What Mary Knew
Luke 1:39-56
So this past week has been a really weird week in sermon prep. It’s just been kind of challenging. Some of that’s due to the text that we’re in. And you’ll see that in a minute. And I don’t know, it’s been a more challenging week than usual for whatever reason. Probably some spiritual stuff going on there. So I got to this point on Wednesday where I just sort of felt like I hit a wall. So I’m preparing and I’m reading and just kind of been spending some hours reading through some gospel Luke commentaries and reference stuff. Do you ever get to a point where whatever you do for a living, whatever field you’re in, you feel mentally fried and feel like you just have to put it down and walk away for a second and have a change of scenery? Anybody know what I’m talking about? I just thought if I get distracted maybe I’ll be more productive in a second. So I was at that point where I felt that I just needed to walk. I just have to put the tools down, walk away, and get some inspiration. So in that moment needing inspiration, I get in my car and I drive up to get something to eat at Krystal. Anybody ever eaten at Krystal? Raise your hand; come on, be proud. Don’t be ashamed. Some of y’all feel ashamed. You’re like, “I don’t know. Can I do this? Is this church discipline?” Be bold. If you’ve ever eaten at Krystal, congratulations. You survived to talk about it. You’re a walking miracle man. So I’ll go to Krystal because every now and then I just get a hankering for some good Krystal. And so in God’s providence, we have one a couple miles up the road. And so I drove up there to the Krystal and I was in the drive-thru. And because I hadn’t eaten in at least two hours, I decided to get a sack full. I ordered 12 Krystals just for me. And so I get 12; a sack full of 12 Krystals and then I’m staring at the menu and I notice that I see the chili cheese fries. And so I decided that these are obviously God’s will for my life, as well. So I ordered large chili cheese fries with 12 Krystals. But before you judge me, I’ll have you know I also ordered a large Diet Coke, so we’re good. Because it cancels it out, right? It’s science, right? Sure, the meal was 2,300 calories, but Diet Coke makes it basically zero. So I bring this stuff back to the church and I’m carrying my bag of 12 Krystals and my chili cheese fries in and I go up in the office area. And if you’ve ever eaten at Krystal then you know that the aroma just has a way of permeating every square inch of everywhere you’re at. So I’m walking into the church office area where the pastoral staff is and I can hear people whispering out their doors, “What smells so bad? Something stinks.” But I know they’re just jealous because I have Krystal, and they don’t. So I take it to my office. And for 20 minutes, I just enjoyed this fantastic cuisine of 12 Krystals and chili cheese fries. And I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed that there are some things that seem like a good deal at the time. You know what I’m talking about? You were convinced it was a great idea. Of course I should do this. This is fantastic. And it seems like an awesome idea at the time, but like then you do it and you realize it was a terrible idea. This was me because I eat the Krystals and I had a good time and lo and behold before long, I’m laying on the floor of my office in the fetal position, groaning in pain, begging for God to make me into a bird so I can fly far, far away. Why did I do that to myself? Why? Why? So, here’s the thing. Again, have you noticed that there are certain things that seem like a good idea at the time, but really when you do them, you realize that was actually a terrible idea?
So for another example, buying a puppy. It seems like a good idea. Of course, if we get a puppy, everybody in the family would be happy. It would be like a little cute stuffed animal who just walks around our house. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but then you buy the puppy and you realize you just destroyed your life. You’re up all night the first couple weeks and the thing is screaming and it’s ruining your carpet. You’re the only one that ever takes it out or ever feeds it. Am I being too transparent?
Or how about this: buying a boat. Again, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Then you get a few weeks in and you’re like, I may as well just be throwing piles of cash in the lake every week. What’s going on? Or how about this: doing business with a friend. We know the horror stories. Of course, this seems like a fantastic idea. Of course I’ll do business with my friend. And then you do and here’s the thing…if you value your friendship, don’t do business with a friend, right? Or here’s another example. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the movie “Jurassic Park,” but it seemed like a good idea to bring the dinosaurs back to life, but spoiler alert, it was a bad idea. There are certain things that seem like a good idea, but it turns out once you do them, you realize it’s a terrible idea.
A Life Surrendered to the Lord
Now just so you know, the converse of that is also true. Follow me. There are some things in this world that seem like a terrible idea on the surface. We initially hear about an idea that seems like an awful idea, but when you actually do it, it turns out it was the best thing you could have possibly done. For example, surrendering control of your life to the Lord. Now there are some people who hear the idea of surrendering complete control of your life to God, allowing Him to be in control, whatever He wants, His will be done and initially think it sounds like a terrible idea. I don’t want to give God complete control of my life; I want control of my life. What will I be sacrificing? What am I saying if I allow God to take it all? I mean, “Jesus Take the Wheel” was a good country song, but it isn’t a very good philosophy of life. I don’t want to release control of my life to God; I want control of my life. I want control of what I say, how I treat people, my finances, my parenting habits, and what I do with my Sunday. I want control of my life. I don’t want to give up control of my life to God. But then God comes along, and what does the Lord say to us? What’s the greatest commandment we’re ever given? “Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” What’s God saying there? He’s saying, “I want it all. You have to understand what I’m after here. I’m not after some; I’m not after most. I want everything.” That’s what God says. He wants every single bit of who you are. He wants it all. The Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper talks about this exactly in his famous quote that I love, “There’s not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is Lord of all, does not exclaim, Mine.” Mine. I want everything.
Now this is exactly what brings us to where we are here in Luke chapter one. Because, if you’ve been paying attention, then you know that this is precisely what the Virgin Mary has just experienced in her own life. We had this moment where the Virgin Mary is living in Podunkville in the middle of nowhere in a town called Nazareth. She’s a nobody from nowhere; that’s what we’re meant to understand. Nazareth was nowhere and people didn’t consider anything good to be happening in Nazareth. And that’s where this peasant girl, Mary, lives. She’s a virgin and then God sends his angel, Gabriel to this Podunk town called Nazareth with a message. He says, “Greetings, oh favored one. Greetings, oh graced one, oh favored one. You are going to give birth to the son of the most high God.” And here we have this moment where essentially the angel Gabriel says, “Hey Mary, guess what? God wants everything. He wants your future. He wants your reputation. He wants your plans. He wants the whole script of your life. God wants it all. And at this moment, Mary has a decision to make. Is she going to respond to the Lord by saying, “Well, you know, that sounds like a terrible idea because what about me and self-actualization? What about the things I want? And I had this list of goals; what about my plans?” That’s what she could have done. But instead, what does Mary do? She hears that God wants it all. God wants everything, and she is going to give birth to the son of the most high God. That’s what’s going to happen in her life. The whole script is changed. Whatever it was before, it’s not anymore. It’s different. And how does Mary respond to the Lord? Remember what she said previously? She says, “Let it be to me according to your word.” In other words, what she’s saying is, “Hey God, check this out. My life is a blank check. You write whatever you want.”
