#072 "What We Get Wrong About Mary" (Luke 1:48) Artwork

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The Abidible Podcast

#072 "What We Get Wrong About Mary" (Luke 1:48)

November 10, 2025 • Kate • Season 1 • Episode 72

In this episode of The Abidible Podcast, host Kate takes listeners deep into Luke 1:48 to uncover what Mary’s song reveals about true greatness. Through the lens of Scripture, Kate shows how Mary’s humility shifts the spotlight away from herself and back to God.”

Listeners will gain a fresh, biblical perspective on Mary’s role in God’s story, seeing how her “humble estate” fits within a larger pattern of God exalting the lowly—just like Leah, Hannah, Ruth, and David. Kate also carefully addresses where views of Mary can drift beyond Scripture, helping believers honor her rightly while keeping Christ at the center.

By the end, you’ll walk away encouraged to resist the lure of spotlight culture, find steadiness in your own smallness, and—like Mary—live a life that magnifies the Lord.

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Hey guys, this is Kate from Abidible.com, and you're listening to the Abidible Podcast. I'm just a regular wife and mom who's had my life transformed by learning to study the Bible on my own. If I can, you can. On this show, I help you know and love God more by abiding in Him through His Word yourself. As I record this, today is my husband's birthday. Happy birthday, Jason. It's also my mom's birthday today. Happy birthday, mom. It's also one of my favorite mentors' birthday today. Happy birthday, Tammy. And it is also my Maid of Honor's birthday. Happy birthday, Barbie. I love you guys. I don't know about you, but I have written many a birthday card or text message telling some of my favorite people that I am so thankful for the day they were born. I've even expressed gratitude for their parents who brought that person into the world. After all, without the parents, some of my favorite people on earth wouldn't be here. If you could write Mary a letter telling her how thankful you are for the child she brought into the world, what would you say? I don't even know where I'd start, do you? If I could even find my words, I know that they would overflow with gratitude for her humble submission to God's will that enabled her to bring my Savior into the world. I'd say thank you for all she endured and sacrificed, knowing that thank you feels so woefully insufficient. And while I had Mary, the mother of Jesus' attention, I'd also ask her so many questions. Who were you? Were you terrified? How did your parents respond? What about Joseph and the others in the village? Did you know? I mean, really know what was about to happen through you. Have you guys heard the song Mary Did You Know? The opening lyrics say, Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new this child that you've delivered will soon deliver you. I can't wait to meet Mary in heaven. This is the third episode in our Mary's Song series on Luke 1, 46 to 55 here on the Abidible Podcast. So far, we've done a lot of the heavy lifting as we've laid the foundation for our study. We've spent some serious time getting the 10,000-foot view, building the context for what was happening at this time in history around our cast of characters, to Mary and to her family and to her people. But now, today, we are going to get to zoom in. We're going in for the close-up, and we're going to look really closely at Mary. Because as we do, we're going to discover not more about Mary as you might expect, but more about her God. In Luke 148, Mary continues her song by praising God and saying, For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. Whenever you study Scripture, I hope by now that you immediately start asking questions about what you're reading. In this case, you might ask, what does Mary mean when she says that God looked on her humble estate? Why did she use the word servant when describing herself? And what's more, why did she call herself God's servant? What did she mean when she said, from now on, all generations would call her blessed? Let's work hard together today to arrive at biblical answers to these questions in order to form a God-honoring picture of Mary in our minds. In 2023, I boarded a bus in ancient Ephesus, Turkey. We'd spent some time touring the ancient city of Ephesus. Yes, the one that Paul wrote to in his letter to the Ephesians. Later that day, we would tour a church and a grave that some traditions say housed the Apostle John, Jesus' best friend. But at that moment, as we boarded the bus outside the ruins of Ephesus, we were headed somewhere else, to the top of a mountain, to a small stone house said to be the final home of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Up, up, up the hillside we went, through the most stunning, lush green forest. The sun was shining and the birds were singing as we exited the bus. Immediately I was hit with the most fragrant scent, a heavenly and decadent floral aroma that I had never smelled before. The place was peaceful and serene. No, it wasn't. There were 85 vans and beeping buses backing into spaces and tour groups everywhere with badges and audiophones and guides with umbrellas and clipboards. Lines wound around the hillside, and souvenir shops with holy water and merry figurines dotted the length of the sidewalks. We got in the main line that snaked through the forest. When we finally came to the end of the winding queue, there it was. A simple, old-ish looking home set at the foot of a wooded hillside. Before we were allowed to enter the home, though, there was a Catholic Mass. When that finished, we were directed to join the line forming in order to pass through the stone house. It had been turned into a shrine with Catholic relics. Rushed through rather quickly. I was exiting the backside of the home before I really got to process where I'd just been. On our way back to the bus, there was a natural spring nearby with a place to buy sacred souvenirs and with access to water from the spring, considered to be holy water. It was a beautiful place, but also a place where my spirit didn't feel settled. It was meant to be a holy site, and millions of pilgrims visit this site every year. And there definitely was reverence and worship. But the problem was that