author Kent Hughes says this of Mary—“Mary was too young to know much of the world or to have accomplished anything. She was at most a young teenager. She was probably illiterate and her knowledge of the scriptures consisted of what she had memorized at home and what she had heard in the synagogue. From all indicators, her life would not have been extraordinary. She would have married humbly, given birth to numerous poor children, never traveled farther than a few miles from home, and one day died like thousands of others like her—a nobody in a nothing town in the middle of nowhere.8

The quintessential disciple doesn’t need a pedigree. In fact I remember an old Navigator representative saying… “When you’re looking for disciples, look for people who are faithful, available, and teachable.” He said nothing about looking for those who have connections.

Verse 27 tells us that Mary was betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph.

We’ve talked about Jewish betrothal several times. Marriages in that day were conducted in two stages. At this point in our story, Mary legally belonged to Joseph and was referred to as his wife. But they did not live together.9 In fact—just to drive home how different a Jewish betrothal was to our engagements today—if Joseph would have died during this betrothal

7 Morgan, The Gospel According to Luke, page 19; see also Hughes, Luke, page 298 Hughes, Luke, page 309 Bible Knowledge Commentary, page 205

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period, Mary would have been called a widow10 and if Joseph wanted to end the betrothal he would have had to pursue a legal divorce.11

How old was Mary at this time? Luke doesn’t tell us. According to contemporary Roman law, the minimum age of marriage for girls was 12 (for boys, 14), with the minimum age for betrothal set by Caesar Augustus at 10. Joel Green in his commentary says that Jewish practices were comparable, so that marriage for a female usually took place before she reached the breathtaking age of… 12.5 years of age.12 So how old was Mary? We just know she was breathtakingly young.

And it was to this poor, young, probably illiterate but God fearing virgin that Gabriel appearedLook at verse 28…

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

Now this is the verse that is used by our Catholic friends to justify some of their lofty beliefs about Mary. But before we go there, let’s look at what verse 28 says….

Greetings, O favored one…O grace bestowed one! (And by the way it was normally taboo for a man to greet an unknown woman in Judaism. 13 So this whole intersection between Gabriel and Mary is awkward! You remember that angels don’t have bodies—Hebrews 1:14 they are ministering spirits—but they normally take on a body when they visit with humans and they normally appear as young men). But there’s another observation we should make but it’s below the surface. The verb tense of the word translated ‘favored one’ indicates that Mary was in a state of being favored even before Gabriel showed up. Let that sink in. Let me say it again. The verb tense communicates that Mary was favored by God before Gabriel showed up and she remained in the favored status when he showed up. Our Catholic friends will use this point.

Now it just so happens that Catholics use a translation from the Latin Vulgate here which is very different from every other translation.

10 Barclay, Luke, page 1211 Courson, Application Commentary, page 29712 Green, Luke, page 8613 Edwards, J. R. (2015). The Gospel according to Luke. (D. A. Carson, Ed.) (p. 44). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.

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So you can see the Latin Vulgate translation compared with the ESV, the NAS, and the NIV. So here’s the point: our Catholic friends, using the Latin Vulgate translation, believe Mary was full of grace from the first instance of her existence…and if she was full of grace from the first moment of her existence, how could she have any sin? Her conception had to be immaculate (she was conceived without the transmission of original sin) and she remained without sin for the rest of her life.

But they get another one of their key ideas from the phrase ‘full of grace’ in the Latin Vulgate translation of verse 28.…if Mary is indeed full of grace then ‘she had every gift, not only spiritual but secular, even above those given to angels.” And it was this idea then that gave rise to the idea that Mary was a dispenser of grace—she was so full of grace that she could dispense it--which then led to prayers being offered to her.14 So these key doctrines which our Catholic friends believe come from this poorly translated phrase in Luke 1:28.

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

Now there’s something kind of interesting about verse 29. Mary encounters Gabriel and she’s greatly troubled….sounds reasonable right? We talked about that last week—You see an angel, you’re troubled. But it appears that she’s mostly troubled by the words Gabriel says. “I’m favored? What does he mean? The Lord is with me? What is he saying to me?”

The literal sense of her reaction is that she kept pondering the meaning of the greeting. “She kept reckoning up the reasons that this would happen.”15

One author says this about that… Whatever Gabriel’s glorious form was like, Mary was able to get past it to his greeting, upon which she meditated as she sought understanding. This is a truly remarkable picture. Young and inexperienced as she was, Mary was not a flighty, shallow “young thing.” She was reflective and contemplative. 16

14 Hughes, Luke, page 3215 Dick Lucas sermon, Mary’s Son16 Hughes, R. K. (1998). Luke: that you may know the truth (pp. 32–33). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

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Mary was by nature contemplative: Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. Luke 2:51b And his mother (Mary) treasured up all these things in her heart.

