The Birth of a King: The King's Mother
The Birth of a King • Sermon • Submitted
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Pregnancy Announcements (modern day craze)
Elaborate events, and games, and celebrations, creative pictures and videos announcing the fact that a new child is on the way.
There are seasons where videos and pictures announcing the good news of a pregnancy or birth will fill your timelines and news feeds.
This is one of the few fads i hope to see continue… We ought to celebrate life especially in the culture of death in which we currently live.
I say you should go all out!
And with that I have something I want to share with you....
When Mandee was pregnant with Karis we didn’t do anything like that… instead we picked up the phone, called our parents and said, We’re having a baby!
However, I think if you can make a big deal out of it you should! And part of the reason for that is because God loves to announce pregnancies.
Ishmael: Gen. 16:7–14;
Isaac: Gen. 17:15–22; 18:9–15;
Samson: Judg. 13:2–23;
Samuel: 1 Sam. 1:9–20.
John the Baptist Luke 1:5-20.
However, non of these can compare the shock and awe of the announcement that Mary would give brith to jesus, the King of the World.
Like I said, we should make a big deal about announcing pregnancies, you should have grand gender reveal parties, and joy filled birth announcements.
The world needs us to celebrate life, because it is currently spellbound with death.
The celebration of life is spark of light in the darkness.
In the same way the announcement of Mary’s pregnancy was a flicker of light in the dark world of Israel.
The Nation of Israel is bleek,
Isaiah called it a forest of Smoldering stumps
Demonic powers are running loose
Israel is like a house, who’s walls are full of leprosy.
Its not enough to come and removed the diseased walls, the whole house needs to come down.
Israel is enslaved to the darkness, though in their home land, they are exiled from God.
The glory of God departed their midst during the time of Ezekiel, roughly 600 years prior to the birth of Jesus.
The scene in Israel is abysmal, its dark, its depraved and without hope.
King Herod was in ruling Judea at the time.
Herod was given his authority by the Roman Empire because Herod was loyal first to Rome.
He had been reigning for over 30 years by the time Jesus was born. And as he got older Herod became a paranoid tyrant, worried that he would lose his kingdom.
We see his tyranny in full swing in Matthew’s gospel as Herod systematically murdered all the male children in Bethlehem and the region who were under two years old.
This is the genocidal king of Israel at the time.
So those who are faithful to YHWH like a Nicodemus, or Zechariah and Elizabeth, are hoping and praying for the Messiah to come, a good king, a king like David, who will not be a puppet under Rome’s control, but will free Israel from the exile they have been living in.
As we saw last week, Matthew prepares us for the coming king through the way he lays out Jesus’ genealogy.
Not only for a new King, but he prepares us for a whole new creation. a new Adam, a new covenant!
His genealogy prepares us for the glory of God to once again come and dwell in the midsts of the people.
Matthew’s genealogy is in many ways like a who's who in Israel’s history.
He tells us of the many kings Jesus had in his family tree, David being greatest.
However, Within Matthews genealogy, we see four anomalies…four names that stick out. and these anomalies are the four women who appear in this list of names.
Tamar
Rahab
Ruth
Bathsheba
These names jump out at us because the names of women were not ordinarily included in genealogical lists.
So the fact that there are women included is indeed strange.
But what is even more strange is the fact it is these four women who appear as opposed to some of the more well-known matriarchs in Jesus’ line such as Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah.
God indeed does surprising things… and these four women and their stories prepare us for one of God’s biggest surprises.
Mary.
God using Mary the way we did is one of the most surprising motifs in the advent story.
And for us, looking at the story of Mary and seeing God’s creativity as he retells and foretells the story of redemption, presence, glory and power in the life of a young virgin girl is indeed surprising.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
And 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 call his name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.”
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary’s response to the angel, “let it be to me according to your word” is strange and haunting, its arresting and curious. It is all of these things because in a mysterious way God retells the story of redemption in Mary.
One of the great blindspots in seeing the brilliance of this passage is the fact that it has become all too familiar… and as the saying going, “Familiarity breeds contempt”
This story is indeed familiar… and if we are not struck by the deep and majestic mystery and beauty of these words, then perhaps we have become too familiar.
The passage begins with the angel Gabriel, and angel that is named only a few times in scripture, but whenever he is arrives, God has BIG plans for his people. And here God sends Gabriel with a message to a young virgin girl.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
It’s interesting that Luke gives us no details about Mary’s life…
We don’t know her fathers name, her mothers name, we don’t know what she looks like, or anything about her personality.
