From Sinners to Servants Luke 1:26-56

Intro: Good morning FE and Merry Christmas, I would like to welcome you one more time for those here in person and those of you watching online, Feliz Navidad de parte de FE. I hope you have enjoyed this short Christmas series Impossible Christmas. As we have looked through the Christmas Narrative, examining the lives of Zechariah, Elizabeth, the Shepherds and today we will see what Luke has to tell us about Mary.

As you study the Bible, we can track various themes from Genesis - Revelation. We can track themes like the Sovereignty of God and how he governs the affairs of human history, the theme of the promise of a Messiah who was to come to save people from their sin, another theme we can track is how God is a missionary seeking to save, redeem, and transform a people for his own possession.

Another One of the major themes we can track throughout the Bible is a Holy, Sovereign God chooses to work through sinful humanity to accomplish His Purposes for His Glory.

When we come to the Christmas narrative, it should not surprise us, the readers, that God is accomplishing his purposes through broken, sinful people for his glory, because that is what he has done from Genesis - Malachi. God will accomplish the salvation, redemption and transformation of a people for his own possession and God uses broken sinful people to bring about the one who will save them from their sins. God is in the business of turning sinners into servants of God. Although we see that Zechariah and Elizabeth, were righteous, God fearing people, they were still sinful people in need of a Saviour, we will also discover, Mary, who found favour in God’s sight, who was chosen to be the mother of Jesus, still needs Jesus to save her from her sins. One person said it this way, “God uses crooked sticks to make straight lines”

Open your Bibles to Luke 1 we will start in verse 26,

Luke 1:26–33 (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.

26 Y al sexto mes, el ángel Gabriel fue enviado por Dios a una ciudad de Galilea llamada Nazaret, 27 a una virgen desposada[o] con un hombre que se llamaba José, de los descendientes[p] de David; y el nombre de la virgen era María.

Pastor Alfredo reminded us Friday the precision of Luke’s writing, we see this in our passage as well. In the 6 month is referring to the 6 month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy and he tells us some important information:

We Learn that Mary was a virgin when the angel visited her, she was sexually pure.

She was betrothed to Joseph, they were commited to be married. Betrothal is more than engagement because in Jewish culture at the time in their culture it required a divorce if either party wanted to back out of the commitment.

Joseph was from the lineage of King David

Lets continue,

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.”

28 Y entrando el ángel, le dijo: ¡Salve, muy favorecida! El Señor está[r] contigo; bendita eres tú entre las mujeres. 29 Pero ella se turbómucho por estas[t] palabras, y se preguntaba qué clase de saludo sería este.30 Y el ángel le dijo: No temas, María, porque has hallado gracia delante de Dios. 31 Y he aquí, concebirás en tu seno y darás a luz un hijo, y le pondrás por nombre Jesús. 32 Este será grande y será llamado Hijo del Altísimo; y el Señor Dios le dará el trono de su padre David; 33 y reinará sobre la casa de Jacob para siempre, y su reino no tendrá fin.

Mary has the exact same reaction when the angel Gabriel visits her that Zechariah did, she was afraid. The angel tells her don’t be afraid, you have found favour with God, and you are going to conceive and bear a son this son’s name will be Jesus, which means the Lord saves. Jesus will be great and the Son of the Most High, he will be given the throne of David and will reign forever.

Now imagine Mary, who is a virgin, who is engaged to be married, she is told that she will give birth to a son, this son isn’t just any son, but I am sure she picked up on all the language the angel was using, the son she will give birth to will be the long awaited Messiah. The news the angel was giving her is that

God is choosing to work through Mary, to bring forth Jesus, the Saviour of the world.

Mary’s emotion immediately changes from fear to confusion, she is a young woman who is a virgin and not even married, yet she is going to give birth to the messiah. In Mary’s confusion she asks the angel

Luke 1:34–45 (ESV)

“How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

¿Cómo será esto, puesto que soy virgen?

