Washed and Renewed || Luke 1:46-47 || Weekend Wind-Down #33

Welcome to Week 33 of our “Weekend Wind-Down” series. This series is where we take a piece of Scripture, get its background information, and dig deeper into it to see what the Bible says about it and what we need to walk away with.

Our scripture focus today is Luke 1:46-47, which says: 

46 Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. 

47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! 

Luke wrote his Gospel to offer an accurate account of Jesus’ life, which presents him as the perfect human and Savior.

If you’re a Christmas/Advent church service attendee, this text should be familiar to you. This is the beginning of Mary’s song. She sings about the joy she feels about God choosing her to be the mother of Jesus. This song is referred to as “the Magnificat,” which is the first word of the Latin translation of this passage. 

The song is familiar to Mary. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, glorified God in song for what he was going to do for the world through her. Here’s what she says that’s similar to Mary in 1 Samuel 2:1

1 Then Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the Lord! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me. 

Notice the commonalities in both songs (Luke 1:46-55 and 1 Samuel 2:1-10). God is pictured as a champion of the poor, oppressed, and the humble. God is a fighter for all people. God overcomes all of our struggles and wants the best for us. We have to continue fighting and not succumb to the struggles.

Rejoice is one word in both passages I’ve shared with you, and it’s interesting to have an Old and New Testament to look at. Let’s do a word study on this.

The Hebrew word for rejoice is alats (aw-lats), which means to rejoice or to exult. It’s used to describe being joyful, rejoicing, and triumphant. It comes from the concept of jumping for joy. The Greek word for rejoice is agalliaó (ag-al-lee-ah’-o), which means to exult or rejoice greatly. It’s understood to mean being so glad that one jumps in celebration. Think of how you feel when you jump for joy. Maybe you got into your dream school or received your dream job offer. You’re so happy that your body receives so much energy that it has to move in some way, shape, or form. Hannah had a similar feeling when she gave birth to Samuel. Mary had it when she was going to give birth to Jesus. 

Paul shares with Titus about the works of this celebration. Titus 1:3 says this:

3 And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him. 

God is called our Savior, shown to us through the person and work of Jesus. What does Savior mean, then? It is the Greek word sótér (so-tare’), which means savior and deliverer. In this context, it refers to Jesus, who saves believers from their sins and delivers them to their safety. You can learn more about salvation in Week 5 of our “Underneath the Armor” series, releasing on December 18th.

Jesus did the work of salvation by dying for our sins, saving us through his death and resurrection. Both the Father and the Son, that is God and Jesus, have done things to save us from living lives eternally separated from them. It may be hard to wrap our minds around that, considering many of the godly things that happened in the Old Testament that led to war, death, and slavery. Yet, history has always led us to this current moment regardless of how good or bad it was. When it’s bad, it’s up to us to learn why it was bad and how to be better in the future. When it comes to the Bible, it’s up to us to learn from the patterns of our ancestors and see what God wants us to take away to apply in our everyday lives. That information and love, grace, and mercy allow us to be healthy practicing Christians.

Paul continued this thought to Titus in Titus 3:4-8. Note that our focus will be on verse 4, but the whole context is shown in verses 4 through 8. 

4 But – When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 

5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 

6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 

7 Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. 

8 This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.

This entire section talks about how to move from a life of sin to a life full of the Holy Spirit. It starts with God’s kindness and love that washes away ALL sins. Notice that no exclusionary sin or protocol says certain sins are forgiven if we perform a specific action. Recognize that it doesn’t mean that we have also forgiven ourselves for sins are forgiven by God. It’s all sin. 

The cleansing process occurs every day until we are gathered in heaven. There’s the one-time cleansing we receive when we decide to follow Christ as our Lord and Savior. When we decide this, we gain a new life through the Holy Spirit, and our hearts renew. There’s also a daily cleansing that involves talking to God daily and asking for forgiveness for what we did that wasn’t godly. It’s going through our day with God, celebrating what we did that was good, and checking in on the stuff that wasn’t to learn what’s needed so that we can be better tomorrow. 

None of this happens, though, because we earn it or deserve it. You can read throughout the Bible that humanity is God’s blessing through many messed up stories. Times when we took advantage of the blessing and became prideful through the blessing. Regardless of death, war, pride, ego, slavery, and more, God still chose us to fulfill God’s will. 

Paul keeps the action of washing and renewing together under the work of the Holy Spirit. The washing refers to water Baptism (see John 3), but it’s also a sign, or a metaphor, for the Holy Spirit’s entire work of giving us new life. Let’s roll over to John 3 to talk about this washing and renewal. John 3:5-8 says this: 

5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 

6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 

7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 

8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.

This sums up what baptism represents. Jesus compares human birth to being born of the Holy Spirit. When a pregnancy occurs, a fluid surrounds the fetus, known as amniotic fluid. That fluid is often made of water. This fluid “surrounds and cushions the baby in the womb. It protects the baby and helps in its development.” Doesn’t this sound like what we’re told happens to us when we become Christian. Jesus surrounds us and protects us at all times. He provides an everlasting comfort that cushions us from the world’s constant blows. He guides us as we develop into the Christians we’re called to be. Humans give birth to new life just as the Holy Spirit gives birth to new Christians. 

Now, we have an explanation for human birth. Still, I had to metaphorically explain how that represents the work of the Holy Spirit. Like John says, we can’t explain the wind. Now, I’m sure there’s scientific information explaining how wind works, but the typical person can not. How is it possible for the Holy Spirit to give birth? This is the question Nicodemus asks in verse 9. 

Jesus answers this in verses 13 through 17:

13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. 

14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 

15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 

17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 

Jesus doesn’t give an explanation but an understanding. It’s not a how but a why. People are born in the Spirit so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. It’s plain and simple. It packs a lifetime of understanding, too. 

This new birth is a metaphor for becoming a new person. Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians 5:17 

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

Renewal is an ongoing process when we first trust in who Jesus is and what he can do for our lives. This decision to accept Jesus is when we put our old ways of life to death. We are no longer living by those standards but by the godly standard set before us by Jesus. 

Let’s wrap that up here. We took apart a part of Mary’s Magnificat to share that God is a champion of the poor, oppressed, and humble. Paul told us about the work that comes through God and Jesus and how we are washed and renewed daily. I pray for your washing and renewal here. 

Father God, thank you for the gift and sacrifice that came through your Son, Jesus. Lord, as we walk through this Christmas season and reflect on the gift of your Son, help us to comprehend what this means for our lives. Helps us to understand the works that your Son did in his life and how that work leads us to the blessing of our life. Please help us to understand what it means to be born in the Spirit and to continue the work that he calls us to do. It’s your name we pray, Amen.