Here's my text I preached on Romans 11: although I didn't deliver it word for word.
Someone might ask: where the application? The application runs through it: this God can be trusted, and He is very merciful. Is that woolly application? My soul needs to feed on that Sunday by Sunday more than anything else.
Our Merciful Sovereign – Romans 11:25-32
If Christmas hadn't intervened, this would be sermon three on Romans 11 in a row. And Romans 11 is about the Jews. I don't suppose many here are Jewish. I don't suppose many have an interest in the once hot debates concerning the relationship between Jews and non-Jews, that is, Gentiles, in the church. Why should we care less about this stuff? The reason is simple. What's at stake here is God's very character. Will He stick to plan A or have events forced Him to plan B? Can He keep His promises long ago made to the Jewish founding fathers? Does He have a clear purpose in this world? Israel in Paul's day rejected Jesus Christ, their Messiah. Still today, the majority of Jews reject Him. So has God changed plan, abandoned His promises? Is that the kind of God He is? Let me answer that question with three points.
God's ancient plan will be executed
Let's read again verses 25 to 32: I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. God has a plan, and it is in verse 26: All Israel will be saved. What does Paul mean by all Israel? I think there is room for disagreement among Christians on the meaning here. But two options make no sense and I want to exclude them. Firstly, Israel here must refer to the Jewish people. It is always used in contrast to Gentiles – that is, non-Jews. God has big plans to bring faith in Messiah Jesus to the Jews. He can even say of those plans all Israel will be saved. But secondly, the Bible insists again and again on faith in Messiah as the mark of God's people. Paul does not mean that all Jews in every generation will be saved. Jesus Himself called Jewish leaders in His own day children of Satan, and said they did not belong to His flock. Clearly He did not believe them to belong to God's people. I think personally that the old Reformation position on this question is right. Paul expected, and we are to expect, a great turning to God among the Jews before the end of history. And so in that day, all Israel will be saved. God's plan will be executed.
This plan is ancient. It stretches back into the Old Testament, hundreds of years before Jesus. So Paul quotes Isaiah 59:20-21, continuing in verse 26: As it is written: The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. God's plan to send Jesus is clear in the Old Testament. Jesus comes to the ancient people of Israel. He is of the line of David, the king who founded Zion. And He has a mission to end the godlessness of the people of Israel. Isaiah records for us again and again how Israel turned away from God. They decided they didn't really want Him to be their God. They didn't really want to be His people. Because being God's people means having God as God in all their lives. That's what godlessness is. It's not having God as God – as the ruler, the decision maker – in every part of our lives. Jesus came to put an end to godlessness. And a key part of that was that He offered the sacrifice that sealed a new deal – a new covenant it is called in verse 27 – between God and men. That sacrifice was of course His own body and blood on the Cross. At that Cross He did, in the words of verse 27, take away sins. There can't be a successful arrangement or deal – a successful covenant – between God and men where there is sin, that is, godlessness. So at the heart of God's covenant, verse 27, is that He takes away our sins. Now that plan is not some emergency plan. It's not like God thought, “aargh, Israel is being godless. “I need a new plan to deal with this one.” No, His plan was always, from the creation, to send a deliverer and to take away sins. Now reading between the lines of Romans 11, some of the non-Jewish people may have been saying something like this: “The Jews blew it. They simply became godless. So God turned away from them and sent the message about Jesus to us.” No, says Paul. Rather, this hardening of Israel and the conversion of the Gentiles all serves the big picture, that all Israel will be saved. Gentile self-righteous conceit won't do. In fact, Paul strikes a hammer blow at such thinking. The full number of the Gentiles will come in, verse 25, and so by that all Israel will be saved. As Paul puts it back in verse 11 of this chapter, second half of the verse. Salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. The very purpose of non-Jews being saved has a Jewish focus. That should humble any pride among non-Jews. God didn't give up on the Jews as a bad job and then turn to us hoping we're better. No, our very salvation serves His plan for the Jews. A point very humbling for the Jews: it takes getting the rest of the world to turn to Messiah before they recognise Him. God has an ancient plan and He will execute it. All Israel will be saved. That is God's plan, and He executes it. That has a key implication.
God's ancient promises will be kept
Let's read on, verses 28 and 29: As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. The key phrase here is in verse 30. God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. There is a balance in Paul's words here lacking in much Christian discussion today of Israel. Firstly, Paul is a realist, first half of verse 28. As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account. Jews were opposing the gospel. Paul himself was persecuted dreadfully by his own countrymen. Not for him the “Israel is right whatever she does” of some. But neither do we find here the creeping anti-Semitism of too many both without and within the church. He carries on in verse 28: But as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs. God made massive promises to the patriarchs. That word refers to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the first three generations of the family from whom all those whom we today call Jews can claim descent. Our verse tells us that as God works to draw people to His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, He pays particular attention to the Jews. He has a particular settled love for them. Because they are special? By no means! After all, the first half of the verse says they are enemies of the gospel! They oppose the message that Jesus has come as their King and taken away sins. No, God pays special attention to them, loves them with a settled love, because when God promises, He keeps His promise. Verse 30 speaks of His irrevocable gifts and calling. He called them to be His people. He gave them great gifts: promises of blessing, promises of being a great nation, numerous and a blessing to the rest of us, promises of a land. Supremely, He promised them a King, a King who would secure their relationship with Him by defeating their enemies and turning them from godlessness. When God promises, He keeps His promise.
