Sunday, January 6, 2019 – Luke 1:46-50
The Announcement of the Birth of the Son of Man to Mary,
Pt. 8,
Mary's Great Proclamation of Joy in the Messiah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4ucx9bm-f0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4ucx9bm-f0
Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard
The
Gospel of Luke
II. The Identification of the Son of Man
with Men, Luke 1:5-4:13.
B. The Announcement of the Birth of the Son
of Man, Luke 1:26-56.
Vs. 46-56
In these
passages, there are 20 or so discernable OT quotations and allusions. It shows
how much Mary knew of her Scriptures and how cherished they were in her home.
She blends quotations and allusions to Messianic psalms and OT prophecy. In
addition, this is very similar to the great exaltation of Hannah, the mother of
the prophet Samuel, found in 1 Sam
2:1-10. In vs. 46, we see a
quote from Psa 34:2-3.
Psa 34:2-3, “My soul will make its
boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice. 3O magnify
the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.” Cf. Psa 35:27; 69:30.
These
passages are typically called “the Magnificat,” from the first word found in
the Latin translation of this great exaltation by Mary, “Magnificat anima mea
Dominum,” that comes from the Greek word for “exalt,” which is the Present, Active, Indicative of the verb
MEGALUNO, μεγαλύνω that can be translated, “magnify, enlarge, lengthen, extol,
magnify, make great, or praise.” This word is used in vs. 58, for “displayed,” and is also used in Mat 23:5; Acts 5:13; 10:46; 19:17; 2 cor 10:15; Phil 1:20. It is related
to the Greek word MEGAS for “great” and is used in the NT for, “to extol,
magnify,” e.g., “to make great by word, or to acclaim.” So, it means, “to
praise a person in terms of that individual’s (God’s) greatness.”
Therefore,
this is a praise psalm where God is to be praised and the reason for that
praise is given in what is said. Personal reasons appear in vs. 46-49, while in vs. 50-56, corporate reasons applying
to certain types of people are noted. In this praise, we see three recipients
of blessings, 1) Mary, vs. 46-49, 2)
All of mankind, vs. 50-53, 3)
Israel, vs. 54-55. The main reason
for this praise is that God is honoring His covenant.
As such, Mary
is exalting or magnifying “the Lord,”
KURIOS, within her “soul,” PSUCHE,
which is now being expressed verbally. Hers was a joy that compelled her to
lift her voice in this hymn of praise. The fullness of the Spirit should lead
to joyful praise in our lives too, Eph
5:18-20, and so should the fullness of God’s Word in your Soul, Col 3:16-17.
In vs. 47, we see quotes from Psa 35:9; Hab 3:18, that completes the
thought began in the previous verse. See also Psa 24:5; 25:5; Isa 12:2; Micah 7:7. Here, we have the word “rejoice,” which is the Aorist,
Active, Indicative of the Verb AGALLIAO, ἀγαλλιάω that means, “rejoice, be
overjoyed, exult.”
Habakkuk 3:18, “Yet I will exult in
the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.”
Luke also
used this verb in Luke 10:21, as our
Lord Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit as He exalted God the Father. As a later Hellenistic
word it meant, “to rejoice exceedingly,” and only being used in the Bible, it
primarily means, “religious exuberance” and denotes “rejoicing” to the fullest
extent, cf. Acts 2:26; John 8:56.
Exceeding joy
is the mark of the people of God, despite the fact that they may be
experiencing persecution and hardship, and this type of joy is based upon
confidence, faith, and trust in God, Mat
5:12; 1 Peter 1:6, 8; 4:13.
1 Peter 4:13, “But to the degree that
you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the
revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”
It is also
linked to rejoicing exceedingly because of the fulfillment of eschatological
expectation and hope, Rev 19:7.
Like the Lord
Jesus in Luke 10:21, Mary was filled
with the Holy Spirit and accomplishes this rejoicing from her human spirit,
PNEUMA. Both these terms, PSUCHE and PNEUMA are used throughout Scripture as
expressions for the entire person. Therefore, we see Mary fulfilling the OT,
and NT, command to “love the Lord with all our soul and body,” Luke 10:27; Duet 6:5; Lev 19:18.
Luke 10:27, “And he answered, ‘You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
The object of
Mary’s rejoicing also notes her personal statement of faith and trust by
proclaiming, “God my Savior,” THEOS
MOU HO SOTER. In Hannah’s song, He is “YHWH’s King”; in Mary’s song, He is my
Savior. Mary recognized her son to be her Lord and Savior. And, as such, she is
not any different than the rest of fallen humanity, all of whom need Jesus the
Savior.