And now as this incredible story moves on, we’re all going to learn a few powerful truths from the Virgin Mary. So we have this moment here, which is a snapshot of these verses. This is a stretch of verses where we learn all of these doctrinal truths from the Virgin Mary herself and from her life. We’re going to learn a few powerful truths from young Virgin Mary. And by a few, I mean nine. So get your pen ready.
Mary Knows That Relationships Matter
Luke chapter one, verse 39. “In those days,” referring to the days where Mary has just found out that she’s going to give birth to the Son of the Most High God, “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.” You need to know that these are very important players in the story of God. So a couple weeks ago, earlier on in Luke chapter one, we find out that Zechariah and Elizabeth are an old ministry couple. They’re old, they’ve been in ministry for a long time, and they’ve never been able to have any kids because Elizabeth is barren. And then one day, Zechariah, the priest, is in the temple, and the angel Gabriel comes to him. And the angel Gabriel says, “Hey, Zechariah, guess what? God has heard your prayers, so get ready to have a baby. And your baby’s going to be great, and he’s going to be a prophet who will prepare the way for the Messiah.” And so we have this pronouncement to Zechariah that he’s going to have a baby. Now Elizabeth is six months pregnant, miraculously, and Mary travels to be with her cousin Elizabeth, and Zechariah in their home.
This brings us to the very first point for today. Mary knows that relationships matter. Follow this. Our girl Mary knows that relationships matter. Incidentally, last Sunday in the sermon I made fun of the song, “Mary, Did You Know?” And I probably offended some people, so I’m trying to make it up to you today by giving you nine truths that Mary actually did know. The first thing is that Mary knows that relationships matter. They totally matter.
Let me give you some perspective right here. What were we just told? Our girl Mary just traveled from this little town of Nazareth all the way to the hill country of Judah. Now, here’s the thing, we’re 21st century Christians, so we read that and we go, oh, big whoops, she just traveled to a town. Not so fast, my friend. Here’s what you have to understand. Bible scholars are very clear that from Nazareth to the hill country of Judah was 100 miles. So think about this. Our girl Mary, 12 to 14 years old, just traveled 100 miles over rough terrain on foot, by the way, because there’s no Uber Camel service in that day. The LA Airlines isn’t a thing yet. How’s she getting there? She’s getting there on foot in sandals which probably isn’t that comfortable for a 100-mile journey. Why is she going? Think about this. She’s going on a 100-mile journey just to be in close community with her people. She’s going because she wants to be near Elizabeth and Zechariah and wants to be in their home and in close community with her people. I
There’s this old dead theologian pastor named J.C. Ryle, who has written some brilliant stuff. And J.C. Ryle, in one of his commentaries on the Gospel of Luke, says something I love about this moment. He gives some good insight here. Listen to what J.C. Ryle says, “We should observe in this passage the benefit of fellowship and communion between believers. We read of a visit paid by the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. We’re told in a striking manner how the hearts of both these holy women were cheered and their minds lifted up by this interview. Without this visit, Elizabeth might never have been so filled with the Holy Ghost as we are told she was. And Mary might never have uttered that song of praise which is now known all over the church of Christ. The words of an old divine are deep and true. Happiness communicated doubles itself. Grief grows greater by concealing, joy by expression. We should always regard communion with other believers as an eminent means of grace.” Did you get that? “We should always regard communion with other believers as a gift of God.” In other words, it’s a refreshing break to our journey along the narrow way to exchange experience with our fellow travelers. I love this; he says, “First let us seek the face of God. Then let us seek the faces of God’s friends. If we did this more and were more careful about the company we keep, we should oftener know what it is to feel filled with the Holy Ghost.”
Here’s what’s so convicting about this to me. I won’t speak for you, I’ll just speak for me for a second and try to be in a moment of transparency. I was thinking about this moment where this young Virgin Mary, 12 to 14 years old, in response to what God just said to her, now travels 100 miles to be near Elizabeth, her cousin. And I was thinking about how convicted I was by this because here’s Mary doing everything she possibly can to be in close community with other people on this faith journey with her. And yet how often do I, pretty much on a weekly basis, do everything I possibly can to make excuses as to why I don’t need to be in community with other people? I don’t know if you’re like this or not. Can I tell you all the excuses that prove I’m like you. My week’s busy too, right? And I have all sorts of things going on in my life where they’re natural barriers that really try to hinder me from being in gospel community. So we have missional community groups here at Emmaus Church, which are these groups that get together every single week to talk about the sermon and to apply God’s word to our lives. And here’s what I do. I’ll get busy and I’ll get crazy and I’ll dream up all of these reasons as to why I can’t go tonight. I make excuses. I’m busy for crying out loud. And I have stuff going on. And think of all the sacrifices I’m going to have to make to get the missional community group tonight. I mean, are you kidding me? First of all, I’m going to have to get dressed. You know how exhausting it is to put pants on? I mean, there’s a church that’s so demanding. And then I have to find my keys. I don’t need that kind of stress in my life. I don’t know where I put my keys. And then after I get my keys, I’m going to have to walk outside and I’m going to have to get inside of my temperature controlled car. And I’m going to have to start it up. I could pull a wrist doing that. And then I’m going to drive to their house and I’m going to walk into their living room. And at some point, we’re going to have to talk about this incredible book that God gave us. And I know what’s going to happen. I know it, because it’s always what happens. The group leader at some point is going to ask for prayer requests. And I’m going to have to mention something that I want a good, gracious, awesome, all-knowing God to do in my life. You know how intrusive that is? I could be at home watching Saved by the Bell reruns on Netflix. I got stuff to do.
