Magnify God’s Mercy Incarnate – Luke 1:46–55

PRAY

Last week in the nativity narrative, we emphasized John’s birth announcement. We then proceeded to show, from that angelic message and from John’s subsequent ministry, that we are more like John the baptist than we might think. Similar to John, the saved are called to “make ready for the Lord a people prepared,” only now we are preparing ourselves and others for the universal King’s return—his second advent.

Today we will pick up at the birth announcement of Jesus in Luke’s gospel, but we’ll then focus our attention on Mary’s song in a response to God’s mercy. In it Mary magnifies God’s mercy incarnated in Christ Jesus.

Luke 1:26–56 ESV

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. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 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.” ³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. ³⁹ In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 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? ⁴⁴For 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.” 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.” ⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Mary magnifies God in humble recognition of his mercy. We must let Mary’s song lead us in right response to God’s mercy in Christ Jesus.

Like Mary, magnify God for his mercy incarnate.

Think with me for a moment about the meaning of God’s mercy. It will help us to reflect on the depth and richness of God’s mercy, highlighted in the nativity narrative. I was captivated this time studying through that both Mary’s song and Zechariah’s poetic prophecy center around God’s mercy in fulfilling his promises.

What is the meaning of mercy? “Specifically it designates that quality in God by which he faithfully keeps his promises and maintains his covenant relationship with his chosen people despite their unworthiness and unfaithfulness.” (Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible) “Prominent in the concept of mercy is the compassionate disposition to forgive an offender or adversary and to help or spare him in his sorry plight.”

Good mothers illustrate this kind of covenant mercy. No matter how impertinent and ungrateful her children, she compassionately cares for them still. Even in the midst of needed discipline for their good, her love is steadfast and her promises secure. So it is with God’s mercy toward the objects of his covenant love.

And just as a mother’s mercy is in fact greater depending on the level of offenses against her, how much more is God’s mercy toward us immeasurable! He is a God of infinite goodness and love and justice, and we a people of injustice and betrayal. Charles Spurgeon rightly exclaimed, “God's mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water, or deprive the sun of its light, or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.”

Today we make it our aim to magnify God for his mercy toward us, and especially in this supreme manifestation of his mercy: the incarnation of God the Son, who came to save his people from their sins.

From Mary’s song of praise that magnifies God for his mercy incarnate, I have four verbs for us this morning, that follow this theme in the text, to encourage appropriate response to God’s great mercy: Exalt, Experience, Examine, and Expect.

Like Mary’s song of praise does, our hearts and lives should… Exalt the Lord, humbly rejoicing in his saving mercy revealed in Jesus. Experience God’s mercy through accurately assessing our lowliness and God’s holiness. Examine our hearts and lives for arrogant self-sufficiency. Expect God to continue fulfilling his promises in Christ Jesus.

First, the theme and thrust of Mary’s song is in the initial praise that springs forth from a sincere heart. Let it be our theme as well.

Exalt the Lord, rejoicing in His saving mercy revealed in Jesus. (verses 46-47)

To magnify or to exalt is more literally to greatly extol God’s greatness, conceived of as enlarging it with praise. The glory God deserves is like a balloon that can never reach capacity. It cannot be outstretched to the point of bursting. We cannot over-praise God. If your every breath should be spent in exalting God, you will not yet have filled his glory enough to match his worth.

Like Mary, let the truth of God’s mercy welling up in your soul enlarge God’s glory with praise. Greatly extol God’s greatness.

And for what, again, is Mary extolling God? What is it that God has placed in her mind’s eye to cause her to be overjoyed (to be extremely joyful, to rejoice exceedingly)? It is God’s saving mercy that he is now revealing in the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.

We know this is the case because Mary call God her Savior, responding to what the angel revealed, and to what Elizabeth confirmed by the Holy Spirit.

Gabriel told Mary (v. 31), as he would also tell Joseph (Mt 1:21), that she would conceive and bear a son, and that they were to give him the name Jesus. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, meaning “the Lord is salvation.” This child was to be given a name that means Savior. So too, the angel confirmed to Mary that this child was to be truly unique (v. 32): “the Son of the Most High,” a clear reference to his exalted, divine status. And there could be no question that this was the promised Messiah (32-33): “the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

When Mary went to meet and congratulate her older cousin Elizabeth, the Lordship of the child in Mary’s womb was twice confirmed by the Holy Spirit, through the forerunner in Elizabeth’s womb and from the mouth of Elizabeth. Luke 1:41–43 “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?”

