Lecture

This is lecture number one in the series on the gospel of Luke. It’s a real pleasure to have you join us in the study of the gospel of Luke. It is a very significant part of the canon. It is the only gospel that has a sequel, and it also is our longest gospel. Just as a matter of comparison, if you were to take the pages out of the Nestle-Aland 26th edition of the Greek New Testament, Matthew would occupy 87 pages, Mark has 59 pages, John has 73 pages, while Luke takes up a full 96 pages. If we change the comparison to be at the verse level, we find that Matthew has 1,071 verses, Mark has 678 verses, John has 869 verses, while Luke contains 1,151 verses. So it doesn’t take long to see that the gospel of Luke is our longest gospel. It contains much unique information about Jesus Christ.

A second interesting feature about our gospel in overview is that it is the only gospel that has a sequel, and as such it introduces Jesus’ ministry and yet follows that up with the treatment of the early church. And the two volumes themselves are structured in such a way that often features that are present in Jesus’ ministry reappear in the ministry of the apostles in Acts and thus show the point of connection between what Jesus did and what happened in the early church.

If we were to ask what Luke is all about, and particularly thinking of Luke as a part of Luke /Acts, Luke really rotates around four questions. First is the question of salvation itself and, in the context of Luke in relationship to Acts, this question could be asked in this way: How could Gentiles be included as God’s people on an equal basis with Jews, extending even to matters like sharing table fellowship and eliminating this necessity of circumcision? Although the real answer to that question comes in Acts, the foundation for it is laid in what we see in the gospel of Luke.

A second question that is a major concern of these two volumes as a whole is, What was the apparent paradox of the claim of God’s plan, that God’s plan was at work while Jews, the most natural recipients, largely rejected this offer? How could it be that Jesus could be the Messiah and yet the nation of Israel reject Jesus Christ? How could God’s plan and God’s messengers, especially including figures like Peter and Paul, not just Jesus, meet so much hostility? The two volumes as a whole answer the extent of this question, but the first acts of the two volumes occurs with the rejection of Jesus Christ.

A third major question is, What was the person of Jesus and His teaching all about and, particularly, how did a crucified Jesus fit into the plan of God? How could Jesus continue to exercise a presence and be the hope of God if He was crucified and laid to rest in the tomb? And the last chapter provides a major turning point in the answer to this question, of course, with the resurrection.

Fourth was the question of what does it mean to respond to Jesus? And really the central section of Luke’s gospel—Luke 9 to 19 in which there is a lot of unique material in this portion of the gospel—provides the answer to this question. What does it mean to respond to Jesus? What is required and expected of a commitment to Jesus? How should men and women live until Jesus returns? Luke’s gospel deals with that question in an especially focused way because it has not only a lot of miracles in it, but it also has a lot of teaching in it, particularly parables. And Luke 9 to 19 deals with it in a very focused way.

So, in a kind of overview of the gospel, we can see that there is the question of salvation, how God’s plan is working. In fact, that really is what Luke /Acts is all about and Luke in particular: How did God’s plan develop in and through Jesus Christ? Along with the paradox of that plan involving a crucified Messiah, the idea of how Messiah could be crucified and still be a part of the plan of God, how could the Jews reject what God had on offer and the plan still go ahead, and then, last, the fourth area is, What does it mean to respond to Jesus?

One other part of the overview that I’d like to do, not just overviewing the gospel as a whole and how it fits into Luke / Acts, but also thinking through some introductory matters, I’d like to quickly treat authorship and date of this gospel.

In fact, the name of the author of this work never appears anywhere in either Luke or Acts. It has to be deduced by evidence that combines information from the two volumes. Perhaps the most important part of information that tells us that Luke was aware of certain events, at least in the early church, are the “we” sections of Acts. This includes Acts 16:10–17, 20:5-15, 21:1-18, and 27:1–28:16. Though some scholars have tried to reject this material on the basis that it is a literary creation of Luke, it’s too random in the way it appears to have functioned as a literary creation. It looks like it’s placed appropriately in the material as a response of an eyewitness who experienced certain events. And so Luke joins himself to the ministry of Paul at certain key points, and so we know from this material that the writer of Luke / Acts is a companion of Paul.

