Scripture:
Luke 1.39-56
Translation: 1.39And Mary
got up in those days and went quickly into the mountainous regions to a city in
Judah. 40And she went into Zachariah’s house and said hello to
Elisabeth. 41And it happened as Elisabeth heard Mary’s hello that
the child in her womb jumped. And Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42And
she spoke up in loud voice and said, “You’re blessed among women! And the Fruit
of your womb is blessed! 43And so why do I get this blessing [lit.
how is this mine], namely that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44Moreover,
look, when the sound of your hello reached my ears, the child in my womb jumped
for joy! 45And the woman is blessed who believes that there will be
a fulfillment for the things that were truly spoken to her from the Lord!” 46And
Mary said, “My soul glorifies the Lord! 47And my spirit celebrates
because of God my Savior, 48because He looked at the lowly position
of His slave! Moreover, look, from now on all generation will call me blessed, 49because
the Powerful One did great things for me. and His Name is holy, 50and
His mercy lasts forever and ever for those who fear Him! 51He
performed a powerful victory with His arm. He completely scattered those
arrogant in the attitude of their heart! 52He took down powerful
rulers from [their] thrones, and raised up lowly people. 53He filled
the hungry people with good things [to eat], and sent the rich people away
empty. 54He took care of Israel His slave, by remembering mercy, 55just
as He told our fathers, to Abraham and to His seed forever!” 56And
Mary stayed with her about three months. Then she went back to her own house.
Interpretation
1.
Structure
a.
Setting: Mary visits
Elisabeth in Judah and says hi (vv.39-40)
b.
Elisabeth’s Holy Spirit
Inspired Blessing (vv.41-45)
i.
Structuring event: Mary
says hello, the baby jumps in the womb, and the Spirit comes on Elisabeth
(v.41)
ii.
Blessing of pregnant Mary
(v.42a)
iii.
Blessing of unborn Jesus
(v.42b)
iv.
Explanation of the Blessing
(vv.43-44)
v.
Blessing encouraging Mary
to faith (v.45)
c.
Mary’s Song of Praise
(vv.46-55)
i.
Structuring event: Mary
responds aloud (v.46a)
ii.
Mary’s praise and joy
(v.46b-48a)
1.
Praise (v.46b)
2.
Joy (v.47)
3.
Basis (v.48a)
iii.
Mary’s reputation as
blessed, because of what God did (v.48b-49a)
1.
Blessed reputation (v.48b)
2.
Basis (v.49a)
iv.
The Worthiness of God to be
praised (vv.49b-55)
1.
He is Holy (v.49b)
2.
He is eternally merciful to
those who fear Him (v.50)
3.
He acts powerfully and
righteously (v.51)
4.
He reverses the fortunes of
the powerful and the helpless (vv.52-53)
5.
He has mercy on His People
as promised (vv.54-55)
d.
Closing: Mary stays for
three months and goes home (v.56)
2.
Themes
a.
Blessing/blessedness/lucky/fortunate/favored
b.
John the Baptist the
Preparer for Jesus
c.
The Divinity, Messiah-ness,
and Supremacy of Jesus
d.
Praise to Yahweh
e.
Yahweh is faithful to keep
His promises to His people
f.
Salvation/deliverance is
here
g.
Yahweh is powerful
h.
Yahweh is merciful
3.
Doctrines
a.
Jesus is Fully God
b.
Jesus is the Promised
Messiah
c.
Yahweh is Holy, Faithful,
Merciful, Eternal, All-Powerful
d.
Yahweh is Worthy of All the
Glory
Applications
1.
Outline
a.
The Holy Spirit must be the
most desired Person in our lives, because He empowers praise and ministry and
joy
i.
As soon as the Spirit came
praise of Christ occurred
1.
Elisabeth praised Christ
and God
2.
Mary praised God
ii.
As soon as the Spirit came
ministry happened
1.
John Prepared for Jesus
2.
Elisabeth encouraged Mary
3.
Mary shared her praise
iii.
As soon as the Spirit came
supernatural joy was present
1.
John jumped for joy
2.
Elisabeth celebrated
3.
Mary celebrated
b.
Jesus must be the most
important Person in our lives, because He is the promised Messiah, God come in
the flesh
i.
Jesus being the Messiah
matters because many people argue against Christianity because they say the
Bible is not consistent, but if Jesus is the Messiah, which He is, then the
Bible is super consistent! That Jesus is the Promised Messiah is one of the
things that makes Christianity so believable. If Jesus really was the Messiah
the Only way that could happen was if our God revealed in the Old Testament was
the True God if He was the Faithful, Trustworthy, Holy, Omnipotent God that He
is!
ii.
He is God, which we can see
because Elisabeth says “the mother of my Lord” and she means Lord in the God
sense, not in the British parliamentary sense.
iii.
Christ’s importance is
evidenced by John preparing for Jesus while he is still in the womb! Actually
they are both still in the womb!
c.
God must be the most
trusted Person in our lives, because He is faithful to all His Promises,
because He Holy, Righteous, All-Powerful, Merciful, and Eternal
i.
He is faithful to His
promises, so we should trust Him
ii.
He is merciful, so we can
trust Him even when we are undeserving
iii.
He is Righteous, so we can
trust Him to do the right thing
iv.
He is Holy, so we can trust
Him as God
v.
He is All-powerful, so we
can Trust Him to be able to act
vi.
He is eternal, so we can
trust Him regardless of time, we can trust Him forever
d.
The Holy Trinity must be
the Only Worshiped God in our lives, because of Who He is and What He has
done/does/will do.
i.
Worship should be our
natural response
ii.
Gratitude should be our
motivation
2.
Discussion Questions
a.
How desired is the Holy
Spirit in your life? How so?
b.
How important is the
Messiah, Jesus, to your life? How so?
c.
How trusted is God the
Father in your life? How so?
d.
Does knowing that Jesus
being the Messiah affirms to us the truth of the Bible help you have more
confidence in God in your Christian life? How so? Would knowing more about why
Christianity is believable help you? Why or why not?
e.
Do you notice all the
blessings God has given you in life? Do they fill you with gratitude or a
desire to worship God? Why or why not?
f.
What would God have to do
to make you filled with so much gratitude to Him every day that it would spill
over into abundant and genuine worship? Has God already done things like what
you imagine would draw you to gratitude and worship? If so, did it produce the
outcome you said? Why or why not?
Illustrations/Explanations
1.
John is the surveyor and
land-clearer, while Jesus is the foundation and the building
2.
The Holy Spirit is the
Joy-Bringer. He is like Eugene. Many times Eugene comes into the room and the
room brightens, and he raises the moods of the people present. And while I am
not denying that it is because of who God is making Eugene to be, it is also
because I think that bringing joy is Eugene’s spiritual gift. The Holy Spirit
often works through Eugene to make us all a bit happier
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