The Coming King – Part 2
Luke 1:26-38
August 13, 2017
As you know, we are working through Luke’s gospel which is
“The History of Redemption”
And after linking us to the Old Testament
By revealing to us the Coming Restorer (John the Baptist)
Luke has now begun to reveal the Coming King.
We began looking at this text last Sunday.
• It is the event where the angel Gabriel appears to the virgin Mary in order to reveal to her that she is about to have a Son.
As I told you last time, instead of giving this text a conventional outline
I found it more important rather to find LUKE’S MAIN POINTS.
There are two things that Luke really drives home here in this passage.
• One is the description of the child who is to be born,
• The other is the character of the mother who will deliver Him.
And those are really the things I think we need to see.
So last week we started looking at this text and we saw:
#1 THE MESSAGE
Luke 1:30-35
• We really just looked at the announcement of Gabriel to Mary.
• We wanted to know heaven’s description of this child which was to be born.
By listening to Gabriel we learned 4 very important things about this child.
1) He is Human – allowing Him to be a great high priest and a sacrifice for men.
2) He is Savior – as evidenced by His name; Jesus
3) He is Divine – which makes it possible for Him to bear an eternal amount of sin.
4) He is King – which indicates to us the type of response He expects from us.
This is the child that Gabriel tells Mary is on His way.
Surely that is the absolute focus of the text.
However, there is another slightly more subtle point
That Luke is also making.
I’ve told you since we began this study that
Luke loves to point out the type of person God uses.
He loves to highlight the humble.
He loves to showcase the meek.
He loves to focus on the outcast.
We’ve already seen him make mention of Zacharias and Elizabeth.
• They are the parents of John the Baptist, and no other gospel writer includes them, only Luke.
And that is almost true for the girl we see here.
Now it is true that other gospel accounts do mention Mary as the mother of Jesus.
We hear it mentioned that she is His mother and John even puts her at the cross.
But read the beginning of the other gospel accounts.
Neither Mark nor John mention her role at all.
Matthew does, but it is clear that his emphasis is on Joseph
Since his main objective is to reveal that Jesus is of the line of David, Matthew seems only to mention Mary so as to validate that Jesus was born of a virgin.
Matthew doesn’t mention this visit with Gabriel.
In fact Matthew only mentions that the angel came to Joseph.
Matthew 1:18-25 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”
You can see there that Matthew’s focus is really more on Joseph
And he’s the only gospel account that mentions here at all.
But in Luke’s gospel we get a great deal more information.
• We get this announcement.
• We get why she was chosen
• We get her response
• We find out about her visit to Martha
• We get her song of exaltation (Magnificat)
Luke focuses on Mary’s response to the shepherds
Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
Luke tells us that Simeon spoke directly to Mary
Luke 2:34-35 “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed — and a sword will pierce even your own soul — to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
And even into the early years of Jesus’ life
Luke makes sure to give us insight into Mary’s take on everything.
Like after they left Jesus at the Passover and had to go back to find Him and Jesus informed them that He had to be about His Father’s business.
Luke 2:51 “And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.”
I just want you to see again how important this all is to Luke.
HE FOCUSES ON THE TYPES OF PEOPLE THAT GOD USES.
None of the other gospel writers were compelled to mention Zacharias or Elizabeth or really even that much about Mary.
None of the others mention Simeon or Anna
Or the lowly shepherds who attended His birth; only Luke.
And it is important that you see that because we are learning a great deal about the type of people God desires and the type of people God uses.
So, it was important to reveal to us THE MESSAGE that the angel spoke,
But that wasn’t all Luke wanted you to know.
He also wanted you to know:
#2 THE MEANS
Luke 1:26-31, 34-38
Luke wanted you to know the means of the arrival of this Christ child.
• How would God send this King into the world?
• How would His Son break into the human realm?
• What would be the method through which the God-Man would arrive?
And who would God recruit on earth to be a part of this process?