We also know that the writer of Luke is the same as the author of Acts because of the way the two volumes are linked together; this having to deal with the introduction to Luke and Acts that take on a similar prologue form, the reference to Theophilus linking the two volumes as well as the central theme of the ascension, linking the end of Luke with the beginning of Acts. So who is this companion of Paul? Well, it’s interesting that the tradition of the church has been unanimous from a very early period in naming Luke, a companion of Paul, as the one who is the writer. This has been evidenced in various ways starting with Justin Martyr, who in his dialogs (chapter 103 and verse 19, around AD 160), spoke of a memoir of Jesus written by Luke and mentioned that he was a follower of Paul. And numerous other witnesses in the early church—moving from the Muratorian Canon to Irenaeus to the Anti-Marcionite Canon and on to Tertullian, the Marculean Prologue, and then finally Eusebius’ ecclesiastical history—all mention the companion of Paul as Luke so who isand that he is the author of these two volumes.

With regard to date, the major feature here has to do with when the last part of this gospel could possibly been written—Luke /Acts, that is—and AD 62 is the earliest possible date for the end of Acts because of the mention of Paul’s imprisonment. In fact, discussion about this gospel alternates really between two options, although the third is sometimes put on the table; the first option dealing with the date somewhere in the 60s, second option dealing with the date range of the mid 70s to late 80s, and then a very few people would date this as late as early second century. But the major debate is between those who date the gospel and Acts in the 70s and 80s versus those who do it in the 60s. Those who opt for the late date really argue that Luke is aware of the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 because of points made in Luke 19 and in Luke 21. But these predictions of Jesus are put in standard Old Testament language and are not prophesies after the fact, so you don’t have to assume that Jerusalem has fallen in order for these details to be in Luke’s gospel. This means that a date in the 60s is much more natural. Another reason a date in the 60s is much more natural is because all the discussion of Jew and Gentile relationships taking place within the church that are still being sorted out in both volumes. The Jew/Gentile problem is not as intense a problem in the latter part of the first century as it is in the middle part of the first century, and this would argue for a date in the 60s as well.

That deals with most of our preliminary matters. The only other point of orientation that I would mention is that the date of the events tied to Jesus in this gospel run from about 5 BC, 5 to 4 BC, the date of Jesus’ birth, to His crucifixion, which some people place at 30 and others place at AD 33. However, the cooperation between Herod and Pilate in association with the events of Jesus’ death suggests that they have come together in the early period of Pilate’s reign, including the period of AD 30. Herod and Pilate were very much at odds with one another. So an AD 33 date is more likely the date for Jesus’ crucifixion as a result. So the events of the gospel then run from 4 or 5 BC to AD 33.

Now we turn our attention to the first chapter of the gospel of Luke, and although I would like to move through the passages fairly quickly and just hit the highlights, we do have to stop and talk about the prologue a little bit because it is a very important part of the gospel of Luke. This is the only portion of any gospel in which the writer talks about how he went about producing his gospel. Luke is the only writer who gives us any clue as to how any of the gospels were written. And he tells us in verse 1 that narratives did exist, that many had undertaken to compile a narrative of the things accomplished among us, so we know that Luke had predecessors. In verse 2, he tells us that these narratives were delivered to the church (to us) by those who were from the beginning eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word. So not only was there the precedent of narratives, but the narratives themselves had their roots, had their origins, in those who saw these events and those who ministered the Word of God to the church. Luke, then, in verse 3 notes that he is going to join this tradition of passing on a narrative of events about Jesus; and so in verse 3 he emphasizes the fact that he has followed all things closely, that he’s done it from the beginning, and that his goal is to write an orderly account.