I can’t help but think that this is a key attribute of a disciple. Psalm 119:78 I will meditate on your precepts.

Soon after I became a believer at Texas A&M, the Campus Crusade for Christ staff member who led me to Christ met with me for Bible study. In retrospect, I guess he was ‘following up on his new believer’. The very first time we met for follow-up he took me to Psalm 119 verses 97-104.

Listen as I read those verses and you’ll quickly see why he chose them for his first meeting with a new disciple….

97 Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.

98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.

99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

100 I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.

101 I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.

102 I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me.

103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

104 Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

Disciples put the word of God at the center of their lives. Disciples place God’s word at the core of their lives. Disciples meditate on the Word.

Well follow as I read verse 30-33…30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

What an earful!

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Verse 31 …you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus…. “Yahweh saves, God saves”. Vs. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. At a minimum, with a title like Son of the Most High, Mary’s baby would have a special intimate relationship with God.17 And the Lord God, continuing in verse 32, will give to him the throne of His father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.

In verses 31-32, Gabriel has basically said to Mary that the eight lane interstate of God’s eternal plan is coming right through her life and that this baby she is about to have will be the fulfillment of the great Davidic Covenant. And the Davidic covenant begins way back in 2 Samuel 7, 1000 years before Mary and it will extend way forward into the future. Look again at the end of verse 32 his kingdom will never end.

One writer said this about Gabriel’s words—“The stupendous claims which the angel makes for this unborn baby (vs. 32-33) would have staggered Jewish readers of the gospel. For the son of Mary is a colossal figure. He will be the greatest ruler that not only Israel (1:32b-33) but the world (1:33b) has ever seen.”

What words for a 12 to 13 year old to bear!

Well look at Mary’s response in verse 34, “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

{The Latin Vulgate translation of verse 34 is … How shall this be done, because I know not man? As I understand it, this verse was misinterpreted to mean that Mary was taking a vow of perpetual virginity here.18}

Regarding Mary’s response to Gabriel How will this be…since I am a virgin?” at first glance Mary seems to have headed down the same road as Zechariah, doubting what God says, and we want to reach out and tell her to take it all back…No Mary, apologize quick! Don’t even think of doubting what God is saying to you through Gabriel! You won’t like the discipline!

But when we look a little closer, we see that whereas Zechariah was looking for a sign--“How can I be sure of this?”—Mary was just looking for an explanation: How will this be since I am a virgin? It seems that Mary’s problem wasn’t unbelief, she just needed help with the logistics.19 Because God’s announcement thru Gabriel seemed to violate God’s own rules.20

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

17 Bock, Luke, page 11418 Dick Lucas sermon, “Mary’s Son”19 Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Bible, page 141220 Pillar Commentary

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In verse 35 Gabriel tells Mary that the Holy Spirit will be the active divine agent who exerts His power so that she will conceive as a virgin. Specifically the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her.

The verb come upon anticipates Acts 1:8 (ESV) 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…and the subsequent Pentecost event in Acts 2 when the Spirit was poured out on believers.

The verb overshadow is used in each of the transfiguration scenes when a cloud formed and completely enveloped Jesus, Moses, Elijah, and the others.21 The verb overshadow is also associated with the scene in Exodus when God’s glory and the cloud came down over the tabernacle in the wilderness.22 What mystery attends the virgin birth!

By the sheer creative power of God, a child will be born whose origin is not like anyone else ever born. He will be fully man and yet fully God. Spurgeon had a great line…. As God he will be infinite; as man he will be an infant. 23 With regard to a sin nature, he will be born completely holy (verse 35)…so the holy one to be born will be called the son of God.

Well Mary didn’t ask for a sign but she was given one anyway….verse 36…36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Gabriel’s final words to Mary…For nothing will be impossible with God.” kind of echo God’s words to Sarah back in Genesis 18 when Sarah laughed at the impossibility of having a baby at her old age, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” the Lord said.

You see God can cause a woman way past the age of childbearing to have a child and God can even create a child in a womb without the involvement of a human father. Is anything too hard for Yahweh?... Is anything too hard for Yahweh? ….Is anything too hard for Yahweh?

