Gabriel told the virgin Mary she was pregnant. How could this be possible? Joseph would discover his betrothed carried a baby that was not his. How could this be explained? Mary’s baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit and would be called the Son of God. How could this be true? Luke 1:37 explains: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:38 is Mary’s response: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Mary then visited relatives who had also received angelic news of a supernatural birth. Aged Zechariah and barren Elizabeth would have a son named John. At Mary’s greeting, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy. It was prenatal praise. 

In Luke 1:42-45, Elizabeth cried with a loud voice: “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? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary’s faith poured forth in a song of praise. It is called the Magnificat – the first word of the Latin translation of Mary’s song. Critics question whether Mary wrote this song because of its high poetry and deep theology. To deny the authorship of Mary is to deny the authority of scripture. 

Every Jewish child was raised to expect the coming of the Messiah-King. Jewish girls could only dream they would give birth to the Messiah. This was too good to be true for Mary. She responded by singing praise. The Magnificat is the First Christmas carol. It is not about Santa, elves, reindeer, trees, snow, food, and gifts. Mary’s song is about a revolution!     

E. Stanley Jones called it “the most revolutionary document in the world.” In the 1980s, the Magnificat was banned in Guatemala because of its revolutionary claims. During World War II, William Temple warned missionaries to India not to read the Magnificat in public because of its inflammatory language. 

Bruce Lawson wrote: “What Mary was prophesying about her unborn son is terrifying to the establishment, whoever and wherever they are. They cannot hear these words gladly. We may attempt instead to spiritualize these verses, but deep down we all know that Jesus has come to instigate the kind of revolution we need.” This is the meaning of Christmas: The birth of Jesus was a revolution by which God established a new world order. How did God turn the world upside-down through the birth of Jesus? 

God chose Mary by His Sovereign Grace. 

John 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” In The Magnificat, Mary worshiped God in spirit and truth.  

Mary Worshiped in Spirit. Verses 46-47 sing: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Note the personal pronouns: “My soul.” “My spirit.” “My Savior.” We should worship the Lord publicly and corporately. But Corporate praise should be filled with personal devotion. Personal worship is passionate worship. Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” To magnify is to make great or glorious. Magnifying the Lord does not make him greater. It declares how great he is. Psalm 145:3 says, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” 

Mary said, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Mary did not practice Roman Catholic Mariology. She was not an object of worship. She worshiped “God my Savior.” Mary did not view herself as immaculate – untainted by original sin. She was a sinner who needed a Savior. Mary’s song is the first occurrence of “Savior” in Luke. It is a reference to God. In the birth of Jesus, God did not send a Savior. God saves. This is how to worship God in spirit. Praise God for Jesus! 2 Corinthians 9:16 says, “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” 

Mary Worshiped in Truth. Verse 48 sings: “For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” The world overlooks people without status. The Lord looks on his servant’s humble estate. Mary was a nobody from nowhere with nothing. Yet no woman has received a greater honor. She was a peasant bride of a blue-collar worker from a ghetto called Nazareth. Yet she was chosen to be the mother of the Messiah.

Verse 49 says, “For behold, from now on all generations will call be me blessed.” Roman Catholics pray to Mary to receive blessings. Mary was a beneficiary, not a dispenser of God’s divine blessings. She prophesied future generations would call her blessed. Mary’s blessedness had nothing to do with physical health, material prosperity, or worldly success. Verse 49 says, “For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” This is how to worship God in truth.

• Praise God’s mighty works! 
• Praise God’s gracious favor! 
• Praise God’s holy name! 

Psalm 111:9 says, “He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!”

God showed Mercy by His Generous Justice. 

Verse 50 says, “And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.”

• Mercy is the restraining love of God. 
• Mercy withholds deserved punishment. 
• Mercy is what makes grace possible. 

The Lord is merciful to those who fear him. Fear of God is synonymous with faith in God. God’s favor was not unique to Mary. The Lord is merciful to all who fear him. 

William Barclay wrote: “There is loveliness in the Magnificat but in that loveliness there is dynamite. Christianity begets a revolution in each man and revolution in the world.” The Magnificat is prophetic praise. As Mary sang these words, the events described in verses 51-53 had not taken place. Yet Mary sings about a moral, political, and economic revolution as a past event.