Let's pause there a moment.
We've reflected on the implications of these passages for Israel. Interesting. But what has this talk of God's plan for and promises to Israel got to do with us? Let me give two answers.
Firstly, it shows that God's work in our world may be hidden.
Whatever you may think of the policies of the State of Israel, whatever you may think of the Middle East situation, or even of the situation of Jews elsewhere in the world, one thing is obvious. If God's plan is to turn godlessness from Israel, it doesn't seem to be making great progress. But as soon as we say that, if God's Spirit is at work in us, He taps us on the shoulder and says, “turning godlessness from you isn't making rapid progress either.” Similarly, if God has made all these promises to Israel, why aren't there more Jewish Christians? Why aren't they the people of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Where is God's saving love for them? The answer is that often God's work is hidden. It is, as Paul called it at the beginning of verse 25, a mystery. The same is true for our own lives. The God whose big picture is saving Israel is our God. He has a plan to turn godlessness from us. He has made promises to us in Christ about never leaving us, about being our God, hearing our prayers and giving us life to the full. Yet so often it doesn't seem that way. He seems slow, even absent. That's because His work in and for us too is often hidden.
Secondly, Israel is a test case.
If God did give up on Israel, then God could not be trusted. Admittedly, His work is hidden. But by the time all His work is revealed, on the day of judgement, He must have saved all Israel. We must see how that promise has been kept. If Paul had to tell us that God had given up on Israel, what security would we have that He wouldn't give up on us? Just as Israel failed in the desert after leaving Egypt, failed again at the foot of Sinai, failed again in the wilderness of Kadesh, failed before, during and after entering the promised land, failed again and again through the period of the judges, failed despite and even because of the kings – in other words, for those not familiar with the details of the Old Testament – kept failing, so I keep failing. If the point comes when He says, “I've had it up to here with Israel, I'm going to find another people,” then why wouldn't He do that to me? Oh, just as Israel has experienced periods of great trial and difficulty, so do we. And ours are not so testing. But Israel is a test case. A God willing to give up on them is one willing to give up on me. And that is a dreadful thought. God doesn't give up. No.
God's eternal purpose will be fulfilled
Let's read again verses 30 to 32: Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. God's plans and promises are ancient. They are as ancient, more ancient, than creation itself. I've called the purpose of God eternal not because God's purpose is older than His plans and promises. That's not possible. His purpose, plans and promises were all set before time began. Rather, by switching from ancient to eternal I want to make a different point. The purpose of God is deeper, more part of God's character, more rooted in God's very person than His plans and promises. God makes His plans and His promises because of who He is. But His purpose is who He is. His purpose is verse 32: For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. And most important in verse 32 are the words: so that he may have mercy. God's purpose is to have mercy. Because that's who He is. One who has mercy. On verses 30 and 31 I will simply quote C K Barrett: "For Jew and Gentile alike, the end of the road is God's mercy; and for each the road leads through disobedience." Jew and Gentile alike knows disobedience. But the road that leads through disobedience leads to mercy. So why do Jews and Gentiles go these roads of disobedience and mercy? Verse 32 again: For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. Note first how this verse begins: For God. We are not talking about random circumstances. Our disobedience is not like a train crash that God stumbles across and takes as an opportunity to show heroism. No, even our disobedience has its place in His purpose. God is the great actor in verse 32. He has bound all men. He does that so that He may have mercy. He's been the great actor in all this reading. Verse 27: it's God's covenant and He takes away sins. Verse 29: God has called and God has given gifts and God won't go back on it. In fact, God is the great actor in all of Romans. God has acted in Jesus Christ to justify us, that is, to make us right with Himself, free of accusation before His own court, by transferring the guilt and punishment of our sins to Christ and crediting to our account the very perfect obedience of Christ. For God – this verse is about God acting. What does He do? Two things.
Firstly, God has bound all men over to disobedience
We are responsible for our disobedience. This verse in no sense excuses us. But God binds us up in it. In Romans 1, we saw that He hands us over to sin. We choose sin and He abandons us to it. He lets us fall under its sway. But that's not all. He then gives us the Law. The Law does two things. Firstly, it condemns us. It shows us our objective guilt in God's court. It shows us that we deserve only God's punishment. But secondly, the Law eggs on sin. Remember how in Romans 7, the Law shows sin how to sin. Paul gives the example of the sin of coveting. Sin seizes the opportunity of the Law to show God how much it hates Him by breaking that commandment. And so the Law which condemns us as sinners also sends us spiralling deeper and deeper into sin. And what we need to understand is the sheer magnitude of our problem. We have disobeyed God. We are condemned under His Law. And yet in us is the death wish of sin. Even a man-made sign saying “keep off the grass” makes us want to trample all over it. God's Law really gets us going. God has bound us over to disobedience. He has trapped us in it, let it rule us. He has not mitigated our disobedience but lets it swallow us. Why? Second half of the verse.
So that he may have mercy.
