WEEK3
Mary's Prayer of Submission
Focus Verses
And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:38Lesson Text
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it
unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
. . . . .
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and
holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to
generation.
51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered
the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted
them of low degree.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich
he hath sent empty away.
54 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his
mercy;
55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his
seed for ever
Focus Thought
Humility and submission to God in prayer enables a person to be used by God.
Outline
I. HUMILITY
A. Mary Considered Herself of Low Estate
B. Mary Saw God as Great and Holy
II. SUBMISSION
III. PRAISE
IV. HUMILITY REWARDED
A. Mary Was
Blessed among Women
B. Mary Was
Present at the Birth of the Church
Culture Connection
The Destructive Power of Fear
According to Ashley Stahl, writing for the website The Muse
(https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-get-over-your-fear-of-your-boss,
accessed August 8, 2016), studies indicated that one in four workers are afraid
of their superiors. In most cases this fear has little to do with the superior.
It makes no difference if the boss has a pleasing or a difficult personality or
if past encounters have been dreadful or delightful. Often it has more to do
with negative life experiences of the worker or personal traits unrelated to work.
However, it has a major detrimental impact on both the employee and the
workplace.
Fearful employees are less likely to enjoy and derive
satisfaction from their work. The constant anxiety can cause or contribute to
health problems. Fear of displeasing the boss causes many employees to avoid
doing outstanding work, to limit their creativity, and to stick to routine and
largely anonymous work.
Contemplating The Topic
Mary’s hymn of praise recorded in Luke 1:46–55 has become
one of the best-known prayers of the church. This is due in part to the rise,
sometime before the fourth century, of Mariolatry (veneration of the Virgin
Mary) (Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary). Although it may have been
Mariolatry that showed a bright spotlight on the few recorded words and deeds
of Mary, this poetic prayer (often called the Magnificat, from the Latin
translation of the first few words) deserves its special place in the Christian
faith. The Magnificat stands as a superb model for prayers of praise coming
from a heart of humility and submission to God’s will. “It is a prayer, but the
highest kind of prayer, for it asks for nothing—it simply breathes adoration
and thankfulness. We may imagine the angels praying thus” (Pulpit Commentary).
What did God do to provoke such wondrous praise from a young
Jewish teenager? He had granted her the most paradoxically cursed blessing ever
bestowed upon a girl: to be an unwed mother at a time when such would
frequently result in death by stoning or a life of prostitution; to have her
virtue and purity questioned; to see the look of incredulity in the eyes of
anyone with whom she tried to share the truth; to realize that even if her
fiancé would save her from the charge of adultery, they would become the brunt
of knowing glances filled with scorn; to go on the run from a government
seeking to kill her child; to learn that she could never fully claim, fully
guide, or fully comprehend her own son; to witness His rejection, arrest, and
agonizing execution; and to know she had been chosen and entrusted with all of
this by her Lord.
“Nowhere can we better see the paradox of blessedness than
in [Mary’s] life. To Mary was granted the blessedness of being the mother of
the Son of God. Well might her heart be filled with a wondering, tremulous joy
at so great a privilege. Yet that very blessedness was to be a sword to pierce
her heart . . . To be chosen by God so often means at one and the same time a
crown of joy and cross of sorrow” (William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke:
Daily Bible Study Series).
But God did not leave her without a confidant who would believe, understand, and shelter her. Mary’s older cousin, Elisabeth, became the young girl’s prayer partner. As the Spirit of God fell upon them, first Elisabeth and then Mary proclaimed the greatness of the Lord in bringing to pass the coming of the Messiah. And in His final moments on the cross, Jesus entrusted his mother’s care to the disciple whom He loved: “And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home” (John 19:27).
Searching The Scriptures
I. HUMILITY
A. Mary Considered Herself of Low Estate
Mary would be among the first to vehemently condemn the
idolatrous veneration directed toward her as the Queen of Heaven, the Mediatrix
of All Graces, the Perpetual Virgin born free from sin due to the Immaculate
Conception, and the Co-Redemptrix with Christ. She recognized that she was of
“low estate” (of humble origin, from a word translated “vile” in Philippians
3:21). More than that, she called herself the “handmaid of the Lord” (Luke
1:38). The word “handmaid” sounds almost respectful and complimentary to the
modern ear, but it is translated from the word for a female slave. Female
slaves were the lowest of society, even lower than their male counterparts.
If, as is likely, the genealogy of Jesus given in Luke
3:23–38 is His physical lineage through Mary while that recorded in Matthew
1:1–17 is His legal lineage through Joseph, both Mary and her future husband
were direct descendants of King David. But while Joseph came through the royal
line of Solomon, Mary’s ancestor was Solomon’s younger brother, Nathan. Her
descent from David was one of the reasons Mary was chosen to bring the Messiah
into the world—to fulfill prophecy. However, Mary was removed from her royal
ancestor by nearly a thousand years of history. In the daily circumstances of
her life, being related to David meant nothing. From the few glimpses we
receive in the Gospels, it is evident that she did not come from a prominent
family with any political or social power or ambitions.
