See again how this Gentile writer stresses so much the role of Israel in God’s plans!
1. Word of Elizabeth—Luke 1:39-45
a. Mary Visits Cousin Elizabeth—Luke 1:39 "Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
(1) With haste—to share the good news with Elizabeth, and also to compare notes about God’s miraculous acts in their lives.
(2) The city is not named, but it is likely the city of Hebron. Josh 21:9-13
b. John’s Reaction— 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; ….44 "For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
(a) This is very curious, but also very real and very highly stressed. These are not throw away words. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb reacted to the baby (embryo) in Mary’s womb. How? How could he?
(b) Maybe God knows more about babies than we do
(c) God can do whatever He wants to do whenever He wants to do it.
(i) Psa 115:3 "But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases."
(ii) Psa 135:6 "Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places."
(d) God made a donkey talk, He has made the lame walk and the blind see. He has parted the Red Sea—Is anything too hard for Him?
c. What John’s reaction teaches us about The human fetus:
(1) Life begins at conception—Mary had only just conceived, but she is already the “ Mother of my Lord.”
(2) The Human Fetus can experience and express joy.
(3) The Human Fetus can experience spiritual illumination and life—
(a) Luke 1:15 ”… He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.”
(b) Jer 1:5 ""Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.""
d. Elizabeth’s Reaction-- and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit……..43 "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
(1) The Holy Spirit ministered special Grace to Elizabeth just for this moment—He took control of her.
(2) She had special humility—“Why…?”
(3) She had special spiritual insight. This is all due to the illuminating work of the Spirit.
(a) It was revealed to her that Mary was expecting.
(b) It was revealed to her that Mary was expecting the Messiah—“The Mother of my Lord….”
e. the mother of my Lord…
(1) Mary is not called “the one who will be mother of my Lord…”
(2) Mary is not called “potentially the mother of the One who will potentially be my Lord…..”
(3) Mary is already “the Mother of my Lord,” because the Incarnation had already taken place, and the embryo in her womb was already the God-man, the Lord of Elizabeth (and everyone else too).
f. Elizabeth’s Prophecy—42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ……45 "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."
(1) 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice—Elizabeth had kept her own pregnancy quiet for five months. She had been shy about it. But now, with the Savior present “in utero,” Elizabeth gives way to ecstatic joy, and she proclaims the Truth loud enough for all to hear.
(2) and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb
(i) God has blessed you, Mary
(ii) Your Fruit is the best Fruit ever
(iii) And AGAIN—not blessed will be the fruit of your womg—but blessed IS the fruit of your womb.
(3) 45 "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." God will keep all the promises He has made to Mary.
2. Mary Gives All the Glory to God not herself.
a. She is humble toward herself, and breathless in praise of God—"And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
(1) Magnifies— to make (or declare) great, i.e. increase or (fig.) extol:--enlarge, magnify, shew great. Mary praises the greatness of God. Psa 34:2 "My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad."
(a) She makes no claim for herself
(b) She does not boast in herself
(c) She boasts only in God.
(2) Rejoice in the SAVIOR
(a) Psa 35:9 "And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; It shall rejoice in His salvation."
(b) Hab 3:18 "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation."
(3) Mary Knows What She Is—God my Savior—Mary is a sinner saved by Grace
(4) All have sinned, and there are not any who are righteous (Rom 3:10-12)
(5) Salvation is by Grace alone through faith alone.
(6) If God is her Savior, then she must be a sinner who has been saved by grace through faith.
b. God my Savior—This tells us:
(1) God is the Savior
(2) Conversely the Savior (the babe in her womb) is Jehovah God in flesh. Isa 43:11 "I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior."
(3) 1 Tim 1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,"
(4) 1 Tim 2:3 "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,"
(5) Titus 1:3 "but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;"
(6) Titus 2:10 "not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things."
(7) Titus 3:4 "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,"
(8) Jude 1:25 "To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen."
c. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
(1) Psa 138:6 "Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar."