So in verse 3, Luke tells us he researched the matter. He tells us that he is going back to the beginning—that’s why he starts with John the Baptist in chapter 1—and that he has done so carefully and that it will be an orderly account. Now some people hearing the phrase “orderly account” think that that means that the gospel is in chronological sequence, but this is not always the case. In the section Luke 9 to 19, the central section or the journey section, Luke has Jesus in the north (in chapter 9) in Samaria. He has Him in Bethany at the end of chapter 10; and then in chapter 16 and 17, He’s journeying between Samaria and Berea. So it’s clear that this gospel is not a chronologically sequenced journey in this middle section of Luke 9 to 19. And Luke has other such rearrangements. We know this from comparing the order of Luke to the other gospels.

So what does Luke mean when he says this is an orderly account? Well, I think what it means is that God’s plan of salvation is laid out in an orderly way so that we can see the developments in the ministry of Jesus. We can understand what His ministry meant, and it’s laid out in a sequential way, largely geographic: Jesus’ Galilean ministry laid out early on, then in the journey section His movement and preparation of the disciples as He draws near to Jerusalem and His rejection, and then finally in Jerusalem His death and resurrection. So the orderly account, then, is not so much chronological as it is dimatic and geographical, and we will be developing that as we move through the gospel.

The purpose of all this is noted in verse four: “That you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.” The one addressed is Theophilus. We know very little about Theophilus actually. The fact that Luke calls him “most excellent Theophilus” means that he might be wealthy. He might even be Luke’s literary sponsor, but we don’t know that for sure. The name Theophilus suggests probably that he is Gentile, possibly a God-fearer who had first been in Judaism and then came over into Christianity, but certainly a Gentile from all the looks of everything that Luke writes about both in Luke and in Acts. And verse four tells us that the goal is assurance. Now Theophilus is probably a Gentile who has come into Christianity. And as a Gentile looking at his involvement in what was originally a Jewish movement, he may be asking the question: “What in the world am I doing here? What am I as a Gentile doing in what was originally a Jewish movement, especially when so many of those who are of Israel are not responding to the promise?” “Do I need all this flack?” he well may be asking. And so Luke writes these two volumes to encourage Theophilus, to assure him that what he had been taught about Gentile inclusion and involvement in the plan of God was, in fact, intended by God and was the goal of God’s plan and that he, Theophilus, could be comfortable being a part of what had originally started out as a Jewish movement.

So we come to the prologue and it tells us that Luke’s goal is to assure Theophilus, and any other readers, that Gentiles belong in the plan of God and that what Theophilus had heard about Jesus Christ and the plan of God was, in fact, true. Anyone reading this gospel beyond Theophilus, whether he be Jew or Gentile, could understand that God had done a great work in Jesus Christ and in the early church to show that the salvation of Jesus Christ extends to all men. In fact, when you put Luke and Acts together, you could understand the book by this phrase: Since Jesus is Lord of all, the gospel can go to all. And the Christology of that is developed really in the latter part of the gospel and the early part of Acts, and in the idea of that message going to all is really the burden of the book of Acts as well. So the prologue helps us to set up for the story, and Luke says he goes back to the very beginning; and to go back to the very beginning we have to go back to John the Baptist.

This brings us to the infancy material. The infancy narrative of Luke in Luke 1 and 2 is unique. It’s not like the infancy material in Matthew. The infancy material in Matthew is told largely from the perspective of Joseph, and it also highlights fulfillment as Matthew marks his infancy material with the “in order that it might be fulfilled” kinds of statements from Scripture. Luke just lays out in a sequenced way how John the Baptist and Jesus represent the fulfillment of the plan of God. And many characters play into Luke’s infancy material. We have the perspective of Zechariah to start off with, then we move to Mary, then to Elizabeth, then we come back to Zechariah and Elizabeth. Then we move in chapter 2 to the birth of Jesus. And Luke’s account is not focused on Joseph when it tells the story from Jesus’ family’s perspective. It’s focused on Mary. Another feature of the infancy material that’s important is the contrast between the prophet John and the child-king Jesus. And everything about the way these first two chapters are laid out indicates that Jesus is superior to John, and we’ll try and point that out as we move through the chapters.