Some of us may be sixth- or seventh-generation Apostolic. We
may come from prominent families in the church or in society. We may receive
accolades from those within and outside the church. While we justly value these
things, they hold no eternal significance. “Yea doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung,
that I may win Christ” (Philippians 3:8). The heart of praise fully opens to
God not through who we are, but through who He is. Mary prayed, “From
henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath
done to me great things” (Luke 1:48–49). Her blessedness came from what the
Lord had done.
B. Mary Saw God as Great and Holy
Mary’s prayer of praise resembles closely Hannah’s song in I
Samuel 2:1–10, but it also contains or alludes to no less than twelve other Old
Testament passages (Guzik, Luke: Commentaries on the Bible). This praise
poured forth from the abundance of her heart, demonstrating that her heart was
filled with Scripture.
It is believed by some that during the intertestamental
period, Queen Shlomis (c. 141–67 bc) and her brother Shimon ben Shetach, the
head of the Sanhedrin, established the first compulsory education law in
history that covered both boys and girls. Parents were required to send their
children to the village Bet Sefer (House of the Book, usually at the
local synagogue) from the age of six, with the boys usually continuing to a Bet
ha-Midrash (House of Study) or Bet ha-Talmud (House of Talmud) at
the age of sixteen.
Although formal education for girls ended at the age of
thirteen or fourteen when they were getting ready for marriage, the requirement
that women thoroughly know the Scriptures in order to properly fulfill the role
of wife and mother meant that the average Jewish woman was often better
educated than all but the wealthiest of Gentile women. (See Schoeman, “Early
Hebrew Education”; and Drazin, A History of Jewish Education from 515 bce to
220 ce.)
Clearly, Mary had been systematically exposed to the
Scriptures, but more than that, she had found a love for the Word that had
driven her to make it a part of her being. “For he that is mighty hath done to
me great things; and holy is his name,” she proclaimed, “and his mercy is on
them that fear him from generation to generation” (Luke 1:49–50). Steeped in
His Word, her praise declared God’s mighty power, His distinctive holiness, and
His everlasting mercy.
“Surely in all the records of the Lord’s works since the
world’s creation, his might had been never shown as it was now about to be
manifest in her. His holiness had been displayed to her in the way in
which the mighty acts of ineffable love had been carried out. His mercy:
this attribute of God came home with intense power to the heart of the Jewish
girl, into which God’s protecting Spirit was shining with so clear a light” (Pulpit
Commentary).
II. SUBMISSION
The Magnificat is a revolutionary manifesto. It speaks of
four revolutions God brings about in the world of man through His incarnation.
The first revolution was spiritual. Mary called God “my Saviour” (Luke 1:47),
acknowledging that she was a sinner in need of salvation that comes only from
God. She went on to pray, “And his mercy is on them that fear him from
generation to generation” (verse 50). We now participate in a revolution of the
heart and soul with repercussions reaching from earth to Heaven across all the
generations of man. Those who were once sinners are now made saints and those
the world thought to be saints have been exposed as sinners. The church
joyously proclaims this revolutionary message to all the world.
Second, the Magnificat prophesied a moral revolution: “He
hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the
imagination of their hearts” (verse 51). The coming of the Christ signaled the
death of pride. “If a man sets his life beside that of Christ it tears the last
vestiges of pride from him” (Barclay, The Gospel of Luke). As our great
model of true morality, Christ stands so far above us that we can only abandon
our pitiful protestations that we live moral lives and fall upon His grace. By
the strength of His indwelling Spirit, He generates a true morality inside us
that manifests itself in the good that we do in the world.
Third, a social revolution was proclaimed: “He hath put down
the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree” (verse 52). Those
who would follow Christ are called to abandon the world’s system of assigning
individual worth and prestige. Jesus told His disciples, “Ye know that the
princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great
exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever
will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief
among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:25–27).
Last, the Magnificat spoke of an economic revolution: “He
hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away”
(Luke 1:53). For a Christian, wealth is never to be a goal but only a tool.
Riches are not wrong if used to glorify God and benefit the needy. (See I
Timothy 6:17–19.) Non-Christians often seek personal worth through a spirit of
acquisition, but the godly find joy in giving.
Mary’s submission, “be it unto me according to thy word”
(Luke 1:38) so readily given in response to Gabriel’s message, was not just
opening her own life to God’s will. Her prayer of praise made it clear she
understood that submission to God’s will requires submission to His plan for
all of mankind. Such submission requires that the servant of God become a
peaceable revolutionary. The servant of God works to bring about a spiritual,
moral, social, and economic world made in the image of Christ. It does not
matter if we see it in our present society or during our present lives. We
continue to pray for God’s will to be accomplished on earth as it is in Heaven.