I don't know how good you are at going to the doctor's. I hate it. And it's time out of my busy schedule. I'll only go if I'm utterly convinced of the need. If we take seriously the first half of Romans 11:32, as I've explained it in the light of all that Paul has said previously in the letter, we can see we and all humanity has a great need. And that gives God the opportunity to show mercy. God doesn't show leniency – that is, letting us off because generally we're alright. We're bound in disobedience. From His perspective, we're not generally alright. We are pitifully lost, trapped in and swallowed up by disobedience. And that's what opens the door to mercy. As our situation is so dreadful, He can show mercy. He can show the full extent of His mercy – just how merciful He really is. Our situation could not be worse. So He can show exactly how far He is willing to go for us. To a poor, cold stable. To 33 years as an outsider. To rejection. To a show trial, mockery, beatings. To a Cross. To receiving Himself the punishment that He rightly ought mete out to us. To hell. God executes His ancient plan and keeps His ancient promises. He never gives up on Israel – He's made His promises to them. That assures us He is a faithful God able to do what He says He will. But plans and promises serve a purpose. That purpose is to have mercy. Mercy on the disobedient.
Monday 26 January 2009
Sunday 18 January 2009
Romans 11
There is no better time to be preaching through Romans 11 than during a Middle East crisis - NOT! There are always Christians whose focus is too much on the 1948 state when you say "Israel", although they to my mind often merely balance the outrageous bias the other way of others. Neither those in Hamas who happily force children into martyrdom (what can a seven year old do with 72 virgins anyway?) nor those in Israel who accept the temptation to cause such (oh hateful phrase) "collateral damage" are to be condoned, nor can we sympathise greatly with anyone except the suffering, although empathy (which is different - check your dictionary) with tiny Israel surrounded by hostile powers does not seem unreasonable to my mind.
But the great thing about Romans 11 is that is simply off topic. I don't need to preach Israel next Sunday. Here's something that got my spiritual juices flowing as I prepared the text using e-sword (which explains some font failure for Greek and Hebrew quotes.) Feel free to correct errors - you have until Friday, when I write the sermon!
For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, that you might not be understanding to yourselves, that hardening in part has come to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and so all Israel will be saved, as is written,
Out of Zion comes the Deliverer,
He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob
And this to them the covenant I have made,
When I forgive their sins.
These three theologically packed verses hang on the correct interpretation of the word "Israel". A quick search on the use of "Israel" in Romans shows that it is used frequently in opposition to the elect or to the Gentiles in Romans 9-11 and only in Rom_9:6 is it used in any other sense, being used here to distinguish Israel, the descendants of the patriarchs from Israel from Israel the elect line counted descendants of Abraham and so receivers of the promise (note the parallelism in Rom_9:6-7).
Therefore the bringing in of the Gentiles serves the purpose of bringing in Israel! All Israel will be saved because in fact the mission to the Gentiles will make the Jews jealous of the nations who serve their Messiah (Rom_11:13-14).
Paul does not want the Romans to be ignorant of the mystery he is about to reveal because the alternative to revelation is παρ᾿ ἑαυτοῖς φρόνιμοι, that is, speculation, literally, being insightful or understanding to or for ourselves, rather than turning to God for insight and understanding. These words stand out as a clear call to revelation based theology. Where we speculate, we are being exactly that which the NIV and ESV accuse us of being - conceited. For the danger with speculation is that as soon as we arrogate to ourselves the right to do theology rather than listen to it, we then end up with a theology that glorifies us rather than glorifying God.
Israel's hardening is to be put in the context of a plan, a plan conceived in heaven, in which the bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles not only works out God's purpose to save from among the nations, it being too little for Messiah only to save Israel (Isa_49:6), but in which His very calling the Gentiles serves His Israel plan. In this sense, the Gentile plan serves the Israel plan: Gentiles are brought to God in order to bring in Israel.
That naturally has implications for mission to the Jews: firstly, the clear teaching here that God's plan has two distinctive parts tells us that Jewish mission must be part of the ministry of God's people, yet secondly all mission serves the aim of Jewish evangelism, for whatever we do to bring in the fullness of the Gentiles serves the purpose of bringing in Israel.
The Isaiah quote underlines the Jewishness of the saving work of God: from Zion, to turn ungodliness from Jacob, according to the covenant. Romans has unpacked the gospel of the forgiveness of sins by way of the justification of the ungodly by Jesus Christ. To expect this gospel not to be fully effective for the ancient covenant purposes of God would be most strange. This new David, from David's city, must surely not just rule the nations but save Israel and bring them to godliness.
The phrase ἡ παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη is quite striking, as Paul has not chosen the simpler ἡ διαθήκη ἐμοῦ. The genitive attribute παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ underlines the active nature of God in this covenant (see Bauer on παρά I4a). It accurately reflects the LXX of Isa 59:20-21, which translates presumably the extra emphasis of אני in the Hebrew. The passage is insistent on the activeness of God: He is the saving covenant actor.
Hence overall in these verses we here the voice of the Sovereign God challenging us: who gets to decide our theology? Who gets to decide who gets saved how (one thinks further of Isa_45:1-13 and particularly God's response to those who challenge the use of a pagan king to save; but we could also consider the Gentiles who don't like seeing their salvation as in any sense secondary)? The answer is found in the answer to this question: who is the author and executor of the covenant? He decides.
But the great thing about Romans 11 is that is simply off topic. I don't need to preach Israel next Sunday. Here's something that got my spiritual juices flowing as I prepared the text using e-sword (which explains some font failure for Greek and Hebrew quotes.) Feel free to correct errors - you have until Friday, when I write the sermon!