Now the last time we read someone ask the angel a question, which was Zechariah, he became mute. So what is the difference between Zechariah and Mary? When you compare them, you will discover that Zechariah’s question was out of unbelief and Mary’s question is out of confusion. Zechariah was asking for another sign that God was going to accomplish what he said, Mary is asking for explanation, how can a virgin give birth to a son?

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.”

The Angel explains to Mary the child she will carry will be placed there by the Holy Spirit, this is the doctrine of the virgin birth, which is vital to the Christian faith because Jesus had be both God, because only God could save, redeem, forgive sinners, and provide the rightousness we as humans could not achieve. Jesus also had to be human to stand as a representative for humanity, and be the sacrifice which would satisfy the wrath God, which is what we learned in Romans 5, death came through Adam but life through Jesus. Through the virgin birth, we have Jesus who is 100% human and 100% divine, Jesus will be called holy and the Son of God, which are titles of divinity. But Jesus will also be a child and born, which describes Jesus’ humanity. The Angel explains a child is placed in a virgin by the Holy Spirit and Zechariah and Elizabeth will give birth to son even though they are barren and old because nothing is impossible with God.

Look at Mary’s response,

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 those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

38 Entonces María dijo: He aquí la sierva del Señor; hágase conmigo conforme a tu palabra. Y el ángel se fue de su presencia.

39 En esos días María se levantó y fue apresuradamente a la región montañosa, a una ciudad de Judá; 40 y entró en casa de Zacarías y saludó a Elisabet. 41 Y aconteció que cuando Elisabet oyó el saludo de María, la criatura saltó en su vientre; y Elisabet fue llena del Espíritu Santo, 42 y exclamó a gran voz y dijo: ¡Bendita tú entre las mujeres, y bendito el fruto de tu vientre! 43 ¿Por qué me ha acontecido esto a mí[aa], que la madre de mi Señor venga a mí? 44 Porque he aquí, apenas la voz de tu saludo llegó a mis oídos, la criatura saltó de gozo en mi vientre. 45 Y bienaventurada la que creyó que tendrá[ab] cumplimiento lo que le fue dicho de parte del Señor.

Wow…. there so much to talk about in this passage, that we can spend a few sermons on this portion of this passage. Today I want us to focus two things, The first is Mary’s submissive heart “Behold, I am a servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word”. Mary’s response to the message from the Lord is humble submission to God’s words. God, I am your servant, do with me what you will.

The good tidings of great joy of Christmas requires us to come under the authority and Lordship of Jesus Christ the Lord and that is counter cultural, especially in our individualistic society. We want to do things our own way, we don’t want no one telling us what to do, I will find my own truth by looking within, I will define who I am, I will define what I believe, this is our individualistic society, God requires that your response to the Lord, our response to the the good news of great joy, our response must be humble submission.

Second, look at what Elizabeth says about Mary, “blessed is she who believed”, we must believe God’s word. Mary is blessed because she believed. Zechariah was mute because of his unbelief.

I started to wonder why did Luke add Zechariahs and Mary’s questions to the angel, why is this important?

If you remember Luke is writing to a man named Theophilus, he is writing to him so that he may “have certainty concerning the things he has been taught” about Jesus and the Christian faith. Luke adds both these questions and experiences from Zechariah and Mary because he wants Theophilus to be thinking, will I doubt and question God’s word like Zechariah or will I humbly submit and believe God’s word like Mary? What about you? What will you do with the truths of Jesus? Will you doubt and ask for more signs from God? Or will you humbly submit and believe?

What we can learn from Mary, is even though she doesn’t fully understand God’s plans, she displays a submissive heart and she believes.

Mary and Elizabeth both praise God for the grace they have recieved to be servants of God, Elizabeth is grateful because the Mary has come to visit and she receives her with great joy because she is carrying the Lord. Even John in Elizabeths womb is leaping for joy. Mary also breaks out in song, which when I read Mary’s song and thought about our Christmas songs, I kind of laughed a little… because we sing

Silent Night Holy Night - When I read the Christmas narratives their doesn’t seem to be anything silent about that night, there seems to be chaos. Travelling to be counted in a census, no room in the inn, giving birth in a manger.