Isn’t this so interesting? The excuses we often make to not take advantage of the good gifts that God has given. God says gospel community is not a have to, it’s a get to. This is a good gift that you get to participate in. As a matter of fact, it’s good for you. How many of y’all have ever thought that you don’t want to go to community group. You don’t want to go to community group and then the Holy Spirit, also known as your wife, says “You’re going.” And you go to community group, and later leave there thinking to yourself that you are so glad you went to community group. It was a blessing, and that truth, that brother or that sister shared was like medicine for your soul. And God knew what was up. It turns out God knows what He’s doing.
Somehow, Mary knows that relationships matter. Somehow she knows that just like Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” So what does she do? She travels 100 miles through the desert on foot to get to something we get to drive to, in order to be in close community with other people, with other believers on this faith journey.
The Sanctity of Life
Now, look at verse 41 and watch what happens here. “And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.” How many of you women who have ever been pregnant just thought to yourself, “Ouch?” Skeptics say surely the baby didn’t leap, probably the baby just kicked. Listen, I promise you, every pregnant woman in here knows the difference between a kick and a leap. Think about this for a minute. We’re told that Mary walks in the room. How long has Mary been pregnant? Just a few days at this point. Immediately, she made haste for the hill country of Judah. She’s been pregnant for just a few days, which means that here we have this baby Jesus in the earliest stages of development within Mary’s womb. And she walks in the room and we have Elizabeth, who’s six months pregnant with John the Baptist, and when they’re in the presence of one another, the baby within Elizabeth, the six-month-old baby John, leaps being in the presence of a baby that’s in the earliest stages of development. This kind of tells you whether or not God sees a life as a life in the womb. We won’t put that as a point, but just a really good thing to marinate on in the Scriptures. And some of you have a position on abortion, but does it come from the Bible? Think about what we’re told about the sanctity of life here. We have a baby rejoicing in the fact that Jesus as a baby has entered the room. Watch what it says. “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?’” What did she say? The mother of my what? The very first person in the gospels to ever declare that Jesus is Lord actually wasn’t the apostle Peter, it was Elizabeth. Do you know that? Read it. “Who am I that the mother of my Lord is in my presence. For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
Mary Knows That If God Says It, I should Believe It.
Now, this is where it’s important for us to pause and remember what happened to Zechariah in the temple. Remember Zechariah is in the temple and an angel shows up. Zechariah is told that even though he and his wife are old and haven’t been able to have children, God has heard his prayers. He’s told to get ready to have a baby. God’s going to give him a baby. And remember how Zechariah responded? Zechariah basically says, “Prove it. How will I know?” Zechariah did not believe what the angel said, the message that God was giving to him. So as a result, the angel strikes him mute and tells him that for nine months, he would be silent. And that will be the proof, that will be the sign, “because you did not believe the word of the Lord.” And that’s hilarious when you think about the fact that a lot of Bible scholars believe that Zechariah was actually in the room at this moment, standing next to his wife, Elizabeth, when she says this to Mary. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. Mm-hmm. You passive aggressive much? I love this.
This actually brings us to the second point. Mary knows that if God says it, I should believe it. Simple, foundational, and yet incredibly complex for whatever reason for Christians today. Mary knows that if God says it, I should believe it. Notice again what Elizabeth just said to our girl Mary here in verse 45. She says, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” In other words, Elizabeth is saying, “Mary, God said something to you, and as crazy as it sounded, you’re a virgin, and you’re going to give birth. And as crazy as it sounded to you, you believed what He said, and as a result, you’re blessed.”
The principle that we’re seeing here is a common principle in the Scriptures. As a matter of fact, it’s a principle that shows up over and over and over again in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The principle that we’re seeing here through Mary is simply this: When I refuse to believe what God has clearly said in His Word, there are certain blessings I miss out on. It’s just basic biblical truth. When I refuse to believe what God has clearly declared to be true in His Word, there are certain blessings I miss out on. Think about that. See, here’s the thing. Over and over and over again in the Scriptures, God is promising us that He can always be trusted and that He blesses those who trust Him. Do you know that? We see this over and over. God’s flat-out promise to us is that He can always be trusted on everything He says. And for those who do trust Him, you’ll experience a blessing. This is a basic biblical promise. So for example, remember that moment where after Jesus rises from the grave, he appears to his disciples. But there’s one disciple that just happened to be out doing other stuff. Can you imagine being the one disciple, Thomas, who wasn’t there when Jesus showed up, resurrected? That’s a bummer, right? And so all the other apostles were like, man, Jesus showed up. And Thomas is like, “Well, what in the world? Talk about bad timing. You know what? I won’t even believe it. This could be a joke so I’m not going to believe you unless I’m able to see Him and touch His wounds and be up close to Him.” And what does Jesus do in His goodness and His grace? Jesus shows up to Thomas. Do you remember that moment? And He says, “Hey man, touch My wounds and put your finger here.” And remember what Jesus said to Thomas after he did that? We read it in John 20. He said this to Thomas, “Have you believed because you’ve seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Have you ever been blessed? It’s the people who just trust the Lord, who just believe it, and on the other side of that belief, there’s a blessing. Remember the moment when Jesus raises His friend Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus died and Jesus said, “Lazarus, come forth.” And Lazarus comes walking out of the tomb. He’d been dead for three days. I love what the King James Version says. It says he had been dead for three days and “he stinketh.” It’s awesome. Dude had been dead for three days, and Jesus says, “Lazarus, come out.” Lazarus comes out of the tomb. It’s a miracle. It’s amazing. And remember what Jesus says to Lazarus’ sister? In John 11:40, Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” Girl, I told you that if you believe Me, if you trust Me, on the other side of that belief and trust there’s a blessing.
Psalm 37:5 says this, family, “Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will act.” Hey, trust in God, believe in God, and on the other side of that trust and belief, there’s a blessing, God’s going to act. He’s going to do his thing. So, here’s the question we all have to ask. If our God, the God we worship, the God we sing to, the God in whose name we’re doing all this today has been so clear about this issue in His Word that if we believe what he says, there’ll be a blessing on the other side of that belief, then why is it that so often so many of us are still struggling with believing everything that God has promised in His Word? And the answer is that it’s because a lot of us have made the terrible mistake of believing that God is a lot like people. See, here’s what we all know to be true about people. People break promises. Amen? How many of you have ever been on the painful end of a broken promise? Remember what that feels like? How many of you have ever been the one who broke the promise? Congratulations, sinners. We do. We experience broken promises and we make promises and break them. It’s almost like a spiritual gift for fallen people. And what we know to be true about people, is that people make promises and break promises all the time. So what happens a lot of times is we make the horrible mistake of thinking that God must be like that. God must make promises and break promises all the time because it’s what people do. We experience pain because of it.
