The Mother Of Jesus Leads To The Father Of Mercy
Luke 1:26-56
Introduction
So far, during advent, we have been looking at hope and peace. We have done this from the early chapters of Luke’s gospel. Here we find hope and peace in the light of Christ, in the life of Christ, and in the love of Christ. This began when God spoke to Zechariah about his son John who would speak about hope and peace in the coming Christ. This brings us to Jesus who was born of Mary. Notice first from Luke 1:26-38 how…
Mary Leads Us To The Son (Vs.26-38)
Hail Mary full of grace
A familiar prayer in the Catholic Church is the Hail Mary. The first part of this prayer is from Luke 1:28, which says, “Hail Mary full of grace; the Lord is with thee.” Notice that Mary doesn’t give grace—she receives it! Luke 1:28 says she is full of grace or highly favoured.
Mary is highly favoured
In v26, the Angel Gabriel said to her, “Hail” or “Greetings.” This means to be full of joy. Verse 31 says the reason for this joy is that Mary would give birth to a son. His name would be Jesus, which means Jehovah shall save. In vs.32-33, five things are said about Jesus: He will be great; he will be called the Son of the Most High; the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom would never end.”
Mary responds in v34 by asking, “How will this be since I am a virgin?” This is not the same as Zechariah’s unbelief. For Mary, there was a moral problem, and this is answered in v35. The angel said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” This fulfils a messianic prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 that a virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel, which means God with us. Joseph hears a similar message in Matthew 1:20 when the angel said, “That which is conceived in Mary is of the Holy Spirit.”
For Jesus to be a sinless saviour, his conception had to be unique. This is why Hebrews 4:15 says, “We have a high priest who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet without sin.” Hebrews 7:26 says he is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners.
Hail anyone filled with grace
The conception of Jesus followed by his life, his death, and his resurrection helps people like us, who are born in sin, to be born again. When this happens, like Mary, we too receive the divine nature. For this to happen, we need God’s Spirit, and this leads to a further point. Mary not only leads us to the Son…
Mary Leads Us To The Spirit (Vs.39-45)
Blessed are you among women
The Hail Mary goes on to say, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb—Jesus.” This part of the prayer is from Luke 1:42 when Elizabeth said to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” Mary is blessed because she is to bring God’s Messiah into the world.
Filled with the Spirit and leaping for joy
Verse 39 says Mary hurried to share the news with her relative Elizabeth who was also pregnant. Hurried is a relative term because the hill country of Judah is about 80-100 miles from Nazareth. The journey would take about three days and wasn’t an easy commute! On arrival, Mary entered Zechariah’s home, and when Elizabeth heard her greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. The movement of babies in the womb is quite normal, but this is more than a physical movement. This is a movement of God!
Notice how the baby in Elizabeth’s womb responded to Mary’s greeting and not to Elizabeth. In v44 Elizabeth said, “As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” This affirms what was said about John in Luke 1:15 that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
The way to God’s blessing
In contrast to Zechariah, Elizabeth said in v45 that Mary was blessed because she believed that what the Lord said to her would be accomplished. One thing God seems to honour more than anything else is faith. Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “Everything is possible for those who believe.” One sure way to be blessed, therefore, is to believe in God. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own way of thinking; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will straighten your paths—he will clear the way ahead. It is not easy to believe in God today, but it is the only way to have hope and peace in a difficult world. This leads to a further point. Mary leads us to the Son and to the Spirit. Then in the Spirit, and through the Son…
Mary Leads Us To The Father (Vs.46-56)
Holy Mary quite contrary
The Catholic prayer to Mary goes on to say, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now and at the hour of our death, Amen.” This part of the prayer is not only contrary to Scripture; it is contrary to the Mary’s own testimony. In her song of praise in vs.46-55, Mary does not draw attention to herself but to God. She says, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, 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.”
Salvation for all
There is a twofold application in Mary’s response. In v49 she says, “The Mighty one has done great things for me.” In v50, she says this blessing is for all who fear him. This is developed further in vs.54-55 when Mary says, “He has remembered to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”
In vs.51-53, we see how God responds to those who do not follow Mary’s example of faith and humility. She says, “He has scattered those who are proud. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but sent the rich away empty.” Here God humbles the proud, the powerful, and the rich. Salvation is not in them but in the hands of the one who said, “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let them boast about this: that they understand and know the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
Let God be God
We should respond to this message by letting God be God, by letting his light shine into our darkness, and by letting righteousness and justice prevail. We can do this by reflecting on a final thought in v56. It says, “Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.” Imagine these two women rejoicing together as their babies are formed in the womb. Galatians 4:19 says, “My dear children, for whom I am in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.”
May we rejoice together as we observe Christ being formed in us by the Spirit. May we rejoice together as this reflection leads to hope and peace in God the Father, in God the Son, and in God the Holy Spirit.
Bernard Cartledge