You Shall Call His Name Jesus 1: The Humanity of Jesus

Intro

Merry Christmas!

This morning we are beginning our new Christmas series.

In this series we will be focusing on three different characteristics of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,

we will see how each characteristic is connected with the Christmas story,

and learn how they impact the salvation of the world.

The three characteristics we are going to look at in the coming weeks are Jesus’:

Nature as both Human and Divine,

his role as Saviour,

and his role as King.

I am so excited for this Christmas series and I hope you are too.

I’ve been praying that God would take what is a familiar story to many of us,

and teach us something new about who he is and what he has done for us, through our time looking at it together.

This Christmas series is entitled: “You Will Call His Name Jesus”

So would you please open up your bibles to Luke 1:26-38.

Before we begin our time in the word together let me pray.

[Pray]

This morning the characteristic of Jesus that we will focusing on; is Jesus’ nature as both divine and human (God and man).

Once again our passage is Luke 1:26-38.

Luke 1:26-38

Exposition

I’ve broken up this sermon into five sections that each correspond with different parts of our passage this morning.

The Meeting, the Message, the Means, the Mother, and the Man.

The Meeting (vv. 26-27)

Let’s begin by looking at The Meeting between the angel Gabriel and Mary in vv. 26-27.

Our passage begins in v. 26 by saying,

Luke 1:26 (ESV)

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,”

Sixth month

The time indicator that Luke includes here in v. 26, where he says, “in the sixth month,” points to the previous section of the chapter.

Where the angel Gabriel first announced the miraculous birth of another child, John the Baptist,

to a childless couple who were advanced in years, Zechariah and Elizabeth.

Throughout the scriptures God signifies that he is about to do something big among his people,

by “opening the womb of the barren,” as the scriptures often call it.

This is allowing the miraculous birth of a baby to a woman, usually an older woman, who was unable to have children.

This happened in the case of the births of Isaac to Sarah,

Jacob and Esau to Rebekah

Joseph to Rachel,

Samson to his mother,

and Samuel to Hannah.

And all of these miraculous births acted as signs

that God was about to act in power, and give new life to his people.

In Luke 1, God had once more given the sign of his power,

to deliver his people and to bring new life,

by giving Elizabeth a son, who would be named John.

The sixth month that Luke refers to here in our passage, is Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy.

While Elizabeth’s pregnancy is no doubt a miracle.

The Angel Gabriel was soon to announce an even greater miracle.

Sent

So God directed his servant Gabriel,

to the city of Nazareth in Galilee.

As v. 27 says,

Luke 1:27 (ESV)

“to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.”

Here we have the couple to whom this miracle would be announced.

Mary and Joseph.

And though our passage focuses on Gabriel’s announcement to Mary,

and the central role in this part of the story is given to her.

Both Mary and Joseph are important to the plan of God in this miracle.

House of David

We will look at Mary’s role in this story in a moment,

but our passage says in v. 27 that she is, “betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph,”

who was, “of the house of David.”

This is the key factor when it comes to Joseph’s role in the story; his family tree.

When v. 27 tells us that Joseph is of the house of David,

the “David” that is being referred to is king David, the founder of the Davidic dynasty of Israelite Kings,

the same king to whom God promised to establish his throne forever.

But a Davidic king had not reigned over God’s people for 500 years,

not since the fall of Jerusalem and the exile into Babylon.

But God in his sovereignty preserved the line of David throughout those centuries,

the genealogies that are included at the beginning of the gospels of Luke and Matthew bear witness to this fact.

So Joseph was a descendant of the house and line of David,

and the fact that Mary was engaged to this man, joining this family, was significant.

And so the angel Gabriel was sent to meet this particular teenage girl in the city of Nazareth, named Mary.

The Message (vv. 28-33)

But the miracle that the angel Gabriel would announce, was not merely the re-establishment of the throne of David.

No, the miracle would be far greater than even that.

Which takes us to the second section of our passage this morning:

The Message.

We read in Luke 1:28,

Luke 1:28 ESV

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

Favoured

Now there is just a small detail that I want to point out here in Gabriel’s greeting to Mary,

a small detail that has some major theological importance.

When Gabriel greets Mary by calling her, “O favoured one,”

the emphasis in his words is on God’s choice to bestow his favour (or grace) on her,

and not on some innate χάρις (or grace) that Mary had within herself.

This is different from the “Hail Mary full of grace,” that is prayed by our Catholic friends.

God has bestowed his grace on her, he did not choose her based on any sort of merit or grace found within her.