I remember years ago, I was a student pastor out in California and I had only been at this church for about six months. And I was a student pastor learning student ministry. And I remember I brought in a band because that’s what cool youth pastors supposedly do. You bring in a band for the students on a Wednesday night. So we had the stage set up and I brought in a screamo band. Anybody know what a screamo band is? It’s this band that’s supposedly singing Christian music, but they could be singing verses out of the Satanic Bible for all I know, but they’re supposedly Christian. And you can’t understand a word they’re saying, but they’re loud and the kids like them. And so the students are all down there and they’re all going crazy and loving it. The band is loud and you can’t understand a word they’re saying. And I remember standing down there next to two 16 year old guys in my student ministry. I had only been there for six months and this one dude named Kyle looked at me, and he’s like, “Hey Anson, you know what you should do, man? Crowd surf.” I said, “What?” He said, “Crowd surf.” I said, “What is that?” He said, “You know, man. I do it all the time; it’s fun. It’s great. You get up on stage and then just dive into us. Just dive into us, your students, and we’ll just carry you around and you’re just right on top of our hands. It’ll be great! It’ll be fun! I promise Anson. I promise. Crowd surf and it will be fun. I promise.” Just so you know, 16 year old Kyle is a big fat liar. Because here I am, wanting to be the cool youth pastor. I’ve been there for six months and I have to win this gig, right? So I’m like, “Okay, man, yeah, I’ll do it. I ain’t scared of this.” And so I get up on the stage and the band’s up there screaming, doing their thing, and I’m looking at the edge of the stage. We have hundreds of students and I’m thinking, “Yeah, I’m going to do this thing. I’m going to crowd surf.” And as fast as I could, I ran and jumped. And that kid’s a big fat liar, because nobody caught me. Nobody caught me. He said it would be fun, and it was painful instead. And this is what people do. People make promises and they break promises. The problem is that we think God is a lot like that, but I have good news for you. God isn’t like that 16-year-old kid, Kyle and God is not like any human at all. Our God can be trusted about everything. He can be trusted about it all, so consequently you can trust God when he has things to say about your future, or sexuality, or gender, or marriage, or your finances, or your relationships. God can be trusted on the entire gamut of all of it.
And what’s so amazing about Mary is that she knows this, to the extent that when she’s told something that sounds crazy, she just believes it. Why? Because God said it. And as a result, she experienced the blessing of God. Was it always easy for her? No, and we’ll get to that in a second. Put a pin there. But she experienced the blessing of God.
Mary Knows Her Bible
Now, this actually brings us to the third point. Mary knows her Bible. You may be asking, “Pray tell, Pastor, I don’t see that in the text. Where do we ever read anything about the Bible, or the Scriptures, or anything about the Old Testament? How do we know Mary knows her Bible?” Here’s how. Don’t miss this. This is fantastic. This is why you have to read the Bible. Listen, Mary, is about to bust out into a spontaneous worship song. For 2,000 years in church history, we’ve called it the Magnificat, Mary’s song. She’s going to bust out into this incredible worship song, and as we’re about to see, this spontaneous song of worship that our girl Mary is about to sing, amazingly and incredibly, either directly quotes or alludes to Scriptures from 11 different books of the Old Testament. Let’s think about that for a second. Twelve to 14 year old Mary is going to sing a song that is going to include Genesis, Deuteronomy, 1 and 2 Samuel, Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, and Micah. She’s going to sing a song that includes Scripture from every single one of those books of the Bible. Here’s why. She knows her Bible. The girl just flat out knows her Bible. So I have a question for you today. Do you know your Bible? By the way, this question isn’t for people who are just here checking things out. If you’re not a Christian, if you’re not a worshiper of Jesus, if you’re just here kicking the tires on this Christianity thing on a dare, then I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to people in the house that love Jesus, know Jesus, have Jesus as your treasure, and know that He’s the reason you’re here today. Do you know your Bible? Not do you own a Bible. Not do you like the Bible. But do you know your Bible?
Lifeway Research recently did a study where they found that only 32%, less than one third, of Christians that are involved in church on a regular basis said that they read the Bible on a daily basis. One third of Christians said they read it every day, at least a verse every day. Additionally, only 11% of Christians involved in churches said that at some point in their life, they had read the entire Bible. Maybe they read it 10 years ago, 20 years ago, whatever. Only 11% said at some point in their life, they read the Bible from cover to cover. Listen, all I’m saying to you is this: the reality is biblical illiteracy is a massive problem in the American church. It just totally is. A lot of Christians just don’t know the Bible. But at the same time we all scratch our heads in confusion and wonder why so many Christians are so divisive and so unforgiving and so not generous with their resources and not consistent in church and posting all this crazy stuff on the socials. Well, I have a thought. Maybe, just maybe, it’s because a lot of Christians never read the Bible. We still spend time in the Word of God, but here’s what’s so crazy. I want you to consider this for a second. Mary didn’t own a Bible. She couldn’t walk up to the Christian bookstore in Nazareth and say, “Give me the new Crossway, calfskin cover.” She couldn’t do that. How does she know the Bible? Because she heard it read in the synagogue on the Lord’s day by the priest. Or she heard it shared and recited in her home by her parents who loved the Lord. And what did she do with that Scripture that was unpacked? She hid it in her heart. She memorized the Word of God to the extent that 11 different references from 11 different books of the Bible are about to show up in her song because they’re hidden in her mind and in her heart.
