#072 "What We Get Wrong About Mary" (Luke 1:48)

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kate (00:00):
Hey guys, this is Kate from Abidible.com, and you're
listening to the AbidiblePodcast.
I'm just a regular wife and momwho's had my life transformed
by learning to study the Bibleon my own.
If I can, you can.
On this show, I help you knowand love God more by abiding in
Him through His Word yourself.

(00:21):
As I record this, today is myhusband's birthday.
Happy birthday, Jason.
It's also my mom's birthdaytoday.
Happy birthday, mom.

(00:42):
It's also one of my favoritementors' birthday today.
Happy birthday, Tammy.
And it is also my Maid ofHonor's birthday.
Happy birthday, Barbie.
I love you guys.
I don't know about you, but Ihave written many a birthday
card or text message tellingsome of my favorite people that
I am so thankful for the daythey were born.

(01:03):
I've even expressed gratitudefor their parents who brought
that person into the world.
After all, without the parents,some of my favorite people on
earth wouldn't be here.
If you could write Mary aletter telling her how thankful
you are for the child shebrought into the world, what

(01:23):
would you say?
I don't even know where I'dstart, do you?
If I could even find my words,I know that they would overflow
with gratitude for her humblesubmission to God's will that
enabled her to bring my Saviorinto the world.
I'd say thank you for all sheendured and sacrificed, knowing

(01:46):
that thank you feels so woefullyinsufficient.
And while I had Mary, themother of Jesus' attention, I'd
also ask her so many questions.
Who were you?
Were you terrified?
How did your parents respond?
What about Joseph and theothers in the village?
Did you know?

(02:06):
I mean, really know what wasabout to happen through you.
Have you guys heard the songMary Did You Know?
The opening lyrics say, Mary,did you know that your baby boy
will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that yourbaby boy will save our sons and

(02:28):
daughters?
Did you know that your baby boyhas come to make you new this
child that you've delivered willsoon deliver you.
I can't wait to meet Mary inheaven.
This is the third episode inour Mary's Song series on Luke

(02:49):
1, 46 to 55 here on the AbidiblePodcast.
So far, we've done a lot of theheavy lifting as we've laid the
foundation for our study.
We've spent some serious timegetting the 10,000-foot view,
building the context for whatwas happening at this time in
history around our cast ofcharacters, to Mary and to her

(03:10):
family and to her people.
But now, today, we are going toget to zoom in.
We're going in for theclose-up, and we're going to
look really closely at Mary.
Because as we do, we're goingto discover not more about Mary
as you might expect, but moreabout her God.
In Luke 148, Mary continues hersong by praising God and

(03:33):
saying, For he has looked on thehumble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on, allgenerations will call me
blessed.
Whenever you study Scripture, Ihope by now that you
immediately start askingquestions about what you're
reading.
In this case, you might ask,what does Mary mean when she
says that God looked on herhumble estate?

(03:55):
Why did she use the wordservant when describing herself?
And what's more, why did shecall herself God's servant?
What did she mean when shesaid, from now on, all
generations would call herblessed?
Let's work hard together todayto arrive at biblical answers to
these questions in order toform a God-honoring picture of

(04:18):
Mary in our minds.
In 2023, I boarded a bus inancient Ephesus, Turkey.
We'd spent some time touringthe ancient city of Ephesus.
Yes, the one that Paul wrote toin his letter to the Ephesians.
Later that day, we would tour achurch and a grave that some
traditions say housed theApostle John, Jesus' best

(04:40):
friend.
But at that moment, as weboarded the bus outside the
ruins of Ephesus, we were headedsomewhere else, to the top of a
mountain, to a small stonehouse said to be the final home
of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Up, up, up the hillside wewent, through the most stunning,

(05:00):
lush green forest.
The sun was shining and thebirds were singing as we exited
the bus.
Immediately I was hit with themost fragrant scent, a heavenly
and decadent floral aroma that Ihad never smelled before.
The place was peaceful andserene.
No, it wasn't.
There were 85 vans and beepingbuses backing into spaces and

(05:24):
tour groups everywhere withbadges and audiophones and
guides with umbrellas andclipboards.
Lines wound around thehillside, and souvenir shops
with holy water and merryfigurines dotted the length of
the sidewalks.
We got in the main line thatsnaked through the forest.
When we finally came to the endof the winding queue, there it
was.
A simple, old-ish looking homeset at the foot of a wooded

(05:49):
hillside.
Before we were allowed to enterthe home, though, there was a
Catholic Mass.
When that finished, we weredirected to join the line
forming in order to pass throughthe stone house.
It had been turned into ashrine with Catholic relics.
Rushed through rather quickly.
I was exiting the backside ofthe home before I really got to

(06:10):
process where I'd just been.
On our way back to the bus,there was a natural spring
nearby with a place to buysacred souvenirs and with access
to water from the spring,considered to be holy water.
It was a beautiful place, butalso a place where my spirit
didn't feel settled.
It was meant to be a holy site,and millions of pilgrims visit

(06:31):
this site every year.
And there definitely wasreverence and worship.
But the problem was thatreverence and worship was
primarily directed at Mary.
And Mary may never have evenbeen there.
Truthfully, church traditionmore closely supports the idea
that Mary died in Jerusalem, notEphesus, Turkey.

(06:52):
Yes, John was in Ephesus, andMary was entrusted to John's
care by Jesus on the cross.
Remember the whole, behold yourmother, beautiful request from
Jesus for John to take care ofhis mother.
But yeah, earliest traditionsays Mary remained in or near
Jerusalem and was buried nearthe Mount of Olives.

(07:13):
To my knowledge, there is nobiblical or extra biblical
evidence that she actually evenwas in Ephesus.
The site I visited was, quote,discovered by a 19th-century
mystic nun through what sheclaims was a vision.
And like it or not, it was atotal tourist trap.
If Mary really did spend herfinal days there, then sure, I'm

(07:36):
glad that I visited.
But honestly, it was just aninteresting experience.
Why do I tell that story?
First, nothing I say today ismeant to knock Catholics.
I know and love some amazinglydevoted Catholic believers,
people who truly do love andworship Jesus as their savior.