Another important feature of the infancy material is the fact that each major character represents a type of person, and we will develop this as we move through. For example, in the first scene, the scene with Zechariah, we meet a very pious and righteous man who is part of a very pious and righteous couple. Verse 6 of chapter 1 makes the point that “both were righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.” But there also was a problem. They had no child. Elizabeth was barren.

As is often the case in biblical history, including the Old Testament, usually when the Bible makes a point about the barrenness of a woman, a great birth is going to ensue; and the story of John the Baptist is no exception to this. Isaac came from a previously barren woman as did Samson and as did Samuel. So the account of Luke 1 starts off by raising this theme: blessing out of barrenness. And so this announcement comes to an old couple, adding to the miraculous picture of the scene because not only is the couple barren, but they’re old and barren with no hope of having a child; and yet God is able to overcome this. As the story of Zechariah is told, in terms of how he hears about the birth of John the Baptist, Zechariah is ministering in the temple. His ministry in the temple is significant because this is one of two times in the year that Zechariah ministers for a week at the temple. More important than that, the fact that he is helping with the incense at the altar is a unique occasion in his entire ministry. In the Jewish book of the Mishna— where this is laid out and the description exists about how lots were cast and how someone was selected for this honor—in the Tractate Tamid, both in chapter 3 and in chapter 6, the details are laid out as to how this selection was made and how it was a unique day in the life of any priest. Zechariah probably would have been one of about 18,000 priests serving in the temple court at the time of Jesus. And so this would have been the one time he would get to replace the offering.

On this high day then is when the angel Gabriel appears to him and announces in verse 13, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.” And then the angel in the announcement lays out the features of the career of John the Baptist as he overviews what God has planned for Israel through this child. What’s really interesting is that God is able to deal with two prayer requests as he announces this answer to Zechariah’s prayer. Zechariah was in the temple praying for the nation and praying for her deliverance as part of the daily sacrifices of the nation. But in the background, in the past, was Zechariah and Elizabeth’s desire for a son. The announcement deals with both requests, and so God is able to do two things at once through this process.

As we look more closely at the announcement itself, we will see that Gabriel announces that John the Baptist is the great forerunner who Malachi promised years before. He notes that this child will be a source of joy and gladness not only for Zechariah, but for many (in verse 14). He goes on to say that he will be great before the Lord and then makes the point that he will be an ascetic, he will drink no wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb; and the fulfillment of that remark we will see later on in this chapter. He will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. He had the task that any prophet has and that is to call the people to repentance and to remind them of their commitments to the Lord. And then verse 17: “He will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” In other words, he was to go before God and set the stage for the salvation that comes in Jesus; and just as chapter 1 sets the stage for the arrival of Jesus’ birth in chapter 2, so the career of John the Baptist will set the stage for the coming of the Messiah.

Now that announcement is fairly well known and is an important detail in the chapter. But I think just as interesting is the function of Zechariah as a character, and this emerges in verses 18 and following. Zechariah, who you remember has been described as a pious man by Luke, asks, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel replies by saying, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you to bring this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their time.” So Zechariah asks what is seemingly a very natural question, “How can this happen since I’m so old? How in the world can my wife and I bare a son?” And the reply is, “You’re going to have time to think about this, Zechariah,” as he is struck dumb through the word of the angel. And we know from later on in the chapter that he not only is struck dumb, but he’s also struck deaf. Later on in the chapter when they go to name the child, they have to sign to him a question, and he has to write the answer out on a tablet so he’s both deaf and dumb.