For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, that you might not be understanding to yourselves, that hardening in part has come to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and so all Israel will be saved, as is written,
Out of Zion comes the Deliverer,
He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob
And this to them the covenant I have made,
When I forgive their sins.
These three theologically packed verses hang on the correct interpretation of the word "Israel". A quick search on the use of "Israel" in Romans shows that it is used frequently in opposition to the elect or to the Gentiles in Romans 9-11 and only in Rom_9:6 is it used in any other sense, being used here to distinguish Israel, the descendants of the patriarchs from Israel from Israel the elect line counted descendants of Abraham and so receivers of the promise (note the parallelism in Rom_9:6-7).
Therefore the bringing in of the Gentiles serves the purpose of bringing in Israel! All Israel will be saved because in fact the mission to the Gentiles will make the Jews jealous of the nations who serve their Messiah (Rom_11:13-14).
Paul does not want the Romans to be ignorant of the mystery he is about to reveal because the alternative to revelation is παρ᾿ ἑαυτοῖς φρόνιμοι, that is, speculation, literally, being insightful or understanding to or for ourselves, rather than turning to God for insight and understanding. These words stand out as a clear call to revelation based theology. Where we speculate, we are being exactly that which the NIV and ESV accuse us of being - conceited. For the danger with speculation is that as soon as we arrogate to ourselves the right to do theology rather than listen to it, we then end up with a theology that glorifies us rather than glorifying God.
Israel's hardening is to be put in the context of a plan, a plan conceived in heaven, in which the bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles not only works out God's purpose to save from among the nations, it being too little for Messiah only to save Israel (Isa_49:6), but in which His very calling the Gentiles serves His Israel plan. In this sense, the Gentile plan serves the Israel plan: Gentiles are brought to God in order to bring in Israel.
That naturally has implications for mission to the Jews: firstly, the clear teaching here that God's plan has two distinctive parts tells us that Jewish mission must be part of the ministry of God's people, yet secondly all mission serves the aim of Jewish evangelism, for whatever we do to bring in the fullness of the Gentiles serves the purpose of bringing in Israel.
The Isaiah quote underlines the Jewishness of the saving work of God: from Zion, to turn ungodliness from Jacob, according to the covenant. Romans has unpacked the gospel of the forgiveness of sins by way of the justification of the ungodly by Jesus Christ. To expect this gospel not to be fully effective for the ancient covenant purposes of God would be most strange. This new David, from David's city, must surely not just rule the nations but save Israel and bring them to godliness.
The phrase ἡ παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη is quite striking, as Paul has not chosen the simpler ἡ διαθήκη ἐμοῦ. The genitive attribute παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ underlines the active nature of God in this covenant (see Bauer on παρά I4a). It accurately reflects the LXX of Isa 59:20-21, which translates presumably the extra emphasis of אני in the Hebrew. The passage is insistent on the activeness of God: He is the saving covenant actor.
Hence overall in these verses we here the voice of the Sovereign God challenging us: who gets to decide our theology? Who gets to decide who gets saved how (one thinks further of Isa_45:1-13 and particularly God's response to those who challenge the use of a pagan king to save; but we could also consider the Gentiles who don't like seeing their salvation as in any sense secondary)? The answer is found in the answer to this question: who is the author and executor of the covenant? He decides.
Friday 2 January 2009
Magnificat 2.0
The first time I preached the Magnificat, it was a traditional English Carol Service, with a chance to pitch the message at the congregation in just 15 minutes. This time I had double that, even more if I'd wanted, and I was preaching at a congregation that would generally want more depth. What I've tried to here is preach the gospel to the converted - that is, give depth and clarity that will strengthen the believer and clarify their understanding of the gospel.
At the same service the song was sung that I posted around this time last year in my first Magnificat post. It was a joy to serve God's people in this double fashion.
I also think that this sermon show the progress that God is making in granting me a proper understanding of the gospel: just how much it centres on Him and His ways.
The text below is scarcely edited and is clearly a script to be spoken.
Magnificat – Luke 1:46-55
Before we look at these famous words together, I want to read them from the English Standard Version.
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name. And His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever."
On Wednesday, an atheist in my Philosophy of Religion class raised the big question. We're reading Descartes. Descartes describes God as “infinite, eternal, unchangeable, independent, supremely intelligent, supremely powerful, which created myself and anything else which may exist.” “There may be such a being, but I don't accept Christianity, God being Jesus, born in a manger and dying on a cross. If there is such a being, why would He bother with tiny little insignificant human beings.” I don't suppose Descartes would have made much sense to Mary. But I suspect had she been with us on Wednesday morning, she would have agreed. That student is right. If there is such a being as God, why would He bother with tiny little insignificant human beings? It makes no sense. But she knew something he doesn't. There is such a being as God. And He has bothered. We don't find Mary pondering the implications of her pregnancy for philosophy of religion. She sings. Down in verse 46: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. Mary's words are not the result of human reflection on the divine. They are the response of a soul that has met God and is inspired by the Holy Spirit. And what has she discovered? That God does bother. God bothered with her. She discovered the mercy of God. The word is in verses 50 and 54. I want to consider these famous words under three headings. Mercy is a blessing. Mercy is for the Needy. Mercy implies Sacrifice.
Mercy is a Blessing.