The only description Luke gives us is the fact that she is a virgin.
In fact, this is so important that Luke introduces Mary first by calling her a virgin who was engaged.. only after that does he tell us that the virgins name is Mary.
Gabriel comes to her with a word from God and greets her,
And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
Gabriel comes to Mary, probably in her home or in her room, and greets her by saying, “oh favored one” The Lord is With you.
This is indeed a strange event.
This is an event that even seems strange to Mary.
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
The word for Troubled is better understood as perplexed or confused.
Mary is confused, perplexed, wondering why is this angel standing in her room? What has she done? is she in trouble? is her family in trouble?
She remembers the stories of the angels in Sodom and Gomorrah… and things are not good in Israel right now…is this an announcement of judgement? what sort of greeting is this?
Is she going to have run out Israel and not look back?
Mary confused as to whats going on is wanting some clarity… and Gabriel provides this for her.
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Do not be afraid, do not be concerned, there is nothing wrong here. In fact, you have found favor, or grace with God.
This is a good visit!
Gabriel then gives her his message.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
Mary’s thinking would have shifted here… no longer being concerned that this is judgement, instead this sounds like the stories of from Israel’s past.
The story of God giving birth announcements.
(Hagar) Ishmael: Gen. 16:7–14;
(Sarah) Isaac: Gen. 17:15–22; 18:9–15;
Samson: Judg. 13:2–23;
(Hannah) Samuel: 1 Sam. 1:9–20.
All of these men were born accompanied by an angelic birth announcement.
But this announcement is different! For Mary’s baby would be different…
(Could you imagine the excitement of Gabriel to be the one to deliver this message)!
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary’s baby would be a promised seed like Isaac, but much greater than Issac
her baby would judge Israel like Samson, but would accomplish more in his life and death than Samson ever did.
Her baby would be set apart like Samuel, but set a part for a far more glorious vocation.
The Angel tells Mary that Jesus would be called the Son of the Most High!
That he would have Davids eternal throne
That he will reign over the house of Jacob, God’s people, forever (that is, God’s people.)
And his kingdom would have no end.
These declarations about the Christ child are glorious and powerful.
Gabriel is telling Mary that in her womb will be the promised Messiah, the King Israel has been waiting for, the fulfiller of prophecy, and the liberator of the people.
He is telling her that she will give birth to the promised child of Isaiah 9 where Isaiah writes,
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
This glorious announcement is enough to cause all of Israel to rise up and rejoice, the angels in heaven to shake the earth with their songs of joy.
Yet Mary’s response is not one of ruckus celebration, but of curiosity.
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
Mary is not yet married to Joseph, nor has she ever been with a man. How is it that she will carry the promised Messiah in her womb?
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.”
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
In a couple weeks we will continue to with this story, how Mary goes to visit Elizabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist. And we will look at Mary’s prayer of praise called the Magnificat.
One of the striking realities of Luke’s gospel is how much attention he gives to Mary.
Luke goes to great length to highlight and emphasize Mary more than anyone else though the first 2 chapters of his gospel.
Mary is referenced 101 times in Luke chapters 1-2
Thats 25 more times than even Jesus.
Why is this?
Why does Luke highlight Mary so much in his telling of the advent story?
What is it about Mary, what is it about the way God uses Mary, that causes Luke to give her so much attention?
These are questions we don’t often ask because the Protestant church has an unfortunate allergy toward Mary...
And the reason for this is because some traditions have skewed the biblical picture of Mary in some very egregious ways.
Catholic Church has developed a whole system around Marion theology that twists the scriptures and fails see how beautiful her story actually is.
The Catholic Church holds to:
Immaculate Conception
Mary was sinless her whole life
Perpetual Virginity
Mary remained a virgin the rest of her life
Mary’s Assumption
Mary was taken to heaven before she died.
These misguided and foolish doctrines have caused many Protestants to try and downplay the role of Mary in the story of redemption.
However, This is a swing to the opposite direction which too is a failure to pay attention to the text and the story God is telling.
We must see that the catholic church is guilty of over emphasizing Mary…which they are…
We must also see that the Protestant church is guilty of deemphasizing the role of Mary… which we have.
Mary was blessed of God… Elizabeth says to her, “blessed are you among women”
Mary was set apart for a unique role, and that was to bear in her womb the savior of the world, the incarnate Christ.
