relationship (Luke 1:46-56) Being Blessed

(Luke 1:46-56)

46 And Mary said:
     “My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has had regard for the humble state of His bond-servant;
     For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
     And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is to generation after generation 
     Toward those who fear Him.
51 He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
     He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
     And has exalted those who were humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
     And sent the rich away empty-handed.
54 He has given help to His servant Israel,
     In remembrance of His mercy,
55 Just as He spoke to our fathers,
     To Abraham and his descendants forever.”

56 Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Later I’ll dissect the traits of a faithful follower that Mary describes here.  But first, we should establish some facts.  While we do know that Mary was a righteous woman- meaning- she was a believer- that is all.  A lot of people then and now consider Mary “blessed”, as if she was/is somehow extra super human.  Many people even pray to her, thinking that she can somehow tell the Lord Jesus what to do, as if she, as well as the apostles, are able to act as mediators.  But we are told to only pray to the Lord God!…

(1 Timothy 2:5)  For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus.

For Jesus to be born in flesh, to be fully man, while still being fully God, Mary provided “the human aspect”.  Even as a believer, she still was not perfect.  We see her fretting and angry at Jesus when He was twelve years old, and they realized that He was “missing”.  Just like it is easy for us to start taking the Lord for granted, and start drifting away from Him, and then wonder where He is and why He isn’t helping us do what we want. 

As well, we see the brothers of Jesus convince Mary to help speak to Him about “toning down” His ministry.  The brothers, who were not believers at the time, probably thought- if anyone can convince Jesus to stop what He’s doing, it’s Mom!  But Jesus was not impressed with that…

(Matthew 12:46–50, [Mark 3:31–35])  While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. ⁴⁷ [Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] ⁴⁸ But Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

(Luke 8:21)  :…My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

Okay, so now let’s go over these words of Mary.  In these words, which are spoken and written down with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can learn and understand what the traits of believers are, which is- to have a personal relationship with the Lord God. 

And here I want to add something interesting.  Over the years, I’ve heard a few women say, “If the Bible had been written by women, it would be completely different.”  Well, let me say- it would be exactly the same!  Because the Bible is God-breathed!  These are the inerrant words of God.  God chose to use men, for the most part, to write the words down.  And here, we actually have a woman “writing” part of the Bible.  And this “song” echoes the song of Hannah (in 1 Samuel 2:1-20).  So, when we see women imparting words of wisdom in the Bible- it still all fits!  There are no contradictions!  These are NOT Mary’s words, these are God-inspired words.

Now to dissect these words, which describe how to become a believer, and what a believer’s relationship with the Lord looks like. 

Because God is holy, He cannot have a relationship with sin.  But, we all start off as sinners, who are “rich” (seeing ourselves as self-sufficient), and proud (determined to be self-reliant)… not wanting or seeing our need for the Lord in our lives.  And if one continues in this sinful state- there will be a day when God will judge a person according to their sins.  And they will spend eternity in a place void of God.

Understand that the Lord desires to have a close relationship with all people.  This is why He came to earth in flesh to accomplish His work on the cross!  In order to offer us His free gift of salvation to all people, which is the forgiveness of sins, to cover us with His righteousness, and give us eternal life.  So, as in verse 48, He has regard for those who sincerely humble their heart- realizing their need for Him, as their Savior.  His mercy is for those who fear Him, which is to be in awe of, and to revere Him.  And He fills the hungry- those who ardently crave and seek after Him with eager desire. 

Now for the traits of a believer, which we receive from the Lord in our relationship with Him.  He fills the hungry with good things, which includes immediately sealing us with His indwelling Holy Spirit of promise.  Therefore, our relationship with Him is forever- eternal- everlasting!  So, we can never lose the Holy Spirit or our salvation, but we can quench the Spirit.  And so, the closer we draw to Him, the more we are filled with His Spirt.  And desiring to live in His will, we will desire to be His servant- His humble bond-servant.  Mary experienced being “blessed”- as being fortunate and happy because of the great things God had done in her life and was going to do.  Just so, God will bless us, protect us, help us and exalt us.  In this, we will rejoice and exalt the Lord God our Savior!