Let's read verses 46 to 49 again. I'll read them out as you have it in the NIV. My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – Holy is His Name. Why does Mary say we shall call her blessed? Her answer is clear: beginning of verse 49. For the Mighty One has done great things for me. That's her explanation. She is blessed because He has done great things for her. God is the cause of her being blessed. The cause of the cake on the tables over there is someone baking. The cause of Mary's being blessed is God doing great things for her. Why did He do great things for her? She can't answer that. She just blurts out praise, and I think the NIV is great here with the dash – can you see that dash in verse 49? For the Mighty One has done great things for me
Why? I can't think. Oh! Dash. Blurt of praise Holy is His Name. In other words, He's done great things for me because that's the unique, utterly different way of doing things of God. She doesn't get it. It's just His wonderful way of doing things. So what is this great blessing He has poured out on her? What is this great thing He has done. Verse 48, first half. He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. The ESV is better here: He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. If we look at the Old Testament reading, we'll find more of what Mary means. Psalm 113, verses 4 to 9. The Lord is exalted over all the nations, His glory is above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, Who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord. You can see the parallel to Mary's song. I want to draw particular attention to verses 5 and 6. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, Who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? To stoop is to dive down, like an eagle diving from its flight high above the earth down to the rabbit on the field below. To find Mary, God has stooped down – stooped down low. But when God stoops, He stoops in mercy to be with us. Look back to Luke, our reading in chapter 1, verse 48. She declares herself of humble state – she's no one special. Luther translates here in his exposition of the Magnificat er hat die Nichtigkeit seiner Magd angesehen. She's nothing, insignificant. We'll see more of what she means in a moment. But for now, we are to see God stooping down, stooping down low to meet her. And that is exactly what He did when He came among us in the person of Christ. God stooped, stooped down low. Stooped down to an occupied and oft vilified people. Stooped down to a family from the backwater of Nazareth. Stooped down to a human body, to being born a baby. Stooped down to a manger and no proper bed. Mercy is God stooping down, coming down from His heavenly height to be with us. That makes it a blessing. It's not something we earn. The language of God in the height is a powerful metaphor. It shows us just how far away God in His holiness is. How do we get to God? Do we climb up or does He climb down to get us? Is heaven for spiritual climbers, full of good works? The answer lay in Bethlehem's manger. God stooped down to come and get us.So who does He stoop down to?
Mercy is for the Needy.
Let's read verses 50 to 53 again. As I read, spot the pairs of opposites. His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. Did you spot the pairs? These are the people God stoops to: Verse 50: those who fear Him. Verse 52: the humble. Verse 53: the hungry. Others find Him most unwelcoming. Verse 51: those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. Verse 52: rulers. Verse 53: the rich. How shall we understand these contrasts? My first point is very simple: these are statements of how God works. Mary is praising the God whom she has experienced. The words the humble at the end of verse 52 is the same word as she uses of herself in verse 48 when she says the humble state of His servant. Note that humble does not here refer to character. It refers to status. It the opposite of rulers. The rulers are the top of society. The humble here are the insignificant mass of ordinary people. The way God has dealt with her is His normal way of doing things. After all, the words we read in Psalm 113 make a similar point. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;He seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. What shall we make of this? Is God simply on the side of the poor and underprivileged? Well, the contrasts between the rich and the hungry and between rulers and the humble seem to make that point. But remember the first contrast, between those who fear God and those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. That's not a contrast between the poor and the rich. Throughout Luke's Gospel, we see Mary's point made again and again. It's the peasants, fishermen and farmers of Galilee who follow Jesus, not the priests and princes of Jerusalem. It's the lepers, the blind, the deaf, those with bleeding, those about to bury their dead come to Jesus, not those for whom all is well. It's the tax collectors and prostitutes who follow Jesus, not the Pharisees. Remember the parable of the Pharisees and the tax collector? Who was proud in his inmost thoughts like the Pharisee? God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. Who feared God – knew his terrible need before the Holy One – like the tax collector? God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Have mercy on me – stoop down to me. The tax collector in the parable was needy. And mercy is for the needy. Let's consider another contrast: the rich and hungry. Look carefully at what Mary says: both come to God. But they get treated differently. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. Let's go meet them in Luke chapter 21 verses 1 to 4. As He looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” He said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All the others gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Both the rich and the widow come to God in His temple. But Jesus dismisses the rich and accepts the widow. The rich no doubt thought themselves great benefactors – without them, God would not have such a wonderful and well-maintained temple. But she came, gave all she had – and where would her next meal come from? Only God knows the answer to that question. And she was certain as the coins rang in the treasury that His plan was good. The rich gave to do God a favour. The widow gave confident in God's favour to her. On this evidence, I think we can synthesise what Mary means with her contrasts. Let me illustrate her point this way. Imagine you are stooping down with God as He comes to show mercy. As you look on human society, what do you see? You can't see the faces of the proud, the rulers and the rich: they are looking down on others. If they are looking your way, they seem to expect God to be grateful for their assistance. Those faces are ugly with pride. Other faces are looking up: the hungry and the humble. Remember, the humble here are simply the ordinary, socially insignificant people. Many are looking up at the rich and rulers. They want their riches and their status. Their faces are twisted by jealousy, even hate. But they aren't looking up to God. Yet there are faces looking up to God. They are the hungry and humble who fear God. Their faces are open, pleading, dependent on God. As you descend, it is those faces God heads for. Mercy is for them. Mercy is for the needy.