It is important to Luke that you see exactly what kind of person God used.
Let’s look at 3 specific things here.
1) AN UNLIKELY CANDIDATE (26-29)
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.”
Well let’s start in a bit of a shocking place.
“Now in the sixth month” – which refers to the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy.
“the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth”
OK, stop right there.
Any Jew reading what Luke had to see would already be in shock.
It’s one thing for God to send Gabriel into the temple to meet a priest,
But sending him to “Nazareth” is beyond shocking.
You remember it:
John 1:45-46 “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Nazareth was an especially vile town to the Jews since it was seen as a bit of a traitor.
• Nazareth housed a Roman garrison and that certainly didn’t sit well with Israel.
• Beyond that, Nazareth only had a population of about 400 so it was pretty
insignificant.
It just wasn’t a place where
You’d expect to find someone God would use.
Well, that was one problem, but it wasn’t even close to the biggest.
“Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.”
Well, forget all the Nazareth stuff, now we’re on to the real problem.
GABRIEL IS BEING SENT TO THIS LITTLE VIRGIN GIRL.
And by the way, the culture of the day was that most Jewish girls
Were betrothed to marriage around the age of 13-14.
That engagement period would last for a year and then the couple would be married.
Let that one sink in for a moment.
This is a 13 year old girl.
(On A SIDE NOTE to you youth who expect that you need to be an adult before God can or will use you for anything important, think again)
This was a 13 year old girl from Nazareth who was engaged to be married.
Why in the world would an angel of God appear to her?
Of all the people in Israel who might expect to catch an angelic vision, I promise you Mary was way down on the list.
Mary is the very epitome of worldly insignificance.
But look at what the angel says to her.
(28) “And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
That is a remarkable statement. Sadly it has been grossly misinterpreted.
This verse became the bases for the Ave Maria or “Hail Mary”
In which Mary is attributed to be full of grace.
But that is not what Gabriel said.
“favored one” translates CHARITOO
Which literally means “receiving grace”
Ephesians 1:6 “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
Gabriel did not say, “Hail Mary full of grace”
Gabriel said, “Greetings Mary, grace receiver!”
Gabriel called her the one who was receiving grace.
Gabriel even goes a little further by revealing that “The Lord is with you.”
• It was a statement of acceptance.
• It was a statement of approval.
• It was a statement of usefulness.
We are NOT at all assuming that Mary
Is in some way without sin or perfectly righteous; not at all.
Later Mary will praise God for being her savior.
NOR ARE WE trying to attribute some sort of unprecedented worth or special love toward Mary.
Perhaps you remember Jesus’ statement:
Luke 11:27-28 “While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
We’re not trying to overplay the natural worth of Mary.
We’re just pointing out that of all the people God could have used,
He used this insignificant 13 year old girl from Nazareth.
We’ve learned a thing or two about this kind of sovereign grace recently haven’t we? (This is 1 Cor. 1 in its finest)
Now you’ll notice that even Mary saw this as peculiar.
(29) “But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.”
And that again speaks volumes about her.
When this angel = tells her God is with her and she has found favor,
She doesn’t respond by saying (in typical 13 year old girl fashion)
“Duh! Of course God likes me!”
She was humble.
She was meek.
It is Luke continuing that point that he makes throughout his gospel:
Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”
Isaiah 66:2 “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”
And that reality once again comes to the forefront.
Mary, in her humble state, “found favor with God.”
And that is a good point to be made to sort of bring balance.
We are talking on Sunday nights about sovereign grace and things like election.
Certainly we give no credit to man for being chosen.
However, you never find a man being saved
Who doesn’t come to God in humility.
Make sure that truth enters your heart.
BUT THE POINT HERE IS SIMPLE:
If you were given the task of picking the mother of the Lord, you wouldn’t have gone to Nazareth and you wouldn’t have ended up with Mary.
