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LEADER GUIDE

H HIGHLIGHT: Luke 1:39-56 39In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah 40where

she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s

greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy

Spirit. 42Then she exclaimed with a loud cry: “Blessed are you among women, and your

child will be blessed! 43How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord

should come to me? 44For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

the baby leaped for joy inside me. 45Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord

would fulfill what he has spoken to her!” 46And Mary said:

My soul praises the greatness of the Lord,

47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48because he has looked with favor

on the humble condition of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations

will call me blessed,

49because the Mighty One

has done great things for me,

and his name is holy.

50His mercy is from generation to

generation

on those who fear him.

51He has done a mighty deed with his

arm;

he has scattered the proud

because of the thoughts of their hearts;

52he has toppled the mighty from their

thrones

and exalted the lowly.

53He has satisfied the hungry with good

things

and sent the rich away empty.

54He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering his mercy

55to Abraham and his

descendants forever,

just as he spoke to our ancestors.

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LEADER GUIDE

E

56And Mary stayed with her about three months; then she returned to her home.

EXPLAIN

Leaders: Feel free to use any of the “Explain” materials to guide discussion as it is needed or to expound on a certain area of the text as it comes up during your Life Group time, but the purpose of this section is to deepen your own personal understanding of the Word. Your members have access to all of this material as well.

“The Magnificat” is one of the most famous songs recorded in Scripture and demonstrates Mary’s remarkable humility and willingness to submit to God’s plan for her life. As we look at this passage, let’s remember what it looks like to submit humbly to God so that we can obey Him faithfully.

v.39 Though we don’t know the exact town that Mary ended up visiting, most scholars suggest that it was at least 50-70 miles away from Mary’s home. This journey would have taken her several days, prolonging her anticipation to see her cousin and allowing her time and space to reflect on the miracle of what was happening to her.

v.42 While Zechariah was struck mute and deaf, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, which caused her to believe. Notice the contrast between Zechariah and Elizabeth here: Zechariah expressed his doubt that God could cause his wife to be pregnant, but Elizabeth didn’t question for a second that Mary was carrying the Messiah.

v.45 “Blessed.” In verse 42, Mary is called blessed because of the positional relationship with her son, the Messiah. Here, that blessing is supplemented: she’s blessed because of her faith in and obedience to God. Luke will show how Jesus mirrored thoughts like this later on in His teaching, particularly in Luke 8:19-21. There, Jesus redefines family relationships in terms of one’s faith in and obedience to God, saying in verse 21, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear and do the word of God.” May it be said of us that we are Jesus’ brothers—hearers and doers of God’s word!

vv.46-56 The passage that follows is commonly referred to as “the Magnificat,” for “magnificat” is the first word of the passage in the Latin version of the text. It is Mary’s hymn of praise for who God is, what God is doing, and what He will continue to do in the future.

Notably, this passage demonstrates Mary’s reverence for and knowledge of Scripture. It contains between 12 and 18 references to the Old Testament and closely mirrors the song that Hannah sang in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 in both form and content. Though Mary was a poor peasant girl, familiarity with the Old Testament was not so unusual—even for her—and so it is not necessary for us to speculate as to what extent Luke added his words to her song. It makes sense that someone so pious as Mary, and so worthy to bear the Messiah, would have a solid grasp on Scripture. Read through it and note the major theme: we serve a marvelous God who vindicates the downtrodden and provides salvation for His people.

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LEADER GUIDE

A APPLY Your Leader Guide will have material that the participant guides do not have. The bolded material is what the people in your group will have, the other material is only for you to help guide discussion.

This guide can be as strict a script or as general a resource as the leader needs it to be.

1. What stuck out to you or challenged you in what you heard in the sermon or read in the text?

2. When was a time you were so filled with joyful anticipation that you couldn’t control yourself? What was it that was filling you with such expectation? How did it turn out?

3. Why do you think that God chose to bless Mary with carrying the Messiah? What do you think of many people’s reverence for Mary? Why is it harmful to pay too much attention to those who have received incredible blessings?

In the sermon, Pastor Robby talked about the difference between our positional and conditional relationships with God. Our positional relationship with Him was secured when Christ died for us—once you are a Child of God, nothing can change it. In that sense, all believers are blessed. Our conditional relationship comes when we obey His commands. Think of it in terms of a parent with their child: the child’s well-being is conditional; their status of being loved by their parent is positional. Mary had demonstrated humility and faithfulness, and had proven herself to be worthy of this particular blessing God bestowed.

God elevated Mary to a status of esteem, but that does not mean that she is to be an object of our worship. She serves as an incredible picture of faithfulness that we can follow: we can emulate her humility, her devotion to the Word, and her faithfulness to follow God’s commands. But by elevating her to a position of divinity, we take our eyes off of the focus of the story, Christ.

4. Read verses 51-52. How have you seen God topple the mighty from their thrones? How have you seen Him exalt the humble? How is this different from the way society sees the mighty/humble?

Everywhere we look, we see prideful, powerful people falling in public ways. At the same time, we’ve seen how God can use people who humbly submit to His will. Mary is a prime example of this. We also see it in the story Pastor Robby told about Orel Hershiser. Perhaps there are some examples you can think of that you’ve seen personally. While the world celebrates and exalts the proud and mighty, God does the opposite.

5. Have you ever felt bitter or frustrated because it seems like God has overlooked you? What kind of attitude should a citizen of the Kingdom of God have? How can you live with the kind of humility Mary exhibited in your life?

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R RESPOND Consider the following questions and respond either publicly or privately, depending on the dynamic of your group.

• What attitudes do you need to adjust in order to live humbly? How do you think this will affect the way you worship and praise God?

Encourage one another through email, text messages, or coffee dates throughout the week to build up and encourage each other.