Now, I know what you’re pressing back on. You think I don’t understand. You’re thinking that your mind doesn’t work like Mary’s. She must have been smart. She probably would have scored a 1550 on the SAT. She had a mind like a steel trap. I don’t think like Mary. I don’t process thoughts like Mary. Good for Mary but my mind doesn’t work like that. To which I, as your pastor, say, “Nonsense. That’s total nonsense. You know it’s nonsense.” And the reason we know it’s nonsense is because every single one of us knows that we have meaningless, dumb lyrics from songs that we heard in the seventh grade trapped in our brain forever. They’re taking up real estate that we need. Like, we need the space, man. We need to upload some really important stuff. And instead, look at this brain space that’s occupied with other stuff. “All right, stop. Collaborate and listen. Ice is back on my brand new invention. Something grabs ahold of me tightly, flowing like a harpoon daily and nightly. Will it ever stop? Yo, I don’t know. Turn off the lights and I’ll glow. To the extreme, rock a mic like a vandal. Light up a stage and wax, jump like a candle. Dance.” Why is it in my brain? Why? No, don’t clap for that. Grieve for that. Lament for that. “My, my, my, my music hits me so hard. Makes me say, oh my Lord, thank you for blessing me with a mind to rhyme and two hype feet.” I need the space.
See, here’s a sobering truth. It’s not that we can’t remember. Here’s the truth. We remember the things that matter to us. My pin number, my social, MC Hammer lyrics, directions to Krystal. You see how this works. We remember the things that matter to us. The things that are meaningful for us. But let’s be honest. If God’s Word truly matters to us, we want to grow in our knowledge of it. Because guess what? Listen. The word of God is the heart of God. So to know God’s Word is to know His heart. How good is God that he gave us His word? How good is God that in His grace He would reveal Himself to us by giving us His truth? This is amazing. And by the way, just so you know, this is one of the reasons that we do what we do at Emmaus Church. I can’t answer for other churches, what other churches do and why they do what they do. God’s called me to be a pastor here and to answer for what happens here. And this is one of the reasons that we do things like Bible studies. Right now, here at Emmaus, there are both men and women walking and journeying verse by verse through the book of Acts together, every single week. Why do we offer Bible studies like that? Because we know that what we desperately need is the Word of God. Incidentally, this is why for 12 years here at Emmaus Church, all we’ve ever done is teach through books of the Bible. You can get on our podcast or on our Emmaus Church app right now. We have 18 different books of the Bible, every single sermon, that you can go through verse by verse and chapter by chapter on our app. You’re never going to walk in here and hear that we’ve got a five-week series on family. Or that we’ve got a 10-week series on money. We just don’t do that. You’re going to walk in here and hear that we’re in a 152-week series called Luke. Kudos to our creative team. Good job, guys. Why do we do that? It’s not to be winsome. We do that because we honestly, with conviction, totally believe that what we all need most is to know the Word of God, not to know the opinions of a pastor. We need the Bible.
Mary Knows That God Is The One Who Gives Good Gifts To His People
Mary knows the Word of God. She knows the Bible and it affects the trajectory of how she lives. It affects her life and we see it all. It’s replete throughout this song that she sings. Let’s jump into this song. It starts in verse 46. What does Mary sing? Well, here we go. And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” You’re going to see a theme here, starting with the Lord right there. Pay attention to how many times God is referred to in this song right here. “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.”
This brings us to the fourth point for today. Mary knows that God is the one who gives good gifts to his people. She knows that God’s the One who gives good gifts to His people. It’s fascinating to me that immediately after Mary hears from Elizabeth, “Hey, you’re blessed, and the fruit of your womb is blessed, and you believe God, so therefore you’re blessed”, she doesn’t say, “Whoa, how awesome am I? I bet you wish you were me, Elizabeth. Wow, 2,000 years from now, people on the other side of the planet at Emmaus Church could be talking about me and my life. How incredible are all the things I’ve accomplished?” That’s not her song at all. That’s just not where her heart is. Instead, she begins with, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” This is about God. This is about what God has done, what God has achieved, what God has accomplished, what God’s character is, what God does for people. See, our girl Mary totally understands that she’s a nobody from nowhere, and it’s God who gives good gifts to nobodies from nowhere. Do you know this? Do you know that every single good gift you have in your life right now is a gracious gift from a sovereign God? Everything. Every good gift you’ve got is a gracious good gift from God. In theology, we call this God’s common grace. The idea that even if you’re not a follower of Jesus right now, you have good things in your life, and it’s because God in His grace has allowed you to have those things. Your job, your family, your car, that heart beating inside of your chest right now is a gracious gift from a loving God. And some of us get skeptical, and we think, “No, man, no. uh-uh. Hey, you know how I got my car? Money. You know how I got the money? Working at my job real hard. So God didn’t give me any of this.” Okay, well, I’ll press back a little bit. How about this? Who gave you the brain that can fire synapses so you go out, get a job, make a living, and buy a car? God did. Who gave you the oxygen that you can breathe in right now and you can breathe out while you have a conversation with your friend about how God might not exist? You see the craziness of that? Every good gift you have has been given to you by a gracious God, and guess what? You don’t deserve it. I have a question for you, beloved. Do you see the difference? Do you spend more time thanking God for all the good things He has given you? Or do you spend more time complaining to others about all the stuff you don’t have? Because can I tell you something? The Bible is clear on this. Some of you aren’t going to like hearing this, and frankly, I don’t like hearing it, but it’s true, according to the Scriptures. The only thing that any of us actually deserves from God is hell forever. It’s all we deserve. Everything we have from Him is a gift. It’s all a gift, which is exactly why we see Mary here singing these words, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” From the deepest parts of who I am, I magnify the Lord.” What’s she saying? God is so good. He’s just good. It doesn’t mean your circumstances are always good, but God’s good in the midst of the circumstances.
Mary Knows That Fearing God Is More Important Than Fearing People
Now look at verse 50. She says this, “And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation.” Incidentally, this brings us to our fifth point for today, which is this: Mary knows that fearing God is more important than fearing people. Real quick, notice again what she says. She says, “God gives mercy to those who fear Him.” Well, what does that mean? Well, it’s fascinating, because that word “fear” here in the Greek is actually the word “phobio,” which is where we get our word phobia from. And what it actually means is the kind of fear or fear of God that we’re actually experiencing. It’s the kind of fear or respect or awe or reverence for something that actually affects the way that you live. It’s the kind of fear you have of a certain thing that compels you to change your direction or change what you’ve been doing or live a certain way in light of this thing that you have a healthy respect for, a healthy fear of.