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

I am the Lord’s servant, Mary answered. I am the Lord’s slave. The word she uses is most servile term used by the Greeks to denote a slave. It described one whose will was swallowed up in the will of his or her master. 24

21 Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:3422 Nolland, Luke, page 5923 C.H. Spurgeon24 Wuest, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, “doulos” in Romans 1:1

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I found it interesting that Paul25, Peter26, Jude27, and James28 each described themselves with the same word. Paul a servant of the Lord. Peter a servant of the Lord. Jude, a servant of the Lord. James a servant of the Lord. Isn’t that interesting? Isn’t it interesting that Jesus’s most dedicated followers, his most dedicated disciples would describe themselves in the same way Mary described herself… I am the servant of the Lord. ..I am the Lord’s slave…. My will has been swallowed up in his.

Mary was a very brave young woman. If she got pregnant as an unmarried woman, her reputation would be ruined. If she got pregnant as an unmarried woman, her betrothed husband would likely divorce her. But yet she said, “I am the Lord’s servant…May it be to me as you have said.”

Gabriel is in a sense, announcing the great invasion of God’s kingdom to earth—a kingdom that will never end. And Mary is the first person who hears about this kingdom and her response is ideal…I surrender all….The King from heaven has a right to do with me as He wills. …Conquer me King Jesus…be it done to me according to your word…you see being a disciple is all about yielding to the Kingship of Christ.

Jim Elliott missionary to the Aucas said, “One does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.”29 We need to submit our lives to the Lord over and over.

What troubles do you have? Perhaps you find yourselves in a difficult marriage. Perhaps you find yourselves on a lonely road. Perhaps you are stumped and don’t know what God would have you do. The road to blessing leads through submission to the king… “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”

What if we imagine Mary’s words on the lips of Jesus’s most loyal disciples at critical life changing intersections?

“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Peter, James and John replied to Jesus, “We are the servants of the Lord, let it be to us according to your word!”

“Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?”“Who are you Lord?”“I am Jesus whom you are persecuting? But rise, enter the city and you will be told what to do?” “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”

And what if believers gathered every Lord’s Day with a conviction to follow Mary’s example?

25 Rom. 1:126 2 Pet. 1:127 Jude 1:128 James 1:12924 Jim Elliott, Leadership, Vol. 7

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And the text one Sunday was “Husbands love your wife as Christ loved the church” and each husband said inside his heart “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”

Or the text was ‘Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace…’ and each person in the congregation said “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”

Or imagine Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me….but “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

A devotional writer from the past30 writes this: "You must utterly believe that the circumstances of your life, that is, every minute of your life, as well as the whole course of your life—anything, yes, everything, that happens—have all come to you by His will and by His permission. You must utterly believe that everything that has happened to you is from God and is exactly what you need."

She goes on to talk of God as an artist and us as his canvas. If the canvas is unsteady, the picture will be blurred. She says, "Every movement of the self produces error." Our job is to be still and let God paint. "Yet not as I will, but as you will"…. “I am the servant of the Lord…let it be to me according to your word.”

Well Mary heard that her relative Elizabeth was six months pregnant so she got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. It would have been an 80 -100 mile trek and have taken three or four days.31

We pick up in verse 41….

41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Little fetus John “leaping” in Elizabeth’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice there in vs 41, is a beautiful and profound picture. At six months in Elizabeth’s pregnancy--and we get that from verse 24 of chapter 1—at six months John would have been about nine inches long and weighed about one and a half pounds. He would have looked like a perfect miniature newborn. His skin would have been clear. He would have had fingerprints and toe prints and sometimes he would have opened his eyes for brief periods of time.32 And he leaps in his

30 Jeanne Guyon, 31 Bock, Luke, page 13432 Hughes, Luke, page 41

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mother’s womb!

John was acting like a prophet before he was even born!

There is an interesting story that occurred some 30 years later in the life of John the Baptist.

It’s recorded in the gospel of John chapter 3. I don’t want you to turn there, just listen.

Jesus and John are both grown men at this time and Jesus’ ministry has begun to take off and John’s disciples come to John and inform him that everyone is going over to Jesus. (They must presume that John would be upset). And John says this…

28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. John says, “Boys I’m not worried that everybody’s going over to Jesus. He’s the bridegroom. I’m just the friend of the bridegroom. And the bridegroom has arrived. I’ve heard his voice and I’m filled with joy.” 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

So here in Luke chapter 1, pre-natal John the Baptist hears evidence of the presence of the Messiah and he leaps for joy; and then 30 years later, camel-hair wearing, locust eating33 John the Baptist will hear the true bridegroom’s voice and be filled with joy again!

