Greatness in the Kingdom

Introduction

Good morning, please open in your Bibles to Luke 1:26-45 that is Luke 1:26-45. If you are using on of the Bibles scattered throughout the chairs our passage this morning will be found on page 803.

In Mark 9 the disciples begin to argue about who is the greatest among them. Jesus catches wind of this conversation and so he decides to ask them about it. The disciples, embarrassed that Jesus found them out, don’t respond to him. So, Jesus like any good discipler in a fatherly kind of way decides it is time for an object lesson. He takes a child into his arms and says Mark 9:37 ““Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”” The message is clear, if you are to great in the kingdom of God, then you will not love greatest and power, rather you will love the meek and humble. In today’s text we encounter a young girl named, Mary. In our minds, most of us would consider Mary a child. She was probably between 13-15 years old when the angel Gabriel visits her. Now, 13 year olds in the 1st century where built a little differently from the 13 year olds of our day. They were not contemplating the meaning 6-7 in Mary’s day, but rather they would be considering how to be married, raise children, and honor their families. Yet, there is still the reality that Mary is a young and vulnerable woman. She is a young woman who is favored by God, a woman who will be called blessed for all generations according to Luke 1:48. She is an example of Christian faithfulness; an otherwise unknown woman, from an unknown small town who because of God’s work is made great. What does it mean to be great in the kingdom of God? What can we learn from Mary in regards to being favored by the Lord. Read Luke 1:26-45.

An Object of Grace v. 26-33

First we see that Mary was an object of God’s grace. The text introduces her as a virgin who is betrothed to a man named Joesph. Mary was promised to Joseph and they would have entered into a formal and legal arrangement in which her father would have been paid by Joseph’s family a bride price. Her family would be losing a helper in Mary, and so Joseph’s family would pay her family as a means to compensate for taking Mary into their family via marriage to Joseph. During this engagement period they would not be together physically, and in fact in Matthew 1:25 we are told the Joseph does not physically know Mary until after the birth of Jesus. “but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.” Yet, their engagement would only be ended through a process of divorce and any sexual contact with another person would considered adultery. Mary’s virginity is stated twice in this text, and later she we ask how can I have a baby since I am a virgin? Marry is a young and inexperienced woman from a small insignificant town. Nothing about her is impressive. In fact, even the reference to a relation to king David is not credited to Mary, but rather to her betrothed, Joseph.

Yet, this unimpressive woman is visited by and angel, who was sent from God. And this heavenely messenger meets her and and says, Luke 1:28 “…“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”” She is terrified at this meeting and is trying to understand what this is all about, and the angel, Gabriel continues, Luke 1:30 “… “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” How has she found favor with God? What had Marry done to find favor with God? Why did God choose Mary? The answer, we don’t know. This is really interesting because its not like Luke is prone to leave out these kinds of details. In the episode before this we meet Zechariah and Elizabeth, who the angel Gabriel also visits to tell them about a pregnancy announcement. And what do we learn about Zechariah and his wife? We learn that they are Luke 1:6 “And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” They are the kind of people you would assume that God would use. Zechariah is a priest, he married a woman from the right family. They lived according to God’s ways. They are the kind of people who God uses… But Mary? Mary is virtually unknown and unimportant. She is betrothed to a carpenter in a small inconsequential town. Who or what qualifies Mary to receive a visit from an angel and to carry the Messiah in her womb? God did. What is Mary? Mary is the object of God’s grace. The word favor in greek comes from the karis which, is often translated as grace. Grace is unmerited, or unearned favor. When Gabriel says that Mary is favored by God, he is simply saying that Mary is receipt of God’s grace. What makes Mary special? God chose Mary.

And what did God choose Mary for? Looking at verse 31-33, He chose her to conceive in her womb and bear a son. A son who would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High. A son who would receive the throne of David and reign on that throne and over that kingdom for eternity. Mary is being chosen to carry in her womb not just a prophet, not just a great high priest, not just a king but rather the great and awesome Prophet, Priest, and King who would be the hope of all the people in all of the world. The terminology used of Jesus in this text makes explicit that Marry would not carry an ordinary child in her womb, Mary, little Mary with no title, no declaration of righteousness, and no claim to glory on her own would carry God Himself.

Only God would be called great with no qualifier like Gabriel does of Jesus in this text. Only God would be called the Most High in all of the Old Testament. Only God sits on an eternal throne, exercises an eternal reign, and rules an eternal kingdom. Mary will carry in her womb the Savior of the world totally God and totally Man. She would birth him, nurse him, and name him Jesus. She would raise him and Mary would treasure him. And why does she get this honor and privilege?