Mary received all of this truth about the identity of the child in her womb, and so she rejoiced exceedingly like John rejoiced in Elizabeth’s womb. God remembered his mercy, and the saving God had sent a Savior, who is both Lord and Christ (Ac 2:36). Such was the same angelic message that was proclaimed to the shepherds on the night of his birth: Luke 2:11 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

And in what way is the advent of Jesus such great mercy toward us? Not only is he the fulfillment of former promises to a people who did not keep covenant with God, but in Christ Jesus God has mercifully made provision for meeting his perfect justice while offering forgiveness to sinners who deserve judgment. This is unmatched mercy, and cause for rejoicing in God and exalting his name.

For your soul to enlarge God’s greatness, for your spirit to be exceedingly joyful in God, you must dwell on God’s saving mercy in the Lord Jesus. Might we not also say that the life that magnifies God is one that rejoices in his saving mercy? And again, if you desire to magnify God and rejoice in him, seek to know more of his saving mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The remaining things that Mary says are really in support of this first exclamation. But from the remaining lines we can derive further application for responding to the mercy which is the cause for extolling God’s greatness.

So we see through Mary that we too can…

Experience God’s mercy by accurately assessing your lowliness and God’s holiness. (verses 48-50)

Notice for Mary how personal this experience is of God’s mercy. “my soul magnifies” and “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” In spite of the personal nature of the application, this is not what we would label a man-centered song. And why not? Because it is right theology which informs right anthropology. It is a true estimation of God which causes Mary to accurately assess herself in response to God’s mercy.

Mary’s understanding heart reflects a humility, that God has looked on the lowliness of his servant (that word humble estate means lowliness). She is but the humble slave, the humble bondservant of God. And yet God’s grace has come to her in such a way that from now on all generations will call her blessed. And isn’t that the truth!

Notice then again that she has an accurate, high view of God. It is he who is mighty and has done these great things, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. Who are those who respond rightly to God?

A true fear of God recognizes one’s deep need for mercy in light of God’s holiness and his might (power and authority) to punish or to mercifully deliver. [repeat] There is a believing obedience that must necessarily accompany rightly fearing God and responding to his mercy. In verse 38 we saw that Mary’s faith led her to not focus on the complicatedness of what her life would become, but on humble obedience. Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

So too Elizabeth reminded Mary of the blessing of such believing obedience. Luke 1:45 “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Genuine faith produces a humble heart that obeys. We too can experience God’s mercy personally if we see God rightly in his holiness, and ourselves rightly in our lowliness, and respond in a humble faith that obeys.

Now the converse of this humility is also evident in Mary’s song, reminding us to…

Examine your heart and life for arrogant self-sufficiency. (verses 51-53)

How often does scripture warn the haughty of heart! Here is just a sampling:

Psalm 138:6 “For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.”

Proverbs 3:34 “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.”

Matthew 23:12 “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

As one who is responding to God’s mercy, Mary also highlights those who ignore God’s mercy. They are arrogant, and they trust in their own power and riches. She further describes the judgment that results from disregarding God’s mercy. The judgment here is being be scattered from God, being pulled down from power, and being sent away empty.

God in his righteous strength scatters the proud and pulls down the powerful from their thrones. The self-sufficient he sends away empty.

Whether immediately or in the final judgment, God scatters the proud like he scattered mankind at the tower of Babel. Those who trust in their own sufficiency he will send away empty… where, in selfish anger and eternal regret, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

By contrast, Mary says again, in his strength God keeps the humble near to him, he exalts the humble, and he fills hungry with what is truly good. These are the ones humbly responding to God’s mercy, and whom he is teaching to hunger for righteousness.

In our pride and self-reliance, we are like a ship that sets its course directly against the wind of God’s worth and will. The wind cannot lie; its direction is set by the holy purposes of a holy God. No matter how many sails we hoist, we will, in our foolish arrogance, be driven further from God. 

