by John Doughty
“And Mary said,
‘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; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.’” Luke 1:46-49
Mary’s very powerful words in the famous “Magnificat” are contained in Luke 1:46-55. But it is important to understand the events leading to her “Song of Praise” as recorded in verses 26-45.
When the angel Gabriel told the young virgin Mary that she was going to have a child who would be the Son of God and reign over the house of Jacob forever she said, “How can this be?” He answered her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her so that the child’s conception would be divine. And then he gave Mary the added confirmation that nothing is impossible with God by telling her that her kinswoman Elizabeth who was old and barren was also pregnant.
“Mary rose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe (that’s little John the Baptist) leaped in her womb; 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? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe 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!’” Luke 1:39-45
The angel had told Zechariah in Luke 1:15 that John the Baptist would be filled with the Spirit even from his mother’s womb. That is, the spirit of God would exercise a unique control on this man from the time he is in his mother’s womb until he completes his ministry as a grown man. Then Luke gives evidence of this: Mary approaches; carrying the Son of God in her womb, and little John gives Elizabeth a good kick in the diaphragm. Luke says that Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and cries out: “Mary, my child is leaping for joy. The Holy Spirit has helped him before he can even speak to bear witness to the Lord in your womb.”
These events preceding Jesus’ Birth are truly amazing for not only Mary and Elizabeth but we too like no other ‘Advent Message’ of strength for our faith in the Holy Spirit burning brightly and proclaiming for the entire world that our precious Savior will soon be born. We like Mary must honor and praise God for all His blessings and assurance for eternal life. Amen.