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Jesus was the epitome of mercy. As we discussed in yesterday’s message, He spoke of the necessity of mercy in the Beatitudes, His introductory comments to the Sermon on the Mount. Even before this public appearance, in fact, even before He was born, it was a foregone conclusion that mercy would be a trait closely associated with Him and His work. Our focus today will involve this conclusion and the manner in which it was expressed by Mary, the mother of Jesus.

What follows is a statement made by Mary to her cousin Elizabeth: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth 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 on those who fear Him From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, ‘To Abraham and to his seed forever.’” (Luke 1.46-55; emphasis mine, jb).

Mary knew that the child that was growing inside her womb was no ordinary child. She knew that He was conceived without the role ordinarily filled by a human male. She also knew that her son’s role would be one that fulfilled the hopes and dreams of the righteous even from the time of Abraham. She may not have known everything about Him, but she knew that His role was closely associated with the mercy of God as it had been manifested to Israel and as it had been promised to Abraham. Notice how she understood mercy; she knew that those who pleased God were the recipients of His mercy, and also that His mercy was denied those who oppressed others and ignored His commands concerning showing mercy toward others.

Mary’s final statement was perhaps the most telling. Indeed God had remembered His promises to Abraham. One of those promises said that all nations would be blessed through Abraham’s seed. God had helped Israel, but that did not fulfill His promise to bless all nations through Abraham’s seed. “All nations” included more than the descendents of Isaac and Jacob. “All nations” included the sons of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. “All nations” included the Gentiles. Mercy had been shown toward all nations, but not in the manner that had been promised to Abraham. That promise would come through the miraculous events soon to occur in Bethlehem and the birth of Mary’s son. Mercy was to take on new meaning inasmuch as the greatest of mercy’s gifts, the forgiveness of sins, was about to become a reality for Jew and Gentile alike.

Only God would author a plan like that! Human authors devise plans that favor their favorites and deliver their cronies. Human plans are limited in scope because we are limited in our resources. God’s plan to show the greatest of mercies to all men through Jesus Christ was possible because of His unlimited resources and boundless mercy!

Questions:

1. Who told Mary the source of the child within her womb?

2. To whom was Mary speaking when she uttered the words of Luke 1.46-55?

3. How had God been merciful to the nation of Israel?

4. How would He be merciful to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ?

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

Moralism