Zechariah pictures a righteous man who needs to learn much from God. Even though he’s on the path and doing well, there’s still more to learn about trusting God. And so, in the unbelief of his question, God gives him a period of months in which he is to reflect on the promise of God and reflect on whether, in fact, it will take place. And, of course, with the birth of the child John and with the naming of the child John, as soon as he confirms that the child should be named John as the angel said, his voice and his hearing come back and he is restored; and he’s learned the lesson of faith in the time of reflection.

So not only does God announce the forerunner in these verses involving Zechariah (verses 5 to 25), but He also pictures the lesson of faith, the fact that someone must learn to trust God more and more and to believe His promises, and this will be a major theme of the gospel of Luke. One can trust the promises of God. God’s Word will come to pass. This first scene with the announcement of Zechariah closes with Elizabeth conceiving and withdrawing from contact with other people. And in verse 24, it mentions that she hid herself. But she hides herself and yet at the same time gives thanks to the Lord. Verse 25: “Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.”

And so the scene ends with this baby in Elizabeth’s womb; and she has withdrawn to reflect on what God is doing, rejoicing in the fact that God has finally answered her prayer to have a child. Well, that’s the announcement of the birth of the forerunner, but with the forerunner there comes the one who follows; and so Luke, in good literary style, puts the two announcements back to back so that the contrast can be seen. In the sixth month, verse 26 says—and I take it that we’re six months along in the pregnancy of Elizabeth at this point—the angel . . . Gabriel comes again to the city of Galilee in Nazareth and now he speaks with a virgin Mary, and she is betrothed to a man named Joseph who himself was out of the house of David.

And we get the second major birth announcement in this section and here we discover that the one who is to come is the King who is promised to Israel. In fact, Mary is startled when the angel appears and she is greeted with the words, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” The favor that Mary experiences here has nothing to do with her own capabilities or the fact that she is able to merit anything before God. She is a picture of the servant of God who is the object of His grace. And so she is addressed as “favored one.” Later on in the chapter it will say that she will be remembered among women and is most honored among women, again because she is such a unique object of God’s grace. The announcement comes that she will “conceive and bear a son” and the name of the child will be Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. And the Lord God is going to give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

There’s little doubt that when Mary heard this she thought of all the promises of the Old Testament made to Israel of a great king who would come and establish a kingdom and fulfill all the promises of God for the nation. That certainly is the thrust of these verses and the promises that are contained within them. She did not at this point— and I think the incident in chapter 2 where she encounters a 12-year-old Jesus in the temple confirms this—she did not have the thought in her own mind that she was giving birth to God or anything like this. She thought she was giving birth to the promised Messiah. Her understanding of Jesus only became clearer as His ministry proceeded, and that is precisely how Luke tells the story of Jesus’ life. He does not start off like John does by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” and then have this divine incarnation. He doesn’t start off this way. Rather Luke starts off, if you will, from earth up and works from the earth up rather than John who works from heaven down. And Mary experiences this by hearing the announcement of a coming king who comes after a prophet. And Luke will tell this story in categories that people can relate to to start with, and then, as the ministry evolves, we see that Jesus is really more than we could have anticipated as he tells the story and lays out the picture of who Jesus is.

Well, Mary is amazed by this announcement. In verse 34, she asks, “How can this be since I have no husband?” and it seems clear from the way the announcement is laid out and the story is told that Mary understood the angel to say she’s going to be conceiving rather immediately before her betrothal is completed. And so she’s wondering how she can have this child since she isn’t married yet. And this is where Luke highlights the virgin conception through the Holy Spirit. Verse 35: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” And in contrast to John the Baptist, who is a holy prophet, Jesus is simply holy and He is called the Son of God. The emphasis here is on the unique conception of Jesus Christ. It was eluded to earlier when the point is made that this woman is a virgin and there’s the announcement of a coming conception in verse 31. That language repeats the language, however, not only of Isaiah 7:14 but other such announcements like that in Genesis of the birth of a major patriarch.

