Luke 1:46-52 … To rejoice with God (04/30/17)
“My Soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God … He has shown strength with his arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their Hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly” ~ Luke (Luke 1:46-52)
First & foremost, note that this passage reflects “Mary’s song of praise” (reminiscent of 1 Samuel 2:1-11) sung by Mary (pregnant with Jesus) while in the company of Elizabeth (also pregnant at the time, with John the Baptist) …
Secondly, note as well that the tone of this hymn is eerily similar to that of Psalm 22, a “Thank you no matter what, God” Psalm — the first verse of which Jesus recited from the cross (to indirectly inform those in attendance that he had pre-planned the entire event, as well as to let one of his assistants know that he was ready to take the drugged wine and voluntarily “give up us Spirit” – see Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34) …
Thirdly, note too the undercurrent of social justice here – a theme that served as one of the foundations for Jesus’ entire three-year ministry (see Matthew 21, Matthew 25:35-40, Luke 4:18-19, Matthew 16:28, Mathew 19:21 et al) …
Fourthly, note as well that the Greek manuscripts seem to show that it is not Mary’s Soul that magnifies the Lord here, but rather the Lord who magnifies Mary’s Soul …
Fifthly, note in addition that it was God who the author claims to be Mary’s savior, not the still unborn Jesus Christ …
Sixthly, note as well that the “mercy” shown to those who “fear” God was actually the “compassion” (the Greek “eleos” – Strong’s #1656) given to those who “revered” Him (the Greek “phoboumenois” — Strong’s #5399) …
And finally, note that the pro-humility theme of this passage is one that resonates perfectly with The Way of Christ (see Matthew 18:3-4, Matthew 18:21-22, Matthew 23:12 et al), and one that directly opposes the hyper-conservative and ultra-judgmental “unway” of Paul (along with the similar “unway” of the modern-day Christian church, which has been founded upon Paul’s teachings). For we cannot “rejoice in the Lord” when we are worshipping Jesus Christ as God, a sentiment that Jesus himself shared quite definitively during his ministry (see Mark 10:18, John 5:41, John 7:16, John 8:50-54, John 12:44 et al), and we cannot “scatter the proud” with our Love when we ourselves are soaked in a theological arrogance similar to Paul’s (see Romans 1:32, Romans 11:13-14, 1 Corinthians 3:2, 1 Corinthians 16:22, Galatians 1:7 et al).
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