Two Special People Luke 1:39-56 Mary must have known about Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy even though they lived seventy miles apart. They were related in some way, so it would seem natural for Mary, who was also miraculously pregnant, to see her older relative, who shared a similar experience with God. Before either child was born, the two special people, one too old to naturally have a child and the other a young teenage virgin who was going to have a child, would have had a lot to talk about. In all the people in this part of Luke’s narrative: the two women, two men, and two unborn sons, the Holy Spirit was doing His unique work.
The Holy Spirit “overshadowed” Mary and conceived the Son of Man. When Elizabeth heard Mary's voice, the Holy Spirit gave her supernatural insight to pronounce Mary the mother of her Lord. John was moved to leap even while in Elizabeth's womb and be filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth. The Holy Spirit moved Mary to put Old Testament scriptures into a poetic sequence, creating a beautiful spiritual song.
In that song, words are similar to verses written hundreds of years ago. Verse 46 is similar to 1Samuel 2:1. Verse 47 is a quotation from Psalm 35:9. Verse 48 reads much like Psalm 138:6. Psalm 126:2-3; 71:19; 99:3 and 111:9 resonate with the words of verse 49. Verse 50 comes from Psalm 103:17. Verse 51 is closely connected to Psalm 98:1 and Psalm 118:15. Verse 52 takes us back to Hannah’s praise in 1Samuel 2:7-8 and verse 53 to 1Samuel 2:5. Verse 54 and Psalm 98:3 is similar. It would have been significant to the Gentile readers of Luke’s Gospel to see the uniqueness of Mary’s traditional Jewish dignity in putting God's characteristics into words.
She rejoiced in her own salvation that God would give her through her child, Jesus. She made clear statements about God’s power, holiness, and mercy. His mercy contrasted those who fear God to those who are proud. Then, there are the contrasts between the lowly and the mighty and the hungry and the rich. We rejoice with Mary in what God has done for us personally and in His love toward all who fear Him.
God fulfilled His promise to Abraham to be merciful to His people when the “promised seed” would come. Mary understood that her child, Jesus, was God's promised Messiah. She knew the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ from before His birth and would not have been surprised when He announced that He was the Christ – the Messiah at the end of His ministry. Mary’s child was “the seed” promised to Israel and the world. The righteousness of faith that comes to us by God’s grace is to all. Abraham was the father of faith to all who believe that through the “seed of the woman” and the “faith seed” of Abraham, the light had come into the world to shine into the hearts of all in darkness.
In her song of praise, Mary thanked God for His goodness to her and His mercy to those who believe in Him. She knew that God’s promises to His people would come to pass through the son born to her. Mary’s faith when she took God at His word makes her an important and special person in this narrative. She is a model of faith, even though she was still young.
God is willing to use anyone whose faith is in Him to fulfill His work and will. Social position is not important when working for the Lord of the universe. God has chosen the weak people to confound the mighty. He uses the humble and the hungry, the meek and the poor, to do what He empowers them to accomplish. The powerful and arrogant are sent away empty because they trust in themselves rather than in the Lord. It is meek who will inherit the earth. Status and privilege have no value in the new regime that has come through Mary’s child and will be established under the reign of the Messiah of Israel. The first will be last and the last first.
In Mary's song, Jesus is described as the Mighty One who will overthrow all opposition. He is also described as the covenant-keeping One who loves and is faithful to His people. The final outcome of all He is and does for His chosen people is great blessings. Mary extolled God’s character, and His holiness challenged the values of the world system.
It is important to remember that Mary’s own situation should be considered when reading this story. We need to be reminded of our need for God’s salvation and its blessings to us in so many ways. Today, believers in Christ have unseen blessings we should speak of to those around us. Our world's social and political life is opposed to God's values. He intends us to live by faith and be guided by the holy standards of His righteousness. Sadly, even the religious practitioners of our day have stepped away from the infallible word of God in the scriptures to concentrate on the suitability of their religion to the wishes of an ungodly population. When we read biblical passages like Mary’s song, we will not get sidetracked by a “prosperity gospel” or modern religious inventions of people-pleasers.
Mary is an important figure in the Gospel message because the Son of Man came into the world to seek and save those who were lost in their sins through her when she was still a virgin. God’s redemptive plan included her role as “the seed of the woman” who would bruise the serpent’s head. She is still a model of faith, obedience, and foresight. Her insight and foresight in this song set her apart as one we owe gratitude and respect to.
When she returned to Nazareth, it would have been obvious she would have a child. Joseph, a righteous man who loved Mary, had much to consider because of the law of Moses to which he was committed. When God knew what he was thinking, He graciously sent an angel directly from heaven to tell him what was happening to Mary. As a man of faith, Joseph believed what God said, and, acting on the message he was given, he married Mary.
There are times in our lives when things are so different from what we expected that we hardly know what to do. When we are in doubt, it is best to take the time to wait quietly upon God, to pray in faith that God will give us the right answer, and when the will of God can be discerned, we can go ahead. It is with confidence in God that our faith becomes real to us and perhaps even to others. When we know the will of God and have his word confirmed to our souls, we can move forward in life to do what has been laid out before us.