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." (Luke 1:54-55)
Last week we considered what the Magnificat says about God. The previous week we thought about what the song said about Mary. Today, we will set our minds upon what the song says about us.
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 that 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 that 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: on 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!
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!"
Merry Christmas.