(Your search would have been more in line with the search for Esther)
Mary’s value was that which the world does not see.
1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
An Unlikely Candidate
2) AN UNNATURAL CONCEPTION (34-37)
“Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Well, we thought it strange that an angel of the Lord
Would visit a 13 year old virgin in Nazareth,
But all of that seems totally normal
Once we realize exactly what this angel comes to tell her.
We studied the verses last week,
And you will remember exactly what Gabriel said:
(30-33) “The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
So Gabriel comes to Mary (which is strange enough)
And now he reveals that she is
Going to give birth to the Son of the Most High.
Well aside from the fact that he picked Mary,
There is an obvious problem that immediately comes to the forefront.
Mary thought of it instantly “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
We understand the process of how a child is conceived
(If you don’t, your mother will tell you when you’re older)
And Mary knew that it was utterly impossible for her to be pregnant.
To which Gabriel explains:
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child will shall be called the Son of God.”
There is no other way to put it other than
God will perform a miracle in the womb of Mary.
I know we tend to look at the birth of every child as a form of miracle, but that isn’t totally accurate.
A miracle is something that transcends the laws of nature.
While child birth is wonderfully amazing, it is also natural.
It happens all the time. I have a cat that is especially good at it.
What Gabriel says will happen to Mary is a miracle.
And to prove that God can do it,
Gabriel even provides a little evidence for Mary.
(36-37) “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
TO SATISFY ANY DOUBTS that might be forming in Mary’s mind Gabriel reveals to Mary that even Elizabeth is pregnant in her old age.
And then Gabriel tells Mary “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
I think Gabriel is bringing to Mary’s mind another important story there.
Genesis 18:11-14 “Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Certainly Mary would have known that story, and Gabriel uses similar terminology to remind Mary that God is in the miracle business.
God can do what is otherwise impossible.
An Unlikely Candidate; An Unnatural Conception
3) UNRESTRAINED CONSENT (38)
(38) “And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”
Here we find Mary’s answer, and it is absolutely remarkable.
Mary submits herself totally.
She refers to herself as “the bondslave of the Lord” (literally “slave”)
And says, “may it be done to me according to your word.”
She writes God a blank check and says whatever You want.
It is the equivalent of Isaiah’s “Here am I, send me.”
There is not a hint of reservation from her.
Several years ago we had a Christmas day service where we talked about the various players of the nativity and what we can learn from them.
We talked about how from the Angles we learn RESPONSIBILITY (because it was their job to announce the birth of the King)
We talked about how from the Shepherds we learn PRIORITY (because shepherds left their flocks to see the Christ child)
We talked about how from the Wise Men we learn WORSHIP (because they traveled from afar just to worship this king)
We talked about how from Joseph we learn OBEDIENCE (because he did what the angel commanded and married Mary despite her pregnancy)
We talked about how from Jesus we learn HUMILITY (because He humbled Himself by becoming a human)
And without a doubt from Mary we learn something – WE LEARN FAITH.
If you will notice, God didn’t ask Mary to “do” anything here.
HE ONLY ASKED HER TO TRUST HIM.
And Mary consented in full faith of whatever God chose to do with her.
And it is important for us to see that because
Luke is showing us the type of people God uses.
It is obviously important to Luke that you see this.
So let me push just a little further here this morning and let’s consider this faith which Mary possessed.
Some attributes of her faith we have already seen.
For example:
This thing Mary was believing: WAS CIRCUMSTANTIALLY DOUBTFUL
What Mary was choosing to believe was unlikely to say the least.
She was choosing to believe that
She would conceive the Son of God without ever being with a man.
That is what we call far-fetched to say the least.
And yet Mary here believes it and totally consents to it.
But that is not the end of Mary’s faith.
I’ll tell you something else about her faith.
This thing Mary was believing WAS SOCIALLY DANGEROUS
This 13-year old girl is consenting
To become pregnant without being married.