I’ll try to illustrate it this way. See if this would be helpful for you. A few Wednesday nights ago, my wife, Heather, had been up here, and she was teaching the Acts Bible study that night for the women. They have a morning crew and a night crew. She was teaching the night crew the Acts Bible study, and then when it was over, she came home. She gets home pretty late after those studies. I was at the house and she came in, and we were pretty exhausted from the day. So we go to bed pretty quickly after she gets home. I’m laying down and she’s laying down, and I’m at the edge of dreamland. Anybody know what I’m talking about? You feel yourself going. You feel yourself fading into sleep, and you’re thinking to yourself, “Thank God. I’ve been wanting this all day.” And so I’m the edge of dreaming and going to sleep, and at that point, I hear my wife say, “oh no!”, which gets every spouse’s attention. She says that she thinks she may have left the coffee brewer on at church tonight after she made coffee for the women’s Bible study. It’s 11:30 at night. I’m under the covers, snug as a bug in a rug, comfy, warm, don’t want to move, and it’s the last thing I wanted to hear. So I said to her, “Hold on. Do you think you left the coffee brewer on at the church? Or are you sure that you left the coffee brewer on at the church?” She said, “I think I’m sure I left the coffee brewer on at the church.” So I hop out of bed, and I throw on a robe, and I throw on my little old man slippers, and I get in the car, and I drove up here at 11.30 at night in my jammies, and the coffee brewer was on. I drove up here and turned off the coffee brewer at 11:30 at night in my pajamas. Why did I do that? Well, it’s because I respect fire. You see how this works? I have a healthy fear of fire, particularly when it involves the church burning down. Now, follow this. I was compelled to drive up here at almost midnight in my pajamas because I have a healthy fear of fire.
See, to fear God means to respect the Lord to the point where it affects the way you live. It compels you to live a certain way. It compels you to make certain decisions: how you raise your kids, how you treat others, how you spend money, and so on and so forth. It affects the way that you live. But here’s the problem. Let’s be real honest and frank. The problem is, so on the one hand, we’re told to fear the Lord over and over and over again. The Scriptures have a healthy fear of the Lord. He should affect your decisions, how you live, what you do, and all that stuff. But the reality is a lot of us tend to fear people more than we fear God. And what that means is we tend to care far more about the opinions of other people than we care about the opinion of God. And so therefore, you can begin to see that in the way we live, decisions we make, how we treat people, what we post on the socials, the stuff we buy, and so on and so forth. And what does the Bible say in Proverbs 29, verse 25? We have it in our missional community questions this week, and we’ll look at it in our groups and talk about it. Proverbs 29:25 says this, “The fear of man is a snare, but the Lord can be trusted.” The fear of man is a snare, a trap. What does that mean? It means that a lot of us care more about the opinions of people than we care about the opinions of God, but the problem is the opinions of people are not reliable. Only God’s opinion is reliable. See, here’s how this thing works. Either God is going to be at the center of your life, or people are going to be at the center of your life, but make no mistake, somebody’s going to be at the center of your life. So who is it?
Ed Welch, a Christian counselor, wrote a book. If the fear of man and the fear of God is a topic you want to geek out on, he wrote an excellent book that I recommend called When People Are Big and God is Small. And in that book, on The Fear of Man and the Fear of God, Ed Welch says, “However you put it, the fear of man can be summarized this way. We replace God with others. Instead of a biblically guided fear of the Lord, we fear others.” Now what’s incredible about Mary is that when she had the opportunity to either fear people or fear God, she chose God. She chose the fear of God. An angel shows up and says, “Hey, guess what, Mary? God wants your everything. You’re going to give birth to the Son of God most high. So He wants to script your life; He wants your future. He wants your everything.” And at this moment where Mary could have pressed back and said, “That sounds like a terrible idea because I want to control my life instead.” What does she say? “Let it be to me according to your word.” In other words, Mary chose to fear God more than she feared the opinions of others. She’s going to go back into Nazareth, she’s going to be slandered, she’s going to be mocked, she’s going to be gossiped about because she shows up unmarried and pregnant, and yet she chose to fear the opinion of God more than she feared the opinions of others. Ed Welch goes on to say in his book, “This is one of the great blessings of the fear of the Lord. We think less often about ourselves when a heart is being filled with the greatness of God. There’s less room for the question, ‘What are people going to think of me?’”
So, here’s my question for you as we segue to the next thing. Whose opinion matters most to you today? At work, in your hood, here at church, in your relationships, whose opinion matters most to you today? Is it God’s or is it people? For Mary, it was God, and as a result, 2,000 years later, we’re talking about her faith because she fears God more than she fears what everybody else is going to think.
Mary Knows That Pride Is Dumb
Now, check out verse 51. Mary says, “He has shown strength with His arm. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He’s brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate.” And that brings us to the sixth point for today. The sixth thing Mary knows is that pride is dumb. It’s what she knows. She knows that pride is dumb. How does she know that pride is dumb? Because she knows the Bible. Look at it again. “He’s shown strength with His arm. He’s scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He’s brought down the mighty from their thrones.” See, Mary knows Bible history and she knows that all those cats in the Old Testament, like Pharaoh and Haman and Absalom and Nebuchadnezzar, are all walking in pride. They’re walking in arrogance and acting like they don’t need God, they don’t need God’s Word and they can do this thing on their own without caring about what God said. And as a result, consequently, if you remember all those stories, God humiliated them. Like big time humiliated all of them. We’re reading their stories even today, seeing how God humiliated those fools who didn’t want to live in obedience to God and were arrogant and prideful and didn’t give God any of His glory or any of His due. And so what Mary’s saying is, “Hey, I got all the warning I need. I see it. I’m going to let those chumps pay my dumb tax for me. I’ve seen what happens to the proud. I’ve seen what happens to the arrogant and I’m not going to live my life walking around in pride and arrogance, acting like I don’t need the Bible and acting like I don’t need God. Because I’ve seen what happens to people like that, and it always ends up like the end of a Georgia Tech game. Very bad and ugly. It’s bad.”