(07:56):
Second, I can't possibly claimto know the heart motives of the
curators of the site or thosewho visit it.

But I can't help but wonder (08:03):
is this what Mary meant when she
said, from now on, allgenerations would call me
blessed?
Did she imagine sites with tourbuses in lines and people
hawking trinkets in water?
A place where she would berevered and worshipped and even
prayed to?
I want to know, don't you?

(08:24):
I don't just want to know howMary would like to be
remembered, but especially howGod wants us to see her.
Don't we want the Bible to beour highest authority on all
topics, including how we viewthose written about in its
pages?
Let me ask you something.
Why study Scripture?
Is it just to see what God'speople did?

(08:46):
Or is it to get to know theheart and character of God by
studying how he treats hispeople?
Today you'll find that we aregoing to look back at some
important people in Scripturejust as Mary would have.
But I'm going to pose to youthat our takeaway is not meant
to cause us to worship Mary,just as Mary's study of

(09:06):
Scripture was not meant to causeher to worship Leah or Hannah
or Ruth or David, but the God ofLeah and Hannah and Ruth and
David.
That's why today, in the midstof understanding Mary's words
here in Luke 148, we're alsogoing to talk a little bit about
the dangerous, non-biblical,heretical, idolatrous views of

(09:31):
Mary.
I think that all of this willclarify some of what the
Catholic Church teaches aboutMary, though hear me clearly, I
am not an expert on this topicby any means.
I'm just someone whodesperately wants to see Mary
and read her song in a mannerthat is biblically faithful.
Ultimately, where we are headedis, again, to a clearer picture

(09:54):
of not just who Mary was, butwho her God is.
I want us to see him correctlyas Mary did, so that we can then
see ourselves correctly as Marysaw herself.
Real quick, if you're a big fanof the Abidible Podcast, please
check out the link in the showdescription to learn more about
supporting what we do here bysimply buying us a coffee.

(10:18):
When I first became aChristian, I thought God was
really lucky to have someonelike me on his team.
I read the Bible to see myselfin every story.
Maybe you can relate to this insome way.
Let me give you a few examplesand then we'll get back to Mary,
who, spoiler, did not readscripture like it was all about

(10:39):
her.
Okay, so here's how I used toread scripture.
If Moses led a people out ofEgypt, then I must be called to
lead someone out of something.
If David could slay Goliath,then I could slay my giant, the
mean girl on the soccer team whohated me.
But I was reading the storieswrong.
I was reading to find myself.

(11:01):
But as many of you have alreadylearned in our How to Study the
Bible course, the Bible isn't abook about me.
The Bible is a book about God,what he's done, who he is, and
what he's still doing.
Once I get that, then and onlythen can I understand myself.
That shift changes everything.

(11:23):
Let me give you three examplesof how to read scripture
correctly.
First, we have Moses and theExodus.
Here's how we often read it.
Moses led the people out ofbondage, so I need to lead
others out of their bondage too.
But what this story is reallyshowing is that God is the
deliverer.
He hears the cry of his people,reveals himself, I am, and

(11:48):
shows his might by choosing aterrified, on-the-run murderer
who is not eloquent of speech,so that the world may know he is
God.
So then I know how I canrespond.
I can rest in knowing thatdeliverance belongs to God, not
me.
My role is to obey, trust, andpoint others to his power, not

(12:11):
try to do things in my ownpower.
Let me do two more quick ones.
How about the David and Goliathexample?
Many of us read, David killedGoliath, so I can kill my giant.
But the story primarily showsGod's power and faithfulness to
his people.
David was just God'sinstrument.
The story shows God's power tosave his people through an

(12:34):
unlikely deliverer.
The victory belongs to theLord, and the battle with
Goliath was a means to an end,with the end being that God
revealed more of who he was tohis people and even to the
Philistines.
Because why?
So that they will know that Iam God.
He is a God who wants to beknown and will accomplish the

(12:57):
impossible as irrefutableevidence of who he is.
Once I see this correctly, thenand only then do I ask, how am
I to respond to this story?
How am I to apply it to mylife?
Well, after reading the storyof David and Goliath, I might
see that I'm called to arelationship with God who has
demonstrated histrustworthiness.
Against odds, no matter howscary things appear on the

(13:20):
surface, the battle alwaysbelongs to the Lord.
And I will come out on topbecause of who he is, not
because of my own power or mightor any ability that I have
intrinsically to fight giants.
The hero of the David andGoliath story is, sorry folks,
not David.
It's the God of David.

(13:41):
I'm not meant to walk away fromthat story with a giddy up in
my step to go be a big, badgiant slayer.
No, I'm meant to worship my Godwho overcomes all so that I
might know him.
This story is not about beingan overcomer in my own strength
or a hero for God like David.
In short, it's not about me.

(14:03):
Finally, how about Jonah in thebelly of the fish?
I would have read it like thisJonah ran away, got swallowed,
then got out.
So I can turn things aroundtoo.
But the heart of the story isGod's mercy for the disobedient
and for the nations.
Jonah's story isn't about hischange of attitude.

(14:24):
It's about God's mission andcompassion.
Then I can look at the story inlight of that.
I'm not the hero.
In fact, I'm the heartless,rebellious villain.
Yet God still shows me mercy,and therefore I can point others
to God's mercy too.
We are meant to read the Bibleas if it is a book about God

(14:46):
because it is.
We approach it by asking, whatdoes this story tell me about
God?
And then, and only then, how doI see myself and my calling in
light of that?
As I said, Mary didn't readscripture like it was all about
her.
How do I know that?
Well, let's see if you can seeit too.

