“The Greatest Announcement of All-Time”

Good Morning. If you have your Bible turn with me to Luke chapter one. Today we come to the announcement of the birth of Christ. Over the years there have been some amazing announcements. The announcement that we had put a man on the moon was huge. Countries have declared victory announcements. Teams that have won the big game. The announcement of royal births and weddings all take a high place in great announcements. However there is one announcement that stands out among the rest. There is one announcement that tops every other announcement and that announcement was of the God-child Jesus coming to this earth to be our Savior.

There are so many extraordinary things that should stand out to us about this wonderful text today. First, what stands out to us is this wonderful announcement, the greatest announcement of all-time is that the promise of Jesus our Savior had been prophesied about for years before He shows up. In Psalm chapter 2 we see that God’s promise was that His son, the Messiah would come to rule the world.

Psalm 2:6–9 ESV

6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

The prophet Isaiah predicted that a virgin would have a child and she would bear a son. She would call his name Immanuel (God is with us)

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

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.

So as the angel now comes to May to deliver this great news there is even something more interesting that is extraordinary. Throughout the Old Testament we read about several women who could not have children or were just past the years of having children and yet God granted them the ability to have children. But never in the history had any woman had a child while she still remained a virgin. This would be the first and last time in history that such an event would take place. So, all of this is extraordinary news. Gabriel’s announcement to Mary shows us 4 important lessons that we should take note of.

1. God Shows us His Gracious Choice.

Luke 1:26–27 ESV

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

It had only been 6 months after Elizabeth became pregnant that our story moves from a large town scene to a small village with only around 100 people living there. This town Nazareth was in Galilee which was just north of Jerusalem. We are told here that Mary was a virgin and she was engaged to Joseph who came from the family line of King David who was Israel’s greatest king and this was from whose line the Messiah would come. Luke shows us that even though Joseph was not Jesus’ natural father, his adoption of Jesus made Him legally part of David’s lineage. I mention this because during this time being engaged was a very serious matter. During their engagement this would be a year long time where they would not live together and it was a time to prove their faithfulness to each other. It was as if this couple was already married. So, you could not break an engagement off without a death or getting a divorce because of sexual immorality.

Luke does not tell us a whole lot of detail here about Mary except for the fact that she was a virgin. We know nothing more about Mary other than that she must have been righteous and obedient. When the angel Gabriel comes to Mary with this startling announcement he comes to her with grace. What this shows us is that Mary is chosen not by her looks or accomplishments but solely as a matter of God’s grace

2. God Shows us His Blessing.

Luke 1:28–30 ESV

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

As the angel comes to Mary, she is greeted by some good news.

-First, the angel tells her that she is favored or blessed. By telling May this it shows us that Mary had nothing to fear, because she had become someone God is showing His grace too. Favored one means full of grace. Mary was not perfect or without sin contrary to what the Catholic church teaches about her. This phrase here is actually where the Roman Catholic church started their famous rosary prayer known as the Ave Maria or (Hail Mary) prayer. Mary is due honor for the example of her obedience but she does not play a redeemer along side Jesus as some believe. She was just a human like you and I. She died, and she went to heaven after her death. We should never pray to Mary or even think that she can forgive sin. We never see anywhere in Scripture where we are told to pray to Mary. In fact, we are told to pray to the one who is the Mediator.

1 Timothy 2:5 ESV

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

We have today a Great High Priest who intercedes for us and He is Jesus and He is enough.

-The second thing that the angel tells her is that the Lord is with her. Here we come to understand that Mary was sinner like every other person. In verse 47 we see that Mary called God her Savior, and only sinners need a Savior. So, Mary realized that she was a sinner and greatly troubled or confused on why she was favored and the Lord was with her? Mary did not understand the angels greeting and news. In fact, she was deeply troubled by it. How could this unknown woman be so noticed by the Lord?

Verse 30 tells us that the angel calms her down by assuring her to not be afraid or startled by this news. His explanation once again was that Mary had found favor with God. Gabriel had come to her with a message of blessing and not judgment. God sovereignly chose Mary to use her to carry out His redemptive purposes. Many times throughout our lives there will come things beyond human understanding so we lean unto God and know that He is in control. You may say yes but what about difficult situations like suffering?

