The Mighty Arm of the Lord, As Seen By 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. 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.
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.”
In Mary’s praise of the Lord who is sending the long-awaited Messiah, she says that He has shown the strength of His arm. Is she talking about Jehovah God’s mighty biceps? Or that he has a reach like Manute Bol?
Throughout the Psalms, the Prophets, and the songs of Moses and Miriam, they praise God for His outstretched arm. The arm of the Lord brought them out of Egypt. The arm of the Lord brought them the Promised land and rescue from Assyria hundreds of years later.
So when Mary says “He has shown the strength of His arm,” she is putting the birth of her child, the Messiah, into the context of God’s ongoing salvation story! This isn’t just a birth, this child is part of the Exodus from Egypt, the establishment of the Kingdom of God, and the redemption of all things.
In the past, Hebrews opens, God spoke to us through prophets. Those were all a mere flex of the mighty arms of God. Now, in the last days, God has shown His full strength. The full might and power of the Lord’s rescuing arm isn’t in the form of a political revolution or a grand monarchy, it’s in the birth of Jesus, the God with us.
But if you’ve read Romans 8:11, you know that the birth of Jesus was only the beginning.
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