So, word is, they changed the rules on how they count the top Billboard songs. Because of these rule changes, for the first time in its twenty-five year life, Mariah Carey's song All I Want For Christmas Is You recently topped the Hot 100. This made it the first Christmas song since 1959 to hit the top of the Billboard charts. That song? Alvin & The Chipmunks Christmas themed song, named The Chipmunk Song.

Mariah Carey. The Chipmunks. OK. Allow me to introduce you to a much better Christmas song than any modern artist could compose.

In the early chapters of Luke, three songs were sung. Simeon sang the third after he held baby Jesus in his arms in the temple. Zechariah sang the second after his wife, Elizabeth, in her old age, bore a son they named John. And Mary sang the first after visiting Elizabeth, a relative, while both of them were pregnant.

Upon seeing Mary, a young girl to Elizabeth's advanced years, Elizabeth exclaimed:

"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." (Luke 1:42–45)

And, in reply to this statement, Mary sang. We often call her song The Magnificat because in it, she magnifies the Lord. It is a powerful song, especially when one considers how young Mary was, how confused she could have been, and how alone she must have felt embarking on such a solitary voyage.

The song is beautiful, and there are many ways to admire it. Today, rather than pick it apart line by line, I want to ask three questions:

• 1. What does this song say about Mary?
• 1. What does this song say about God?
• 1. What does this song say about us?

1. What Does The Song Say About Mary?

46 And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name."

1. She was humble.

Mary began her song by saying her whole person would celebrate God for what He had done. Her soul and spirit would magnify and rejoice in the Lord (46-47). She did not, for a moment, feel she was the hero of this story. Instead, she believed God her Savior was the One worthy of celebration (47).

And she knew she was undeserving. She knew all about her humble estate and wondered in amazement at the fact from (then) on all generations (would) call (her) blessed (48). She summed it all up: He who is mighty has done great things for me (49).

These are the cries of a humble person. She was not an arrogant woman. She trusted God's wisdom but thought His selection was one of grace. She didn't assume she was an excellent choice. She didn't see herself that way. Instead, she marveled at God's grace in reaching into her life.

And, in a world filled with braggarts and false-humility, isn't Mary's attitude refreshing? She certainly isn't boastful, but one also gets the impression she isn't merely acting humble. Instead, she really does divert the attention from herself and onto the Lord. She was a humble woman.

"One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor." (Proverbs 29:23)

This attribute of Mary's really sets up the latter portion of the song, where we will discover how God brings down the lofty, prideful person.

As I've said previously, humility is cultivated through honest interaction with God's word. In Scripture, we discover how far we are from God's glory, how depraved and sinful and dead we were in the spiritual sense, and how much we needed saving.

This is how Mary felt. She said, "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (47). This sweet, young, innocent woman felt she needed saving. How beautiful!

God wants to do the same beautiful work in you today:

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere." (2 Corinthians 2:14)

Listen to her cry, O believer! Like beautiful incense, her humility fills the room. It is pleasant, and if you emulate her, you will be the fragrance of Christ to the world around you. You will broadcast the victory of Christ because you will carry an attitude which says it is all of grace.

In a sense, you could say it this way: With humility, Christians are the wonderful fragrance of Christ. Without humility, Christians stink.

So, the first thing we learn about Mary: she was humble.

2. She loved Scripture.

If you have spent a considerable amount of time in the Old Testament, you may have recognized Mary's love for the Bible throughout this song. Some have calculated at least fifteen different references to and direct quotations of the Scriptures in Mary's song. I think there were more. She borrowed heavily from the Psalms, but also Habakkuk, Genesis, Malachi, Isaiah, and Exodus.

But her favorite passage came from 1 Samuel 2. You see, in the first chapters of 1 Samuel, there was a young woman named Hannah. She was unable to become pregnant. This was troubling to her, for all the reasons infertile women experience today, but more because she lived in a culture which wrongly tied a woman's worth to her womb.

So Hannah cried out to God, and God gave her a baby boy. Samuel.