How about “Away in a manger” where we sing “the little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes” Now I wasn’t there, but i have experienced 6 babies in our household, there were many time I prayed Away in a Manger over my children, God please let them be like Jesus and “no crying they make”

How about the most beloved song “Mary did you know?” Well if we have payed attention today, she may have known the complete plans of God, but she did know the baby she was carrying would be the Son of God.

I love these Christmas songs, but sometimes they use creative license to express the Christmas story. Let’s read Mary’s song,

Luke 1:46–56 (ESV)

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 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. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

46 Entonces María dijo:

Mi alma engrandece al Señor, 47 y mi espíritu se regocija en Dios mi Salvador. 48 Porque ha mirado la humilde condición de esta su sierva; pues he aquí, desde ahora en adelante todas las generaciones me tendrán por bienaventurada. 49 Porque grandes cosas me ha hecho el Poderoso; y santo es su nombre. 50 Y de generación en generación es su misericordia para los que le temen. 51 Ha hecho proezas con su brazo; ha esparcido a los soberbios en el pensamiento de sus corazones. 52 Ha quitado a los poderosos de sus tronos; y ha exaltado a los humildes; 53 a los hambrientos ha colmado de bienes y ha despedido a los ricos con las manos vacías. 54 Ha ayudado a Israel, su siervo, para recuerdo de su misericordia 55 tal como dijo a nuestros padres, a Abraham y a su descendencia para siempre.

56 Y María se quedó con Elisabet como tres meses, y después regresó a su casa.

First notice her praise to God,

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

Mi alma engrandece al Señor, 47 y mi espíritu se regocija en Dios mi Salvador.

Her song lifts up God, she desires to make him great and she rejoices, why? She rejoices in God my Saviour, only sinners need saviours and Mary recognizes she is a sinner in need of a savior and the baby she is carrying will be the very one who would save, redeem and transform her. We must not miss the point of Mary’s story, the point is not look how great Mary is, but look how great and glorious God is, who chooses to save, redeem, transform sinners into servants to use them to accomplish God’s glorious purposes in this earth.

Look what she says

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.

desde ahora en adelante todas las generaciones me tendrán por bienaventurada. 49 Porque grandes cosas me ha hecho el Poderoso; y santo es su nombre.

All generation we call her blessed because of the great things God has accomplished through her and then she turns her praise back to God, your name is holy!

God is still saving, redeeming, transforming people, God is still turning sinners into servants to accomplish his purposes on this earth. If you are a believer you have been gifted with talents, treasures and gifts for the expansion of God’s local and global plans in this earth so that you can point people to the Lord and say look how beautiful he is, look how glorious he is, look at the tidings of great joy, that one in the city of David, a baby was born to save sinners and turn them into servants, this baby grew up and died on a cross he took the punishment of our sin, he paid the penalty and took the consequence so that all who turn from their sin and believe in him will be dressed in the rightousness of Christ and can have peace with God.

This Christmas, We should all join and sing “My soul magnifies the Lord and rejoices in God my Saviour” because he is Mighty, Holy and works through us to accomplish His purposes for His glory.

Christmas is good news of great joy because the Jesus Christ Our Saviour and Lord has been born, Jesus Christ the Lord who is strong and mighty to save, Jesus Christ the Lord who grants mercy to all who fear him, Jesus Christ the Lord who tears down the prideful and exalts the humble, Jesus Christ the Lord who is the promise fulfilled to Israel and Abraham.Jesus Christ the Lord who is the greatest sign, he is the evidence that God keeps his promises. Jesus Christ the Lord who conquered death, sin and satan and who brings life to those who repent and believe in him. Jesus Christ the Lord who transforms sinners into servants of the Most High God.