(15:07):
Let's read her song again.
Try and see if you can tell whoMary credits as the hero of the
story.
And Mary said, My soulmagnifies the Lord, and my
spirit rejoices in God, mySavior, for he has looked on the
humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on allgenerations will call me

(15:29):
blessed, for he who is mightyhas done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those whofear him from generation to
generation.
He has shown strength with hisarm.
He has scattered the proud inthe thoughts of their hearts, he
has brought down the mightyfrom their thrones and exalted

(15:50):
those of humble estate.
He has filled the hungry withgood things and the rich he has
sent away empty.
He has helped his servantIsrael in remembrance of his
mercy, as he spoke to ourfathers, to Abraham, and to his
offspring forever.
When we look at the ten versesthat make up Mary's song, would

(16:10):
you conclude that Mary was aprideful young woman seeking
glory, fame, and honor forherself?
Or would you say that she was ahumble servant who desired to
magnify and rejoice in God,pointing future generations to
him and what he was about to do?
As we talked about in our introepisode, the most repeated

(16:31):
phrase in Mary's song is, hehas.
A quick glance at this passagereveals that Mary didn't have
the phone turned on herself inselfie mode, but flipped outward
toward God.
She lists his divine attributesand the works of his hands.
The only time she talks aboutherself really is to say that

(16:51):
her soul and spirit are bothmagnifying and rejoicing in God.
She notes that God has seen herlow, humble estate, and that
God is the one lifting her outof it to a new place, a place
where future generations wouldcall her blessed, not because of
who she was or what she haddone, but in spite of it.

(17:13):
She would be considered favoredbecause of who her God was and
what God had done for her andthrough her.
There is not a hint here ofpride, not a single finger
pointing back at herself.
So how should we see her?
As she wants to be seen or aswe want to see her?
Ought we not be cautious givenour bent toward rewriting

(17:37):
stories to give ourselves theleading role?
You know, my bent to read theBible as if it's a book all
about me comes from the bentthat I have in my flesh to make
all of life about me.
Thankfully, I'm not living in aday and age where the world
feeds into that lie.
I'm so grateful to be aliveduring a time where the

(17:58):
overwhelming majority of peoplelive selfless, others-focused,
servant-hearted lives.
I'm kidding, obviously.
I've told you before that Idistinctly remember the first
time I saw someone hold up acamera and point it not outward,
but inward.
I remember thinking, what inthe world?
That's so embarrassing.
Look how self-centered she is.

(18:19):
Now we have phones thatautomatically can zoom in and
out in selfie mode and entiregenerations that consider selfie
culture, streaming culture, andme-centered content the norm.
For most of my life, I havebeen deeply tempted by the
desire to be the center ofattention.
I want to be liked.
I want people to think I'msmart and funny and pretty and

(18:40):
great.
Our culture now feeds thisbeast.
And even now it's a temptationI must fight in ministry.
Do I want people to think mypodcast episode is great or that
God is great?
Do I want success as the worldmeasures through metrics?
Or do I want the measure of whoI am to be wholly decided by

(19:01):
God?
Where are you tempted to makelife all about you?
At work?
At church?
In the community service you door in the way you parent?
In the success or standing ofyour children compared to other
children?
In the money you make or theclothes you wear or the car you
drive or the zip code you claim?

(19:22):
If you take an inventory ofyour life, where might you be
worshiping yourself?
And why do you think you have ahard time worshiping God rather
than yourself?
Charles Spurgeon says, I wouldbid you to get to your knees and
cry to God and say, Why is itthat I cannot magnify thee, O

(19:44):
Lord?
I should not be surprised ifyou discover the reason to be
that you are so big yourself.
He never magnifies God, whomagnifies himself.
Be little yourself and be greatin your God, down with self to
the lowest depths, and up higherand still higher with your

(20:06):
thoughts of God.
In one way or another, we areall tempted to make life all
about us.
So it's no surprise that we tryto make the Bible all about us
too, or that we try to takeordinary people in the Bible and
turn them into saints, or atleast heroes.
And that brings us to a few ofthe worrisome doctrines the

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Catholic Church has regardingMary.
I'll briefly explain the mostegregious ones and then
encourage you to do your ownresearch if the topic interests
you.
I got some of my informationfrom James R.
White's book, Mary, AnotherRedeemer.
I'll link it for you in thisepisode's description.
To understand the errors, letme explain the biblical

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foundation for even identifyingthe errors in the first place.
The Westminster Confession ofFaith, one of the confessions
that came out of the ProtestantReformation, which was the
breaking away from the CatholicChurch, emphasizes sola
scriptura, scripture alone asour authority, as well as
Christ's exclusive mediatorship.

(21:13):
In 1 Timothy 2.5, we read, Forthere is one God, and there is
one mediator between God andmen, the man Christ Jesus.
Catholic prayers to Mary andthe catechism's teaching on her
represent significant departuresfrom Scripture.
I'll only summarize a few ofthe most significant.

(21:34):
The first problem is that thesepractices elevate Mary to a
quasi-divine status, attributingto her roles in intercession,
grace dispensing, and salvationthat the Bible reserves solely
for God.
Second, these teachings riskidolatry because they direct

(21:55):
devotion toward a created beingrather than the creator, as
forbidden in Romans 1.25 andExodus 23 through 5.
While Mary is honored inScripture as blessed among
women, from Luke 142, and afaithful servant, there is no
biblical warrant for praying toher, venerating her with

(22:18):
divine-like titles, or viewingher as an ongoing intercessor.
Third, and finally, thesetraditions also wrongly imply
that Christ's work isinsufficient and fosters a
reliance on human traditionsover God's word, which Jesus
cautions the Pharisees about inMatthew 15, 3 through 9, going

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so far as to say that theirman-made traditions have made
void the Word of God.
And then he issues thisunsettling rebuke.
What are some actual examplesof these practices?

(23:06):
Let's look at the Hail Mary orAve Maria.

It goes like this (23:09):
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with
thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,and blessed is the fruit of thy
womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, prayfor us sinners now and at the
hour of our death.
The structure of the RosaryPrayer includes praying over
fifty Hail Marys.

(23:30):
This prayer to Mary ascribes toher attributes and functions
that Scripture assigns only toGod, like omnipresence and the
ability to hear prayersworldwide.
The Bible depicts Mary as afinite human who needed
salvation herself.
Think of her song in the versewe studied last week.