Mercy implies Sacrifice.
Back in Luke 1, verses 54 and 55. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants for ever even as He said to our fathers. Why does God show mercy? Mary has answered that question. Holy is His Name! That's the startling truth about God. He's so unlike us in our sinfulness. And in His Holiness, He promised Abraham that He would show mercy to him and to his descendants for ever. This holy mercy is not simply bolt from the blue. God doesn't stoop down without telling us. He promises it. That promise, from the High and Holy King to humble, hungry, God-fearing people is His covenant. The King has promised and committed Himself to mercy. That's that. But there's an implication to that. When Habakkuk pleads with God to keep His covenant promises, he prays: In your wrath remember mercy. Here Mary says that He is remembering mercy – verse 54. But that does not mean He's forgotten His wrath. In mercy, God does not forget His wrath. Consider the first time God stooped in mercy. He had just scattered the proud of the Tower of Babel. Then he stooped down to Abraham. He promised Abraham a great land and a great nation of descendants. That mercy began to be shown when Abraham was miraculously given a son. What mercy, to stoop to an ageing nomad and his wife and give them a son. But then what happens? God requires that Isaac be sacrificed. And whenever we hear of sacrifice in the Bible, we are to think of God's anger. God's anger against our sin. That is, our living in His world as if it were ours, as if He wasn't there. Being proud in our inmost thoughts. Being our own rulers. Considering ourselves capable of making ourselves rich. And in all that forgetting the hungry and humble. And supremely not fearing Him, honouring Him as God. God cannot overlook the sin of the family of Abraham. So Isaac the first-born son must die. Abraham takes him up the mountain of Moriah. And we know the story. The ram takes the place of Isaac. In His mercy to Abraham, God does not forget His wrath. But He turns it aside onto the ram. Again, God remembered His covenant and mercy when He saw Israel enslaved in Egypt. But He did not forget His wrath. His anger was again to fall on the first-born son. But not in Israel. Once again, there was one to take the place of the son. This time, a lamb. Again, when God had brought Israel to the bottom of Sinai to make them His covenant people, what happens? He provides a whole system of sacrifice. As long as He shows mercy to Israel, from Exodus to Exile, there is a tabernacle or a temple where sacrifice is offered. Because in His mercy, God does not forget His wrath. Rather, he turns it aside to the sacrifice. So now, as we read of God remembering to be merciful, we ask, where is the sacrifice? Famous words of the Lord Jesus from Luke 22. He's speaking 24 hours before His death, sharing the Passover meal with His closest followers. He takes the cup of wine and says: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Here is mercy indeed. God stoops, stoops low. And becomes Himself, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, the sacrifice. Once again wrath is not forgotten. Once again the first-born, in fact all God's people are free to know God's mercy. At the price of the blood of God the Son. As He poured out His blood on that cross, Jesus bore the wrath of God against our sin. Wrath has not been forgotten. It has turned from us to one who takes our place. There has been a sacrifice. We receive only mercy.
As we close, let's consider where we stand.
What shall we make of Mary's song? She has sung of the mercy of the God who stoops. He stoops low to the hungry, the humble, those who fear God. How can we know this mercy? The wrong answer is this: be a Mary. Or be humble. Or be hungry. Or fear God. This song is not about what we do or are. It is about who God is and what He has done. Mary is not a role model here to strive to emulate. Mary is not a role model –she is a realist. We are not to look up to her, put her on a pedestal. Rather, we are to realise she stands right here with us. Because before this Holy and Merciful God, we don't need to become hungry, or become humble. We are of humble state – nothing, insignificant, even sinful. We have no status or anything before God. We are hungry – hungry for mercy, hungry for Him to stoop to us – whether we realise it or not. That's why Jesus put a table in our churches. Whenever we gather around it He testifies to our hunger and His ability to fill us with good things. And we fear God. Oh, we may suppress that truth. But we are all totally dependent on Him every second. His word decides our fate every moment of our lives. One glimpse of His majesty would break us. Mary is not the super spiritual one over there we try to emulate. No, she stands among us, singing. She sings of our true state, that we might recognise it. Her song calls us to sees things as they really are. We are hungry, of humble state, God is to be feared. But supremely she sings of sweet mercy. Of the sweet mercy that stoops low to lift us. Of the sweet mercy that invites us to His table to fill us. Of the sweet mercy that never fails those who fear Him. Of the sweet mercy that was born among us and died for us.
At the same service the song was sung that I posted around this time last year in my first Magnificat post. It was a joy to serve God's people in this double fashion.
I also think that this sermon show the progress that God is making in granting me a proper understanding of the gospel: just how much it centres on Him and His ways.
The text below is scarcely edited and is clearly a script to be spoken.
Magnificat – Luke 1:46-55
Before we look at these famous words together, I want to read them from the English Standard Version.
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name. And His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever."