reverence and worship was primarily directed at Mary. And Mary may never have even been there. Truthfully, church tradition more closely supports the idea that Mary died in Jerusalem, not Ephesus, Turkey. Yes, John was in Ephesus, and Mary was entrusted to John's care by Jesus on the cross. Remember the whole, behold your mother, beautiful request from Jesus for John to take care of his mother. But yeah, earliest tradition says Mary remained in or near Jerusalem and was buried near the Mount of Olives. To my knowledge, there is no biblical or extra biblical evidence that she actually even was in Ephesus. The site I visited was, quote, discovered by a 19th-century mystic nun through what she claims was a vision. And like it or not, it was a total tourist trap. If Mary really did spend her final days there, then sure, I'm glad that I visited. But honestly, it was just an interesting experience. Why do I tell that story? First, nothing I say today is meant to knock Catholics. I know and love some amazingly devoted Catholic believers, people who truly do love and worship Jesus as their savior. Second, I can't possibly claim to know the heart motives of the curators of the site or those who visit it. But I can't help but wonder: is this what Mary meant when she said, from now on, all generations would call me blessed? Did she imagine sites with tour buses in lines and people hawking trinkets in water? A place where she would be revered and worshipped and even prayed to? I want to know, don't you? I don't just want to know how Mary would like to be remembered, but especially how God wants us to see her. Don't we want the Bible to be our highest authority on all topics, including how we view those written about in its pages? Let me ask you something. Why study Scripture? Is it just to see what God's people did? Or is it to get to know the heart and character of God by studying how he treats his people? Today you'll find that we are going to look back at some important people in Scripture just as Mary would have. But I'm going to pose to you that our takeaway is not meant to cause us to worship Mary, just as Mary's study of Scripture was not meant to cause her to worship Leah or Hannah or Ruth or David, but the God of Leah and Hannah and Ruth and David. That's why today, in the midst of understanding Mary's words here in Luke 148, we're also going to talk a little bit about the dangerous, non-biblical, heretical, idolatrous views of Mary. I think that all of this will clarify some of what the Catholic Church teaches about Mary, though hear me clearly, I am not an expert on this topic by any means. I'm just someone who desperately wants to see Mary and read her song in a manner that is biblically faithful. Ultimately, where we are headed is, again, to a clearer picture of not just who Mary was, but who her God is. I want us to see him correctly as Mary did, so that we can then see ourselves correctly as Mary saw herself. Real quick, if you're a big fan of the Abidible Podcast, please check out the link in the show description to learn more about supporting what we do here by simply buying us a coffee. When I first became a Christian, I thought God was really lucky to have someone like me on his team. I read the Bible to see myself in every story. Maybe you can relate to this in some way. Let me give you a few examples and then we'll get back to Mary, who, spoiler, did not read scripture like it was all about her. Okay, so here's how I used to read scripture. If Moses led a people out of Egypt, then I must be called to lead someone out of something. If David could slay Goliath, then I could slay my giant, the mean girl on the soccer team who hated me. But I was reading the stories wrong. I was reading to find myself. But as many of you have already learned in our How to Study the Bible course, the Bible isn't a book about me. The Bible is a book about God, what he's done, who he is, and what he's still doing. Once I get that, then and only then can I understand myself. That shift changes everything. Let me give you three examples of how to read scripture correctly. First, we have Moses and the Exodus. Here's how we often read it. Moses led the people out of bondage, so I need to lead others out of their bondage too. But what this story is really showing is that God is the deliverer. He hears the cry of his people, reveals himself, I am, and shows his might by choosing a terrified, on-the-run murderer who is not eloquent of speech, so that the world may know he is God. So then I know how I can respond. I can rest in knowing that deliverance belongs to God, not me. My role is to obey, trust, and point others to his power, not try to do things in my own power. Let me do two more quick ones. How about the David and Goliath example? Many of us read, David killed Goliath, so I can kill my giant. But the story primarily shows God's power and faithfulness to his people. David was just God's instrument. The story shows God's power to save his people through an unlikely deliverer. The victory belongs to the Lord, and the battle with Goliath was a means to an end, with the end being that God revealed more of who he was to his people and even to the Philistines. Because why? So that they will know that I am God. He is a God who wants to be known and will accomplish the impossible as irrefutable evidence of who he is. Once I see this correctly, then and only then do I ask, how am I to respond to this story? How am I to apply it to my life? Well, after reading the story of David and Goliath, I might see that I'm called to a relationship with God who has demonstrated his trustworthiness. Against odds, no matter how scary things appear on the surface, the battle always belongs to the Lord. And I will come out on top because of who he is, not because of my own power or might or any ability that I have intrinsically to fight giants. The hero of the David and Goliath story is, sorry folks, not David. It's the God of David. I'm not meant to walk away from that story with a giddy up in my step to go be a big, bad giant slayer. No, I'm meant to worship my God who overcomes all so that I might know him. This story is not about being an overcomer in my own strength or a hero for God like David. In short, it's not about me. Finally, how about Jonah in the belly of the fish? I would have read it like this Jonah ran away, got swallowed, then got out. So I can turn things around too. But the heart of the story is God's mercy for the disobedient and for the nations. Jonah's story isn't about his change of attitude. It's about God's mission and compassion. Then I can look at the story in light of that. I'm not the hero. In fact, I'm the heartless, rebellious villain. Yet God still shows me mercy, and therefore I can point others to God's mercy too. We are meant to read the Bible as if it is a book about God because it is. We approach it by asking, what does this story tell me about God? And then, and only then, how do I see myself and my calling in light of that? As I said, Mary didn't read scripture like it was all about her. How do I know that? Well, let's see if you can see it too. Let's read her song again. Try and see if you can tell who Mary credits as the hero of the story. 