1: SERVANTS OF THE LORD (Luke 1:13-17, 26–38)

Over the next 6 weeks we are going to take a break from Matthew and come back to in mid January.

Today we begin a 5-week Series entitled,

BORN IS THE KING on the real REASON for the season.

Today we will consider several people who showed themselves to be…

Servants of the Lord - and we will consider whether or not that is true of US too. How will each of us answer, “Am I a SERVANT of the LORD?”

Let me set the stage for where we are going today as we begin to explore the Christmas Story.

As we have studied before, 400 years God was silent as the Jewish people held onto the last prophetic message from Malachi - that Elijah would return to prepare the way for the Lord.

Malachi 3:1 (LSB)

Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says Yahweh of hosts.

Malachi 4:5–6a (LSB)

Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh. “And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land, devoting it to destruction.”

Seeing as how Elijah the prophet lived about 450 years BEFORE that promise (850 B.C.), this was going to be a miraculous event.

Since Malachi’s prophecy, the Jewish people waited generation after generation, for 400 years with no sign of Elijah’s return.

Then the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, a priest - a SERVANT OF THE LORD, and revealed that this promise was about to be fulfilled. A baby was to be born to this childless couple, despite their old age.

Luke 1:13–15 (NIV)

But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

WOW! I don’t remember another person in the Bible being mentioned as being filled with the Spirit of God while in their Momma’s belly!

But then comes the incredible pointing to Malachi’s prophecy, that is about to be fulfilled.

Luke 1:16–17 (NIV)

He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

In their day the messenger would enter the town before the king and proclaim that the King is coming. And this is what this SERVANT OF THE LORD was coming to do.

But what of the King he prepares the way for? When we HE show up?

Today we hear what is likely the eyewitness account of Mary as she tells the story to Dr. Luke.

Luke 1:26–27 (NIV)

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

The word angel is the Greek angelos means ‘messenger’. In the Scripture there are 2 types of angelos meaning ‘messengers’:

earthly messengers like John the Baptist

& heavenly messengers like Michael & Gabriel (the only 2 names of angels mentioned in Scripture).

But the angel is NOT the focus of the story. He is only the messenger of the most wonderful MESSAGE that we are soon to read: The King is Coming!

You would think this would kind of announcement would be trumpeted from the temple of God in Jerusalem, for both small and great to hear. But instead, of all the places God could’ve sent this angel, Gabriel makes the trip from heaven to a young, peasant girl in an insignificant town.

Let’s explore 4 Facts we learn about Mary & Joseph

Mary lived in Nazareth and this is where the angel Gabriel is sent.

No one would have guessed that the Messiah would come from this small village.

This town is so obscure & insignificant that it is never mentioned in the Jewish writings of the Old Testament, the Talmud, nor the writings of Josephus.

There are no major trade routes there.

It was far away from the important centers of Jewish culture. The Temple was over 60 miles away in Jerusalem.

It was even referred to as “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isa. 9:1; Matt. 4:15) because it bordered Gentile regions. Nazareth did not have a good name among most Jews as they thought interaction with Gentiles meant contaminated morals. Years later when Phillip tells Nathanael that they have found the Messiah, who is from Nazareth, Nathanael says, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:45-46) Others were shocked to hear that Jesus had come from a town in Galilee (John 7:41). Of course, Luke was a Gentile writing to Theophilus, another Gentile. This message was for all nations…it still is.

Mary was a virgin. It was the norm in their day that a Jewish woman would remain a virgin until her marriage ceremony. Although this is not the norm for our culture anymore, it is still God's will that those who are unmarried remain sexually pure, even during engagement. Sex is a beautiful gift from God, but it has been drug through the mud. What was intended to be a righteous act - a source of blessing to protect mind, body, & marriage, but it has been distorted into a random act that can damage mind, body, & marriage.

Sex is a great gift, intended for marriage alone. Mary believed this…so Mary was kept herself sexually pure - a virgin.

Mary was pledged to Joseph.

Joseph's father would have approached Mary's father and struck a deal, a formal agreement. After the payment and signature or verbal oath, the couple was engaged.

So too, some of us Dads at Fellowship are wheelin’ and dealin’ - ready to trade some cattle for your daughters to be pledged to our sons. Yet, as incredible as our taste is, for some strange reason, our sons want to choose their OWN young lady to spend their lives with.

Joseph and Mary’s engagement was legally binding, and any sexual contact with another person was considered adultery. The engagement could not be broken except through divorce (Matt 1:19), because the couple was considered husband and wife at this point (Matt 1:19–20, 24).