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She said, My spirit rejoices inGod, my savior.
Mary cannot be a mediatorbetween us and God because 1
Timothy 2.5 reserves that rolesolely for Christ.
This view also potentiallyfosters a dependence on Mary in
place of Christ, portrayingChrist as somewhat less

(24:11):
approachable, which is a blow tohis gracious character.
Another well-known prayer isthe memorare.
Some of the key lines in thisprayer say, Remember, O most
gracious Virgin Mary, that neverwas it known that anyone who
fled to thy protection, imploredthy help, or sought thy

(24:33):
intercession was left unaided.
O Mother of the Word incarnate,despise not my petitions, but
in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Again, this attributes divineomniscience and benevolence to
Mary, making her somewhat of afunctional savior.
Giving infallible intercessorypower to Mary is never taught

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anywhere in the Bible, ever.
Mary is not a universalprotector or hearer of
petitions.
That role belongs to God alone.
As Psalm 34, 17 says, therighteous cry out, and the Lord
hears them.
Finally, there is the Hail HolyQueen or Salve Regina hymn in

(25:19):
prayer, which says, Hail, HolyQueen, Mother of Mercy, our
life, our sweetness, and ourhope.
Turn then, most graciousadvocate, thine eyes of mercy
toward us.
Pray for us, O Holy Mother ofGod, that we may be made worthy
of the promises of Christ.

(25:40):
Titles like Queen and Mother ofMercy lack scriptural basis.
Mary is not our hope.
Christ is.
Mary is not our advocate.
Christ is.
She is never depicted asturning eyes of mercy or making
anyone worthy.
That is the Holy Spirit'ssanctifying work.

(26:02):
This hymn is egregiouslyidolatrous, calling her our life
and our hope completelycompetes with Christ titles,
like in John 14, 6, when hesays, I am the way and the truth
and the life, and it risksworshiping Mary as co-savior.
Mary is not essential in anyway for the merciful gift of

(26:25):
salvation.
When praying the rosary,Catholics often conclude their
prayer with, Hail, Holy Queen.
Lorraine Butner calls all ofthis mariolatry and says it's
rooted in folklore and not inthe original apostles' teaching.
There are also severalconcerning statements in the
catechism of the Catholic Churchon Mary.

(26:47):
Paragraph 964 references,quote, the union of the mother
with the son in the work ofsalvation.
And in CCC paragraph 973, itsays, quote, collaborating with
the whole work her son was toaccomplish.
Mary was not a co-participantin redemption.
Her beautiful act of obedientfaith cannot and should not be

(27:12):
overlooked.
But she did not collaboratewith her son for the salvation
of mankind.
Hebrews 1:3 shows us thatChrist alone made purification
for our sins and then sat downat the right hand of the Father.
Paragraph 969 says, quote, byher manifold intercession
continues to bring us the giftsof eternal salvation, invoked as

(27:36):
advocate, helper, benefactress,and mediatrix.
Paragraph 975 says that Mary,quote, continues in heaven to
exercise her maternal role.
We have no scriptural basis forongoing heavenly intercession.
The Bible shows the saints inrest in Revelation 14, 13.

(27:57):
Well, you might say, what aboutthe cloud of witnesses
mentioned in Hebrews 12:1?
These are individuals from thepast, like the apostles and the
prophets, whose lives serve asexamples of faith and
perseverance.
According to religioustradition, they are not
interceding in the sense ofbeing mediators.
It's not that the faithful whohave gone before us are

(28:20):
spectators to the race we run.
Rather, it is a figurativerepresentation and just means
that we ought to act as if theywere in sight and cheering us on
to the same victory of life andfaith that they obtained.
And the author of Hebrews doesnot tell us to pray to them or
to ask them to pray for us.

(28:41):
Christ alone is our mediatorand intercessor.
In fact, he continuously livesto intercede for us before the
Father.
Romans 8.34 and Hebrews 7.25make this clear.
Finally, have you heard theseterms about Mary?
Perpetual virginity,immaculacy, and assumption.

(29:03):
Paragraph 974 in the Catechismof the Catholic Church says that
Mary was, quote, conceivedwithout original sin and taken
up body and soul into heaven.
The dogma of perpetualvirginity teaches that Mary
remained a virgin throughout herentire life, before, during,

(29:23):
and after the birth of Jesus.
The mention of Jesus' quote,brothers in Scripture is
interpreted as referring tocousins or other close
relatives, as the Aramaiclanguage had no specific word
for cousin.
The dogma of ImmaculateConception states that Mary was
preserved from the stain oforiginal sin from the moment of

(29:45):
her conception.
She was filled with sanctifyinggrace from the first instant of
her existence, allowing her tobe a pure and holy vessel for
Jesus.
And the greeting of the angelGabriel, hail Mary, full of
grace.
Which is a translation, is seenas an indicator of this special
state of grace that extendedthroughout her life.

(30:06):
Finally, we have the dogma ofassumption.
First proclaimed in 1950, itholds that at the end of her
earthly life, Mary was taken up,body and soul, into heavenly
glory.
This is seen as the culminationof her unique role as the
mother of God, and it isunderstood to mean that Mary
shares in the glory of her son'sresurrection.

(30:29):
I share all of this not to tearanyone down, but because I love
you and because truth matters.
If you grew up Catholic or havedear friends and family who
are, please hear me.
This isn't an attack.
Like I said, there are manyCatholics who genuinely love
Jesus and seek to honor Him withtheir wholehearted devotion.

(30:51):
But love compels us to weighevery teaching against the word
of God itself.
My encouragement is simplythis: don't take my word for it
and don't take the church's wordfor it either.
Take God's word for it.
Study it yourself.
Ask him to show you what istrue.
Because the same God who openedMary's eyes to her need for a

(31:15):
savior delights to open ourstoo.
And maybe the best way to honorMary is not by elevating her
higher than Scripture allows,but by following her example of
humble faith.
So let's turn now to thesequestions.
How did Mary want to be seen?
And even more importantly, howdid Jesus see her?