Because in his grace, God chose Mary. In Ephesians 1:3–4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love” and Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Why do you and I get to enjoy every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places? Why do you and I get the honor of knowing and being known by Jesus Christ? Because God in his grace chose us. We don’t have any other qualifications. What does it mean to be great in the kingdom of God? It means that you have found favor with God, but not based on any merit of your own. Mary is favored and chosen for this task out of God’s sheer grace. You have been chosen as a child of God out of God’s sheer grace.

T/S- and what is the result of the angelic meeting for Mary? What is the result of our choseness by God’s grace? Mary submits to the impossible, She believes that the words of this angel will come to pass.

Submit to the Impossible v.34-38

Mary asks, Luke 1:34 “And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”” This is different from the question that Zechariah asks in the previous episode. Zechariah’s questioned whether or not the words of Gabriel would come to pass. Mary’s question assumes the words will come to pass, but she wonders about the mechanics. How can this impossible thing, a virgin, like herself, conceive a baby? She is not questioning if it will happen, but how it will happen. Zechariah questioned, How can I know this will come to pass? He did not respond in faith to the angel’s words. Mary did.

So, the angel does not punish her like he does Zechariah, but rather he answers he question. He explains that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her, and this overshadowing would result in her conception though she remains a virgin. The word used for overshadow is the same word used in the LXX (that is the greek translation of the OT) in Exodus 40:35 “And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” In the ESV, the word translated “settled” is what we are looking at. The nation of Israel has had a cloud, which represents the presence of God leading them through the wilderness throughout the book of Exodus. The cloud will at times settle outside of their camp and Moses will go and meet with the Lord. However, once the tabernacle, a mobile tent created to be a worship area for Israel, is created the cloud settles on the tabernacle. The glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle and this tabernacle becomes a dwelling place of God in the midst of the people. Here, the power of the Most High, like that cloud in the book of Exodus settles or overshadows Mary. And Mary is literally filled with the presence and glory of God as she conceives the Son of God. In John 1:14 tells us, “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.” In verse 17 the Word is identified as Jesus. So Jesus becomes flesh and dwelt amount us. The word dwelt is the word “tabernacled”. So, in Jesus coming to earth we see his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father… The glory of the Lord fills the tabnernacle in Exodus. Jesus tabernacles among us in John and we see his glory. Mary is filled with the Christ child through the overshadowing of the Spirit and power of God.

Thus, just like the tabernacle was holy because it was the dwelling place of God. So too, the child in Mary’s womb would be holy, the Son of God. He is totally God and totally Man. And you might like Mary, might be thinking but all of this is impossible. How can this possibly happen? How can a virgin conceive, how can Jesus be both God and Man? And the answer is that it is impossible for this to happen. Just like it is impossible for a barren woman to conceive. But God has already done that impossible task. Elizabeth was barren, unable to naturally have children. Yet, at the words of the angel of Gabriel she is now 6 months pregnant. Luke 1:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.””

And as Gabriel announces that nothing will be impossible with God Mary responds and says, Luke 1:38 “… “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” It is not Mary’s responsibility to bring about the virginal conception. God, by His Spirit, will bring this to pass. Her task is simply to submit herself to the Word of the Lord. This requires faith. The belief that God can do the impossible. Belief if the Trinity, requires our faith. The faith that God can do the impossible of being three in one. God brought about the virginal conception to show us that He does the impossible. That there is nothing impossible for Him. He can open the barren womb, he can make a virgin conceive, and He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He can be and was fully God and fully Man. Born a man from a virgins womb, conceived by the power of the Most High with no earthly father.

The birth of Jesus is a miracle. Luke is not only telling us how Jesus was born, but he is priming the engine for the rest of his narrative. He wants his friend to be certain that the Christian claims about Jesus are true. He is laying the foundation for the twin truths of Jesus’ deity and humanity. The rest of the book will put this on greater and greater display until the Son of God dies like a man, and raises from the dead, the Lord of life. Our responsibility is the hear the word of the Lord and like Mary respond in faith. You see, believing in the Word of God is the essential ingredient for greatness in the kingdom of God.

Believe God’s Word v. 39-45

Mary visits Elizabeth and when she enters the house and greets Elizabeth the baby in Elizabeth’s belly leaps for joy. Now, our kids kicked in the womb and it was pretty amazing, but I don’t know that they ever leaped. And as the baby leaps for joy, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaims with a loud cry, not a quiet whisper, but a loud cry… Luke 1:42–45 “…., “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.””