A Moral Revolution. Verse 51 describes omnipotence: “He has shown strength with his arm.” In the birth of Christ, God flexed his muscles. Psalm 89:13 says, “You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.”Verse 51 says God’s strong arm has “scattered the proud in the thoughts of their heart.” The thoughts of our sinful hearts are filled with pride. It is what makes us think and feel we do not need God. God’s strong arm scatters the proud in the thoughts of his heart. The children of Israel were slaves in Egypt. The Lord sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let his people go. Pharaoh obstinately refused. At the Red Sea, the Lord scattered the proud thoughts of Pharaoh’s heart. Mary dared to claim that one greater than Moses was in her womb who would lead a greater exodus. The birth of Christ is the death of pride.

 James 4:7-10 says: “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

A Political Revolution. Verse 52 states another reversal of fortune: “He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate.” Mary viewed her unborn son to be God’s strong arm that would knock the mighty from their thrones. Matthew 2:1-3 reads: “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” Two words troubled Herod and Jerusalem: “born king.” 

The birth of Jesus means the days of all oppressors are numbered. Our lives are not governed by the elections of men, the votes of Congress, the tweets of presidents, the rocket launchers of dictators, the resolutions of the United Nations, the peace treaties of warring nations, or the evil plans of terrorists. God brings down the mighty from their thrones. God exalts those of lowly estate. Philippians 2:9-11 says: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

An Economic Revolution. Verse 53 claims the birth of Christ has socio-economic implications: says, “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.”

• The rich have more than they know what to do with. 
• The poor live without their basic needs being met. 

God cares for the poor. The birth of Jesus is heaven’s “Affordable Care Act.” Call it “Messiah-Care.” Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” God fills the hungry with good things. God sends the rich away empty. 

Prosperity theology is a damnable heresy. The preacher who would have you focus on being rich is setting you up for the judgment of God. The rich amass possessions only to have God snatch them away and send them away empty. Jesus makes this point in the Parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. The rich man had it all. Lazarus had nothing. Both men died. Lazarus was carried to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man lifted up his eyes in hell. Money, power, and respect cannot save you from eternal damnation. Matthew 16:26 asks: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” 

God helped Israel by His Unfailing Word. 

 Verse 54 says, “He has helped his servant Israel.” This is the history of Israel. God helped Israel. This was Mary’s understanding of the baby in her womb. The birth of Jesus was the Lord’s help for Israel. Warren Wiersbe wrote: “Mary took God’s promises to Israel literally and did not explain them away.” How has God helped Israel? 

God Remembers His Mercy. Verse 50 says, “And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.” Verse 54 says, “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy.” Israel changed its mind about God. God didn’t change his mind about Israel. God is a covenant-keeping God. In the birth of Jesus, God did a new thing. This new thing was in remembrance of his mercy. It was the fulfillment of his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

Genesis 22:16-18 says, “By myself I have sworn, declare the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, you only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gates of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” God has a good memory!

• He knows what to forget. 
• He knows that to remember. 

Isaiah 49:15-16 says: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”

God Keeps His Word. How did God remember his mercy? Verse 55 answers: “As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” Mary knew the scriptures. There are at least fifteen Old Testament quotations in this song. She tells God what he has done eight times.

Mary believed God would keep his promises before Jesus was even born. How much more should you believe on this other side of Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter? 2 Corinthians 1:20 says: “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” The last recorded words of Mary are in John 2:5: “Do whatever he tells you.” This should be your response to the God who always keeps his promises.

Verse 56 resumes the narrative: “And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.” The Christmas story is scandalous. Mary was a teenage virgin betrothed to a righteous man who had not touched her. Yet she returned to Nazareth pregnant. Joseph planned to divorce Mary privately. But the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph. Matthew 1:20-21 says, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 

Christmas is not about the infancy of Christ. It is about the deity of Christ. It is about the mystery of the Incarnation. Jesus is heaven’s wonder, hell’s worry, and humanity’s way out of sin, guilt, shame, death, and hell.

Robert Eisler, a German scholar, was the forerunner of liberal theology’s quest for the historical Jesus. In 1929-1930, he published a two-volume work called Jesus the King Who Did Not Reign.” He claimed Jesus was a revolutionary whose insurgency was crushed when Rome crucified him. Eisler got the story wrong. Jesus was born of a virgin. He lived a righteous life. He died on the cross for our sins. He rose from the dead. He ascended to the Father’s right from which he rules, super-rules, and overrules. He will come again to punish the wicked, glorify the saints, and consummate his kingdom.