So here in verse 35 we have it made crystal clear that this is a virgin birth and that the child being born is the Son of God. But we should not forget, as we hear the phrase “Son of God,” that to Jewish ears in the original setting this would have been a declaration of kingship. It would not necessarily have been the declaration of a full presence of Deity. It wouldn’t have been perceived that way at least. They didn’t have a conception at this point of God becoming incarnate in the flesh and being the Messiah. This was something that Jesus was going to have to teach them through His ministry; and this is something that Luke is going to reveal as something taught in the context of the ministry of Jesus.

The angel goes on to announce the conception of John the Baptist with Mary’s kinswoman Elizabeth. (We’re not told exactly what her relationship to Elizabeth is.) And he reminds her in verse 37 that “with God nothing is impossible.” This is another major refrain in the laying out of the infancy narrative that reminds us that God is capable of doing all. God is capable of doing what He promises; even something as amazing as a virgin birth, He can and will do. So Mary’s question is not so much a question of doubt as a question of curiosity, and so she doesn’t have any sign of judgment like Zechariah did. She’s simply told that the promise is going to come to pass and that the sign of the fact that the promise will come to pass is her kinswoman Elizabeth, who’s also bearing a child. When the scene is said and done, Mary says, “I am a handmaid of the Lord,” that is, a bondservant. “Let it be to me according to your word.”

So Mary represents and typifies the person of faith who is responsive to wherever God will take that person. This is important because Mary will undoubtedly receive some disrespect for bearing a child that is born early on into her marriage. And it will be clear that whatever conception took place, took place before she married Joseph. And yet she’s willing to face all this because she knows that God is behind it. She’s done nothing wrong; and she was willing to represent the Lord and be His vessel in this way.

So we’ve had two scenes in chapter 1: one announcing the birth of John the Baptist, the second announcing the birth of Jesus. And so the two major characters in the infancy material up to this point, Mary and Elizabeth, meet; and in a very real sense this little scene in verses 39 to 45 is a very important one, although it’s often neglected in the infancy material. It’s an important one for the movement of the story. Because in the first encounter between Mary and Elizabeth comes the opportunity for the first testimony of the baby to the child to come. And so they meet in the hill country in a city in Judea, in Judah. She enters the house of Zechariah and greets Elizabeth. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps at the arrival of Mary, and Elizabeth interprets the significance of the event for us by saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” And then she asks, “Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” See, Elizabeth represents a person who is amazed to be participating in the plan of God.

As the story moves ahead and as this great history about Jesus unfolds, each character is revealing something about the response to what God is doing. And Elizabeth represents a person who is absolutely overwhelmed at being able to participate and share in the blessings and in the activity of God. And so she asks, “Why is this granted me?” And then she goes on to explain why she feels this way in verse 44: “When the voice of greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy.” Now you remember that back in verse 14 of the announcement of John the Baptist, the remark was made that he would “be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb,” and the sentence is completed in verse 15. And here is the first fulfillment of that as the leaping of the baby, John, in Elizabeth’s womb is interpreted as pointing the way for Elizabeth to what is taking place. And she conveys his testimony even early on. Before the two children are even born, their relationship to one another is confirmed beautifully in this scene. Then another refrain comes in verse 45 as the remark is made, “and blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” And here is a commendation of faith: to trust what God has said about these children who represent the arrival of the plan of God.

So as we move through this chapter, we see characters who typify the kinds of responses that people have. Zechariah, the one who, although he is righteous, needs to learn to trust God even more; Mary, who’s willing to serve God wherever He will lead her; and Elizabeth, the one who rejoices in being able to participate in the blessings that God has on offer.

The next major scene in the infancy material shows the shift away from John the Baptist and to Mary, the dominant role that the birth of the King has over the prophet who points the way to the King, and this comes in verses 46 to 56. In this scene comes a hymn that’s known as the Magnificat. The name comes from the Latin beginning of this hymn. And this passage (verses 46-56) is a praise song, a personal praise song of Mary. There will be another one later on in the chapter by Zechariah. Mary’s psalm, however, is different from Zechariah’s. Mary’s psalm is general, and it praises God’s general regard for those whom He blesses; whereas Zechariah’s hymn is specific, working us through the plan of God as revealed in the coming King out of the house of David, Jesus, and the coming son of Zechariah, John the Baptist.