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. When we look at the ten verses that make up Mary's song, would you conclude that Mary was a prideful young woman seeking glory, fame, and honor for herself? Or would you say that she was a humble servant who desired to magnify and rejoice in God, pointing future generations to him and what he was about to do? As we talked about in our intro episode, the most repeated phrase in Mary's song is, he has. A quick glance at this passage reveals that Mary didn't have the phone turned on herself in selfie mode, but flipped outward toward God. She lists his divine attributes and the works of his hands. The only time she talks about herself really is to say that her soul and spirit are both magnifying and rejoicing in God. She notes that God has seen her low, humble estate, and that God is the one lifting her out of it to a new place, a place where future generations would call her blessed, not because of who she was or what she had done, but in spite of it. She would be considered favored because of who her God was and what God had done for her and through her. There is not a hint here of pride, not a single finger pointing back at herself. So how should we see her? As she wants to be seen or as we want to see her? Ought we not be cautious given our bent toward rewriting stories to give ourselves the leading role? You know, my bent to read the Bible as if it's a book all about me comes from the bent that I have in my flesh to make all of life about me. Thankfully, I'm not living in a day and age where the world feeds into that lie. I'm so grateful to be alive during a time where the overwhelming majority of people live selfless, others-focused, servant-hearted lives. I'm kidding, obviously. I've told you before that I distinctly remember the first time I saw someone hold up a camera and point it not outward, but inward. I remember thinking, what in the world? That's so embarrassing. Look how self-centered she is. Now we have phones that automatically can zoom in and out in selfie mode and entire generations that consider selfie culture, streaming culture, and me-centered content the norm. For most of my life, I have been deeply tempted by the desire to be the center of attention. I want to be liked. I want people to think I'm smart and funny and pretty and great. Our culture now feeds this beast. And even now it's a temptation I must fight in ministry. Do I want people to think my podcast episode is great or that God is great? Do I want success as the world measures through metrics? Or do I want the measure of who I am to be wholly decided by God? Where are you tempted to make life all about you? At work? At church? In the community service you do or in the way you parent? In the success or standing of your children compared to other children? In the money you make or the clothes you wear or the car you drive or the zip code you claim? If you take an inventory of your life, where might you be worshiping yourself? And why do you think you have a hard time worshiping God rather than yourself? Charles Spurgeon says, I would bid you to get to your knees and cry to God and say, Why is it that I cannot magnify thee, O Lord? I should not be surprised if you discover the reason to be that you are so big yourself. He never magnifies God, who magnifies himself. Be little yourself and be great in your God, down with self to the lowest depths, and up higher and still higher with your thoughts of God. In one way or another, we are all tempted to make life all about us. So it's no surprise that we try to make the Bible all about us too, or that we try to take ordinary people in the Bible and turn them into saints, or at least heroes. And that brings us to a few of the worrisome doctrines the Catholic Church has regarding Mary. I'll briefly explain the most egregious ones and then encourage you to do your own research if the topic interests you. I got some of my information from James R. White's book, Mary, Another Redeemer. I'll link it for you in this episode's description. To understand the errors, let me explain the biblical foundation for even identifying the errors in the first place. The Westminster Confession of Faith, one of the confessions that came out of the Protestant Reformation, which was the breaking away from the Catholic Church, emphasizes sola scriptura, scripture alone as our authority, as well as Christ's exclusive mediatorship. In 1 Timothy 2.5, we read, For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Catholic prayers to Mary and the catechism's teaching on her represent significant departures from Scripture. I'll only summarize a few of the most significant. The first problem is that these practices elevate Mary to a quasi-divine status, attributing to her roles in intercession, grace dispensing, and salvation that the Bible reserves solely for God. Second, these teachings risk idolatry because they direct devotion toward a created being rather than the creator, as forbidden in Romans 1.25 and Exodus 23 through 5. While Mary is honored in Scripture as blessed among women, from Luke 142, and a faithful servant, there is no biblical warrant for praying to her, venerating her with divine-like titles, or viewing her as an ongoing intercessor. Third, and finally, these traditions also wrongly imply that Christ's work is insufficient and fosters a reliance on human traditions