Fourth Sunday of Advent: The Magnificat
Luke 1:46-55 - As we approach the celebration of the birth of Jesus next week, it is fitting to ponder Mary’s song of praise to God.
Stained glass window detail of Mary visiting Elizabeth. Source unknown
“And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. 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 but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.””
Luke 1:46-55 NIV
As we near the week of Christmas, we’ll take a look at one of the more beautiful passages in the New Testament. Known as the Magnificat after the Latin translation of the original Greek (“Magnificat anima mea Dominum”), this holy song of Mary’s occurs spontaneously upon receiving a blessing from her cousin (and mother of John the Baptist) Elizabeth.
What does this passage, found only in the Gospel of Luke, tell us about Mary? More than anything, it tells us that she knew Scripture. Her words are similar to the song of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, and there are more than ten other references to phrases resembling this elsewhere in the Old Testament. Mary not only studied God’s Word, but she knew it intimately. 17th-century theologian John Trapp said of the Magnificat:
“It appears by the whole frame of this holy song, that the blessed Virgin was well versed in the Scripture, which she here makes so much use of in sundry passages…She had by her much reading made her bosom Bibliothecam Christi, Christ’s library, as a Father saith; and may seem to have been exercised in the good word of God from her infancy.”1
Mary was highly privileged to have this solid grounding in Scripture, and gifted in her ability to know and understand it. Especially after being visited by the angel Gabriel in her home town of Nazareth and being told “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,” (Luke 1:31-32), she knew that she was blessed, yet she wasn’t proud or self-congratulatory about that blessing. Instead, she did what every believer who has been blessed should do: she magnified (glorified) the Lord.
Later on in the first phrase of the Magnificat, Mary states that her “spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” These words are very important, as they show that Mary knows that she needs a Savior — like all of us, she was a sinner. This belies the Roman Catholic belief that after the Immaculate Conception, Mary was freed from Original Sin. This does not in the least taint her honor as the mother of Jesus. British Bible teacher G. Campbell Morgan said:
“Mary was a member of the sinning race…but the honour conferred on her was of the highest, and our thoughts of her, our language concerning her, should at least not lack the dignity and respect manifested in the word of Gabriel. Hers was the crown and glory of all Motherhood, and we should ever think and speak of her reverently.”2
The remainder of the Magnificat celebrates the goodness, faithfulness, and power of God. Through her words, Mary showed that it is futile to trust in one’s self, in political powers, or in riches. She put all of her trust in God, and that trust was rewarded with the highest honor ever bestowed on a human being.
Remember that at this point, Jesus was still in her womb and would not be born for many more months. Spurgeon’s comment on Mary’s joy and glorification of God is beautiful:
“Brothers, there are some of you who cannot even sing over a mercy when it is born, but here is a woman who sings over an unborn mercy.”3
Her blessing at being chosen to be the mother of Jesus would bring both incredible joy and intense sorrow. As William Barclay said,
“To Mary was granted the blessedness of being the mother of the Son of God…Yet that very blessedness was to be a sword to pierce her heart. It meant that some day she would see her son hanging on a cross.”4
As we approach the celebration of the birth of Jesus next week, it is fitting to ponder Mary’s song of praise to God.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Heavenly Father, with each day I grow even more awestruck at Your grace and mercy. Each new sunrise brings me more understanding of Your love towards me, which sparks a desire to glorify and magnify Your holy name with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. Thank You that you gave Your eternal Son to be born to Mary as Jesus, Savior of the world. I pray that You use me to share the wonders of Your saving grace to others, AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.
Trapp, John "A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments" Volume 5 (Matthew to Revelation) (Eureka, California: Tanski Publications, 1997)
Morgan, G. Campbell "Searchlights from the Word" (New York: Revell, 1926)
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)
Barclay, William "The Gospel of Luke" (The New Daily Study Bible) (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975)