The normal age of the woman for engagement at this point was 12-13 years old. Can you imagine that? Think of a 13 year old girl you know…SHE would now be engaged with just 1 year until the marriage ceremony & moving in with her husband. During that year, Joseph would have been preparing a home for his new bride while Mary was living in purity & preparing to move away and invest her life in her husband.

That’s a LITTLE more responsibility that we give our teenagers today isn’t it?

Parents, are we giving our teenagers freedom without responsibility or are we using each day to train them to become husbands, wives, daddies, mommas - responsible members of society?

Joseph was a descendent of King David

This fact will become very significant to this story. The Jews believed the Messiah would have to come from David’s family. Matthew notes that Jesus asked the Pharisees this question:

Matthew 22:41–42 (NIV)

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied.

They understood that the Messiah was to be in the family tree of David.

Gabriel is given the command carry the long awaited message to this young lady.

Luke 1:28 (NIV)

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

What greater greeting could there be!

Gen. 6:8 says Noah “found favor in the eyes of the Lord” and so had Mary. Like Noah, God was about to use Mary to provide a way of salvation.

Noah built an ark that provided salvation. Mary would bear a child who provided salvation.

Mary, You are highly favored. God LOVES YOU personally. God LOVES YOU passionately.

The Lord is with you! You are a simple girl in an insignificant town…but You aren’t alone…and YOU are NOT insignificant. The Lord is with you!

On a side note, this is where Catholics get their prayer (based on the Latin Vulgate) to Mary, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee…” But the Greek text doesn’t speak of Mary being the dispenser of grace. Mary can’t offer you forgiveness. She was a godly young lady, but she was not and IS NOT our redeemer. To say she is would hurt her heart, for she was humble & recognized she too needed the Redeemer.

At this point, young Mary was in a state of spiritual shock. No one had heard from God in 400 years - this time of silence. And now, this peasant girl…from Nazareth - of all places - was hearing from an angel sent by God? What is going on here?

Luke 1:29–31 (NIV)

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.

In Hebrew, Jesus would be ‘Yeshua’ (pronounced Ye-shU-a).

In Greek it is spelled Iesous (sounds like ‘e-A-soos’).

In English, Jesus. In Hebrew the name Yeshua means ‘Yahweh is salvation.’ As we have learned before, Yeshua name was very common for men at that time…but the following description of THIS Yeshua was absolutely UNIQUE.

Luke 1:31–33 (NIV)

……you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

He will be great; the Son of the Most High. John the Baptist was to be a “prophet” of the Most High as we see in Luke 1:76, but Yeshua (Jesus) would be the Son of the Most High.

Sir Nicolas Soames

Many years ago we took some young leaders to Europe for Student Leadership University where we heard several incredible speakers including Sir Nicolas Soames, the grandson of Prime Minister Winston Churchill - Britain’s great leader of WWII.

We had toured London and been in Churchill’s bunker - where he led from as London was being bombed daily. Now the grandson of Churchill was there to give his perspective on his grandfather. We sat intensely listening to him share of things we have never seen nor experienced, because he had the inside scoop as the grandson of Churchill.

Much more importantly, Jesus - the Son of the Most High - was about to put on skin, live as a human, and show/tell us about the Father we have never seen nor experienced anything close to what He knew.

He will reign on David’s throne forever. God had promised David that his throne would continue forever if his son Solomon was faithful to the Lord and His laws (1 Chronicles 28:7). Sadly, Solomon failed - the kingdom was split in two, and by 586 B.C. - ever since the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and took many of them captive - no Davidic king had sat on the throne in almost 600 years. But what Solomon had failed to do - keep all of Israel under the Davidic throne, the coming King of Israel would FULFILL. His reign and his kingdom will never end.

What an incredible promise…but Mary has a rather significant question…

Luke 1:34 (NIV)

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

Greek text here is, “have not known a man.” This is an expression for sexual relations.

Mary’s fiancé and parents are likely to need an answer to this one too… ”Um…no…Joseph, Mom & Dad…I promise I’ve never…”

Luke 1:35 (NIV)

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

Do you see God in 3 persons in this passage?

Take a minute to read through it again…Do you see it? The Holy Spirit will come on you, God the Father - the Most High, will overshadow you, and the holy one will be IN you - that’s the Son of God.

And as further proof, since Elizabeth had not called nor updated her social media pages, Gabriel tells Mary of her miraculous news about her.