Mary Knows That Money Is A Horrible God
Then look at verse 53. Watch this. I love this. Notice she’s dropping good doctrine on us. Good truth. We see a principle here. “He,” again, referencing the Lord, “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.” Now, incidentally, this brings us to the seventh point for today. Mary knows that money is a horrible God. So let’s talk. In a culture that tells us more is always better, and it’s all about what you can keep and hoard, notice what Mary says here. She says, “God has filled the hungry with good things.” What is she telling us about the character of God? Our God is a generous God. Our God’s a giver. In fact, He gives good things to people who need them. The hungry are filled. God isn’t greedy. God gives freely. But then notice the contrast here. We have God who fills the hungry with good things, but then what happens? We have the rich who He has sent away empty. Who are the rich? The rich are the greedy. The rich are the people who don’t want to give, who want to keep, who want to hoard, who don’t want to share their resources, who always want to get more. And they don’t worship God with their money because money has become their God. And so we have this contrast here between a generous God and those who are greedy. And the principle here is a principle we see over and over and over again on repeat in the Scriptures. Our God wants His people to be generous like Him and not greedy like the devil. We see this in the Scriptures. If you’re paying close attention to the Scriptures, then you see this. The most famous verse we have about the Lord in the Bible arguably is John 3:16. You even see it at football games. John 3:16. What does it say? That God so loved the world that He’s generous. He didn’t just give some, He gave everything. He gave the best to us for our soul’s salvation. And we have this contrast going on in the gospels. If you pay attention to arguably the most famous verse about Satan in the scriptures, John 10, verse 10, what does it tell us about Satan, the enemy? It says the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. We have a contrast. We have God who’s a giver. God loves to give. God gives freely. He’s a cheerful giver. And then we have the enemy. He comes to steal. He comes to take. He comes to hoard. He comes to hold onto and grip onto. And the end of that verse, John 10, verse 10, Jesus says, “But I have come to give life and give it abundantly.” So again, we have the contrast. Our God is a giver and the enemy’s a taker and he’s a hoarder. And God wants His people to look like Him and not the devil. And so over and over again, He commands us to be generous. He commands us to give. He commands us to not hold onto, but to be faithful stewards of what He has entrusted to us for a season. And yet, how often are we all tempted to ignore everything that God has to say about our money? So we hear things and think, “Well, whatever. I’ll just move on. I’ll pretend like I didn’t hear that.” But have you ever noticed how the Holy Spirit can be very pesky? And the Holy Spirit can be annoying like that. We’re like, “Stop it, Holy Spirit. Stop it.” So I’ll move on and I’ll try to ignore something. But there are these moments, like in sermons or Bible studies, where the Holy Spirit brings that conviction again. Like a bug in South Georgia on a hot summer day. “Zzz, go away. “Zzz, go away.” And I just want to avoid it. And so what I begin to do is to do exactly what I hated when my children were little. I start to make a lot of excuses about why I do not want to obey. And I start to pretend like I’m the first person in 2,000 years of church history this does not apply to. And I start to say things to myself. I start to just repeat things over and over and over again until I believe them. It’s like George Costanza said in Seinfeld, “It’s not a lie if you believe it.” And so I start to lie to myself until I believe it. And I make excuses for why I’m not generous with my resources like God commands me to over and over again and I say things like, “Well, I give when I’m led.” And that’s a great one because it sounds spiritual. Because you can’t argue with the Spirit’s leading in your life. “I give when I’m led and I don’t feel led so I’m not giving because I don’t feel led.” But here’s the problem. Isn’t God’s Word supposed to lead us? Listen, I live under the authority of the Word of God, not under the authority of how I feel. Over and over and over again, God says to give. He says how to give. He says what to give to. So to say I give when I feel led and not give means I don’t feel led by the Scriptures and that’s a bad indication, a bad sign. Or sometimes we lie to ourselves and we say things like, “Well, I don’t trust churches” I understand. Some of you have horrible experiences. You have a lot of baggage and I get it and there’s been hurt and there’s been things and there are stories you have of churches that misappropriated funds or spent money on crazy stuff and it was outlandish and you’re like, “Well, I don’t trust churches.” But here’s the thing, just because a couple are bad doesn’t mean you throw them all out, right? I mean, think about it. Airplanes crash but every now and then you still get on one. You just try to find a good one, right? No more Spirit Airlines, we’ll go over here. The real plane, You just try to find a good one. Can you find a church that’s preaching the Gospel, that’s teaching the Word of God, that has pastors that are trying to be faithful and elders that are trying to be faithful, doing good work in the community, equipping the saints for the ministry of the gospel as it says a church should do in Ephesians chapter four. A church that has sound doctrine, believes the Word of God and trusts the Word of God, does the sacraments, baptizes, and participates in the Lord’s Supper. Can you find a church that you trust and give towards a forward advance of the gospel? Maybe you’re sitting here today going, “Well, I don’t trust this church.” And I would say, “I love you, but you need to leave here immediately and go find a church that you trust and be generous there for the sake of the kingdom of God and for the sake of your discipleship.” Because it’s on the line. It’s a big deal to the Lord. Or we lie to ourselves and we say things like this, “Well, I’m saving up until I have more to give.” Like we’re trying to surprise God with a present. He’s like, “Whoa, I had no idea.” I’m saving up until I have more to give, but I went to Disney last year and didn’t save for that. If we’re not going to talk about discipleship, let’s not talk about discipleship. And by the way, you know the people who are rarely convicted on this issue, the people who aren’t actually doing it say, “Giving is a spiritual gift and it’s not a spiritual gift that I have. I have a different gift.” And that’s a good one because they’re using the Bible. You’re showing me Romans 12, verse eight, which does say that giving’s a spiritual gift. But all that means is that giving for some people is the passion of their life. The rest of us are called to do it because God tells us to. Just like evangelism is also a spiritual gift and yet we’re all as followers of Jesus called to share with people, and tell people about Jesus. Or you hear the excuse, “Well, I’ll give when I have more to give.” Can I tell you something, family? Honest truth, if you don’t give when you have little, you probably aren’t giving when you have much. See, here’s the reality, beloved. If I’m constantly ignoring what God has to say about my money, it’s probably because money has become my God. Now, you’re like, “I don’t like hearing pastors talk about money.” Well, I don’t know a pastor that likes talking about it. But we’re called to preach the Bible and we’re called to teach the Bible. Now you’re wondering if this is this is a guilt thing and now we’re going to take an offering. Yes, let’s pray. I’m playing. I’m kidding. It’s not. I’m going to tell you this right here, and I’m being totally honest, the vast majority of the people in this church are unbelievably, hilariously, cheerfully generous. We have never finished a budget year below budget here at Emmaus Church ever, because of how God, the Holy Spirit, moves in the hearts of God’s people to give generously. And I’ve also seen that typically the people who have the least give the most here, which is an incredible testimony of God’s work, the Holy Spirit’s work, in people’s lives. All I’m telling you is that the Bible is clear on this. You either worship God with your wealth or you worship wealth. There isn’t a third direction. And Mary knows that money’s a horrible God. God fills the hungry. And the greedy and the rich, He has sent away empty.
