Description

Magnificat
Sunday, December 21st, 2025
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Luke 1:39–56

Prayer

O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, teach our soul to magnify You, teach our spirit to rejoice in God our savior. For you have done for us great things, and holy is Your name, and so teach us to hallow that name, both now and forever, and Amen.

Introduction

In Luke 1:4, we are told that the purpose of Luke’s gospel is, so that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

• Thus far in Luke’s gospel you have been instructed about the miraculous conception of John the Baptist, and then you were instructed about the even more miraculous conception of our Lord Jesus who was conceived by the Holy Ghost and to be born of the virgin Mary.
• And now in our text this morning, Luke brings together these two pregnant women, the elderly Elizabeth and the young virgin Mary. And he brings these two women together under one roof, so that three people can bear witness to the Incarnation of God.
• Who are those three witnesses? They are: Mary, Elizabeth, and a 28-week John the Baptist, still in utero, all testifying to the Lordship of Christ.
• It says in Revelation 19:10,for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And in 1 John 4:2 it says, Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And so here in our text we have the Holy Spirit moving two women and an unborn baby to testify, and not only to testify but to rejoice at God’s entrance into this broken world.
  • This is the pattern of Luke chapters 1-2. Those who believe the gospel rejoice. The one person who does not believe (Zacharias) is silenced. Praise and prophecy follows from faith. True believing leads to true and lasting joy.
  • And so the question Luke confronts us with in this scene is: Does your faith give birth to real joy? Does what you believe about Jesus move you to say with Mary, my soul doth magnify the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour?
• This is what the Christmas season is all about. The inbreaking of God’s Son into our world of sin and misery. The inbreaking of real joy and certain hope into all of your present sorrows, pains, and fears.
  • And so as we consider this passage before us, I want you to take these three witnesses (John, Elizabeth, and Mary) as a guide to recovering your joy. And if you are someone who has yet to believe on the Lord Jesus as your Savior, may God grant you to taste and see this joy for the very first time. So with that in mind, let me give you the outline of our text.

Outline of the Text

• This passage is bookended by Mary’s travel plans.
  • In verse 39, Mary arises, leaves Nazareth, and goes to the house of Zacharias in Judah.
  • And then in verse 56, Mary abides there with Zacharias and Elizabeth for 3 months and then returns to her own house.
• And then in between those two details, Luke gives us a threefold witness to Christ.
  • In verses 39-41, John bears witness.
  • In verses 42-45, Elizabeth bears witness.
  • And then in verses 46-56, Mary bears witness.
    • And as we shall see, all three witnesses are marked by rejoicing.

Verses 39-40

• Recall from last week that Mary has just been told that she shall bear the Son of God through a virginal conception. And because a virgin child has never happened before, and because it would be both scandalous and hard to believe that such a miracle has occurred, Luke tells us that Mary arises in haste to abide with Zacharias and Elizabeth for three months.
• And what this three month stay does for Mary, and for us, is protect against the false accusations that maybe Mary and Joseph had been fooling around, or that this wasn’t a virginal conception at all and Mary committed adultery. So Luke illustrates and fills out what Matthew 1:25 tells us plainly, that Joseph knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son.
  • So after that first trimester when Mary returns to Nazareth, and her belly is starting to show, and people are starting to wonder and whisper, there are at least two respectable people who can testify that Mary has been with them this whole time. She has not known a man, the power of God has caused this child to be conceived. And later Joseph himself will add his own testimony that this child is virgin born.
  • So Luke is supplying us with witnesses, both angelic and human, that some of the other gospel accounts do not include. And again this is all part of his project to give us certitude in the faith. And by giving us certitude, to also give us more sure grounds for joy and hope.

Verse 41 – John Bears Witness

• Recall the prophesy and purpose of John’s life and ministry. The angel Gabriel said earlier in Luke 1:15-16, he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. [so already this is coming to pass] And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
  • And so long before John can preach or speak or say “behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” he is already testifying to Christ. John is bearing witness to that newly conceived 1-week old baby living in Mary’s womb. That baby is God and because He is God that is cause to leap and rejoice.
  • And here John exemplifies a model of Christian faith. John believes without seeing. He rejoices at what he hears. Elizabeth will say in verse 44, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
• And so notice that John’s leaping for joy then leads to Elizabeth being filled with that same Holy Spirit. Joy in John begets joy in John’s mother. This is how joy is shared.
  • God loves to use spirit-filled people to bring the Holy Spirit to others. And while John cannot yet testify with words, he can testify with his body, and his joyful leaping causes Elizabeth to be the very first person in the gospel of Luke to make the fundamental Christian confess, Jesus is Lord. We hear this testimony in verses 42-46.

