The "Gospel" Before the Gospel
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. 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. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever." Luke 1:46-55, ESV.
In Mary's song we have what N. T. Wright calls "the gospel" before the gospel, a fierce bright shout of triumph thirty weeks before Bethlehem, thirty years before Calvary and Easter....It's all about God, and it’s all about revolution. And it's all because of Jesus--Jesus who's only just been conceived, not yet born, but who has made Elizabeth's baby leap for joy in her womb and has made Mary giddy with excitement and hope and triumph." Mary's song (often called the Magnificat) has been set to music with trumpets and kettledrums by Johann Sebastian Bach, whispered in the prayer closets of humble Christians around the world, and recited in countless church Christmas pageants. It is one of Christianity's most famous songs.
It is a song of God's power and the victory that He will achieve through the unborn child. Yet it doesn't tell the whole story. Mary has viewed the glory of the gospel but she has yet many things to learn as her child matures. He will be like a sword who pierces her soul (Luke 2:35). She will lose Him for three days when He is 12. Then she will question His mental balance when He is 30 and will utterly despair for three dark days in Jerusalem, perhaps wondering what went wrong and if she had been deceived. But beyond the fog and darkness of her clouded fears and thoughts will come Resurrection and Pentecost. Only then will she begin to see the whole picture of the baby she has conceived.
But for now her song echoes the Old Testament promises in nearly each of its words. Those covenant promises speak of a Savior who will make all things right, who will rescue His covenant people and turn this world upside down.
Oh God, like Mary of old, we do not see everything clearly. But like her, we rejoice in Your power and our salvation. We praise You today for what You have done, and doing, and will do in the future.
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. 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. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever." Luke 1:46-55, ESV.
In Mary's song we have what N. T. Wright calls "the gospel" before the gospel, a fierce bright shout of triumph thirty weeks before Bethlehem, thirty years before Calvary and Easter....It's all about God, and it’s all about revolution. And it's all because of Jesus--Jesus who's only just been conceived, not yet born, but who has made Elizabeth's baby leap for joy in her womb and has made Mary giddy with excitement and hope and triumph." Mary's song (often called the Magnificat) has been set to music with trumpets and kettledrums by Johann Sebastian Bach, whispered in the prayer closets of humble Christians around the world, and recited in countless church Christmas pageants. It is one of Christianity's most famous songs.
It is a song of God's power and the victory that He will achieve through the unborn child. Yet it doesn't tell the whole story. Mary has viewed the glory of the gospel but she has yet many things to learn as her child matures. He will be like a sword who pierces her soul (Luke 2:35). She will lose Him for three days when He is 12. Then she will question His mental balance when He is 30 and will utterly despair for three dark days in Jerusalem, perhaps wondering what went wrong and if she had been deceived. But beyond the fog and darkness of her clouded fears and thoughts will come Resurrection and Pentecost. Only then will she begin to see the whole picture of the baby she has conceived.
But for now her song echoes the Old Testament promises in nearly each of its words. Those covenant promises speak of a Savior who will make all things right, who will rescue His covenant people and turn this world upside down.
Oh God, like Mary of old, we do not see everything clearly. But like her, we rejoice in Your power and our salvation. We praise You today for what You have done, and doing, and will do in the future.
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