Here is a great quote from Maltbie Babcock, “This is my Father’s World, O let me never forget that though the wrong seems often so strong, God is still the ruler yet.” We can trust God to use even our suffering for our good.

3. God Shows us His Good News.

Luke 1:31–33 ESV

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Mary is now told what the gracious work of God in her life would look like. If the initial greeting had troubled her, this news would now shock her. Mary knew that there was only one way that she could have a son and that was through relations with a man. She also knew that she had never been involved with anyone, since she was a virgin. This helps us to better understand the question that she asks in verse 34, “How can this be?” We now come to the good news. Just as Gabriel had told Zechariah what to name his son, he now does so with Mary. “You will call his name Jesus.” Think about this wonderful revelation of who Jesus was and is. Think about his entire ministry while he was on earth. think about his saving work, his perfect life, his deity, his death, resurrection, life, his return, his forever kingdom and his righteous rule over everything. Mary you are to call his name Jesus. This is why this announcement is the greatest announcement of all time. Jesus in the Greek form is Yeshua (Yahweh Saves) As Jesus Christ came into the world his saving work would be a central theme of the New Testament. What else do we know about Jesus?

-He will be great. This is a striking statement. It means that Jesus is magnificent, noble, and powerful. But even more than just these synonyms we see that the Lord’s life will define great. Here is how Paul explains the Lord in his letter to the church at Ephesus.

Ephesians 1:21 ESV

21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

-He is the Son of the Most High. Christ possesses glory of God because as the Son of the Most High He possesses the nature of God. This title refers to his position as the sovereign ruler. So, to give Christ this title is to affirm that he is of the same essence of God, the exact representation.

-Jesus will rule over the throne of father David and His kingdom will be forever. Jesus was the rightful heir to the throne through his legal father Joseph. He will rule over Israel and all of mankind and His kingdom will have no end unlike all the other kingdoms and rulers of this world. Someday every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. All of this leads us to the final lesson I want you to see.

4. God Shows us His Miracle.

Luke 1:34–38 ESV

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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. 36 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. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 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 most remarkable birth in all the world was the birth of Christ. Why? Because it was truly a miracle. The virgin birth of Jesus is one of the most foundational truths about Christianity. To deny the virgin birth of Christ is to deny that Jesus is both God and man. If Jesus did not come to earth and take on human form in that of flesh there could be no salvation and no hope.

“How will this be?” is the question. Even though Mary asks a question here like Zechariah did, she was overwhelmed by how this could be possible. She believed what the angel told her, but did not understand how it could happen.

In response to Mary’s question the angel now helps her to see God’s plan. The Holy Spirit would be involved in the miracle conception of this God-man. Just like the Holy Spirit was involved in the creation of the world as we see in Genesis chapter 1 verse 2. He was now involved in the work of creation in Mary’s womb. Through the power of the Most High God through His Spirit would create life. This helps us to understand today that God is sovereign, omnipotent, and ruler over heaven and earth.

God gives Mary a sign to encourage her with the question of How can this be? Even though Mary did not ask for a sign to help her with the doubt nor was she doubting the Lord helps her to see how He was also involved in giving Elizabeth a son in her old age. This was the first time Mary had heard of this news and she knew that for all these years Elizabeth could not have children. Elizabeth’s conception was a sign from God to Mary that He was still able to do miracles. We would do good to remember that even though we are dealing with questions of how and why to remember this.

FOR NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. What Mary was dealing with seemed impossible, but God reminded her of His power. In God’s omnipotence everything is possible because He has no limits.

Last week we saw how Zechariah stumbled in unbelief and today we see here how Mary submits to the Lord by her faith. Notice Mary’s response in verse 38. I am your slave. Let it be according to your will Lord, even when things do not add up. As Mary responds here in faith there could be many things she will face. She faces potential public shame. She could face the divorce of her husband. However, Mary continued in her faith.

Conclusion: When the Lord shows you His plan for your life even though it may not be what you desired or thought it would look like can you say, “Yes Lord I will trust you. Let it be so?” Do we have this kind of faith? If not I want to encourage you to meet with the Lord and ask Him to strengthen your faith. May we today renew our commitment to the Lord and follow Him in faith.