Luke 1:36–37 (NIV)

Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

This last phrase is often translated as “For nothing will be impossible with God” (NET, ESV, NAS, CSB), but it literally means “for not impossible will be every word with God.” [1]

The angel speaking to Mary reminds us of Yahweh God asking Sarah a question after promising that she would birth Isaac in her old age.

Genesis 18:14 (LSB)

Is anything too difficult for Yahweh? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.

Old women can’t have children…unless God says it is so. In Sarah’s case, God said so. So too in Elizabeth’s case, God said so.

And virgins certainly can’t have babies…until THAT DAY when Mary met the angel of God…and God said so.

For nothing is too difficult for Yahweh and no word from God will ever fail.

Later people would tell grown up baby promised to the virgin, “Lazarus has been dead for 4 days…it’s too late.”

Jesus could have asked the question “Is anything too hard for Yahweh?”

Others thought it was too late for a cheating lying tax collectors & prostitutes to be forgiven

Others thought it was too late for lepers & those possessed by demons to be healed and made pure.

But Mary’s Baby would answer that with powerful actions that demonstrated that, “No word from God will ever fail, for nothing is too difficult for Yahweh.”

God still does what man struggles to believe. God still heals body & soul. God still mends relationships. What looks impossible to us is NOT impossible with Him, even when we can’t see the end result.

Like many of us have experienced in the middle of the struggles, Mary doesn’t have all her questions answered yet. Yet she can trust that God’s words spoken through the angel will not fail.

What will Joseph think? Mary isn’t told.

What about her parents? No clue.

How will her community respond to her? Will they think she committed adultery & have legal grounds to stone her? Sure hope not!

The future isn’t clear, but the Father’s will is:

Mary will conceive and give birth to a son, and call him Jesus.

With no answers to all these questions, and facing this uncertain future, Mary responds…

Luke 1:38 (NIV)

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

What a great example this teenager is for us. She demonstrates the heartbeat of the Lord's servant.

With humility & wonder she understands that the God of the universe wants to use her to accomplish His mission. With that in mind she responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

You can almost hear her saying, “Whatever You ask and whatever the cost, whatever You want is what I want. I don’t understand it all, but I trust You. Use me to accomplish your plan.”

Since then, many servants have responded in kind: “I am the Lord’s servant.”

“Whatever You ask and whatever the cost, whatever You want is what I want. I don’t understand it all - this illness, this circumstance, this opportunity - but I trust You. Use me to accomplish your plan.”

Are you the Lord’s servant?

Men: Would you literally bow your knee daily;

Ladies: Does Jesus have your heart…or does someone else?

Teenagers: Will you be the example to the next generation?

FEET2FAITH

PRAY IT.

Start your day praying...

“I am the Lord’s servant. Whatever You ask and whatever the cost, whatever You want is what I want. I don’t understand it all, but I trust You. Use me to accomplish your plan.”

LIVE IT.

It's one thing to say it and another thing to do it. Attempt to BE the Lord's servant throughout the day. Serve Him with each decision & situation.

CHECK IT.

Before you go to sleep, ask yourself: "Have I been the Lord's servant TODAY?" Then wake up tomorrow (Lord willing) and Pray it, Live it, & Check it again.

____________

R. Kent Hughes, Luke: That You May Know the Truth, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998), 35.

Discussion Questions

Read Malachi 3:1 & 4:5-6. Discuss the significance of what this prophet was to do and who he was preparing the Jewish people for.

Read Luke 1:13-17 and discuss how John fulfills the prophecy from Malachi.

Read Luke 1:26–27. How does knowing the background of Mary, Joseph, their engagement, Nazareth, & being a descendent of King David add to the significance of this historical story?

Read Luke 1:31–33. What 2 characteristics of Yeshua (Jesus) prove Him to be absolutely unique? Discuss why these 2 characteristics are so significant.

Read Luke 1:36-37. How does the pregnancy of Elizabeth & Mary prove that nothing is too difficult for God? On a side note...did God have to use a sexual union between people to create Eve? (see Genesis 2:20–24)? Share a personal story when God proved that NOTHING is too difficult for Him. What are YOU facing that seems impossible at this point? (We will pray for you in a few moments.)

Read Luke 1:38. What if every person who claimed to follow Jesus responded like Mary - saying and living out - “I am the Lord’s servant”? How can our lives find purpose & passion if we Pray it (“I am the Lord’s servant”), Live it, & Check it this week?

What challenged you most from today’s teaching? Explain your answer.

Share your prayer needs and lift each other before the King.