Though I’m sure she was probably a very nice person.

She was also seemingly a wise person.

We see in v. 1:29 that,

Luke 1:29 (ESV)

“she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.”

She has an idea that something big is happening here,

but just because an angel arrives with news, doesn’t mean that life is going to be all good.

But Gabriel senses her hesitancy. We read in v. 30,

Luke 1:30 ESV

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

Again we have the favour of God being bestowed on Mary.

Gabriel here uses the same language as what was said about Noah in Genesis 6:8,

Genesis 6:8 ESV

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

God bestows his grace and favour out of his own sovereign choice, not based on any person’s merit,

and this is twice demonstrated in Gabriel’s greeting to Mary.

And God’s grace, his favour towards Mary, meant that she was to become a mother,

but not just any mother, she would become the mother of the most significant being in history.

The Main Announcement

We read the most important part of Gabriel’s message in vv. 31-33, where he says:

Luke 1:31–33 ESV

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.”

Conceive a Son

Mary was to become a mother, she would conceive a child in her womb.

The favour that God was to bestow on her was that she would bear a child - a son.

The angel even names him: “you shall call his name Jesus.”

In Greek it’s Ἰησοῦς, in Hebrew “Yeshua”.

And this name meant “God saves.”

In Matthew’s account of the angel’s announcement to Joseph in Matthew 1:21,

the angel tells Joseph that he, “shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Son of the Most High

But in our passage this morning, the Angel tells Mary more:

That the child to be conceived “will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.”

If you compare what Gabriel says here about Jesus, with what he says about John the baptist in Luke 1:13-17,

it is clear that Jesus is not merely a prophet, as our Muslim friends believe.

Rather, he is the very Son of God.

God the Son, the second member of the trinity, come in the flesh.

Throne of David

And it’s here in vv. 32-33 where Joseph’s lineage factors into Gabriel’s message, he says:

Luke 1:32–33 (ESV)

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.”

A baby would be conceived in Mary’s womb,

that baby would be God’s salvation for humanity,

though he would be a human being, a man, born of a woman, he would be the Son of God,

and as a man, he would rule over God’s people, on the throne of David,

FOREVER.

An incredible Message

Now just think about how crazy this announcement is for a second.

I’ve received the announcement of the conception of my own children three times.

And not by an angel,

well, my wife Sarah told me all three - so not by a literal angel.

Each time I was so excited.

When Sarah told me she was pregnant with our third child.

I was still in bed, half asleep, and had my retainer in mouth,

so when she told me the news, she heard me yell out,

“Praish God!”

It’s the most exciting message a person can receive: that you are going to have a child.

But the message that Gabriel brought to Mary was on a completely different level!

Especially to a poor, young teenage girl,

engaged to be married,

who lived on the outskirts of Jewish life and culture.

The Means (vv. 34-37)

But for Mary, what was at the forefront of her mind, was how this conception would come about.

Which takes me to the third section of our passage this morning.

The Means.

Mary is twice called a virgin in v. 27.

And this was not merely to indicate that she was a young woman,

she had never been intimate with a man.

Which you should know is usually how these things work.

And so the means by which she should conceive this incredible child is at the top of her mind.

A Work of The Spirit

We read in vv. 34-35: Luke 1:34-35

Luke 1:34–35 (ESV)

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Literally she says, “since I have known no man.”)

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.

This human child will be conceived in the womb of Mary,

not by natural means, but by supernatural means,

by a powerful work of the Holy Spirit.

This language, of the Holy Spirit coming upon someone, is seen in several other places in the scriptures.

Jesus uses this phrase when he describes how he will empower the disciples in Acts 1:8, where he says,

Acts 1:8 (ESV)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples is how the church got started.

But the person we most see the Holy Spirit coming upon in power, is someone were familiar with from the Old Testament,

and that is Samson in the book of Judges.

Nearly every time some great feat of strength is done through Samson,

it is due to the Holy Spirit rushing upon him.

In Judges 14:6, the Holy Spirit empowered Samson to tear a lion in two.

In Judges 14:19 the Holy Spirit gave Samson strength to slay 30 Philistines.

And in Judges 15:14 the Holy Spirit rushed upon Samson to able to break free from being bound by ropes,

and to slay 1000 philistines with the jawbone of a donkey.

The same action of the Holy Spirit that empowers both the church,

and Israel’s greatest warrior,

would cause a divine, and yet fully human life to be conceived in the womb of Mary.

A child would be conceived, and the power of the Holy Spirit would be the means.

