Magnify the Lord with Me

Luke 1:46–56

Main Idea: Our greatest joy is found when we magnify God through our satisfaction in Christ

Luke 1:26-45: In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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. In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

“Luke included these lyrics because he understood that the gospel is and must be a musical. What God has done in Christ demands to be praised. It is not enough simply to say what God has done to save us—what he has done needs to be celebrated in song … This is exactly what the Magnificat does. It is written in the form of a poem; since poetry is a heightened form of expression, it forces us to slow down. And when we slow down, we are able to savor and celebrate the salvation we have in Christ. Mary’s poem is a psalm that leads us into praise.”
~ Philip Ryken, The Incarnation in the Gospels

I. God’s Grace Satisfies (1:46-50)

Luke 1:46-50: And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

Mary’s song is:

Bible Saturated: Every line in the Magnificat either quotes or alludes to verses from Genesis, Deuteronomy, 1 & 2 Samuel, Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.
Whole-Hearted: The phrase “my soul and my spirit” in verses 46 and 47 indicates a whole person down to their inner being.
Personal: She refers to God as “my savior,” meaning this was not mere information about God but personal.
God-Centered: The song is remarkably God centered, focusing on He has, or He is (11x). Even when Mary refers to herself as being called blessed, it is in relation to what God has done for her.

Colossians 3:15-17: And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

II. God’s Ways Satisfy (1:51-53)

Luke 1:51-53: He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

“When the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords came into this world, he came into a stable. If you do not feel a sense of holy laughter within you, I do not see that you have a right to think that you are a Christian. Thank God, this is gospel, this is salvation. God turning upside down, reversing everything we have ever thought, everything we have taken pride in. The mighty? Why, he will pull them down from their seats. He has been doing so. He is still doing so. Let any man arise and say he is going to govern, to be the god of the whole world; you need not be afraid —he will be put down. Every dictator has gone down; they all do. Finally, the devil and all that belong to him will go down to the lake of fire and will be destroyed forever. The Son of God has come into the world to do that."
~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Bringing Down the Mighty”

III. God’s Promise Satisfies (1:54-56)

Luke 1:54-56: He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

For each of us, there is only one way to God: it is faith in Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Jesus said: John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Therefore, Hebrews 10:19 would tell us that the only confidence we have to approach God is in and through the blood of Jesus, which our sins required. In this little song, Mary is expressing all of that.

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.