This phrase,
“God my Savior,” is used 6 other
times in the NT, 1 Tim 1:1; 2:3-4; Titus
1:3; 2:10; 3:4; Jude 1:25. It declares God as the savior of all men. This
emphasizes the Plan of God the Father for our salvation, and the Deity of Jesus
Christ who became man to provide us with salvation. The salvation for all of
mankind is found only in and by God.
Luke 2:11, “For today in the city of
David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
1 John 4:14, “We have seen and testify
that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”
In vs. 48, we see quotes from Psa 138:6 and Gen 30:13. Here, Mary once again shows tremendous humility as a
willing “bondservant,” DOULE, cf. vs. 38, by noting her “humble state” TAPEINOSIS, as a young
unknown maiden of the insignificant town of Nazareth in Galilee, who would
become the virgin mother of the promised Savior as prophesized in Isa 7:14. God is close to the broken
and the lowly.
She also
recognizes Elizabeth’s prophecy that Mary would be “blessed among women,” in vs.
42. But here, Mary takes it a step further and states that all people with
bless her for all generations. In vs. 42,
“blessed,” was the verb EULOGEO, meaning “spoken well of, praised, extolled,”
and in vs. 45, she was “blessed,”
using the noun MAKARIOS for the good fortune, guidance, and protection God
would give to her during her hardships of
carrying and raising the Savior. Here, we have a cognate, the verb
MAKARIZO in the Future, Active, Indicative that means, “to pronounce happy,
blessed, or fortunate,” and “to congratulate someone.” It really consolidates
the first two “blessed” into one. It is the praise she receives because of
God’s watchful care, i.e., grace being in her life. Therefore, Mary’s words of
praise are her recognition of God’s watchful, BLEPO, care over her life.
MAKARIZO is only used here and in James
5:11.
James 5:11, “We count those blessed
who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome
of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”
This also
reminds us of Leah’s plight when she stopped bearing children and God blessings
her with two more sons through Zilpah, Gen
30:13. So, MAKARIZO gives us the sense that all men will recognize God’s
blessing and favor upon Mary and will congratulate her, holding her in high
esteem.
In vs. 49, we see quotes from Psa 24:8; Zeph 3:17, as Mary extols two
attributes of God’s Deity that have been applied to her in grace.
1) He is the
Mighty One, DUNATOS meaning, “having power, mighty, etc.” This is His
Omnipotence. This reminds us of the principle found in Luke 18:27, “But He said, ‘The things that are impossible with people
are possible with God.” In the OT, God’s might, from Hebrew term
GIBBOR, is described in terms of His actions as warrior/king carried out on
behalf of His people, Psa 24:8.
Psa 24:8, “Who is the King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle.”
Mary sees her
event as another example of God’s mighty hand working in behalf of His people.
2) His name
is Holy, HAGIOS means, “holy, consecrated, perfect, pure, etc.” This is His
holiness, and reminds us of who God and Jesus Christ are, cf. vs 35; Luke 4:34. Finally, God’s “name” ONOMA is, according to the common
ancient meaning, His whole reputation or character.
In vs. 50, we see an allusion to Psa 103:17, and a third attribute noted,
“mercy,” ELEOS, ἔλεος that means,
“mercy, compassion, sympathy, or pity.” We will see God’s faithfulness in vs. 54-55. ELEOS is further used in
this narrative in vs. 54, 58, and is
used of the Lord by Zachariah in vs. 72,
78.
ELEOS is a
response to someone else’s condition of distress. It is the Lord’s activity on
behalf of His people is rooted in His compassion and mercy. Therefore, it means
God’s response to our condition of distress being under sin and its penalty of
death. It is the expression of God’s covenant love. Having mercy upon man, God
did something about our distress by sending His Son to save the world from
their sin. This is what Mary is proclaiming here. And she states, this mercy “is upon generation after generation”,
GENEA KAI GENEA, cf. Psa 103:17.
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.”
Mary then
notes the recipients of this mercy, “toward
those who fear Him,” even though it is available to all. “Fear” is the Verb PHOBEO, that means,
“fear, be afraid, become terrified; worship, reverence, respect.” It is the
heartfelt awe and reverence of God that is essential to the Christian faith. It
means we believe in Him and His Word and respond to it. Those who do, receive
His mercy, the salvation of their souls, because God’s mercy reached down to
our time and place.
2 Sam 22:3, “My God, my rock, in whom
I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my
refuge; My savior, You save me from violence.”
2 Sam 22:47, “The LORD lives, and
blessed be my rock; and exalted be God, the rock of my salvation.”
Psa 24:5, “He shall receive a blessing
from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
Micah 7:7, “But as for me, I will
watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God
will hear me.”
Titus 3:4-6, “But when the kindness of
God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done
in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration
and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
2 Peter 1:11, “For in this way the
entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be
abundantly supplied to you.”
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