The First Gifts of Christmas

Luke 1:26–38 ESV

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.

Introduction: A young mother was struggling to make everything just right for Christmas one year. Out of frustration, she sat down in her chair weeping. When her young son approached her and asked what was the matter, she said, “I want this to be the best Christmas ever, but things just don’t seem to be working.” The young boy replied, “It’s OK Mom. Besides, how could you top the very first Christmas anyway.”

Indeed, how could we top the very first Christmas? It was a pivotal moment in History when the God who loved the world, gave us his only begotten son. He was the greatest gift ever given.

What you may not realize though is that God gave some important gifts to Mary, his mother, and thus to the world in preparation for that first Christmas.

Today, we are going to look at the first 4 gifts of Christmas all found in the passage we have before us today.

A MESSENGER OF GOD (vv. 26-28)

The first gift of God was an Angel sent to Mary to announce the upcoming birth of Christ.

The word for angel means “messenger”

Contrary to popular images, Angels are not chubby babies with wings wearing diapers or Clarence types trying to earn their wings by doing good deeds. They are not even graceful blonde haired ladies with wings and flowing white robes,

Angels were powerful beings created by God to carry out His will.

Two Angels were sent to rescue Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19

The Angel of death took the lives of the first born of Egypt in Exodus 12

An Angel was present when the law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai according to the book of acts.

The Lord sent an angel to reprove Balaam the prophet in Numbers

An angel was sent to protect Daniel on the night he spent in the Lion’s den.

Angels were sent to strengthen our Lord after his forty days of temptation in the wilderness.

Not just any angel mind you, but Gabriel, Champion of God.

He is the one who appeared to Daniel in the Old Testament to give him the seventy weeks prophecy which pointed to the time of Christ Birth

He also appeared to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ.

In the hierarchy of Angels, Gabriel is one of the top angels. Luke 1:19 says he “Stands in the Presence of God.”

Jewish tradition actually ranks Gabriel as second in importance only to Michael.

Illus…God is like Hallmark…he cares enough to send the very best!

A MESSAGE OF COMFORT (vv. 29-30)

The next gift given to Mary was a message of comfort.

Scripture says that Mary was greatly troubled at the appearance of the angel. It says she was agitated. Any of y’all ever been agitated before?

Gabriel was a scary dude…

Most people in Scripture who encounter angels have similar reactions. (e.g. Shepherds who received the birth announcement were terrified.)

We live with the false idea that our encounters with God are always going to be peaceful and easy, when in fact, many times, God’s work in our life is disruptive and troublesome.

Illus. The Seven Realities for Experiencing God, written by Henry and Richard Blackaby tells us that when God calls us to join him in His work, we may have to make major adjustments in our life that are sometimes painful and difficult.

Matthew 16:24 ESV

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Gabriel brings comfort to her, “do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God.”

It was like he was saying, “Don’t worry, God has got this! Now brace yourself…”

No matter what God calls you to, he will see you through it! He never promised a smooth flight, only a safe landing!

A MYSTERY TO BE CONTEMPLATED (vv. 31-34)

God was going to work through Mary to bring His one and only son into the world to save the world.

Mary’s response to Gabriel’s announcement was one of wonder, not of doubt. “how will this be?”

The Angel was telling her that this would be no ordinary conception. Obviously, she understood what it took to conceive a child. She was a virgin. But he said, “You will conceive in your womb…”

The Angel was clear that this would be no ordinary Child also. Even his name pointed to his uniqueness and his role– Yeshua = “YHWH is salvation”

His calling would be unique, “The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever…” In other words, this child would be the one that God promised to send, thus fulfilling Prophecy.

His Reign will be a continual one. “Of his kingdom there will be no end…”

The fact that God would choose to enter human history through the womb of a woman is truly a mystery to be contemplated.

He could have easily just appeared on the scene one day and set things right, but he chose to identify with his creation through the incarnation.

A MIRACLE TO BE CELEBRATED (vv. 35-37)

The Angel was very gracious and patient in dealing with Mary. He gave her an answer which reveals the true miracle that would take place in Mary’s life shortly – the Virgin Birth.

The Virgin Birth is one of those Christian doctrines that has come under numerous attacks in recent years from Liberal scholars and unbelievers.

The question is, why is it important?

The Virgin Birth is a fulfilment of Old Testament Prophecy. In Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

The controversy is found in the word translated, “Virgin.” In Hebrew, it is the word Alma. The liberal scholars try to argue that alma simply means, “young woman.” The problem is that everywhere else it is translated virgin and the assumption is that a young woman would be pure.

Since Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, God was his father. His lineage was Holy. Notice it says in v. 35, “the child to be born will be called holy…” Therefore, he could save his people from their sins since He was conceived sinless.

The virgin birth is important because it provides the basis for the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ. If Jesus did not have a virgin birth His birth would be purely human, He would not be God. With the virgin Birth, he was 100% man without ceasing to be 100% God. (I confess, I don’t fully understand that and I am in good company…)

The Virgin Birth is essential to our Christian faith. If you reject it or try to explain it away, then the Bible would be untrustworthy, there could be no salvation, and Christ would be just an ordinary man and not God.

Therefore, let’s celebrate this unprecedented miracle called Virgin Birth.

Closing: God was not the only one that was involved in this gift exchange however. Mary gave God a gift. Notice what the scripture says in v. 38, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

This was a clear statement of surrender. She was giving God her life to do with as he saw fit. I was the most valuable thing she had. It is the most valuable thing that you have…

If God had a Christmas list, your name would be on it. Because he wants you. 100% of you. Not 99.9%. All of you. Every square inch. No holds and no take backs. White flag flying, hands in the air surrender.

In the words of Andrew Murray, “God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.” He did that for Mary and he most certainly will do that for you.