over God's word, which Jesus cautions the Pharisees about in Matthew 15, 3 through 9, going so far as to say that their man-made traditions have made void the Word of God. And then he issues this unsettling rebuke. What are some actual examples of these practices? Let's look at the Hail Mary or Ave Maria. It goes like this: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. The structure of the Rosary Prayer includes praying over fifty Hail Marys. This prayer to Mary ascribes to her attributes and functions that Scripture assigns only to God, like omnipresence and the ability to hear prayers worldwide. The Bible depicts Mary as a finite human who needed salvation herself. Think of her song in the verse we studied last week. She said, My spirit rejoices in God, my savior. Mary cannot be a mediator between us and God because 1 Timothy 2.5 reserves that role solely for Christ. This view also potentially fosters a dependence on Mary in place of Christ, portraying Christ as somewhat less approachable, which is a blow to his gracious character. Another well-known prayer is the memorare. Some of the key lines in this prayer say, Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. O Mother of the Word incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Again, this attributes divine omniscience and benevolence to Mary, making her somewhat of a functional savior. Giving infallible intercessory power to Mary is never taught anywhere in the Bible, ever. Mary is not a universal protector or hearer of petitions. That role belongs to God alone. As Psalm 34, 17 says, the righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them. Finally, there is the Hail Holy Queen or Salve Regina hymn in prayer, which says, Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Titles like Queen and Mother of Mercy lack scriptural basis. Mary is not our hope. Christ is. Mary is not our advocate. Christ is. She is never depicted as turning eyes of mercy or making anyone worthy. That is the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work. This hymn is egregiously idolatrous, calling her our life and our hope completely competes with Christ titles, like in John 14, 6, when he says, I am the way and the truth and the life, and it risks worshiping Mary as co-savior. Mary is not essential in any way for the merciful gift of salvation. When praying the rosary, Catholics often conclude their prayer with, Hail, Holy Queen. Lorraine Butner calls all of this mariolatry and says it's rooted in folklore and not in the original apostles' teaching. There are also several concerning statements in the catechism of the Catholic Church on Mary. Paragraph 964 references, quote, the union of the mother with the son in the work of salvation. And in CCC paragraph 973, it says, quote, collaborating with the whole work her son was to accomplish. Mary was not a co-participant in redemption. Her beautiful act of obedient faith cannot and should not be overlooked. But she did not collaborate with her son for the salvation of mankind. Hebrews 1:3 shows us that Christ alone made purification for our sins and then sat down at the right hand of the Father. Paragraph 969 says, quote, by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation, invoked as advocate, helper, benefactress, and mediatrix. Paragraph 975 says that Mary, quote, continues in heaven to exercise her maternal role. We have no scriptural basis for ongoing heavenly intercession. The Bible shows the saints in rest in Revelation 14, 13. Well, you might say, what about the cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews 12:1? These are individuals from the past, like the apostles and the prophets, whose lives serve as examples of faith and perseverance. According to religious tradition, they are not interceding in the sense of being mediators. It's not that the faithful who have gone before us are spectators to the race we run. Rather, it is a figurative representation and just means that we ought to act as if they were in sight and cheering us on to the same victory of life and faith that they obtained. And the author of Hebrews does not tell us to pray to them or to ask them to pray for us. Christ alone is our mediator and intercessor. In fact, he continuously lives to intercede for us before the Father. Romans 8.34 and Hebrews 7.25 make this clear. Finally, have you heard these terms about Mary? Perpetual virginity, immaculacy, and assumption. Paragraph 974 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church says that Mary was, quote, conceived without original sin and taken up body and soul into heaven. The dogma of perpetual virginity teaches that Mary remained a virgin throughout her entire life, before, during, and after the birth of Jesus. The mention of Jesus' quote, brothers in Scripture is interpreted as referring to cousins or other close relatives, as the Aramaic language had no specific word for cousin. The dogma of Immaculate Conception states that Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin from the moment of her conception. She was filled with sanctifying grace from the first instant of her existence, allowing her to be a pure and holy vessel for Jesus. And the greeting of the angel Gabriel, hail Mary, full of grace. Which is a translation, is seen as an indicator of this special state of grace that extended throughout her life. Finally, we have the dogma of assumption. First proclaimed in 1950, it holds that at the end of her earthly life, Mary was taken up, body and soul, into heavenly glory. This is seen as the culmination of her unique role as the mother of God, and it is understood to mean that Mary shares in the glory of her son's resurrection. I share all of this not to tear anyone down, but because I love you and because truth matters. If you grew up Catholic or have dear friends and family who are, please hear me. This isn't an attack. Like I said, there are many Catholics who genuinely love Jesus and seek to honor Him with their wholehearted devotion. But love compels us to weigh every teaching against the word of God itself. My encouragement is simply this: don't take my word for it and don't take the church's word for it either. Take God's word for it. Study it yourself. Ask him to show you what is true. Because the same God who opened Mary's eyes to her need