(31:38):
We'll be right back after thismessage.
It's so easy to get it wrong,isn't it?
You know, friend, this isexactly why we created our how
to study the Bible course atAbidible.
Because it's one thing to hearwhat others say about Scripture.
It's another to open it foryourself with confidence and

(31:59):
actually know what it says andwhy it says it.
When you understand how tostudy the Bible in context, you
are not as easily swayed bytradition, trends, or even
well-meaning teachers who mightmiss the mark.
You begin to see the beauty ofGod's word for what it truly is.
His voice, clear andsufficient, speaking straight to

(32:20):
your heart.
If you've ever felt unsure ofwhere to start or intimidated by
all the tools and methods, thiscourse walks you through
everything step by step, fromreading and observing to
interpreting and applying, soyou can build a deep daily
relationship with God throughHis Word.
You don't need a theologydegree.

(32:41):
You just need a willing heartand a Bible.
You can find the How to Studythe Bible course at abidable.com
or by clicking the link in thisepisode's description.
Because the truth is, if wedon't know what the Bible says
for ourselves, we'll alwaysdepend on someone else to tell
us who God is.
And he's inviting you to comeand see for yourself because he

(33:05):
wants to be known by youcorrectly.
And now, back to the show.
Okay, we're finally here.
How did Mary want to be seen?
And how did Jesus want us tosee his mother?
Let's start with how Marywanted to be seen.
Is it clear to you yet?

(33:27):
She wanted to be in thebackground.
Because he looked, lowly andhumble Mary has been seen.
Because of what he chose to dothrough her, Mary will be
blessed and remembered by futuregenerations.
Let's try and understand whatMary is trying to tell us about
herself in these two verses,Luke 1, 47 and 48.

(33:50):
I just finished critiquingCatholics.
Now, to be fair, if I had acritique for myself and perhaps
even other Protestants, it wouldbe that we tend to have a
shallow understanding of Mary,and we relegate conversations
about her to December.
Sure, we know some things.
We picture her fearful beforeGabriel.

(34:11):
We see her bursting at theseams, riding pregnant on a
donkey through rough desertterrain.
We imagine the fear in her eyesas she realizes the baby's time
has come and Joseph encountersslammed door after slammed door.
We recognize her in blue,hunched over in the manger,
serenely looking down at herbaby boy.

(34:32):
And then, what?
Cut scene, fade to black.
Dim light spreads across thescreen as a now markedly aged
Mary is sobbing at the foot ofthe cross.
What happened next?
Who was she before Gabrielspoke to her?
What was her life story?

(34:52):
Apart from the few additional,lesser discussed stories we have
about Mary, like losing Jesusin the Jerusalem temple, or
asking him to turn water intowine at the wedding in Cana, and
there, present in the upperroom during Pentecost, who was
this woman?
I think I've allowed myunderstanding of her to remain

(35:14):
shallow, almost as if she's notours.
Mary belongs to the Catholics,but that's silly.
She was Jewish, and she was themother of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Savior to the wholeworld, as 1 John 4.14 tells us.
So let's learn more about Mary.
First, what does she mean whenshe says that God has looked on

(35:36):
the humble estate of hisservant?
Here's one theory from MatthewHenry that I want to share with
you because of its interestingperspective.
While we have no officialbiblical evidence for this
theory, we do have biblicalprecedence.
And since our girl Mary wasfaithful to Scripture, these are
stories she would have known.
Matthew Henry says, He hasregarded the low estate of his

(35:59):
handmaiden.
That is, he has looked upon herwith pity, for so the word is
commonly used.
He has chosen me to this honor,notwithstanding my great
meanness, which means lowliness,poverty, and obscurity.
Nay, the expression seems tointimate, not only to allude to

(36:23):
that of Gideon, who referred tohis clan as the weakest in
Manasseh and to himself as theleast in his father's house.
Mary's song seems to intimatenot only that her family was
poor in Judah, but that she wasthe least in her father's house,
as if she were under someparticular contempt and

(36:44):
disgraced among her relations,or was unjustly neglected and
the outcast of the family.
And God put this honor upon herto balance abundantly the
contempt.
Henry continues, I the rathersuggest this, for we find
something toward such honor asthis put upon others on the like

(37:08):
consideration.
Because God saw that Leah washated, he opened her womb.
Because Hannah was provoked andmade to fret and insulted over
by Penina, therefore God gaveher a son, whom men wrongfully
depress and despise.
God doth sometimes, incompassion to them, especially

(37:30):
if they've borne it patiently,prefer an advance.
So, in Mary's case, it'spossible that when Mary says God
has looked upon the humbleestate of his servant, she's not
just making a statement abouther humility.
She's placing herself in along, holy line of people whom

(37:51):
God has lifted from low places.
Throughout Scripture, we seethat this is who God is.
He sees the ones everyone elseoverlooks.
Write that down, especially ifyou feel overlooked.
God sees the ones everyone elseoverlooks.
Think about David.

(38:12):
In 1 Samuel 16, we meet theyoungest of eight sons of Jesse,
so forgotten that when theprophet Samuel came looking for
the next king, his own fatherdidn't even call him in from the
sheep pasture.
But God called for him, saying,Man looks on the outward
appearance, but the Lord lookson the heart.

(38:33):
And then God elevated David,the shepherd boy, to king.
What about Ruth, a poor,widowed foreigner, gathering
scraps in the fields just tosurvive?
Yet God saw her faithfulnessand wove her into the family
line of Jesus himself.
And then there's Joseph.

(38:55):
In the end of the book ofGenesis, we read that he is
betrayed by his brothers,imprisoned for crimes he didn't
commit, and left to rot in adungeon.
And yet, Scripture keepsrepeating that the Lord was with
Joseph.
God raised him up to a place ofpower to rescue the very family
who had abandoned him.