Elizabeth in the Spirit prophecies over Mary and calls her blessed. An ironic thing, because Mary’s pregnancy to the outside world will appear to be anything but blessed. She will be a pregnant engaged woman. Her betrothed will consider divorcing her… but a vision from and angel will convince him otherwise. She is in a comprising situation, and yet she is blessed. And not does she bless Mary, but Elizabeth blesses the fruit of her womb, the Christ child that is inside of her. She does not count herself as worthy to receive a visit from the mother of her Lord. Mary’s presence, because of her unmarried pregnancy, is an honor too great for Elizabeth. Why? Because Elizabeth believes the truth, not a false perception of the truth. No matter how plausible that false perception might be. It is more plausible to think she has pregnancy gas, not a baby leaping and Mary got herself pregnant through promiscuity, rather than a virginal conception. Yet, she is filled with the Spirit and with spiritual eyes (perception) she sees what is really going on! She sees the Mary is the mother of her Lord. Belief (a gift of the spirit), enables us to see the truth. So in the truth Elizabeth says, blessed is she who believed that there wold be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. She blesses Mary, Christ, and Mary’s belief.

In 2 Corinthians 4:3–6 Paul is discussing the need to declare the Gospel clearly and not try to dress it up. He says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Belief is necessary if we are to see what is true. And to believe we must submit ourselves before the Lord. This is a theme of the Christmas story in Luke. God shows those you are humble, the glory of Jesus, through miraculous and unexplainable circumstances. Mary and Elizabeth (women), Shepherds, an elderly prophet and a widow at the temple.. and We see this very in this passage!

There is an irony to Elizabeth’s words… Mary believed that what the angel said to her would come to pass. Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband, did not believe the words of the angel, and therefore he lost his ability to speak. All while his wife is blessing Mary and the Lord Jesus Christ, Zechariah is somewhere in this house… not talking. He still has another 3 months of silence! Elizabeth is only 6 months pregnant!

The story of John the Baptist’s conception alludes to the conception of Jesus. They have so much in common: both are announced by an angel, both Mary and Zechariah are troubled, both are miracles involve conceptions, both are instructed to name their kids something specific, both children will be great… but there are also noticeable differences between the two encounters.

Zechariah and Elizabeth are righteous and blameless that is they are qualified, Mary has no qualifications, just the favor of God, Zechariah is in the temple, in the holy place, in Jerusalem the most important place in Israel, Mary is rural and irrelevant Nazareth, Zechariah is priest married to a woman from a priestly line, Mary is an unmarried girl… But the most stark difference is their response the good news Gabriel brings them. Zechariah responds in unbelief, Mary believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.

You see greatness in the kingdom isn’t about status and security according to any earthly standard. Those who are great in the kingdom of God are those who believe the Word of the Lord. Those who submit themselves to Christ, who are humble because they are self-aware.

Conclusion

God could have brought Jesus into this world through any woman in Israel. He chose Mary, a young woman with no notoriety, no husband, from a non important place all because he favored her. He chose her in His grace. She is blessed among women, great in all generations, and honored by all who Christ their Lord. We would all respond like Elizabeth should she come visit us. Who am I that I should be greeted by the mother of my Lord? Mary is an example of what it looks like to be great in the kingdom of God. Where do you desire to be considered great? Do you wanna be great in career, a great parent, a great husband? Or do seek first the kingdom of God and being great before the Lord. A greatness that can only be found in first being a object of God’s grace. A person who knows they deserve nothing, but rather have been gifted faith by God’s sovereign choice. A person that submits themself to the impossible acts of God. Who knows that Jesus was totally God and totally man, born of a virgin, and the second person of the trinity, do you believe the that there will be fulfillment in the words spoken from the Lord? Do you believe there is a judgement coming? Do you believe that salvation from God’s wrath comes by faith in Christ by grace alone? Do you believe there is hope even when things seem hopeless? Do you believe God works all things together for the good of those who love him? Do you believe God is near the broken hearted? Do you believe that it is better to not gain the whole world and lose your soul? Do you believe that only those who build their house on the rock of Christ Word will stand when the storms come? Do you believe that better is one day in the courts of the Lord than a thousand elsewhere? Do you believe that in God’s presence there is fullness of joy? These are promises that God has made according to His word. Blessed is the man and woman who believes that there will be a fulfillment of the words spoken by the Lord. In this belief even the lowly will be made great in the kingdom of God.