But the story is so much more than one of a woman unable to conceive, asking God to give her a child. No. It was much deeper than that. You see, at that time, God needed a prophet. No one alive in Israel fit the bill in those days. And, when Hannah prayed to God over the years, she said: Give me a son. But, after years of prayer, she finally said, "If you give me a son, I will give him to you." This was the type of surrender God waited for, and when Samuel was born, he became the prophet God needed.

And, in response to God's answer to her prayer, Hannah sang a song to God. Mary quoted heavily from that song.

Mary's fascination with Hannah's song makes perfect sense. Like Hannah, her son would not be hers alone. Samuel belonged to God's service. And Jesus belonged to the Father in heaven and to His ultimate service here on earth. From the very beginning, Mary would have to let God have His way in Jesus' life. He was given to Mary so Mary could give Him back to God. As Mary poured over Hannah's story in 1 Samuel, it strengthened Mary and built up her faith.

I say all this to point out how Mary was a woman who loved the Scripture. It comforted and guided her. It expressed her heart to God. It encouraged and enlightened her. She hid it in her heart, and at this moment, it burst forth in perfect song (Psalm 119:11).

One of the most exciting things in the world is to be used by God. And God often uses people who are familiar with His word. Mary was such a person.

Baby Jesus would turn into the boy Jesus who would turn into adolescent Jesus and finally full-grown man Jesus. The Bible makes it clear: He grew in wisdom and stature over the years (Luke 2:40). He was divine but also completely human. He learned. And Mary, filled with the Word, would teach little Jesus about the very Scripture which He wrote, and which testified of Him.

I think part of the reason God chose her for this task was her love for the Word.

Recently, Christina and I helped work a bake sale for some dance classes our daughters are involved in. Not only did we work the register, but Christina had baked some pumpkin chocolate chip bread for the sale. There was one middle school-aged boy who kept on coming back for piece after piece of the bread. He had no idea Christina was its baker, but he made her day each time he returned for more.

And God made this book. He loves when His people return to it day after day for guidance, encouragement, help, and to see Him more clearly.

I recently read a book called Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin. It is a masterpiece work that delivers thoughtful answers to many modern objections to Christianity. But her story was one of a person who just kept on growing in their understanding of the Word. As her understanding grew, so did her usefulness, and I, for one, am thankful for her dedication.

Know the Word. Grow in it. Stay in it. Your life becomes more useful to God and others as you do.

3. She was a willing instrument.

Finally, to our question about what the song teaches us of Mary, I would like to point out her willingness. She was eager, ready to serve God as Jesus' mother.

She said, "From now on all generations will call me blessed" (48). In other words, she thought the task God gave her was a blessing.

She also said, "For He who is mighty has done great things for me" (49). In other words, she was thankful to God she'd been chosen for such a beautiful responsibility.

But let's think about her mission for a moment. It was one filled with pain and hardship. In the shame-honor culture she lived in, becoming pregnant out of wedlock was frowned upon. And during her whole life, people would have never believed in the virgin birth.

In fact, it wasn't until thirty-three years later, in a small gathering of only 120 early believers, Mary's claim would've been vindicated. Only then did that small band of the church comprehend Jesus' identity. And, as the years ticked by, the rumor mill churned in regards to Mary.

But she also had to endure the pain of watching her beloved Son die on the cross. She was there that day. I cannot imagine the heartache she experienced.

Still, she did all this with a willing spirit. She emulated Isaiah, a prophet who, on the day God asked for a volunteer, said, "Here I am! Send me." (Isaiah 6:8).

This begs the question: how willing are you to be used by God? Too often, we have conditions. But God is worthy of condition-free surrender.

My mind races to a friend of mine who pastors in a very rough neighborhood in Newark. His family lives on the church's property. It is, in many ways, an extremely uncomfortable life. But he could not bring himself to place conditions on God's calling on his life. And he wouldn't change a thing. He has experienced God's grace in that role and place.

So, what an amazing young woman. She was humble. She knew the Word of God. And she was a willing instrument in His hands. We should all look up to her.

2. What Does The Song Say About God?

50 "And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty."

OK. Our next question is: What does the song say about God?

Truthfully, it says so much about God that we'll have to narrow our focus down to three things.