This indeed is a great blessing for which much of church history has called her the “blessed mother”
However, she was blessed in the same way we are blessed, solely by the grace of God.
Mary was not sinless
Mary was not a perpetual virgin
And Mary was not assumed into heaven, she died like every other person, and she too is waiting for the final resurrection.
Luke does not emphasize Mary for the reasons the Catholic Church claims, but rather he emphasizes Mary because God retells and foretells so many stories of his mighty acts in this one young virgin girl named Mary.
Look with me back at verse 35 and we will tease out some of the stories God retells and foretells in Mary.
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
There are so many truths, stories, realities, types and shadows compressed into this one verse it seems like it is about to burst with typological brilliance.
First, we see God telling and retelling the story of creation…
Notice the last phrase, that Jesus is called the Son of God.
There is one other person that Luke calls the Son of God in his Gospel. And we find his name in chapter 3 at the very end of Luke’s genealogy.
Matthews genealogy started with Abraham and descended down to Christ.
Luke on the other hand starts with Jesus and ascends back up. Luke does not stop with Abraham though… he keeps going all the way back to Adam
the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Both Jesus and Adam are called “the son of God”
Why? because both Jesus and Adam were brought forth through the power of the Spirit.
Adam was formed from the dust of the earth… it was the earth that God used to shape and mold Adam and breathed life into his nostrils.
Mary’s Womb was a new earth, From which the breath of God, formed a new Adam, and a whole new humanity.
God also retells the story of the Tabernacle in Mary.
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
Mary was an ordinary girl God used as a vessel that God uses to bring his glory into the world.
in the same way the Tabernacle was made from ordinary materials: woods, fabrics, metals and stones.
Yet the Spirit of God takes ordinary things, like you and me, like Mary, like the tabernacle, and transforms them.
Gabriel says to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy.”
This is the same language and idea used in Exodus 40.34-35 when talking about the tabernacle.
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
The Spirit of God overshadowed (same word) the tabernacle as the Glory of God filled the tabernacle.
When the glory of God filled the tabernacle the tabernacle became holy.
Mary is a type of the tabernacle, she is overshadowed by the Spirit of God and the glory of God filled her womb.
And look back at 35
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
And “therefore the child to be born will be called holy”
But not only that, Mary also tells the story of the ark of the Covenant.
The ark contained the presence and glory of God as Israel moved from one place to another.
It was the ark that carried within its walls the presence of God.
In the same way, Mary carried within her womb the presence and glory of God.
The stories God retells through Mary are abundant…
We could look at Mary’s connection with
Eve, and Rachael, and ruth, and Tamar and the Temple
But perhaps one of the most striking stories is not one that he retells, but one he foretells.
Mary foretells the story of the church…
V.35, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you” Same words Jesus says to his disciples about when the Spirit comes upon them and the church begins”
Themes in Paul’s theology of the church and her union with Christ are themes you can trace back to Mary.
Paul says, This mystery is “christ in you the hope of glory”
It is Christ dwelling in the church that gives us our hope for glory.
These are words Mary likewise could have said as she felt baby Jesus kicking in her womb… Christ in me, the hope of glory.
Mary carried Christ for 9 months, the church carries Christ for eternity.
Mary endured the pains of pregnancy as Christ was formed in her, and Paul says, Gal 4.19 “my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!”
Revelation we see what Christ is doing in the life of his church now, he is forming us and is purifying us, so that he might present us as a virgin bride dressed in adorned for her husband who is Christ.
Mary foretells the story of the church’s union with Christ in a profound way.
Even the fact that we call ourselves “born again Christians” finds it ties to the birth of Christ from the womb of Mary.
We must not be nervous or concerned in looking deeply into the mystery of the virgin birth. For it is a mystery that ought to be adored.
The types and shadows, the stories and themes we see playing out in the life Mary should cause us to raise our hands in praise the Father for the wonders he has done.
But Mary also gives us an example of how to live out this story faithfully, as we long and hope for the the second advent of Christ’s return.
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
The Angel Gabriel came to Mary and gave her the word of God. And Mary’s response is the response that we all should have when the word of God is presented.
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word”
The word of God gives us our marching orders in this life, go and disciples ever square inch of this world bringing all of it under submission to the King.
The word of God gives us our identity… we are grace covered sons and daughters of the king.
The word of God gives us our purpose, our telos, our joy, our strength, our loves, our friends and our foes.
May we be faithful servants. And may the word of god be planted in us so that we may echos Mary in saying, “let it be to me according to your word.”
Lets Pray.