In verse 42 of our story, Elizabeth is moved by the Holy Spirit and she blesses Mary with a loud voice: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

You’ve got to catch how profound the inversion here is—elderly Elizabeth is feeling favored to be visited by young Mary because of her ‘blessed’ status in carrying the Messiah.

And I wonder if in Elizabeth’s exclamation in verse 43, we have the first person in New Testament times who knowingly expressed faith in Jesus Christ for salvation—when she said, “the mother of my Lord should come to me!” We know that Old Testament saints were saved by faith as they trusted in the promises of God. Here Elizabeth seems to be the first person to express faith in the person of Jesus as she calls him my Lord. And Jesus is just a small little tike at this point!

Elizabeth continues in verse 45 And blessed is she who has believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her of the Lord!”

Make note of what Elizabeth is saying….she is basically saying ‘Mary you’re blissfully happy because you believe that God’s going to do what he said he will do….you’re trusting in his promises.

33 Mark 1:6

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How often is our unhappiness connected to our unbelief? I’m so convinced that our thinking throws us off track. We doubt that God is doing anything in our life. We doubt that he’s using us in any way. We doubt that all of our troubles will be redeemed for good. And all of our doubts leave us depressed. What truths, what promises, has God given us that we can trust which will get us out of the pit?

What promises are you trusting?

Because Mary believed that God was going to do what he promised her, she was joyful.

“Blessing emerges from God’s abilities to bring his promises to completion, but to share the benefits we must be confident that God (will do) what He says.”34

Isn’t that the secret to true happiness this side of heaven? Believing that God will do what He says He will do?

How’s your faith these days? What promises are you clinging to?

But we never can prove the delights of His loveUntil all on the altar we lay;For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,Are for them who will trust and obey.Trust and obey, for there’s no other wayTo be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Well in verse 46 we come to the first of four songs of the incarnation in Luke’s gospel…

Dr. Luke seems to love music and he includes these songs to invite us to slow down and take in the meaning of it all. He doesn’t want us to rush to the manger—he wants us to linger awhile and meditate on all that God is doing in the lives of those associated with the salvation drama.

34 Bock12

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Mary’s song, the Magnificat is special. Follow along as I read it…

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.”

It’s been noted that Mary’s song is chock full of echoes from many of the psalms. And there are clear connections with Hannah’s song in I Samuel 2.35

Verse 46 Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord. She finds ample reason to magnify the Lord in worship.

The first reason is given in verse 48—God has been mindful of her humble situation. There’s no greater fuel for worship than the realization that God knows your and my situation in life, that he’s mindful of us, and that he’s powerful to intervene.

The second reason fueling Mary’s praise is in verse 49—God has done great things for her and He’s holy.

The third reason is in verse 50—God’s mercy is for those who fear him….from generation to generation.

So Mary actually celebrates three of God’s attributes in verses 49 and 50—His power, His holiness, and His mercy. Mary the quintessential disciple is a worshipper.

In verses 51-53, Mary celebrates God’s ability to radically change a believer’s circumstances—

He has shown strength with his arm, he scatters the proud

35 Bock, Luke, page 146

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He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estateHe has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty

God is able to intervene, intrude, and invert our circumstances.

In verses 54 and 55, Mary’s attention seems to contract once again and her attention is turned to the nation Israel specifically.

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.”

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What have we talked about this morning? We’ve suggested that Mary is way more than a wonderful, faithful mother but way less than a saint in heaven who can pray for us. We’ve suggested that she was the quintessential disciple.

She didn’t have a stunning pedigree –she was just a nobody from a nothing town in the middle of nowhere…. but she was faithful, available, and teachable.

She was quick to center her life around the word of God – meditating on the word and keeping it central in her life. She was always pondering the things of God in her heart.

She was quick to yield to the kingship of Christ…I am the servant of the Lord, she said, I yield my will to the Lord…and let it be to me according to his word.

Mary was blessed because she believed the promises that God made to her. Her life illustrated the truths of the hymn Trust and Obey.

And finally, she was quick to bust a gut in praise when she saw who God really was.

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Well there’s one more portrait of Mary I want to show to you. After Jesus rose from the dead, he stayed on earth 40 days with his followers. He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, the blessed Holy Spirit.

Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olivet, and the disciples returned to Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And I’m reading Acts 1:13-14…

13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

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Barry Metz 12/11/16

Mary the quintessential disciple.

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