20 Feb 2024
Verses 46-48 praise God for what He has done for Mary and reflect her own awe at being chosen to give birth to the Messiah.
Verses 49-50 focus our attention on attributes of God. God is mighty, powerful, holy and merciful.
Verses 51-53 reflect God’s eschatological commitment – a commitment foreshadowed by His choice of the ‘humble’ Mary to bear the Messiah. That eschatological commitment is also revealed in history as God has “brought down rulers from their thrones” (remember king Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylon empire; the Persian empire (even using king Cyrus to free the exiles); the Greek empire under Alexander the ‘great’; and in the context of Luke, the Roman empire would also be brought down). And in the process of bringing down rulers, God has “lifted up the humble”. Yet the past is merely a prelude to what God will do in the Messiah, turning the world upside down and rejecting the rich and welcoming the hungry (not just physically but also spiritually). Although God did not forget his covenant promises to his people (and Abraham); yet in the process of affirming his faithfulness to his people, he also did not forget the individual and his/her needs, choosing Mary in this case and also Zechariah and Elizabeth (who desired a child) and also Anna and Simeon who were given the privilege subsequently to see the baby Jesus in the temple (the meeting place with God and the presence of God among his people).
We recall that Luke wrote the gospel to make sure the hearers appreciate the certainty and credibility of God’s plan of salvation (i.e. the gospel). It is interesting to note that in the Magnificat by Mary, the Benedictus by Zechariah and the prayer of Simeon, reference was made to God’s faithfulness to his covenant with his people in all three. In the magnificat, we read:
“His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts” (vs 50-51).
“He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants for ever just as he promised our ancestors” (vs 54-55).
Notice how Mary referred to God’s faithfulness, mercy and power to uphold his covenant and promises to Abraham and his descendants. There is no doubt that God’s people can be confident in God’s faithfulness, power, and promises. What God promised in the OT context have now taken place with the arrival of the Messiah. We can see the same assurance proclaimed subsequently in the prophecy of Zechariah and the prayer of Simeon.
We, in today’s context, can be confident that the power unleashed to bring us salvation through the Messiah will one day accomplish the devastating judgments envisioned by the prophets of old.
When that day comes our world will be turned upside down. The mighty will fall – and the weak lifted up (see Isaiah 42:13; Rev. 19:19-21), God will keep every promise, as in the day of judgment. He remembers to be merciful to his own.
With reference to the ‘language’ in gardening, we can say that the seed of the plan of God’s salvation was planted long ago in Genesis, and in the Old Testament; in the four gospels, as in Luke, we see the “sprouting’ of this seed into a young plant with the coming of the Messiah; and in the future, it will become a fruitful tree in the “new heaven and new earth” after the world is turned “upside down” by the gospel and the power of God.
Reference was made to the battle at “Armageddon” in Revelation 19:19-21 earlier on, when Christ will destroy all his enemies, and the devil and his followers would be sent to ‘hell’.
The OT passage with indication of this event (prophesied) is probably Isaiah 24:1-23.
For us living in the transition period between the first and second comings of Christ, this passage (together with Rev. 19:19-21) holds much meaning, particularly when we affirm God’s faithfulness in his revelation of what is to come.
In this passage, the whole earth now becomes the focus of our attention (24:1). The opening statement of devastating judgement on the planets (1-3) emphasises individual inescapability (v2) in a punishment which is seen to be total (v3). This is followed by one of the most chilling passages in the whole of the Bible (24:4-13) when everything that makes human life sustainable and enjoyable is systematically destroyed – ‘a curse consumes the earth’. This recalls Genesis 3:17m where the curse follows sin, and the same connection is established here in 24:5. The ‘everlasting covenant’ in this verse is probably referring to the covenant with Noah (Gen. 9L16) which provided a secure environment on earth for human life. ‘In essence, the annulling of the covenant was the refusal to live in the fellowship which God opened’.
Although there will be a righteous remnant brought through the judgement as trophies of God’s grace, Isaiah 24:16b-23 returns to the theme of awesome judgement with images of treachery and snares, flood and earthquake, so that even the heavenly bodies are involved (not unlike the images ‘painted’ in the book of Revelation)
What is clear is that God makes and keeps his promises (although they may not be fulfilled in our time-frame). He would carry out his personal plans (including the plan of salvation), bring down all his opponents, secure the recognition of his sovereignty in his government of the nations and demonstrate his special care for the helpless among his people. He is faithful and He keeps his covenants (the Old and the New) with his people.
In the magnificat, and also in the prophecy of Zechariah, and the prayer of Simeon, we can affirm:
God’s people must go on believing that he will vindicate his name, fulfil his promises and punish wickedness. So we must live by faith, as we quietly observe his prototypical judgements in our present history which foreshadow the certainty of his ultimate fulfilment time.