(39:16):
And those are just a fewexamples in the Old Testament.
Examples Mary would have beenfamiliar with.
She would have known, yes, thisis God's way.
He exalts the humble, he fillsthe hungry, he lifts the lowly.
He'd just done it again withElizabeth and Zechariah, an old

(39:36):
barren couple now expecting ababy boy.
In fact, the baby boy who wouldbe anointed with the Holy
Spirit and in the power andspirit of Elijah would make
ready a people prepared for thecoming of the long-awaited Lord.
And now he looks upon Mary, ayoung girl in a society that
often marginalized women from apoor family in an obscure

(40:01):
village, perhaps even a girl whofaced neglect or some sort of
unimagined hardship, andentrusts her with the most
extraordinary role in history.
So when Mary sings, he haslooked upon the humble estate of
his servant.
Just as Paul would later say in1 Corinthians 1, God chose what

(40:37):
is foolish and weak and low anddespised in the world.
He now chooses Mary.
Mary knew God and what he haddone before.
She saw what he was now aboutto do.
Her abiding relationship withhim is what enabled her to point
upward, not inward, to givecredit where credit was due.

(40:59):
Charles Spurgeon describes thiskind of relationship with God.
When once a soul has a deepsense of God's mercy and begins
magnifying him, there is no endto it.
This grows by what it feedsupon.
The more you magnify God, themore you can magnify him.
The higher you rise, the moreyou can see.

(41:22):
Your view of God is increasedin extent.
And whereas you praised himsomewhat at the bottom of the
hill, when you get nearer andnearer to the top of his
exceeding goodness, you lift upthe strain still more loudly,
and your soul doth more fullyand exultantly magnify the Lord.

(41:45):
Mary is loudly and fully andexultantly magnifying the Lord,
not herself.
To solidify that, what does shecall herself?
The queen or God's servant?
For he has looked on the humbleestate of his servant.
She calls herself a servant ofthe Lord.

(42:06):
Big surprise here, thislanguage also has biblical
precedent.
Who else referred to themselvesor was referred to as a servant
of the Lord?
Oh, just a few importantpeople.
Abraham, do not pass by yourservant.
That's Genesis 18.
Jacob, I am not worthy of theleast of all the steadfast love

(42:29):
that you have shown to yourservant.
Genesis 32.10.
Moses, and they believed in theLord and in his servant Moses.
Exodus 14, 31.
How about Joshua?
After these things, Joshua, theservant of the Lord, died.
Joshua 24, 29.
Hannah, O Lord of hosts, if youwill indeed look on the

(42:51):
affliction of your servant.
1 Samuel 1.11.
We have David.
Who am I, O Lord God, and whatis my house that you have
brought me thus far?
You have made this revelationto your servant.
That's 2 Samuel 7.
And Elijah, let it be knownthis day that you are God in

(43:12):
Israel, and that I am yourservant.
1 Kings 18 36.
And Isaiah, God calls him myservant Isaiah in Isaiah 23.
And Daniel, now therefore, Oour God, listen to the prayer of
your servant.
That's Daniel 9.17.
And finally, the long list,Nehemiah.

(43:35):
Let your ear be attentive tothe prayer of your servant.
That's Nehemiah 1.11.
And here comes Mary, for he haslooked upon the humble estate
of your servant.
Don't you see it?
I'm seeing it for the veryfirst time.
I had no idea how grounded androoted and devoted Mary was to
the Word of God.

(43:55):
She knew it.
The stories, the people, thevery words.
This idea of servant or do lossin the Greek is someone who is
devoted to another to thedisregard of one's own
interests.
In the Old Testament, itcarried with it the idea of a
bondsman or a mage servant.

(44:16):
Mary is making a very clearstatement.
She is willingly submitting herwhole self, body and spirit to
the Lord.
She's planting her flag in theground and saying, Thy will be
done.
That's beautiful, consideringwhat her son would one day do.
Like mother, like son.
This is who Mary is.

(44:39):
This is what she's about,magnifying the Lord, not
herself.
So when we get to the nextline, from now on, all
generations will call meblessed.
How are we to interpret that inlight of the rest of the
context?
Sure, we could pull it out ofcontext and decide for Mary,
contrary to Mary, that she wantsto be revered and worshipped

(45:03):
and seen as co-redemptrix,co-mediator, co-savior with her
son, and thus considered blessedby all future generations.
Or we could be biblicallyfaithful to the context and
understand it to mean thatfuture generations would see the
greatness of God in what he haddone for Mary, that we would

(45:23):
see her as a woman, yes, favoredby God and happy to be chosen
as his humble servant.
God certainly has bestowed uponMary a high and lasting honor
that would never fade away.
Here we are still talking abouther 2,000 years later.
But if we only talk about herand look to her, we've missed

(45:45):
the whole point.
Because to see Mary correctlyis to see that she is pointing
to God, that her greatest desireexpressed in her song is that
all future generations would seewhat God did for her and thus
worship him, not her.
Mary was blessed and favored byGod, but to summarize it in an

(46:08):
all-sobering way, Barclay says,to Mary was granted the
blessedness of being the motherof the Son of God.
Yet that very blessedness wouldbe a sword to pierce her heart.
It meant that someday she wouldsee her son hanging on a cross.
The blessedness of Mary wasonly ever meant to point to God.

(46:30):
I think, gosh, this is going tosound harsh, but I think the
scene I described to you inEphesus, I think Mary would be
horrified.
She called herself the servantof the Lord.
She openly referred to God asher savior.
She clearly wanted her life topoint away from herself and to

(46:52):
her son.
Which brings me to that secondquestion.
What did Jesus want us to knowand see and believe about his
mother?
We know that Jesus fulfilledall of the Old Testament law
perfectly, including thecommandment to honor his earthly
father and mother.
He turns water into wine atMary's request during the

(47:13):
wedding in Cana.
It was his very first miracle,done, perhaps even a little
early, for his mother.
And we see that on the cross,one of Jesus' final concerns for
his widowed mother, now aboutto lose her son, and perhaps
even to be put in the crosshairsof some powerful people,

(47:34):
entrusting her care to John.
John 19, 27 says, Then he saidto the disciple, Behold your
mother.
And from that hour the discipletook her to his own home.
He is badly beaten, sufferingexcruciating pain, taking on the
sins of the world, being mockedand under profound duress.