(2) “Blessed Mary”—For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. Again, this does not make Mary some special Holy Being. God blessed Mary, not because of what she was, but in spite of what she was!
(3) Luke 11:27 "And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!""
(4) Luke 11:28 "But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!""
“This has the sense of “Yes, but rather…” While not denying the blessedness of Mary, Christ did not countenance any tendency to elevate Mary as an object of veneration. Mary’s relationship to Him as His physical mother did not confer on her any greater honor than the blessedness of those who hear and obey the word of God.” (MacArthur Study Bible, page 1537)
(5) But far too many have confused “blessed” with “special” or sinless.
(6) “Blessed” is a passive thing. If we receive a blessing from God:
(a) It is not earned, else it would be something due to us, not a blessing.
(b) God has initiated the blessing because of His plan and His will, not because of any merit in us—as human beings, we don’t possess any merit, and cannot produce any.
Isa 64:6 "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away."
3. The Word of Mary
a. What is important is God’s Person—49 For He who is mighty
(1) She looks to the mighty one, El Shaddai of Israel—Gen 17:1 "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless."
(2) Psa 91:1 "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
b. What is important is God’s Work— has done great things for me
c. The Almighty—El Shaddai—is the Name of God often associated with special blessings, fruitfulness, provision. Gen 28:3 ""May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples;"
(1) Gen 35:11 "Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body."
(2) Gen 48:3 "Then Jacob said to Joseph: "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me,"
(3) Gen 49:25 "By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb."
(4) But El Shaddai is also associated with judgment, and with trials (Job uses the Name often), and as Mary will discover, her baby is going to judge, and He is going to be judged, and she will undergo agony and trial.
d. The Name that is Holy is God’s Name—And holy is His name. Psa 111:9 "He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name."
Isa 6:1-3 "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!""
Rev 4:8 "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!""
(1) It is not Mary who is Holy, it is God, it is the special One Who she carries.
(2) No mere man, no mere woman, is Holy except as God has made them Holy by His grace.
e. What Sinners need is God’s Mercy—50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. Exo 34:6 "And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,"
(1) And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. She praises God’s mercy, as anyone who had received mercy would do.
(2) And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. Fear, reverence, honor, respect—
Psa 103:17 "But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children,"
And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation
(3) Faith is not inherited, but it can be a legacy.
f. The Only Praise to sing is praise of God— Mary’s Psalm—51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 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 seed forever."
(1) This Psalm of praise reminds us of Hannah’s Song. Hannah was likewise the recipient of a miracle child (though from natural generation, not supernatural). 1 Sam 2:1-10
(2) Mary’s song shows her great knowledge of Holy Scripture.
(3) But Mary’s Song is also a prophecy of Her Child’s Work—she, like Abraham, believes in the Almighty: Rom 4:17 "…. Him whom he believed; God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;"
(4) 51 He has shown strength with His arm; God has demonstrated His Deity by doing great things. In the Life to be lived by Mary’s Child (Heaven’s Child), He will bare His arm of power often.
(5) He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
(6) God has certainly done this in the past, and he will certainly do this again.
Psa 33:10 "The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect."
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
(7) Christ will do both of these, spiritually as well as physically.
(8) 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
(9) At long last, Israel’s Messiah has come. At long last, God’s remnant will see Him.
(10) 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever."—Her baby is both the recipient and fulfillment of all the promises—He is the Seed of Abraham.
Gal 3:16 "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ."
4. Applications
Doctrinal—those who make Mary to be something she is not insult her as well as God. She knows the score, and she tells us here.
Doctrinal—Jesus is God. His deity is directly declared by Mary (God My Savior), and every word of her song of praise confirms it.
Mary and Elizabeth show an outstanding example of Christian fellowship in trying times.
Mary especially shows us the wonderful grace of humility.
Mary especially shows us what a comfort there is in a thorough knowledge of the Bible.
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