The Lord is with You, Luke 1:26-37 (Hope in a Manger, pt. 1)

Introduction: Google the term “famous birth announcements” and what pops up first is a list of celebrity birth announcements, some of them people I’ve never heard of before (and I’m kind of proud of that).

We’ve had three kids, & I don’t remember our birth announcements at all, or if we even had any. Other than calling our parents to tell them, I don’t remember sending out any kind of birth announcements, but I get why people do it. It’s exciting to share the joyful news that you are going to have a baby!

But not everyone is excited to have a baby. Sometimes people get pregnant when they aren’t trying, when they aren’t planning for it, when they think they can’t afford it (you never can anyway), or when they aren’t ready (you never are). Think about the unwed teen mom, the excitement almost certainly gives way to fear, it would be hard to celebrate a birth announcement like that. That’s the kind of birth announcement we get in Luke 1:26-37.

Luke 1:26-37, 26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by 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. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give 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.” 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”

If we put ourselves in the shoes of this young, unmarried, teen, soon to be a mom, how would we feel at an announcement like this? Fear, doubt, uncertainty. Especially if you knew you had never done the thing that it would take for you to be pregnant, it would seem impossible.

That’s the message we need from this text- when the Lord is with you, you don’t have to be afraid, because nothing is impossible for God.

1. God’s PRESENCE means you are Blessed. Vss. 26-28

This birth announcementhappened in the 6th month; the 6th month of what, the year? No, the 6th month of another pregnancy. This is the 2nd birth announcement in Luke 1, the first was given to an elderly couple past childbearing years, Zechariah & Elizabeth. They were to have a son named John who would become the forerunner of Jesus.

The same angel who made the birth announcement about John is sent to make the birth announcement about Jesus; his name is Gabriel. Hebrews 1:7, (God) “makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.” Hebrews 1:14says angels are “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation.” This angel Gabriel is a minister of God sent to a young girl named Mary. 2 things about Mary:

1st, Mary is a virgin, & 2nd, she is betrothed to a man named Joseph who was a descendant of King David. Joseph’s lineage will be important in the 2nd point, but for now let’s think about Mary. That Mary was a virgin is said twice in this verse to demonstrate that the miraculous conception of Jesus is an act of God. That she is betrothed to Joseph means she had been legally promised to him in marriage, most likely arranged by her parents. Betrothal was like an engagement period.

Let’s think about how Gabriel greets Mary- Rejoice (be glad); highly favored one, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women! Highly favored- to be the recipient of God’s freely bestowed grace & beneficent goodwill. Blessed- to be the object of divine favor, the word is eulogeo, Eng. eulogy, to speak well of someone.

From now on, Mary would be the subject of blessing among all women. In 1st century Judea, a female was considered a woman around 12 years of age. Mary was betrothed already, lasts about a year, & had a baby 9 months later. She was anywhere from 13-16 when she had Jesus.

I’ve known of a few unwed teen moms & I can’t remember anyone blessing or praising them for it, which highlights the uniqueness of this birth announcement. Mary isn’t blessed or praised on account of herself, but on account of her Son.

Her Son is the sign that the Lord is with you. 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.” Immanuel means “God with Us”. No matter what predicament you find yourself in, if God is with you, it means you are blessed.

2. God’s PROMISE means you are Favored. Vss. 29-33

Given Mary’s likely age & life situation, it’s no wonder that she was troubled (confused, greatly perplexed) at Gabriel’s appearance. It didn’t make any sense for this angel to come to her. He calmed her fears with the favor of God. For the 2ndtime he says she has been favored (graced) by God. When you have God’s favor you don’t need to be afraid.

Gabriel delivers the message from God: you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and shall call His name Jesus. We’ll come back to HOW in the 3rd point, for now let’s focus on the WHO. Who will this Son named Jesus be?

*He will be Great. Greatmeans remarkable, out of the ordinary in degree, magnitude, or effect. This Son will be an extraordinary person.

*He will be God’s Son.Son of the Highest (Most High), refers to the Most High God, the God of Israel, exalted & authoritative, the One & Only True God.

*He will be Given the Throne of David. The Lord God (Kyrios Theos) is the equivalent of YHWH Elohim (LORD God)in the OT. Father God will give to His Son the throne of His father David.Wait a minute, how many dads will this kid have? Two dads- God & Joseph

His Father David- is a way of saying that Joseph, Jesus’ earthly adopted father, was a legal descendant of King David, an heir to David’s throne.

God promised David that he would always have a descendant on his throne. 2 Samuel 7:16, your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.

Here’s what happened- after David died, his son Solomon succeeded him as king. Because Solomon disobeyed God, after his death, when his son Rehoboam became king, God tore the kingdom in two- 10 tribes became Israel (northern kingdom) & 2 tribes became Judah (southern kingdom). Both kingdoms trended further & further away from God, led by evil kings. Eventually the northern kingdom was wiped out by the Assyrians, & the southern kingdom was invaded by the Babylonians. They destroyed the temple and led the people off into captivity. The kings were cut off. 70 years later, under Persian rule, a remnant of the Jews was allowed to go home to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple & the city. The OT closes with the book of Nehemiah, having rebuilt the city, tried to reform the people, & it didn’t really work. It all seemed quite hopeless.

God was silent for 400 years. During those 400 years the Persians fell to the Greeks, & the Greeks to the Romans. When the NT opens, Judea (Judah) is under Roman occupation. God broke the silence when He sent Gabriel to Zechariah to announce that he & his aged wife Elizabeth were going to have a son, John, who would be the forerunner of the Messiah. He then sent Gabriel to a young, unwed but engaged virgin named Mary to tell her that she also was going to have a Son, & He would be the Messiah. He would sit on the throne of David (unoccupied for over 500 years) and reign over the house of Jacob (Israel)forever. This Child will occupy David’s throne, unite Israel, & reign as King forever.

This Child is exactly Who God promised in Isaiah 9:6-7,For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lordof hosts will perform this. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. His promise is a sign of His favor for you.

3. God’s POWER means it is Possible. Vss. 34-37

It should be no surprise that Mary is shocked, & not just because of the message, but because of what it means.

She questions how it is possible that she can have a baby since she has never been with a man. Gabriel explains the Mechanics of the Miracle that will bring about the Messiah.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you

God’s power will overshadow you

The Holy One born to you will be God’s Son

All three persons of the Trinity are involved in the conception of Jesus. That God is a Trinity is one of the most difficult Christian doctrines because there is no way to completely understand or explain it. There is One God, who exists in 3 Persons, each person of the Trinity is distinct from one another, & each Person of the Trinity is God. God has revealed Himself as a Triune God- Father, Son, & Spirit, but He is only One God.

In the miraculous conception of the God-man Jesus Christ, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to cover Mary with His power, placing within her the Eternal Son who is Jesus. Say what? How is this even possible?

It’s possible because God has all the power. He is omnipotent, He can do anything. It’s possible because the Son is willingly subordinate to the Father & became a man. Philippians 2:5-8, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

It’s possible because the Father and the Son send the Spirit wherever & to whomever He needs to go. E.g., vs. 36: if God can make an elderly woman, Elizabeth, who was called barren to be able to have a son in her old age; then God can take this little virgin girl who’s never been with a man & put His Son in her. With God’s power, anything is possible.

That’s a message we need this Christmas. I don’t know what situation you find yourself in- what dark, bleak, seemingly hopeless situation you are faced with this Christmas season, but whatever it is, turn to Jesus.

The message of this miracle is that when the Lord is with you, you don’t have to be afraid, because nothing is impossible for God.