for a savior delights to open ours too. And maybe the best way to honor Mary is not by elevating her higher than Scripture allows, but by following her example of humble faith. So let's turn now to these questions. How did Mary want to be seen? And even more importantly, how did Jesus see her? We'll be right back after this message. It's so easy to get it wrong, isn't it? You know, friend, this is exactly why we created our how to study the Bible course at Abidible. Because it's one thing to hear what others say about Scripture. It's another to open it for yourself with confidence and actually know what it says and why it says it. When you understand how to study the Bible in context, you are not as easily swayed by tradition, trends, or even well-meaning teachers who might miss the mark. You begin to see the beauty of God's word for what it truly is. His voice, clear and sufficient, speaking straight to your heart. If you've ever felt unsure of where to start or intimidated by all the tools and methods, this course walks you through everything step by step, from reading and observing to interpreting and applying, so you can build a deep daily relationship with God through His Word. You don't need a theology degree. You just need a willing heart and a Bible. You can find the How to Study the Bible course at abidable.com or by clicking the link in this episode's description. Because the truth is, if we don't know what the Bible says for ourselves, we'll always depend on someone else to tell us who God is. And he's inviting you to come and see for yourself because he wants to be known by you correctly. And now, back to the show. Okay, we're finally here. How did Mary want to be seen? And how did Jesus want us to see his mother? Let's start with how Mary wanted to be seen. Is it clear to you yet? She wanted to be in the background. Because he looked, lowly and humble Mary has been seen. Because of what he chose to do through her, Mary will be blessed and remembered by future generations. Let's try and understand what Mary is trying to tell us about herself in these two verses, Luke 1, 47 and 48. I just finished critiquing Catholics. Now, to be fair, if I had a critique for myself and perhaps even other Protestants, it would be that we tend to have a shallow understanding of Mary, and we relegate conversations about her to December. Sure, we know some things. We picture her fearful before Gabriel. We see her bursting at the seams, riding pregnant on a donkey through rough desert terrain. We imagine the fear in her eyes as she realizes the baby's time has come and Joseph encounters slammed door after slammed door. We recognize her in blue, hunched over in the manger, serenely looking down at her baby boy. And then, what? Cut scene, fade to black. Dim light spreads across the screen as a now markedly aged Mary is sobbing at the foot of the cross. What happened next? Who was she before Gabriel spoke to her? What was her life story? Apart from the few additional, lesser discussed stories we have about Mary, like losing Jesus in the Jerusalem temple, or asking him to turn water into wine at the wedding in Cana, and there, present in the upper room during Pentecost, who was this woman? I think I've allowed my understanding of her to remain shallow, almost as if she's not ours. Mary belongs to the Catholics, but that's silly. She was Jewish, and she was the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior to the whole world, as 1 John 4.14 tells us. So let's learn more about Mary. First, what does she mean when she says that God has looked on the humble estate of his servant? Here's one theory from Matthew Henry that I want to share with you because of its interesting perspective. While we have no official biblical evidence for this theory, we do have biblical precedence. And since our girl Mary was faithful to Scripture, these are stories she would have known. Matthew Henry says, He has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. That is, he has looked upon her with pity, for so the word is commonly used. He has chosen me to this honor, notwithstanding my great meanness, which means lowliness, poverty, and obscurity. Nay, the expression seems to intimate, not only to allude to that of Gideon, who referred to his clan as the weakest in Manasseh and to himself as the least in his father's house. Mary's song seems to intimate not only that her family was poor in Judah, but that she was the least in her father's house, as if she were under some particular contempt and disgraced among her relations, or was unjustly neglected and the outcast of the family. And God put this honor upon her to balance abundantly the contempt. Henry continues, I the rather suggest this, for we find something toward such honor as this put upon others on the like consideration. Because God saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb. Because Hannah was provoked and made to fret and insulted over by Penina, therefore God gave her a son, whom men wrongfully depress and despise. God doth sometimes, in compassion to them, especially if they've borne it patiently, prefer an advance. So, in Mary's case, it's possible that when Mary says God has looked upon the humble estate of his servant, she's not just making a statement about her humility. She's placing herself in a long, holy line of people whom God has lifted from low places. Throughout Scripture, we see that this is who God is. He sees the ones everyone else overlooks. Write that down, especially if you feel overlooked. God sees the ones everyone else overlooks. Think about David. In 1 Samuel 16, we meet the youngest of eight sons of Jesse, so forgotten that when the prophet Samuel came looking for the next king, his own father didn't even call him in from the sheep pasture. But God called for him, saying, Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. And then God elevated David, the shepherd boy, to king. What about Ruth, a poor, widowed foreigner, gathering scraps in the fields just to survive? Yet God saw her faithfulness and wove her into the family line of Jesus himself. And then there's Joseph. In the end of the book of Genesis, we read that he is betrayed by his brothers, imprisoned for crimes he didn't commit, and left to rot in a dungeon. And yet, Scripture keeps repeating that the