Certainly in our day we are aware of teenage pregnancies and I’ve talked with many people who have been touched by that closely.
And I always remind them that while all sin brings with it consequences that particular sin carries an added amount of shame because it is impossible to hide.
When a 13-year old girl gets pregnant without being married, she is going to wear that on her belly for 9 months and she is going to endure all the stares and all the murmuring.
And that is nothing compared to what Mary faced.
First, she faced the loss of her fiancé.
Matthew 1:18-19 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.”
At the very least Mary was about to lose Joseph.
Second she faced certain death by stoning.
Leviticus 20:10 “If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”
TURN TO: Deuteronomy 22:13-29
And we have seen this even in the days of Jesus.
Remember this story?
John 8:4-5 “they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”
So listen, when Mary says “let it be done to me according to your word”
We are talking about an enormous amount of faith here.
She is not only trusting that God can cause her to conceive,
But she is trusting that God can preserve her life
Throughout the process.
And that God’s favor is enough to satisfy her
In the presence of the world’s scorn.
THIS IS HUGE.
What she is believing is not only Circumstantially Doubtful,
But it is also Socially Dangerous.
AND YET THAT IS NOT ALL.
Mary is NOT JUST believing that she will become pregnant.
Mary is believing that the child she will deliver
Will be the Savior and the reigning king of Israel.
Isn’t that what Gabriel told her?
“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David”
Listen to what Martha says to Mary later:
Luke 1:45 “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
Mary isn’t just believing that she will conceive,
She is believing that through this child she will be saved.
Later when we get to Mary’s statement of praise, listen to what she will say:
Luke 1:46-47 “And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
Again:
Luke 1:54 “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy,”
Mary is talking about salvation.
And let me tell you, that faith would have to continue long after this child is born.
And what I want you to understand is that Mary’s faith NEVER FALTERED.
It didn’t shrink back at the announcement
And it didn’t fail even in the most dyer of circumstances.
For this thing Mary was believing WAS SEEMINGLY DESTROYED
Do you remember what happens to this child Mary delivers?
He is crucified.
And where do we find Mary?
Right there at the cross.
John 19:23-27 “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; this was to fulfill the Scripture: “THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS.” Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.”
Even then, even there, Mary’s faith endures.
Mary continued to believe even though her hope was seemingly destroyed.
Mary believed even though her hope WAS SEVERELY DELAYED
Did Gabriel not promise that her son would reign?
Did Mary ever see that? No
She saw Him born, she saw Him grow up, she saw Him die,
She saw Him rise from the dead, and she saw Him ascend,
BUT SHE NEVER SAW HIM REIGN.
And yet, after the ascension do you know where we next see Mary?
Acts 1:12-14 “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”
There is Mary, numbered among the 120 believers in the upper room after the ascension of Jesus.
I just point that all out to you because I want you to understand something about the faith of this 13 year old girl.
• It was faith in the midst of unlikely obstacles
• It was faith in the midst of certain danger
• It was faith even when all hope seemed lost
• It was faith that waited even when the fulfillment wasn’t as soon as expected
• She had faith
• She had courageous faith
• She had unwavering faith
• She had enduring faith
She was willing to be used of God and to trust whatever He desired to do with her and through her.
And so are you beginning to see why God used her?
• God didn’t care that she was from Nazareth.
• God didn’t care that she was 13 year old girl.
Isaiah 66:2 “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”
And what a constant theme Luke is going to bring in that regard.
This world puts so much value on so many wrong attributes.
• This world values those who are rich
• This world values those who are athletic
• This world values those who are charismatic
• This world values those who are successful
• This world values those who are physically attractive
But Luke is going to make sure that you understand that that is not the type of people that God exalts and values.
• The Lord is looking for the humble.
• The Lord is looking for the submissive.
• The Lord is looking for those with faith.
And that could not be clearer than the fact that this 13 year old girls is handed the greatest assignment of any human ever.
It is true when we read that
God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