The world is better because of those revolutionary souls who truly submit to
that plan.
III. PRAISE
Mary’s Magnificat can be divided into four parts. In the
first, Mary praised God for making her a part of His eternal plan. In the
second, she praised Him for His eternal attributes of mighty power, distinctive
holiness, and everlasting mercy. The third praised God for His righteous and
equitable will for mankind. Finally, she praised Him for remembering His
promises to Abraham.
The first division (Luke 1:46–48) is highly personal,
expressing Mary’s intense joy and adoration. Her joy was no doubt in response
to Elisabeth’s assurance “for there shall be a performance of those things
which were told her from the Lord” (verse 45), but it was founded upon a much
deeper reality: “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” (verse 47). The
miraculous son growing in her womb would soon be revealed as our God and Savior
(Titus 3:4; II Peter 1:1). Mary’s great joy was in the assurance of salvation
for herself and this sinful world.
In the second division (verses 49–50), Mary’s attention is
focused on God Himself. She praised Him for the “great things” He had done to
her, recognizing that these blessings arise from His divine character.
The third division (verses 51–53) of the Magnificat is the
expression of the revolutionary manifesto of God. Mary lived in a society that
was debased spiritually, politically, socially, and economically. We would like
to think that the brutality, ignorance, and injustice of ancient societies has
been tempered and even eradicated by modern culture. The truth is that we are
all barbarians under a thin veneer of civilization. Scientific progress too
often makes us more efficient sinners. Education and philosophy frequently
provide a cloak for hidden malignancy. The true reform of a society comes only
through the Spirit of God working through people who place themselves as salt
and light in a corrupt and dark world.
The last division (verses 54–55) is praise for the
fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel. As Christians today wait for “that
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ” (Titus 2:13), so Jewish believers had awaited their Messiah, the one
who would come of the seed of Abraham and of David, the seed of the woman
(Galatians 3:16; Romans 1:3; Genesis 3:15). Mary was the fulfillment of the
prophecy of Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel.” As the angel assured Joseph in his dream, “She
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save
his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). This blessing was not just to the
Jews. As Simeon proclaimed while holding the baby Jesus, “For mine eyes have
seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a
light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke
2:30–32).
IV. HUMILITY REWARDED
A. Mary Was Blessed among Women
For most women, bearing a child is a marvelous and
fulfilling event. We can only imagine how that might be intensified if that
baby is the Son of God, brought into existence through a unique miracle that
even today brings either great wonder or great doubt. The angel Gabriel’s words
seem understated when he called her “highly favored” and “blessed” (Luke 1:28).
Truly Mary was correct when she said, “from henceforth all generations shall
call me blessed” (verse 48).
Mary was not told that she would be blessed above all other
women. Rather that she was blessed “among women” (verse 28). Every believing
woman receives, in a spiritual sense the blessing of Mary. When, during the
ministry of Jesus, Mary brought her family desiring to speak with Him, Jesus
took that as an occasion to teach that spiritual bonds are more important than
familial: “And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said,
Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father
which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew
12:49–50).
At another time, a woman reacted to the teaching of Jesus by
calling out, “Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast
sucked” to which Jesus responded, “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the
word of God, and keep it” (Luke 11:27–28). Submission to the will of God ties us
more closely to Jesus than physical and emotional ties can ever connect us to
our natural family. Mary was not blessed because she was the mother of Jesus
but because she was obedient to the word of God.
God promised that if Israel was obedient to the Old Covenant,
they would be “blessed above all people” (Deuteronomy 7:14). The obedient are
blessed among the church, and the church is blessed above all others.
B. Mary Was Present at the Birth of the Church
Almost as a footnote, Luke listed “Mary the mother of Jesus”
as one of the people who continued in one accord and supplication in the upper
room (Acts 1:14). It seems fitting that her life as recorded in the Scriptures
would be bracketed at one end by the virgin birth and at the other by the birth
of the church. She was there to hear the “sound from heaven,” to see the
“tongues like as of fire” and to “speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance” (Acts 2:1–4). She was one of those who “gladly received”
Peter’s word, were baptized, and “continued stedfastly in the apostles’
doctrine” (Acts 2:41–42).
Internalizing The Message
Mary is not mentioned by name anywhere in the Bible except
the four books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts. Yet all generations who hear
her story call her blessed. The young teen who said, “Be it unto me according
to thy word” could not have known what ecstasy and pain her submissive heart
would bring into her life. All she knew was that she was God’s servant, and her
Master had a part for her in His plan. That is all she needed to know.
None of us will be called today to literally give birth to the Son of God, although some of us may indeed be bringing up a prophet, teacher, pastor, or prayer warrior who will be instrumental in revolutionizing the world. Many of us become spiritual fathers or mothers to those who are young in the Lord. Paul referred to the saints in Galatia as “my little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). In these ways, and many more, we all have the opportunity to become “the brother, and sister, and mother” of Jesus.