Lord was with Joseph. God raised him up to a place of power to rescue the very family who had abandoned him. And those are just a few examples in the Old Testament. Examples Mary would have been familiar with. She would have known, yes, this is God's way. He exalts the humble, he fills the hungry, he lifts the lowly. He'd just done it again with Elizabeth and Zechariah, an old barren couple now expecting a baby boy. In fact, the baby boy who would be anointed with the Holy Spirit and in the power and spirit of Elijah would make ready a people prepared for the coming of the long-awaited Lord. And now he looks upon Mary, a young girl in a society that often marginalized women from a poor family in an obscure village, perhaps even a girl who faced neglect or some sort of unimagined hardship, and entrusts her with the most extraordinary role in history. So when Mary sings, he has looked upon the humble estate of his servant. Just as Paul would later say in 1 Corinthians 1, God chose what is foolish and weak and low and despised in the world. He now chooses Mary. Mary knew God and what he had done before. She saw what he was now about to do. Her abiding relationship with him is what enabled her to point upward, not inward, to give credit where credit was due. Charles Spurgeon describes this kind of relationship with God. When once a soul has a deep sense of God's mercy and begins magnifying him, there is no end to it. This grows by what it feeds upon. The more you magnify God, the more you can magnify him. The higher you rise, the more you can see. Your view of God is increased in extent. And whereas you praised him somewhat at the bottom of the hill, when you get nearer and nearer to the top of his exceeding goodness, you lift up the strain still more loudly, and your soul doth more fully and exultantly magnify the Lord. Mary is loudly and fully and exultantly magnifying the Lord, not herself. To solidify that, what does she call herself? The queen or God's servant? For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. She calls herself a servant of the Lord. Big surprise here, this language also has biblical precedent. Who else referred to themselves or was referred to as a servant of the Lord? Oh, just a few important people. Abraham, do not pass by your servant. That's Genesis 18. Jacob, I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love that you have shown to your servant. Genesis 32.10. Moses, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. Exodus 14, 31. How about Joshua? After these things, Joshua, the servant of the Lord, died. Joshua 24, 29. Hannah, O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant. 1 Samuel 1.11. We have David. Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me thus far? You have made this revelation to your servant. That's 2 Samuel 7. And Elijah, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant. 1 Kings 18 36. And Isaiah, God calls him my servant Isaiah in Isaiah 23. And Daniel, now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant. That's Daniel 9.17. And finally, the long list, Nehemiah. Let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant. That's Nehemiah 1.11. And here comes Mary, for he has looked upon the humble estate of your servant. Don't you see it? I'm seeing it for the very first time. I had no idea how grounded and rooted and devoted Mary was to the Word of God. She knew it. The stories, the people, the very words. This idea of servant or do loss in the Greek is someone who is devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests. In the Old Testament, it carried with it the idea of a bondsman or a mage servant. Mary is making a very clear statement. She is willingly submitting her whole self, body and spirit to the Lord. She's planting her flag in the ground and saying, Thy will be done. That's beautiful, considering what her son would one day do. Like mother, like son. This is who Mary is. This is what she's about, magnifying the Lord, not herself. So when we get to the next line, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. How are we to interpret that in light of the rest of the context? Sure, we could pull it out of context and decide for Mary, contrary to Mary, that she wants to be revered and worshipped and seen as co-redemptrix, co-mediator, co-savior with her son, and thus considered blessed by all future generations. Or we could be biblically faithful to the context and understand it to mean that future generations would see the greatness of God in what he had done for Mary, that we would see her as a woman, yes, favored by God and happy to be chosen as his humble servant. God certainly has bestowed upon Mary a high and lasting honor that would never fade away. Here we are still talking about her 2,000 years later. But if we only talk about her and look to her, we've missed the whole point. Because to see Mary correctly is to see that she is pointing to God, that her greatest desire expressed in her song is that all future generations would see what God did for her and thus worship him, not her. Mary was blessed and favored by God, but to summarize it in an all-sobering way, Barclay says, to Mary was granted the blessedness of being the mother of the Son of God. Yet that very blessedness would be a sword to pierce her heart. It meant that someday she would see her son hanging on a cross. The blessedness of Mary was only ever meant to point to God. I think, gosh, this is going to sound harsh, but I think the scene I described to you in Ephesus, I think Mary would be horrified. She called herself the servant of the Lord. She openly referred to God as her savior. She clearly wanted her life to point away from herself and to her son. Which brings me to that second question. What did Jesus want us to know and see and believe about his mother? We know that Jesus fulfilled all of the Old Testament law perfectly, including the commandment to honor his earthly father and mother. He turns water into wine at Mary's request during the wedding in Cana. It was his very first miracle, done, perhaps even a little early, for his mother. And we see that on the cross, one of Jesus' final concerns for his widowed mother, now about to lose her son, and perhaps even to be put in the crosshairs of some powerful people, entrusting her care to John. John 