So examine your heart and life for the arrogant self-sufficiency that is betraying you. Such honesty about your character and condition is necessary for your salvation, and a humble view of your need continues to be essential for your sanctification.

We have discussed exalting God for his mercy, experiencing God’s mercy by a fear of God that acknowledges his holiness and my lowliness, and examining our hearts for a proud self-reliance that will cause us to miss out on mercy. Finally, we can expect God to fulfill his merciful promises.

Expect God to finish fulfilling his merciful promises in Christ. (verses 54-55)

Mary believes this child in her womb is the promised Messiah fulfilling centuries of hope in the covenant-keeping God. Luke 1:54–55 “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

The prophetic words of Zechariah after John’s birth have a similar confident expectation that God is mercifully fulfilling his promises—the Messiah has come!

Luke 1:68–69 ESV

⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people ⁶⁹ and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

Luke 1:72 ESV

⁷² to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,

And then as he prophecies that John will go before this Lord to prepare his ways, Zechariah again adds that this is…

Luke 1:78–79 ESV

⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high ⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Why is mercy such an emphasis in God fulfilling is promises? Because the point is that God acting on our behalf is according to his mercy and not according to our merit. The only merit for salvation is Christ’s. 

Throughout the old covenant, God’s mercy is magnified in fulfilling his covenant promises to and through an unfaithful people. In the new covenant, God’s mercy is magnified in creating and preserving a people that he makes faithful to carry on Christ’s mission.

So again, in faith Mary expects God to do as he has promised. We similarly expect certain things even in daily life from persons and institutions that prove themselves trustworthy. You expect a paycheck on certain Fridays, unless or until your employer should give you cause for concern. And you expect the bank to hold your money and keep it safe. You even trust in the federal insurance to protect your deposit, that if said bank should do something stupid and go belly up, your financial investment should not be lost.

How much more trustworthy is God! With him there is no variation or shifting shadow of change (Jam 1:17). God is perfect in consistency; whatever he says he will do. You can therefore expect, with full confidence, that the Triune God will finish all his promises that have found their yes and amen in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 1:20). 

God will complete his merciful promises, because he has already begun their fulfillment when his mercy became incarnate. God the Son took on human flesh and died for our sin and rose again.

For Christians, Christmas is a celebration of God’s mercy incarnate. We celebrate God the Son coming to earth in human flesh. Do not let your soul miss this meaning of Christmas… this meaning of the incarnation: a merciful God fulfilling his promises to an undeserving people.

Has God’s mercy incarnate captivated your soul?

A first essential application we must make is…

• To know God is to understand and embrace his mercy in Christ Jesus.

Paul says to Titus, (Titus 3:4–5) “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy…” [repeat]

From John 17:3 we hear Christ say that to know God is to know Jesus Christ whom God sent. From the nativity narrative in Luke we add, “whom God sent as his mercy incarnate.”

If you do not yet know that salvation in Jesus is all a mercy from God, and none of your merit, then you do not yet know God. When you know you are undeserving, then you are ready to humbly cast yourself on the mercy of God offered to you in Christ Jesus. It is in such a humble state, like Mary, that you commit to him as Lord. 

• Find comfort from God not in your merit, but in His mercy.

Spurgeon again: “The Lord's mercy often rides to the door of our heart upon the black horse of affliction.” And when I am suffering in my soul, I feel unworthy of blessing. If I will meditate not on my situation and self but on God’s mercy, it will be to me a balm that soothes my suffering soul. What’s more, perhaps I will find trust in God that at this time and for his purpose, the affliction itself is a mercy from God, that I will know more of his goodness to me in Christ Jesus.

• Recipients of such great mercy must be instruments of mercy.

Assurance of saving faith is not found in my worthiness, but in the mercy of God to fulfill his promise. However, what gives us greatest assurance is that we are becoming like Jesus. To be like Jesus—mercy incarnate—God’s mercy must instigate mercy toward others.

So again, has God’s mercy incarnate captivated your soul? You know that something or someone has captivated your attention when your thoughts are frequently consumed with him, when your emotional yearning is for him, when your plans are constrained your relationship to him, and you can’t help but speak about his qualities to others.

Because of God’s mercy incarnate in the Lord Jesus Christ, may we sing with Mary this Christmas, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

PRAY

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