On Wednesday, an atheist in my Philosophy of Religion class raised the big question. We're reading Descartes. Descartes describes God as “infinite, eternal, unchangeable, independent, supremely intelligent, supremely powerful, which created myself and anything else which may exist.” “There may be such a being, but I don't accept Christianity, God being Jesus, born in a manger and dying on a cross. If there is such a being, why would He bother with tiny little insignificant human beings.” I don't suppose Descartes would have made much sense to Mary. But I suspect had she been with us on Wednesday morning, she would have agreed. That student is right. If there is such a being as God, why would He bother with tiny little insignificant human beings? It makes no sense. But she knew something he doesn't. There is such a being as God. And He has bothered. We don't find Mary pondering the implications of her pregnancy for philosophy of religion. She sings. Down in verse 46: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. Mary's words are not the result of human reflection on the divine. They are the response of a soul that has met God and is inspired by the Holy Spirit. And what has she discovered? That God does bother. God bothered with her. She discovered the mercy of God. The word is in verses 50 and 54. I want to consider these famous words under three headings. Mercy is a blessing. Mercy is for the Needy. Mercy implies Sacrifice.
Mercy is a Blessing.
Let's read verses 46 to 49 again. I'll read them out as you have it in the NIV. My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – Holy is His Name. Why does Mary say we shall call her blessed? Her answer is clear: beginning of verse 49. For the Mighty One has done great things for me. That's her explanation. She is blessed because He has done great things for her. God is the cause of her being blessed. The cause of the cake on the tables over there is someone baking. The cause of Mary's being blessed is God doing great things for her. Why did He do great things for her? She can't answer that. She just blurts out praise, and I think the NIV is great here with the dash – can you see that dash in verse 49? For the Mighty One has done great things for me
Why? I can't think. Oh! Dash. Blurt of praise Holy is His Name. In other words, He's done great things for me because that's the unique, utterly different way of doing things of God. She doesn't get it. It's just His wonderful way of doing things. So what is this great blessing He has poured out on her? What is this great thing He has done. Verse 48, first half. He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. The ESV is better here: He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. If we look at the Old Testament reading, we'll find more of what Mary means. Psalm 113, verses 4 to 9. The Lord is exalted over all the nations, His glory is above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, Who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord. You can see the parallel to Mary's song. I want to draw particular attention to verses 5 and 6. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, Who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? To stoop is to dive down, like an eagle diving from its flight high above the earth down to the rabbit on the field below. To find Mary, God has stooped down – stooped down low. But when God stoops, He stoops in mercy to be with us. Look back to Luke, our reading in chapter 1, verse 48. She declares herself of humble state – she's no one special. Luther translates here in his exposition of the Magnificat er hat die Nichtigkeit seiner Magd angesehen. She's nothing, insignificant. We'll see more of what she means in a moment. But for now, we are to see God stooping down, stooping down low to meet her. And that is exactly what He did when He came among us in the person of Christ. God stooped, stooped down low. Stooped down to an occupied and oft vilified people. Stooped down to a family from the backwater of Nazareth. Stooped down to a human body, to being born a baby. Stooped down to a manger and no proper bed. Mercy is God stooping down, coming down from His heavenly height to be with us. That makes it a blessing. It's not something we earn. The language of God in the height is a powerful metaphor. It shows us just how far away God in His holiness is. How do we get to God? Do we climb up or does He climb down to get us? Is heaven for spiritual climbers, full of good works? The answer lay in Bethlehem's manger. God stooped down to come and get us.So who does He stoop down to?
Mercy is for the Needy.
Let's read verses 50 to 53 again. As I read, spot the pairs of opposites. His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. Did you spot the pairs? These are the people God stoops to: Verse 50: those who fear Him. Verse 52: the humble. Verse 53: the hungry. Others find Him most unwelcoming. Verse 51: those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. Verse 52: rulers. Verse 53: the rich. How shall we understand these contrasts? My first point is very simple: these are statements of how God works. Mary is praising the God whom she has experienced. The words the humble at the end of verse 52 is the same word as she uses of herself in verse 48 when she says the humble state of His servant. Note that humble does not here refer to character. It refers to status. It the opposite of rulers. The rulers are the top of society. The humble here are the insignificant mass of ordinary people. The way God has dealt with her is His normal way of doing things. After all, the words we read in Psalm 113 make a similar point. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;He seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. What shall we make of this? Is God simply on the side of the poor and underprivileged? Well, the contrasts between the rich and the hungry and between rulers and the humble seem to make that point. But remember the first contrast, between those who fear God and those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. That's not a contrast between the poor and the rich. Throughout Luke's Gospel, we see Mary's point made again and again. It's the peasants, fishermen and farmers of Galilee who follow Jesus, not the priests and princes of Jerusalem. It's the lepers, the blind, the deaf, those with bleeding, those about to bury their dead come to Jesus, not those for whom all is well. It's the tax collectors and prostitutes who follow Jesus, not the Pharisees. Remember the parable of the Pharisees and the tax collector? Who was proud in his inmost thoughts like the Pharisee? God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. Who feared God – knew his terrible need before the Holy One – like the tax collector? God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Have mercy on me – stoop down to me. The tax collector in the parable was needy. And mercy is for the needy. Let's consider another contrast: the rich and hungry. Look carefully at what Mary says: both come to God. But they get treated differently. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. Let's go meet them in Luke chapter 21 verses 1 to 4. As He looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” He said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All the others gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Both the rich and the widow come to God in His temple. But Jesus dismisses the rich and accepts the widow. The rich no doubt thought themselves great benefactors – without them, God would not have such a wonderful and well-maintained temple. But she came, gave all she had – and where would her next meal come from? Only God knows the answer to that question. And she was certain as the coins rang in the treasury that His plan was good. The rich gave to do God a favour. The widow gave confident in God's favour to her. On this evidence, I think we can synthesise what Mary means with her contrasts. Let me illustrate her point this way. Imagine you are stooping down with God as He comes to show mercy. As you look on human society, what do you see? You can't see the faces of the proud, the rulers and the rich: they are looking down on others. If they are looking your way, they seem to expect God to be grateful for their assistance. Those faces are ugly with pride. Other faces are looking up: the hungry and the humble. Remember, the humble here are simply the ordinary, socially insignificant people. Many are looking up at the rich and rulers. They want their riches and their status. Their faces are twisted by jealousy, even hate. But they aren't looking up to God. Yet there are faces looking up to God. They are the hungry and humble who fear God. Their faces are open, pleading, dependent on God. As you descend, it is those faces God heads for. Mercy is for them. Mercy is for the needy.