1. He is humanity's Savior.

Mary alluded to this for herself when she said, "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (47). But, in the portion we just read, we see a God who looks from generation to generation for those who fear Him (50). He is on the hunt for people who respect and revere Him. For them, His mercy flows.

You see, Jesus came to save. This was the understanding Joseph received from the angel when he learned of Mary's pregnancy. Knowing he wasn't responsible for the child within her, he determined to privately end their engagement, but the angel told him the child was from God. He said:

"She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21)

Christians believe this salvation work of Christ. We believe sin broke our world and created our spiritual deadness before God. Jesus came along to reverse the curse pronounced upon humanity; He came to save us from sin.

I realize this can sound basic: as in, I already know this. It could also sound familiar -- repeated so often it's no longer special. But we should not lose sight of the potency of sin and our utter slavery to it.

Jesus came as the great emancipator. The ancient Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt, but God delivered them. For the rest of their lives, they were supposed to rejoice in God's deliverance. Sadly, they often forgot how terrible Egypt was, and didn't honor God for His indescribable work in their lives.

Let it not be so with us. Let us sing and rejoice and celebrate the salvation Christ has won.

It is the ultimate gift.

I would argue that other religions and many churches, when they talk about salvation, understand it and proclaim it as advice. Salvation is something you have to wrestle and struggle for, you have to perform. It comes only if you pray, obey, or transform your consciousness.

But the Christian Gospel is different. The founders of the great religions say, in one way or another, "I am here to show you the way to spiritual reality. Do all this." That's advice. Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, comes and says, "I am spiritual reality itself. You could never come up to me and, therefore, I had to come down to you." That's news.

-- Timothy Keller, Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ, loc. 295. Kindle Edition

Praise God for His salvation.

2. He is the architect of history.

Notice also how Mary viewed God. She thought of Him as the One who would overturn the prideful establishment, the authoritarian regimes of history. Salvation was bigger than a personal experience, but a historical one, and one God would perform in an ultimate way through Jesus.

She referred to this by saying things like:

• He has shown strength with His arm (51)
• He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts (51)
• He has brought down the mighty from their thrones (52)
• The rich He has sent away empty (53)

To understand Mary, you have to understand her world and the Scripture. First, her world was one of misery. The Roman Empire had grown into a monolithic oppressor of various people groups, including Mary's Jewish people. They toiled under Rome's pitiless thumb.

But Mary's mind, as we've already seen, was steeped in Scripture. She knew of its many stories of God's deliverance for His people. They had overcome Pharaoh in Egypt. They had defeated the sinful nations in Canaan. They had outlasted Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire. They had been served by King Cyrus and the Medo-Persians. The Hamans of the world had often been destroyed in their attempt to crush God's people.

Time and time again, God had brought low the oppressor and had orchestrated the events of history for His purposes. As Mary sang, she also hoped. She believed God would do the same in her time.

As the Romans busily suffocated the people, Mary believed the great deliverer had come. God would overthrow the tyrant, but one bigger than Rome. He would destroy Satan's terrible deed and work through the cross of Christ. "He disarmed the rulers and authorities, and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in Him and His cross" (Colossians 2:15).

All those previous victories -- the exodus from Egypt, the outlasting of Babylon, or Esther's triumph over Haman -- foreshadowed the great victory of Christ over the one called the god of this world, though he is no real god at all (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is an imposter, using puppets throughout history for his wicked purposes.

But God will get the last and ultimate laugh. As Mary said, God will show strength with His arm and scatter the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. More accurately, she sang He had done those things, but it was in anticipation of the fact He would do those things.

Psalm 2 pointedly records the events of history:

"Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 'Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.'" (Psalm 2:1–3)

So the kings of the earth rebel against God. And the nations of the earth rage. The world system wants nothing to do with God and His rule. And how does God respond?

"He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His fury, saying, 'As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.'" (Psalm 2:4–6)

The King God chooses wins. Jesus will reign forever. He will bring down the mighty from their thrones (52). Rejoice in this day.