Now as we turn our attention to this hymn, it is written very much in Old Testament language. If one were to look in the margin of a good study Bible, one would see allusions to the Old Testament all the way through it recalling numerous psalms and other passages. Her theme is very simple: She’s going to praise the Lord, and her spirit is going to rejoice in God who is her Savior. And then in a series of descriptions—that, although they’re written in the past tense, look forward to future activity that is so certain that it can be expressed in the past tense—Mary lays out what God has done in terms of the principles of His activity. He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden, and for that reason she will be called blessed. Again, she is blessed not because she has some inherent ability in herself, but because she is the representation of grace extended to someone of humble position. In fact, she acknowledges this in the beginning of verse 48 by referring to herself as a bondservant, doulos, the feminine form of the term Paul likes to use when he refers to himself as a bondservant. Not only that, but she can rejoice because God has done mighty things for her, and holiness is the essence of His person. God is truly set apart and unique in the way He deals with people.

Then the question comes up as Mary makes this point: “Well, how do you deal with people, God?” And verse 50 provides the principle, the way in which God responds to those who fear Him: “And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.” The emphasis in the hymn is on the mercy or the hessed of God, His loyal love. In the context of the background of Psalm 103, from which this language comes, the point is made that God is loyal to those who fear Him. He works on behalf of those who fear Him. And how He works on behalf of those who fear Him is what Mary goes on to talk about in the rest of the passage. The real emphasis in the front end of this hymn is simply that Mary rejoices because God is at work on her behalf.

Now verse 50 is important for another reason. It’s because, even though Mary praises God’s activity with the humble and with those who are downtrodden and with the hungry, this is not a political agenda in this passage because His mercy is on those, as verse 50 says, who fear Him; or His mercy and His benefits extend to those who have covenant relationship with God as the mention of promises to Abraham in verse 55 make clear. So as we move into this section in which God’s activity is detailed, we shouldn’t read this as a blanket offer to anyone and everyone who’s in the same kind of humble circumstance Mary is. Now this is an offer to those who may be poor and may be of humble state, that’s generally who God works with, Mary says, but it’s those who fear Him who see His benefits, those who seek Him out, those who share in His promises. Well, what are the promises? Verse 51 and following tell us: “He’s shown strength with His arm”; that is, He acts on behalf of His people. “He scatters the proud”; they are put down. The mighty are put down from their thrones and those of humble position are exalted. The contrast here has to do with what is called eschatological reversal. It’s the principle that Jesus would later teach: “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.” And so Mary is pleased as she reflects on the announcement of this birth in this very hymnic manner and this very literary manner. She is pleased at the fact that God is going to work on her behalf.

Again, Mary pictures the woman who is a picture of faith. She is one who responds properly to God and says, “God, you can do anything with me that you would like.”

You see, as we look at the infancy material, it’s important to see that not only is the story of John the Baptist and of Jesus being told, not only are great events of God being laid out, but also certain aspects of character are being highlighted about the kind of people God works with. Yes, some people need to learn the lesson of faith, and so Zechariah is silent as he watches the promise of God work itself out. Yes, other people are called upon to do and be a part of very unusual events, as is the case with Mary in which she as a virgin is going to be asked to bear this very unique child even though she’s only betrothed. And yes, Elizabeth, a barren old woman, is able to give birth. But as she does so, she rejoices in the fact that God would be gracious enough to use her and allow her to participate in the great events of salvation. These are the lessons of the early part of the infancy section in Luke 1. Not just that John the Baptist is coming and that after him will come the King Jesus, but that the beneficiaries of that arrival will be people of faith; some who need to learn more about it and others who just need to walk the path that God would send them on.