Mary Knows That God Always Keeps His Promises
Now, look at verse 54. “He’s helped His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his offspring forever.” And this brings us to the eighth point. We’re almost done. Mary knows that God always keeps his promises. Beloved, is this not good news that God always keeps his promises? What did Mary just say? She just said, “Hey, God has kept the promise that He made to Abraham.” What does Mary know? Again, because she knows the Bible so well, she knows that this baby living inside of her womb is the fulfillment of a promise that God made to Abraham all the way back in Genesis chapter 12, when the Lord said to Abram, “Hey, I know you don’t have any kids right now, but guess what? I’m going to give you descendants. They’re going to outnumber the stars of the sky, and all the nations of the earth are going to be blessed through you.” And that was the promise of the Messiah, the coming Savior, which would be through the line of Abraham. And I have really good news for you. If God is able to keep that promise that He made to Abraham all the way back in Genesis 12, He’s able to keep every promise He ever made, including the one in Philippians chapter two, which says, “One day, every knee shall bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” He’s coming back for His church. He’s coming back for His people. And on that day, every knee is going to drop to the ground and give Him the praise he deserves.
Mary knows that Jesus matters more than comfort
And then finally, we get to verse 56. “And Mary remained with her,” Who’s her? Elizabeth. This is really important. “And Mary remained with her, Elizabeth, about three months, and returned to her home.” This brings us to the final point for this morning, number nine. Mary knows that Jesus matters more than comfort. She knows that Jesus matters more than her comfort. Pay close attention to what we’re being told right here. We’re just told that Mary goes to Elizabeth’s house and stays there for three months. Does anyone remember how many months pregnant Elizabeth was when Mary showed up? Six. So do the math there. We have six plus three equals, nine. What happens in nine months? Baby to full term. That’s why many Bible scholars believe what happened is that Mary stayed there with Elizabeth until the birth of John the Baptist, and then she began the long trip back to Nazareth on foot, where she was going to experience a ton of ridicule. Think about this. Can you imagine what’s going to happen when Mary walks back into the little town of Nazareth, still unmarried and starting to show? Imagine what’s going to be said about Mary… the gossip, the slander, the name calling. As a matter of fact, I don’t know if you realize this or not, but in John chapter eight, we actually get a hint in the gospels that this is exactly what Mary experienced as she was pregnant with Jesus, and after she gave birth to Jesus. The gossip and the slander, and what people said about Mary, that her character in the eyes of others was slandered because she was pregnant and unmarried. So there’s this moment in John chapter eight where Jesus is having a debate. These Pharisees are fighting with Jesus, because that’s typically what Pharisees love to do, fight with Jesus. Religious people love fighting with the gospel. And so these Pharisees are fighting with Jesus, and there’s this moment in John chapter eight that we’re told about, and I want to read this to you because it gives us a sense of what people were saying about Mary who was unmarried and pregnant with Jesus. He’s in this debate with the religious leaders in John chapter eight, verse 39. It says, “They,” the Pharisees, “answered Jesus, “‘Abraham is our father.’ “And Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children,’you would be doing the works Abraham did, ‘but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You’re doing the works your father did.’ “And they said to him, ‘We weren’t born of sexual immorality.'” Wow. Hold up, Jesus. Who you think you’re talking to? Because last time I checked, we know who our dad is. Could you imagine? Beloved, Mary went back to Nazareth, and all she faced was slander and gossip and name-calling and ridicule and criticism. Think of that. The mother of the Son of God was called a promiscuous, godless heathen. But you know what? She was totally willing to pay that price. Because to her, Jesus mattered more than her comfort. My life’s a blank check, Lord. Write whatever you want to on it. She’s willing to experience rebuke and slander to pay that price because Jesus matters more than her comfort. Beloved, I wonder, what kind of price are you currently paying in your own life because Jesus matters more than comfort? Does Jesus matter more than comfort to you? You’re like, “Well, I just want to be faithful to Jesus, to obey Jesus, to live for Jesus. I want the song of my life to be about God. I want the song of my life to have the theme of the Lord and the gospel. I want people to look at me and encounter Him. I don’t want it to be about me, I want it to be about Him.” And are you paying a price for the sake of faithfulness to Jesus? What price are you paying with your time or with your finances, with your relationships? What price are you paying with your reputation, your career, because you just want to be faithful to Jesus? And it’s not about your comfort. It’s about knowing Him and walking with Him. How many of you know that following Jesus oftentimes is very uncomfortable? In obeying God do ever notice how the Lord loves to push us out of our comfort zone. He has a very good way of just pushing us out of it. We want to be in our comfort zone. But the Lord is like, “Nope, I want you out.” I love what the late, great C.S. Lewis once said about this. He’s got a way with words, such a pithy way with words. I found this quote by C.S. Lewis and I love it. He said, “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. Always knew a bottle of port would do that.” If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity. You don’t follow Jesus because it’s comfortable. You follow Jesus because he’s God. He’s the Savior. He’s the hero. He’s the champion. Do you see it?
When you count all the times the references we have in the Song of Mary to the Lord, you will find that 17 different times in this one little song we have references to God. 17 different times her entire song is about God. Why? Because the entire song of her life was about the Lord. It’s not about magnifying me. My soul magnifies me. That’s not what she said. My soul magnifies the Lord. I want my life to magnify the Lord. The reality is, every single person either magnifies ourselves or we magnify the Lord. Who’s your life magnifying today? When people look at you, what do they see? Who are you living for? What’s your life about?
Here’s the reality. Think about this. Mary has no clue what tomorrow holds for her. She has no idea what she’s going to have to face in a week or in a month or in a year, a decade. She has no idea what’s going to happen in 33 years when she watches her son be nailed to a cross for our sins. She has no idea what tomorrow or next year holds for her. But you know what? She knows who God is. And that changes everything. We’re all in the same boat. We have no idea what tomorrow holds. We don’t know which one of us in here is still going to be sitting here in a year. We have no idea. We don’t know what next week holds or a decade from now holds. But here’s what we do know. Those of us who know Jesus, we know who God is. Through Christ, that changes everything. We have the faith of Mary.