(47:55):
His own people have turned onhim, and his father must now
reject him.
He will be imminently crushed.
And yet he thinks of hismother.
David Mathis says, even now, inhis greatest agony, even as he
writhes in this dehumanizing,extended execution, his soul

(48:17):
does not curve inward to nursehis pain, but opens outward to
the one who nursed him.
He honors her.
He considers her with his finalbreaths.
Jesus deeply loved Mary.
And Jesus also loved women,something that had to have made
his mother's heart sing.

(48:38):
David Mathis from Desiring Godsays Jesus treated women
differently than rabbis of hisgeneration who wouldn't speak to
women in public.
To his disciples' amazement, hetalked with the Samaritan
woman, with Mary Magdalene, withthe Cyrophoenician woman, with
his dearly loved friends Maryand Martha.

(49:00):
And all this set in motion ahealing of sins against women.
By choosing Mary as his mother,Jesus does something profound
for women and for motherhood.
Again, Mathis says, Under God,she raised the man who was God,
the God who himself took on ourhuman flesh and took up

(49:23):
residence in a woman's womb fornine months, nursed at her
breasts, heard the scripturesfrom her mouth, and learned the
fundamentals of human life underher care.
The very life of Christtestifies to the sanctity of
motherhood.
Again, Jesus cherished hismother.

(49:44):
But Jesus also said a fewthings that we ought not forget.
When a woman in the crowdshouted out to him, Blessed is
the womb that bore you and thebreasts at which you nursed, in
Luke 11, he replies, Blessedrather are those who hear the
word of God and keep it.
David Guzick says, while notdishonoring his mother, Jesus

(50:08):
pointed out the greater and moreimportant connection between
himself and those who hear theword of God and keep it.
This is a more blessed andimportant relationship to Jesus
than even being the mother whobore him.
This does not demean Mary, butit does honor and bless the one
who hears and keeps God's word.

(50:28):
This is the blessed place.

John Trapp puts it this way: His disciples were more blessed (50:31):
undefined
in hearing Christ than hismother in bearing him.
The priority is clear.
Let me share one final point.
To illustrate it, I'll read astory from Mark 3, 31 to 35.

(50:54):
It says, His mother and hisbrothers came, and standing
outside, they sent to him andcalled him.
And a crowd was sitting aroundhim, and they said to him, Your
mother and your brothers areoutside seeking you.
And he answered them, Who aremy mother and brothers?
And looking about at all thosewho sat around him, he said,

(51:16):
Here are my mother and mybrothers.
For whoever does the will ofGod, he is my brother and sister
and mother.
We can't be exactly sure what'shappening here.
It's posited that Jesus isbringing more and more heat upon
himself as he kicks off hisministry and his concerned
mother and brothers show up.

(51:37):
A family intervention, perhaps.
It appears that they didn'tcome in to hear what he was
saying, but rather remainedoutside, sending someone instead
inside to interrupt him andcall him away from what he was
doing.
Steadfast in his ministry andmission, Jesus then redefines

(51:58):
his true family.
Those who do the will of Godare his brothers and sisters.
This gives us more insight intoMary, doesn't it?
By the time Jesus wascrucified, we see their
relationship as central, and wesee Jesus yet again looking on
the humble estate of God'sservant.
He sees the fear and agony inher eyes as she watches her son

(52:19):
die and he considers her.
But that doesn't mean that Marywas a perfect mother, or a
sinless mother, or that shealways got it right.
In fact, this story appears toshow us that, at least for a
moment, Mary struggled withsurrendering to the will of God.
Her flesh was full of fear.

(52:39):
She knew what would happen toJesus if he kept at it, and her
maternal, carnal, protectiveinstincts kicked in.
That, too, she would have tolearn to surrender.
She would have to lay down herson, sacrificially submitting
him back to the Father for thewill of the Father.
What we should see when we lookat the story of Mary is a young

(53:02):
woman who, through manydangers, toils, and snares,
understood herself to be theservant and her son to be the
savior.
And now we turn to what thisall means for us.
If God regarded Mary's lowestate, Matthew Henry says, he
thereby gives a specimen of hisfavor to the whole race of

(53:25):
mankind, whom he remembers intheir low estate, as the
psalmist speaks in Psalm 136,23.
The ultimate humble estate isour fallen state.
Psalm 113, 7 says, He raisesthe poor from the dust and lifts
the needy from the ash heap.
Psalm 138.6, another of ourcross-references, says, For

(53:47):
though the Lord is high, heregards the lowly.
Mary understood as best shecould, and because the angel
said it was so, that her childwould be great and would be
called the Son of the Most High.
He would have the throne of hisfather David and would reign
over the house of Jacob forever.
He would be given a kingdomwithout end.

(54:10):
As a student of Scripture, Maryknew that she and her people
had been long awaiting a Savior.
She understood, albeitimperfectly and in somewhat
human, finite terms, that theSon she would deliver would one
day deliver her.
And he did.
And he has delivered andcontinues to deliver all future

(54:31):
generations who call on hisname.
I am being so humbled by thissong.
God saw Mary's humble estateand lifted her out of it.
Just as he saw my humbleestate, my inability to save
myself, to be enough or to doenough, and he came for me, and
he chose to do it through Mary.

(54:52):
Am I grateful beyond words forMary?
Yes.
Do I worship her or pray toher?
No, I cannot.
Because when I look at her asshe stands according to
scripture, I see only one thing.
And here's the big idea for allof us today.
Mary points to her son, not toherself.

(55:16):
She magnifies her son, theSavior.
She has no power to save, butshe birthed the one who does.
How are we to live in light ofthat?
By seeing Mary correctly andlearning from her example.
Here's Charles Spurgeon.
We must recall the fact thatMary was highly distinguished

(55:38):
and honored.
No other woman was overblessedas she was.
Perhaps no other could haveborne the honor that was put
upon her to be the mother of thehuman nature of our Savior.
It was the highest possiblehonor that could be put upon
mortal, and the Lord knew at theappointed time where to find a
guileless, lowly woman who couldbe entrusted with such a gift,

(56:03):
and yet not seek to filch awayhis glory.
She is not proud, nay, it is afalse heart that steals the
revenues of God and buystherewith the intoxicating cup
of self-congratulation.
The more God gives to a trueheart, the more it gives to him.

