Mary was troubled. She had just heard the words, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). Comforting words, it would seem, but startling because they were spoken by an angel.
Mary was about to be presented with the most magnificent news ever, yet she was fearful. And when the angel told her she would have a baby, she exclaimed, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (v.34).
Those two facts about Mary—that she was troubled and that she questioned the angel—tell us she was a person like us, with normal concerns.
Yet, after listening to the angel, Mary called herself “the maidservant of the Lord,” and she said, “Let it be to me according to your word” (v.38). She was a humble, godly servant, with a willingness to do God’s will.
We see more of Mary’s heart in her eloquent prayer, known as the Magnificat, the Song of Mary (vv.46-55). Here she rejoiced in God’s holiness (v.49), His mercy (v.50), His strength (vv.51-52), His care for the hungry (v.53), and His goodness to His people (vv.54-55).
We can learn from Mary to trust God despite our concerns and fears, and to praise Him for His greatness. That’s what the song of Mary is all about.—Dave Branon
We magnify our Father God
With songs of thoughtful praise;
As grateful children we confess
How perfect are His ways. —Ball
Reflections: If you were Mary, would you have been able to respond as she did, and be willing to be used by God? Why or why not?
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God’s unsearchable ways deserve our unbounded praise.
The author of the gospel of Luke was a Greek physician who was part of Paul’s ministry team. He joined Paul in Troas (Acts 16:9 -10), and visited him during Paul’s times of imprisonment in Rome (Acts 28; 2 Timothy 4:11). Luke wrote his gospel record as part one of a two-part explanation of the message of Christ to a friend, Theophilus (Luke 1:1-4). He then concluded his explanation of God’s ongoing work in the world with the book of Acts (Acts 1:1-2). Luke’s writing is careful about detail, presents women in a very positive light (unusual in that day), and has a number of medical references—a reminder of his background as the “beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14).
