टीका वर्तमान में केवल अंग्रेज़ी में उपलब्ध है। हिन्दी अनुवाद प्रगति पर है।
Luke 1 — My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord
Luke writes to Theophilus that he might know the certainty of those things. The angel Gabriel announces to Zacharias the birth of John; he doubts and is struck dumb. Gabriel comes to Mary at Nazareth — thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. Mary visits Elisabeth; the babe leaps in the womb. Mary's Magnificat — my soul doth magnify the Lord. John is born; Zacharias's tongue is loosed; the Benedictus — Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people.
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
— Luke 1:37
- v.1-4 Luke's dedication to Theophilus
- v.5-25 The announcement of John's birth
- v.26-38 The announcement to Mary
- v.39-56 Mary visits Elisabeth; the Magnificat
- v.57-80 John's birth; the Benedictus
Behold the handmaid of the Lord. The young woman receives an announcement that will turn her life upside down and answers with surrender. Be it unto me according to thy word.
A model prayer for every Christian called to costly obedience. Mary did not negotiate the inconvenience away; she opened her hands.
The opening line of the Magnificat. Mary's response to her own pregnancy is worship — not anxiety about her circumstances but praise of the God acting in them.
Magnify. To make God look as big as He is. Worship does not enlarge Him; it adjusts the worshipper's sight to see Him correctly.
Dayspring from on high. The dawn-Christ. Zacharias names the coming One as the sunrise after a long night. The figure will return in Malachi 4:2 — the Sun of righteousness shall arise.
Tender mercy. The motive. The visitation is not because the world earned it but because God's mercy is tender. The whole salvation story stays grounded here.
Verse 38 is the prayer when God's plan reorders yours. Mary did not bargain; she opened her hands. Be it unto me according to thy word. When God's assignment looks inconvenient, repeat the words. The surrender is the doorway through which His larger purposes find your life.
Luke 1 fills with songs about Christ before His birth — His name announced, His mother's soul magnifying the Lord, His forerunner's father blessing God for the dayspring. Before a single miracle, the Gospel is alive with His arrival. The first words in Luke about Jesus are worship.
Nothing shall be impossible. The verse follows the angel's assurance about Elisabeth's pregnancy in old age. Mary is being told that the same God who opened a barren womb can produce a virgin birth.
A line to memorize for impossible-looking circumstances. Not that everything you wish for will happen, but that with God nothing is barred by mere impossibility.