The same Holy Spirit who will raise those who have put their faith in Christ from the dead,

just as he raised Christ from the dead.

A Sign

But God gave Mary a sign that all of this would take place, Gabriel says in Luke 1:36,

Luke 1:36 ESV

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.

What was announced to Elizabeth earlier on in the chapter was a miracle,

though her child would still be conceived through natural means.

But that miracle would act as a sign that the greater miracle would soon take place,

that a virgin would conceive a child, not by natural means,

but supernaturally - by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God would accomplish the impossible. Because, as Gabriel says in v. 37,

Luke 1:37 (ESV)

“nothing [is] impossible with God.”

The Mother (v. 38)

We have thus far witnessed the meeting between the angel and Mary.

we have heard the message Gabriel brought to a teenaged girl in Nazareth from God.

we have learned the means by which this miracle would take place.

And now we arrive at the next section of our passage and this sermon.

This section I call: The Mother.

In the final verse of our passage we see Mary’s short but beautiful response to this incredible news brought by the angel.

In v. 38 we read,

Luke 1:38 ESV

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 humbly assents to the plan of God, as the Lord’s servant.

But in this short response to the angel,

we don’t get the full picture of Mary’s feelings as she takes on this incredibly important role in history:

As the Mother of the Son of God.

Luke actually saves that for later on in the chapter.

In the first few verses of Mary’s song of praise, known as The Magnificat, Mary sings this in Luke 1:46-49:

Luke 1:46–49 (ESV)

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

You can see from this that Mary was absolutely delighted by this news!

She was overjoyed at being a mother, as she should be,

the mother of the Son of God no less!

Nothing could be more beautiful or exciting!

The Man

But the miracle that the angel Gabriel was sent to announce isn’t merely that a virgin would conceive.

No, the miracle would be far greater than even that - if you can believe it.

See, the greatest part of this miracle, is what has been called the miracle of miracles:

that God took on human flesh.

Which takes me to my final section of this sermon.

The Man.

God became a man.

As John 1:14 tells us,

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

On this earth, 2000 years ago, the creator of all things entered his creation.

Not merely in a general sense; by entering the world,

but specifically; entering his creation by being conceived as a human baby boy,

in the womb of a young woman.

And in that womb he was never anything less than human.

Even from conception: he was not a potential human, he was a human with potential.

Application

This is the miracle of miracles:

that God the Son, the second person of the triune God, took on human flesh.

This is known as the incarnation.

And God took on human flesh in order to accomplish three tasks.

1. Reveal Himself

The first task God the Son accomplished by being made fully human,

was to reveal himself.

In the miracle of the incarnation: The transcendent became imminent.

The invisible God, became visible, tangible.

He could be seen, he could be felt, he could be heard, he could be smelled.

This is why the Apostle Paul calls him in Colossians 1:15, “The image of the invisible God.”

He manifested himself to us, so that we could see him.

Something that I am in the habit of doing around Christmas time is reading a classic Christian book called On The Incarnation,

this is a book written in the 4th century by the early church father Athanasius of Alexandria.

Athanasius was a man who spent his life, much of it in suffering, defending both the deity and humanity of Jesus.

If you’re a reader, something I’d encourage you to do is read some of these classic Christian works.

They are often way more accessible and easy to read than you think.

And they are invaluable in understanding aspects of the Christian faith that we as moderns rarely think about.

Well, Athanasius writes this passage about God’s self revelation through Jesus Christ.

I think it’s incredibly beautiful.

He says,

“[God] deals with mankind as a good teacher with his pupils, coming down to their level and using simple means. Saint Paul says as much: (1 Corinthians 1:21)

1 Corinthians 1:21 (ESV)

‘For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.’”

He goes on to say that,

“Men had turned from the contemplation of God above, and we're looking for him in the opposite direction, down among created things and things of sense. The saviour of us all, the word of God, in his great love, took to himself a body and moved as a man among men, meeting their senses, so to speak, halfway. He became himself an object for the senses, so that those who were seeking God in sensible things might apprehend the father through the works, which he, the word of God, did in the body.”

God the Son was made incarnate, he took on human flesh, to reveal himself to us.

Showing us who he is, by presenting himself bodily,

in the person of Jesus Christ.

That mankind could come to know the creator God face to face.

But that is not all that he came to do.

2. Payment for Sin

The second task Jesus accomplished through his incarnation,

was paying the penalty for our sin.

Galatians 4:4-5 tells us,

Galatians 4:4–5 (ESV)

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

Through the miracle of the incarnation, the Son of God took on flesh, human flesh;

so that by becoming a man he could redeem mankind,

by paying the penalty for their sin, which is death.