19, 27 says, Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. He is badly beaten, suffering excruciating pain, taking on the sins of the world, being mocked and under profound duress. His own people have turned on him, and his father must now reject him. He will be imminently crushed. And yet he thinks of his mother. David Mathis says, even now, in his greatest agony, even as he writhes in this dehumanizing, extended execution, his soul does not curve inward to nurse his pain, but opens outward to the one who nursed him. He honors her. He considers her with his final breaths. Jesus deeply loved Mary. And Jesus also loved women, something that had to have made his mother's heart sing. David Mathis from Desiring God says Jesus treated women differently than rabbis of his generation who wouldn't speak to women in public. To his disciples' amazement, he talked with the Samaritan woman, with Mary Magdalene, with the Cyrophoenician woman, with his dearly loved friends Mary and Martha. And all this set in motion a healing of sins against women. By choosing Mary as his mother, Jesus does something profound for women and for motherhood. Again, Mathis says, Under God, she raised the man who was God, the God who himself took on our human flesh and took up residence in a woman's womb for nine months, nursed at her breasts, heard the scriptures from her mouth, and learned the fundamentals of human life under her care. The very life of Christ testifies to the sanctity of motherhood. Again, Jesus cherished his mother. But Jesus also said a few things that we ought not forget. When a woman in the crowd shouted out to him, Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed, in Luke 11, he replies, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it. David Guzick says, while not dishonoring his mother, Jesus pointed out the greater and more important connection between himself and those who hear the word of God and keep it. This is a more blessed and important relationship to Jesus than even being the mother who bore him. This does not demean Mary, but it does honor and bless the one who hears and keeps God's word. This is the blessed place. John Trapp puts it this way: His disciples were more blessed in hearing Christ than his mother in bearing him. The priority is clear. Let me share one final point. To illustrate it, I'll read a story from Mark 3, 31 to 35. It says, His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you. And he answered them, Who are my mother and brothers? And looking about at all those who sat around him, he said, Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother. We can't be exactly sure what's happening here. It's posited that Jesus is bringing more and more heat upon himself as he kicks off his ministry and his concerned mother and brothers show up. A family intervention, perhaps. It appears that they didn't come in to hear what he was saying, but rather remained outside, sending someone instead inside to interrupt him and call him away from what he was doing. Steadfast in his ministry and mission, Jesus then redefines his true family. Those who do the will of God are his brothers and sisters. This gives us more insight into Mary, doesn't it? By the time Jesus was crucified, we see their relationship as central, and we see Jesus yet again looking on the humble estate of God's servant. He sees the fear and agony in her eyes as she watches her son die and he considers her. But that doesn't mean that Mary was a perfect mother, or a sinless mother, or that she always got it right. In fact, this story appears to show us that, at least for a moment, Mary struggled with surrendering to the will of God. Her flesh was full of fear. She knew what would happen to Jesus if he kept at it, and her maternal, carnal, protective instincts kicked in. That, too, she would have to learn to surrender. She would have to lay down her son, sacrificially submitting him back to the Father for the will of the Father. What we should see when we look at the story of Mary is a young woman who, through many dangers, toils, and snares, understood herself to be the servant and her son to be the savior. And now we turn to what this all means for us. If God regarded Mary's low estate, Matthew Henry says, he thereby gives a specimen of his favor to the whole race of mankind, whom he remembers in their low estate, as the psalmist speaks in Psalm 136, 23. The ultimate humble estate is our fallen state. Psalm 113, 7 says, He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. Psalm 138.6, another of our cross-references, says, For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly. Mary understood as best she could, and because the angel said it was so, that her child would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High. He would have the throne of his father David and would reign over the house of Jacob forever. He would be given a kingdom without end. As a student of Scripture, Mary knew that she and her people had been long awaiting a Savior. She understood, albeit imperfectly and in somewhat human, finite terms, that the Son she would deliver would one day deliver her. And he did. And he has delivered and continues to deliver all future generations who call on his name. I am being so humbled by this song. God saw Mary's humble estate and lifted her out of it. Just as he saw my humble estate, my inability to save myself, to be enough or to do enough, and he came for me, and he chose to do it through Mary. Am I grateful beyond words for Mary? Yes. Do I worship her or pray to her? No, I cannot. Because when I look at her as she stands according to scripture, I see only one thing. And here's the big idea for all of us today. Mary points to her son, not to herself. She magnifies her son, the Savior. She has no power to save, but she birthed the one who does. How are we to live in light of that? By seeing Mary correctly and learning from her example. Here's Charles Spurgeon. We must recall the fact that Mary was highly distinguished and honored. No other woman was overblessed as she was. Perhaps no other could have borne the honor that was put upon her to be the mother of the human nature of our Savior. It was the highest possible honor that could be put upon mortal, and the Lord knew at the appointed time where to find a