(56:24):
Like Peter's boat, which sankinto the waters the more deeply,
the more fully it was ladenwith fish, God's true children
sink in their own esteem as theyare honored by their Lord.
God's gifts, when he givesgrace with them, do not puff us
up, they build us up.

(56:45):
A humble and lowly estimate ofourselves is added to a greater
esteem of him.
The more God gives thee, themore do thou magnify him and not
thyself.
Be this thy rule, he mustincrease, but I must decrease.
Be thou less and less.

(57:07):
Jesus' cousin John got it.
Those were his words.
He must increase, but I mustdecrease.
Here are three things to takewith you in personal application
today.
Number one, do not be a glorythief.
As Spurgeon says, it is a falseheart that steals the revenues

(57:28):
of God.
Give God his due.
Here are some examples.
When someone praises yourparenting, instead of soaking it
up as personal success, quietlythank God for giving you wisdom
and patience that you didn'thave on your own.
When a post you shared aboutfaith or whatever goes viral,

(57:49):
resist the temptation to measureyour worth by likes or follows.
Ask God to help you use thatreach to lift his name higher,
not yours.
Or when your ministry projector career wins recognition,
publicly and privately deflectthe credit upward.
This is the Lord's doing.

(58:09):
It is marvelous in our eyes.
That's Psalm 118, 23.
Number two, do not buy intoyour own hype.
Spurgeon calls this buyingtherewith the intoxicating cup
of self-congratulation.
Give God his due.
Here are some examples.
After serving faithfully inyour church, you catch yourself

(58:31):
thinking, they couldn't do thiswithout me.
Stop right there and remember,God can raise up servants from
stones.
Or when you feel pressure toprove your worth through
busyness or achievement, pauseand remind your heart, it is God
who works in me, both to willand to work for his good
pleasure.
That's Philippians 2.13.

(58:54):
And if you sense pride after aspiritual victory, like sharing
the gospel boldly or overcomingsome sin, thank God immediately.
Every win is grace, notgreatness.
And finally, number three, giveit all back.
The more God gives you, themore you can give back to him.

(59:15):
Give God his due.
If God increases yourinfluence, use it to amplify his
word, not your opinions.
If he blesses you financially,invest those blessings in
kingdom work and generosity thatreflects his heart.
If he gives you new spiritualinsight, don't hoard it.
Teach, encourage, and discipleothers so his name, not yours,

(59:39):
is remembered.
I am so personally challengedin all of this.
Dying to self and pointing toGod is a challenge to my flesh,
but I am also encouraged byreminders of God's character.
Nothing is impossible for him,not even learning to humbly
submit all my life to him.
As we shrink, may we sing ourown song of God's greatness.

(01:00:04):
Then sings my soul, my SaviorGod, to thee.
How great thou art.
How great thou art.
Friend, be thou less and less.
And that's it for this episode.
If you know someone who wouldbe blessed by what you just

(01:00:25):
heard, please share the Abidiblepodcast with them.
Keep spreading the word so wecan make much of the word.
Drop us a review.
Tell us what you love and whatyou're learning.
Check out the link to learnmore about partnering with us by
buying us a coffee one time, byjoining our Women's Abidible
Plus membership community for$10 a month, or by becoming a

(01:00:46):
monthly supporter.
For those of you followingalong in the workbook for Mary's
song, go ahead and beginworking on our next verse in the
series, Luke 149, on pages 26to 29 in your study workbook.
Ideally, you would have thissection done before you listen
to the next episode, number 73.
I am really excited about thisnext verse in Mary's song, which

(01:01:08):
says, For he who is mighty hasdone great things for me, and
holy is his name.
In that episode, which may belate because I was in the ER
this last week, I'm okay.
But I also have a family tripplanned that we are leaving for
tomorrow.
So again, stay tuned.
But in this next episode, wewill get a chance to practice

(01:01:31):
praise that is built onprecedent, just like we see Mary
doing.
I'll pray for us and then closeus out with our memory work for
verse 48.
Father, we come before you asthose of low estate, dust that
you have lifted, hearts that youhave redeemed.
You saw Mary, a humble youngwoman with nothing to boast of,

(01:01:54):
and through her you gave theworld its savior.
Thank you for remembering thelowly, for raising the poor from
the dust and the needy from theash heap, just as your word
declares.
Lord, we confess how easily ourhearts can seek the spotlight
that belongs to you alone.
Forgive us for stealing therevenues of your glory, for

(01:02:18):
drinking the intoxicating cup ofself-congratulation.
Teach us to be less and less,that Christ might be seen more
and more in us.
May our lives, like Mary's,point fully and joyfully to
Jesus, the one who took on fleshto deliver us from sin and
death.

(01:02:39):
Let every honor, every gift,every blessing you give us sink
us deeper into gratitude andraise louder and louder songs of
praise to you.
We marvel, Lord, that you whoare high regard the lowly, that
you who are holy remember us inour fallen state.
Thank you that you did notleave us there, but sent your

(01:03:03):
son to be our Savior.
So today we magnify you, Lord.
We rejoice in God, our Savior.
We bow low, not in shame, butin awe that you have looked upon
us with mercy.
Make us servants who gladlysay, Be it unto me according to

(01:03:25):
your word.
And may our souls ever sing howgreat thou art.
It's in the name of Jesus Ipray.
Amen.
Let's close by doing our memorywork together.
I'm going to repeat Luke 148five times.
Say it out loud with me orquietly to yourself.

(01:03:49):
For behold, from now on, allgenerations will call me bless.

(01:04:11):
Luke 148.

(01:04:40):
Remember, you are able to abidein the Bible.
We'll see you next time.
Until then, let's abide.

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}#072 "What We Get Wrong About Mary" (Luke 1:48)