The Dark Side of Christmas - Pt 3

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 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 away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:46-55 ESV). Our reading today is known as the Magnificat. The word is taken from the Latin for the first word of Mary’s outpouring of praise. It is really a hymn about the incarnation. Without question, it is a song of unspeakable joy and the most magnificent psalm of worship in the New Testament. It is the equal of any Old Testament psalm, and it bears a strong resemblance to Hannah’s famous hymn of praise for the birth of Samuel. It is filled with messianic hope, scriptural language, and references to the Abrahamic covenant. What we can see from this incredible hymn is the taking of real war to a new level. Of course I’m not talking about a conflict between earthly nations. It is not war on a human level, but war in the celestial realm. We can see much more of this war revealed in the Revelation. However, we should make no mistake, the birth of Jesus was a shot fired directly at Satan and all he desired to possess in the earth. God had finally revealed His Messiah. Jesus came into this world “to destroy the devil’s work” (cf. 1 John 3:8), and Satan had no intention of surrendering without a fight. In fact, he was fully intent on destroying the newborn Son of God as quickly as possible. So, Mary’s famous song, sung during her visit with Elizabeth, is essentially a military song. She has come to know that war is on the horizon, and she also knows the outcome. Her reference to God’s “mighty deeds with his arm” recalls the exodus. The first biblical passages where “the outstretched arm” of the Lord is mentioned are Exodus 6:6 and 15:16. Rulers like Herod had to be “brought down… from their throne” (v. 52) for things to be safe for Jesus, but even more so “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (cf. Ephesians 2:2) had to be dethroned and defeated. That celestial war began at Christmas, and it will not reach its final climax until Jesus returns again to cast the devil and all his hosts into the lake of fire. Just as the first Christmas is history, so will that great day. While it was dark on the first coming of Jesus; the Second Coming will not be so. It will be filled with the light of God’s glory and final victory over death and hell!