guileless, lowly woman who could be entrusted with such a gift, and yet not seek to filch away his glory. She is not proud, nay, it is a false heart that steals the revenues of God and buys therewith the intoxicating cup of self-congratulation. The more God gives to a true heart, the more it gives to him. Like Peter's boat, which sank into the waters the more deeply, the more fully it was laden with fish, God's true children sink in their own esteem as they are honored by their Lord. God's gifts, when he gives grace with them, do not puff us up, they build us up. A humble and lowly estimate of ourselves is added to a greater esteem of him. The more God gives thee, the more do thou magnify him and not thyself. Be this thy rule, he must increase, but I must decrease. Be thou less and less. Jesus' cousin John got it. Those were his words. He must increase, but I must decrease. Here are three things to take with you in personal application today. Number one, do not be a glory thief. As Spurgeon says, it is a false heart that steals the revenues of God. Give God his due. Here are some examples. When someone praises your parenting, instead of soaking it up as personal success, quietly thank God for giving you wisdom and patience that you didn't have on your own. When a post you shared about faith or whatever goes viral, resist the temptation to measure your worth by likes or follows. Ask God to help you use that reach to lift his name higher, not yours. Or when your ministry project or career wins recognition, publicly and privately deflect the credit upward. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. That's Psalm 118, 23. Number two, do not buy into your own hype. Spurgeon calls this buying therewith the intoxicating cup of self-congratulation. Give God his due. Here are some examples. After serving faithfully in your church, you catch yourself thinking, they couldn't do this without me. Stop right there and remember, God can raise up servants from stones. Or when you feel pressure to prove your worth through busyness or achievement, pause and remind your heart, it is God who works in me, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. That's Philippians 2.13. And if you sense pride after a spiritual victory, like sharing the gospel boldly or overcoming some sin, thank God immediately. Every win is grace, not greatness. And finally, number three, give it all back. The more God gives you, the more you can give back to him. Give God his due. If God increases your influence, use it to amplify his word, not your opinions. If he blesses you financially, invest those blessings in kingdom work and generosity that reflects his heart. If he gives you new spiritual insight, don't hoard it. Teach, encourage, and disciple others so his name, not yours, is remembered. I am so personally challenged in all of this. Dying to self and pointing to God is a challenge to my flesh, but I am also encouraged by reminders of God's character. Nothing is impossible for him, not even learning to humbly submit all my life to him. As we shrink, may we sing our own song of God's greatness. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art. Friend, be thou less and less. And that's it for this episode. If you know someone who would be blessed by what you just heard, please share the Abidible podcast with them. Keep spreading the word so we can make much of the word. Drop us a review. Tell us what you love and what you're learning. Check out the link to learn more about partnering with us by buying us a coffee one time, by joining our Women's Abidible Plus membership community for $10 a month, or by becoming a monthly supporter. For those of you following along in the workbook for Mary's song, go ahead and begin working on our next verse in the series, Luke 149, on pages 26 to 29 in your study workbook. Ideally, you would have this section done before you listen to the next episode, number 73. I am really excited about this next verse in Mary's song, which says, For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. In that episode, which may be late because I was in the ER this last week, I'm okay. But I also have a family trip planned that we are leaving for tomorrow. So again, stay tuned. But in this next episode, we will get a chance to practice praise that is built on precedent, just like we see Mary doing. I'll pray for us and then close us out with our memory work for verse 48. Father, we come before you as those of low estate, dust that you have lifted, hearts that you have redeemed. You saw Mary, a humble young woman with nothing to boast of, and through her you gave the world its savior. Thank you for remembering the lowly, for raising the poor from the dust and the needy from the ash heap, just as your word declares. Lord, we confess how easily our hearts can seek the spotlight that belongs to you alone. Forgive us for stealing the revenues of your glory, for drinking the intoxicating cup of self-congratulation. Teach us to be less and less, that Christ might be seen more and more in us. May our lives, like Mary's, point fully and joyfully to Jesus, the one who took on flesh to deliver us from sin and death. Let every honor, every gift, every blessing you give us sink us deeper into gratitude and raise louder and louder songs of praise to you. We marvel, Lord, that you who are high regard the lowly, that you who are holy remember us in our fallen state. Thank you that you did not leave us there, but sent your son to be our Savior. So today we magnify you, Lord. We rejoice in God, our Savior. We bow low, not in shame, but in awe that you have looked upon us with mercy. Make us servants who gladly say, Be it unto me according to your word. And may our souls ever sing how great thou art. It's in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen. Let's close by doing our memory work together. I'm going to repeat Luke 148 five times. Say it out loud with me or quietly to yourself. For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me bless. For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me bless. For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me bless. For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me bless. Luke 148. Remember, you are able to abide in the Bible. We'll see you next time. Until then, let's abide.