Verses 42-45 – Elizabeth Bears Witness

• First observe what is completely absent from this scene. There is absolutely zero envy, jealousy, or rivalry between Elizabeth and Mary, or between Jesus and John. And this is unique in a world of self-important sinners. In a world of vain women who think too highly of themselves and are constantly comparing themselves with others.
  • To such women the words of 2 Corinthians 10:12 are apt, it says, but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
  • What is 90% of social media but vanity and lies?
• Now if you think back to the Old Testament (before they had the internet), you’ll notice this problem of rival women with rival sons is as old as Genesis. And this strife between brothers and strife between mothers, dominates the storyline of Israel’s history.
  • There is the rivalry between Sarah and Hagar, between Rachel and Leah, between Hannah and Peninnah, between Isaac and Ishamel, Jacob and Esau, between Joseph and His brothers, between David and his brothers, between Solomon and Adonijah. And many more examples could be given.
  • But when the Holy Spirit comes and fills a person with divine charity, this evil spirit of envy and strife, of vainglory and pride, is crucified and vanquished. This is the change Christ came to bring about, and Luke makes it evident from the very start.
    • It says in Romans 14:17, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
    • And in 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 it says, Love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.
• So observe what spirit Elizabeth is of. Truth itself is living within Mary, and Elizabeth rejoices in that Truth. Divine love is growing in Mary’s womb, and Elizabeth rejoices in that love.
• Remember Elizabeth is the older woman and a blameless woman at that, and she has had her own miracle. And therefore, to Elizabeth a certain honor and praise is due. But Elizabeth is virtuous, and she recognizes the genuine superiority of Mary’s blessedness and Mary’s child and she counts it no slight against herself, but rather rejoices in Mary’s good.
  • While some women mighty feel like “Mary is stealing my thunder, upstaging me with her more miraculous child,” nothing of that attitude is found in Elizabeth. Instead, she rejoices at Mary’s greeting and announces, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And what is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
  • Notice, Elizabeth counts it an honor, a privilege, an underserved blessing that the mother of her Lord should come and visit her.
  • And so here Elizabeth (and later John) embody that ancient prophesy that “the older shall serve the younger,” and yet they do it with all joy, desiring to decrease that God may increase.
• And this really is the mark of a Spirit-filled woman, over against the envious woman. The spirit-filled woman is glad to decrease that God may increase. A spirit-filled woman is content with what she has. But the envious woman is focused on what she lacks, and then she murmurs and complains because life is unfair. No one likes me. No one is attentive to me. Envious people are me-centered people, and me-centered people are unhappy people.
  • And so while envy is sorrow at another’s good, love enables us to rejoice at the goods that others possess. And the more we love the blessedness of others, the more we share in that blessedness, their joys become our joys.
  • This is one of the great secrets to becoming more joyful: You must love those people that God loves and love when God blesses them. It is for good reason that the order of the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22 is, love, then joy, then peace. Love is the fountainhead of every spiritual good because love unites you to God who is the greatest good.
• And so learn from Elizabeth how true joy is born in the soul.
  • First you must cease from envy, you must repent of your self-seeking and entitlement. You must not covet. You must not love money.
  • Second you must give thanks to God for His goodness towards you. You must acknowledge that however imperfect or unpleasant your current state may be, it is still far better than what your sins deserve.
  • Third, you must love the Lord thy God with everything you are. Because all joy is contingent upon the intensity of your love. If you love God a lot, your joy will overflow. But if you only love God a little, or worse, love this world more than God, your joy will be easily taken from you.
    • Jesus says to his disciples in John 16:22, Therefore you now have sorrow [because he is about to die]; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
    • That is the promise to those who keep Christ within their heart. You keep Christ there by trusting Him, hoping in Him, and loving Him.
• And so if you are a person who lacks joy, if you struggle tocount it all joy when you fall into various trials (James 1:2), or to Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (Phil 4:4), thenstart by asking yourself, What do I really love? What do I truly value? And what is the intensity of the love that I have for God compared with all these other created goods?
  • The key to constant and stable joy is to treasure God more highly, and to love Him more intensely. Because that is treasure no one can take from you.
    • So learn from John to rejoice in pointing to Christ.
    • Learn from Elizabeth to love without envy, without comparing your blessings with someone else’s blessings.
    • And third learn from Mary to rejoice in God’s promises even before they are fulfilled. For this is what Mary does in her Magnificat of verses 46-55.

Verses 46-55 – Mary Bears Witness

• Here in these verses, Mary shows herself to be a woman of the Word. Depending on how you count, there are at least 25 different allusions, references, or interpolations of the Old Testament in this song of hers. Far more than we have the time to show.
  • But to give you just a sample of how she brings together the entire Old Testament in this song, there are references here to Psalm 34, Psalm 35, Habakkuk 3, 1 Samuel 1-2, Genesis 30, Deuteronomy 10, Psalm 106, Psalm 111, Psalm 100, Psalm 103, Psalm 89, Psalm 75, Ezekiel 21, Job 40, Isaiah 41, 2 Chronicles 6, Micah 7, and that’s just a partial list.
• And so if you would desire to rejoice like Mary, your soul must first drink and drink deeply of the promises in God’s Word.
  • What is perhaps even more remarkable about Mary’s joy is that she did not have the New Testament Scriptures. Mary did not have Romans or Ephesians, The Gospels or 1 John.
  • And so how much more joy should we have who live on this side of God making good on His promises? When so many more have been fulfilled now that Christ has died and risen and ascended and sent forth His Spirit to fill the church. You and I have even more cause for joy than Mary the mother of God did. Because we live in the days of her Son’s reign. We live in a world where the gospel has conquered and shall continue to conquer till Christ returns.
• And so do you know the promises of God in His Word? Do you know just how gracious He has been to you, by causing your ears to here, even now, the greatest news this world has ever known. That in Christ Jesus, God became man, and now through Christ Jesus, you can be reconciled to God.

Conclusion

Every Christian has their own “Magnificat” that they could pen. And that is because every Christian can honestly say with Mary, “He that is mighty hath done to me great things.” Every Christian can say they are recipients of Divine Mercy.

• Remember that line from St. Augustine who said, “Mary is more blessed in receiving the faith of Christ, than in conceiving the flesh of Christ.”
• And so if you believe on the Lord Jesus, the same Son that Mary bore in her womb, is the same Son who takes up residence in your heart. And when God dwells within you, making you into His holy temple, joy is the supernatural effect, even a joy that cannot be taken from you anymore than God can be taken from you.
• And so do you receive this truth today? Do you believe what John, Elizabeth, and Mary believed? Because they had joy, and God wants you to have the same joy, so believe on the same Lord they believed in. IN the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.