3. He reverses the natural order of sin.

Notice the reversals Mary sang about:

• Scattered the proud (51)
• Brought down the mighty (52)
• The rich He has sent away empty (53)

But:

• Exalted those of humble estate (52)
• Filled the hungry with good things (53)
• Mercy for those who fear Him (51)

Mary sounds like a woman who knew what it was to be impoverished and hungry. She knew what it was like to experience oppression. She'd lived without the benefits of certain unalienable rights. She connected with the nameless masses of humanity who have toiled under the dark shadow of a dominant class.

And she believed a day would come when God would upend the whole system. She saw God as the One who could overturn and reverse the natural order of sin. The weak could be strong. The poor could be rich. And the humble could be exalted.

Jesus, of course, is the way to that eventual kingdom. As a man, He came from nowhere, had nothing, and was nothing. He joined Himself to the destitute and beaten down. He experienced life as a persecuted person, a refugee, and a common laborer.

Born in anonymity, He has gained the name above all names. And because He surrendered to the death of the cross, one day every knee will bow and confess Him as Lord (Philippians 2:9-10). His forever kingdom will be one were the systems and order we see in place today -- where the proud and mighty and rich dominate our world -- will be replaced with His benevolent leadership and equitable rule.

And, since this is the kingdom that is coming, His disciples today should pursue such a glorious manner of life right now. We should think of and serve the least. We should love those low and forgotten. We should believe His mercy is for anyone who fears Him.

So, we are reminded from Mary's song that God is humanity's Savior, the architect of history and that He reverses the natural order of sin. But...

3. What Does The Song Say About Us?

54 "He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, 55 as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

1. We are part of His plan.

Modern readers, when approaching the life of Jesus, are often put off by the way the New Testament begins. Matthew 1:1-17 is a genealogy. And we think all the genealogies belong in the Old, only to find one sitting there right at the beginning of the New. Of all the ways to start the second testament...

And most of us skip right past it, not understanding it speaks volumes about who Jesus is and what we receive in Him. You see, that genealogy traces the human line of Jesus down to David and Abraham. For hundreds of years and through hundreds of prophecies, the people of Israel waited for a Messiah-Christ who would deliver them.

And, when Jesus came, He came as the long-awaited Messiah. He came as the Jewish King connected to David and the descendant of Abraham through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

Remember the promise God made to Abraham:

"And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:2–3)

Notice how all the families of the earth would be blessed through Abraham. We don't often think this way. We think of Abraham's call and Israel's special place in history as unique, but perhaps isolationist, cut off from the rest of us.

But, remember, God's call of Abraham came out of God's dealings with the nations at the tower of Babel. Everyone rebelled against God, even after the flood, so God would show the world what a nation under God looks like through Abraham. And Abraham and Israel were to be a blessing to the whole world.

As God said before the Exodus:

"But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you My power, so that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth." (Exodus 9:16)

And prophets like Jeremiah saw this -- he knew Israel's relationship with God was supposed to impact the entire world.

"Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest...." (Jeremiah 2:3)

"And if you swear, 'As the Lord lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory." (Jeremiah 4:2)

Mary sang of all this. God, she sang, has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy (54). As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever (55). She knew the promise had not been forgotten. God was still on the move.

And, in those early days of the church, this was emphasized when the gospel broke out amongst the nations. Paul, a Hebrew of Hebrews, became Christ's ambassador to the non-Jewish world. And today, Christianity, an offshoot of Judaism, is the largest religion in the world. And every true believer belongs to the family God started back with Abraham.

"And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." (Galatians 3:29)

So, what does this song say about you? It says you are part of God's long-standing plan for His people, from Abraham onward.

The Gentile Christian, therefore, is a person of two histories: one the one hand, his or her own national and cultural background, ancestry, and heritage, which is not to be despised, and on the other hand, his or her new spiritual, "ingrafted" history -- that of God's people descended from Abraham, which the Christian inherits through inclusion in Christ. -- Knowing Jesus Through The Old Testament (Second Edition), p. 61, Christopher Wright

For all this, we are incredibly grateful:

"But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you." (Romans 11:17–18)

What a heritage we have in Jesus!

Conclusion

So, as you consider this Christmas season, remember the incredible heritage God has given to you. Remember His method of overturning the world system. And say to God, "Here I am, send me!"