Mercy implies Sacrifice.
Back in Luke 1, verses 54 and 55. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants for ever even as He said to our fathers. Why does God show mercy? Mary has answered that question. Holy is His Name! That's the startling truth about God. He's so unlike us in our sinfulness. And in His Holiness, He promised Abraham that He would show mercy to him and to his descendants for ever. This holy mercy is not simply bolt from the blue. God doesn't stoop down without telling us. He promises it. That promise, from the High and Holy King to humble, hungry, God-fearing people is His covenant. The King has promised and committed Himself to mercy. That's that. But there's an implication to that. When Habakkuk pleads with God to keep His covenant promises, he prays: In your wrath remember mercy. Here Mary says that He is remembering mercy – verse 54. But that does not mean He's forgotten His wrath. In mercy, God does not forget His wrath. Consider the first time God stooped in mercy. He had just scattered the proud of the Tower of Babel. Then he stooped down to Abraham. He promised Abraham a great land and a great nation of descendants. That mercy began to be shown when Abraham was miraculously given a son. What mercy, to stoop to an ageing nomad and his wife and give them a son. But then what happens? God requires that Isaac be sacrificed. And whenever we hear of sacrifice in the Bible, we are to think of God's anger. God's anger against our sin. That is, our living in His world as if it were ours, as if He wasn't there. Being proud in our inmost thoughts. Being our own rulers. Considering ourselves capable of making ourselves rich. And in all that forgetting the hungry and humble. And supremely not fearing Him, honouring Him as God. God cannot overlook the sin of the family of Abraham. So Isaac the first-born son must die. Abraham takes him up the mountain of Moriah. And we know the story. The ram takes the place of Isaac. In His mercy to Abraham, God does not forget His wrath. But He turns it aside onto the ram. Again, God remembered His covenant and mercy when He saw Israel enslaved in Egypt. But He did not forget His wrath. His anger was again to fall on the first-born son. But not in Israel. Once again, there was one to take the place of the son. This time, a lamb. Again, when God had brought Israel to the bottom of Sinai to make them His covenant people, what happens? He provides a whole system of sacrifice. As long as He shows mercy to Israel, from Exodus to Exile, there is a tabernacle or a temple where sacrifice is offered. Because in His mercy, God does not forget His wrath. Rather, he turns it aside to the sacrifice. So now, as we read of God remembering to be merciful, we ask, where is the sacrifice? Famous words of the Lord Jesus from Luke 22. He's speaking 24 hours before His death, sharing the Passover meal with His closest followers. He takes the cup of wine and says: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Here is mercy indeed. God stoops, stoops low. And becomes Himself, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, the sacrifice. Once again wrath is not forgotten. Once again the first-born, in fact all God's people are free to know God's mercy. At the price of the blood of God the Son. As He poured out His blood on that cross, Jesus bore the wrath of God against our sin. Wrath has not been forgotten. It has turned from us to one who takes our place. There has been a sacrifice. We receive only mercy.
As we close, let's consider where we stand.
What shall we make of Mary's song? She has sung of the mercy of the God who stoops. He stoops low to the hungry, the humble, those who fear God. How can we know this mercy? The wrong answer is this: be a Mary. Or be humble. Or be hungry. Or fear God. This song is not about what we do or are. It is about who God is and what He has done. Mary is not a role model here to strive to emulate. Mary is not a role model –she is a realist. We are not to look up to her, put her on a pedestal. Rather, we are to realise she stands right here with us. Because before this Holy and Merciful God, we don't need to become hungry, or become humble. We are of humble state – nothing, insignificant, even sinful. We have no status or anything before God. We are hungry – hungry for mercy, hungry for Him to stoop to us – whether we realise it or not. That's why Jesus put a table in our churches. Whenever we gather around it He testifies to our hunger and His ability to fill us with good things. And we fear God. Oh, we may suppress that truth. But we are all totally dependent on Him every second. His word decides our fate every moment of our lives. One glimpse of His majesty would break us. Mary is not the super spiritual one over there we try to emulate. No, she stands among us, singing. She sings of our true state, that we might recognise it. Her song calls us to sees things as they really are. We are hungry, of humble state, God is to be feared. But supremely she sings of sweet mercy. Of the sweet mercy that stoops low to lift us. Of the sweet mercy that invites us to His table to fill us. Of the sweet mercy that never fails those who fear Him. Of the sweet mercy that was born among us and died for us.
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