This could only be done by dying in our place.

As 1 Corinthians 15:3 tells us, “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,”

The Son of God came to die for our sins.

Therefore he had to be incarnated into mortal flesh in order to die.

This he did willingly, going to the cross and dying,

so that he might pay the penalty for our sins.

“The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

3. Defeat of Death

But Jesus, though he died, did not stay dead.

On the third day, Jesus was resurrected bodily from the dead.

The tomb in which he was laid to rest, was empty.

And he presented himself alive to hundreds of his followers who saw him before his ascension.

This could only be accomplished if he were were incarnate as a man.

Made human, so he could die,

made to die, so that he could be resurrected.

And resurrected, so that he could defeat death itself.

This is the final task that Jesus accomplished through his incarnation:

The defeat of death.

The Apostle Paul makes it clear that the entirety of our faith rests on this fact:

that Jesus, the Son of God, rose physically from the dead,

and through that resurrection, defeated death.

He says in 1 Corinthians 15:19-21

1 Corinthians 15:19–22 (ESV)

1 Corinthians 15:19–22 ESV

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

Jesus physically rose from the dead,

and because of that we have the sure hope of our own resurrection when he returns.

We have this wonderful blessed hope, if we belong to Christ through repentance and faith in him.

Conclusion

The Necessity of the Incarnation

This is why the miracle of the incarnation was necessary.

Without the eternal Son of God taking on human flesh,

by being conceived in the womb of Mary,

none of this could be accomplished.

Allowing us to meet him face to face,

paying the penalty for our sin,

and defeating death itself.

These could only be accomplished by one who is incarnate, fully human.

And so the conception of a child that the angel Gabriel came to announce,

to a virgin in Nazareth,

was the miracle of miracles.

Our Response

But the miracle of miracles is not just a nice thing that happened in history.

The reality of the incarnation demands from us a response.

God came to reveal himself face to face - do you want to meet him?

He came to die for your sins - do you want to be forgiven?

and He came to give you eternal life - do you want to receive it?

There is only one way to respond to all three of these questions,

and that is through repentance and faith.

Turn from your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,

and you will meet him face to face.

you will be forgiven of your sins,

and you will receive eternal life.

These he did for you; will you receive them?

For those of us who have received this salvation through Jesus Christ.

This season is a fantastic time, to pause and reflect on the fact;

that the eternal Son of God became flesh - and dwelt among us.

We are participants in this story, as he is our saviour - will you take the time to meet with him?

This is a season to meet with him, everything about this season leading up to Christmas,

is a reminder that God walked on this earth as a man,

he shed his blood on it,

and he rose from the dead out of it.

But first he was conceived in the womb of a young virgin,

the miracle of miracles.

That is what we celebrate at Christmas.

Communion

We are now going to celebrate the Lord’s supper, so let’s take a moment in silence to ready our hearts to approach the table. [Silent Prayer - End with Prayer]

[Invite ushers forward]

It’s wonderful that the same morning we have been focusing on Jesus’ incarnation in the womb of Mary,

we also get to celebrate the Lord’s supper,

Without the reality of the incarnation,

Jesus would have no body,

he would have no blood.

And we would have no salvation.

Without the real things that they point to,

the bread that we break and the cup that we drink, would be meaningless.

The elements that we eat and drink,

point symbolically to the real body of blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So when we partake in the Lords supper as we are about to,

what we are doing is proclaiming that we believe that God did come in the flesh,

and we are remembering what he accomplished in flesh on the cross.

We celebrate his humanity.

And that through his humanity, he won for us salvation;

by allowing his body to be broken,

and his blood to be shed.

The Lord’s Supper is for those who have come to repentance and faith in Christ,

for them to remember what Jesus did on the Cross of Calvary.

If you have not yet put your faith in Christ for your salvation, I would ask that you just let the bread and the cup to pass by,

and observe how we remember and proclaim our Lord’s broken body and shed blood.

as 1 Corinthians 11:26 tells us,

1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The Bread

1 Corinthians 11:23-24 Tells us

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Lets Give thanks for the broken body of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[Pray over bread]

[Bread distributed]

Take and eat, in remembrance of Christ broken body

The Cup

[Invite ushers forward]

1 Corinthians 11:25 continues,

1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Lets Give thanks for the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[Pray over cup]

[Cup distributed]

Take and drink, in remembrance of Christ shed Blood.

Please stand with me as we are dismissed with prayer.

[Closing prayer]