Luke 1:26-38: The Gospel of Christmas

Scripture Reading

Luke 2:8–11 “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Isaiah 9:6–7 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

Intro

We all love The story of Christmas.

The Manger… the Star… the shepherds and wise men…

The angels proclaiming peace and goodwill toward men…

But the story of Christmas is so much more than the nativity we all set up in our house.

Its so much more than just that Christmas night.

The Birth of Christ… Christmas… is ultimately the celebration of the Gospel itself.

With Christmas the Eternal Son of God became a man… He took on human flesh to do what we could never do ourselves… save us from our sins.

He emptied Himself to be born as one of us… to live as one of us… and to ultimate die as one of us in our place for our sins.

The story of Christmas is the Great Proclamation of the Gospel of God’s love and amazing grace.

2000 years later the manger still speaks.

and 2000 years later the Star of Bethlehem still proclaims that Jesus is true gift of Christmas.

We are going to have two points today looking at the Christmas story from Luke 1:26-38… the Gospel of Christmas and what we are truly celebrating this time of year.

Number 1… Christmas proclaims the Glorious love of Christ

And number 2… Christmas proclaims the Almighty Grace of God.

Let’s start with point number 1…

I. Christmas Proclaims the Glorious Love of Christ

Luke 1:26–29 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. 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.

The story of Christmas starts with an angel sent from God, and it is so easy to just brush over that.

Of course Gabriel was sent from God… where else are angels supposed to come from.

But the emphasis here is on God’s initiative.

Gabriel was sent by God Himself.

God had sent an angel to announce the birth of Christ… to announce the birth of His own Son.

All the longing… all the hope… ever since the Fall at the Creation of the World was finally here.

God had sent the angel and was breaking into human history to save His people from their sins!

It says in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth.

This is a historical time and place.

The birth of Christ… His gospel and His salvation… its not a fairy tell… its not make believe.

Its not, “Once upon a time.”

Its true history!… Jesus Christ really did live and die.

The Eternal Son of God really did become a man…

He walked this earth… breathed our air…

He’s no fantasy… He’s a true, historical, living person.

And He was born of a virgin from a virgin’s womb.

And the virgin’s name was Mary.

Rejoice

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

The word Greetings is literally the word “Rejoice.”

The very first word of the great proclamation of Christ is a command to rejoice with great joy.

The very joy that Christ Himself was born into the world to give! (John 15:11).

Well… Mary was obviously a little freaked out… she was greatly troubled…

I mean… this angel just shows up in her room and says “Greetings!”

And so…

Luke 1:30–33 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

Now this sometimes get incorrectly translated as Do not be afraid, Mary, full of grace.

Catholics will use this to justify praying to Mary as one who dispenses grace or has special access to grace as the Mother of Christ.

But Mary is a recipient of grace…

Found favor is literally found grace with God.

Mary receives God’s grace and unmerited kindness just like all of us.

Yes, Mary was a remarkable woman. Holy and obedient.

The last verse in our passage when Mary was about to face all the shame of unwed pregnancy says “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38).

However… what Mary shows us is that we all need grace.

Our only hope is grace.

Grace that is given in Christ.

Verse 31…

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.”

Davidic Covenant

When it says, “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,” what that’s saying is that Christ is the Messianic King and the long-promised fulfillment and hope of the Davidic Covenant.

In the Old Testament… God made a promise to Abraham.

Genesis 22:15–18 By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (cf. Galatians 3:8, Galatians 3:16, Genesis 12:3).

This blessing… according to Galatians 3:8… is justification by faith… its salvation and eternal life.

And this “offspring” throughout the Old Testament is narrowed down again and again and again.

He would come from Isaac… not Ishmael… this offspring would be the Son of the Promise.

He would come from Israel, not Esau.

He would come from Judah and not one of the other tribes of Israel.

Until ultimately He would come from the line of David to bring the promised blessings to all of God’s people (2 Samuel 7:8-13, see also Sermon: Cole Shinall, Psalm 132: Christ in the Psalms: The Hope for a King).

And so all of Israel’s History is waiting on this King.

Where is the One God promised would save us… deliver us?

Lead us… Give us rest.

Where is the One who would build God’s Forever Temple and Reign Forever to usher in the forever life… blessings… promises… rest… and peace of the New Covenant?

Where is the King who would restore the Kingdom of God and make all things new?

And the angel says Jesus.

He is the Son of David and the Promised blessing to all nations.

Son of the Most High

But He wouldn’t just be the Son of David… the angel says You shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.

He would not just be David’s Son… He would be God’s own Son.

The Doctrine of the Incarnation says that Jesus is Truly and Fully God and Truly and Fully Man., and we see the Doctrine of the Incarnation here.

The Son of the Most High speaks to Jesus’ Divinity whereas You shall call His Name Jesus speaks to His humanity.

As the Son of the Most High Jesus is the Eternal Son of God incarnate in human flesh.

The way the 1689 London Baptist Confession says it is “The Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, is truly and eternally God. He is the brightness of hte Father’s glory, the same in substance and equal with Him. He made the world and sustains and governs everything He has made” (1689 8:2).

John 1:1 says In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made… 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 (John 1:1-3, 14).

As the Son of the Most High Jesus is uniquely God’s Son… He is God’s only begotten Son.

Not that He was created but that He is God’s unique… one of a kind… only beloved Son (Genesis 22:2 and John 3:16).

Jesus is God Himself.

As Christians we worship God as Trinity… One God eternally subsisting as Three Divine Person Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… coequally and coeternally God.

You say, “That makes my brain hurt!”

It should God is infinitely beyond us… if He wasn’t, who would we worship.

And as the Word and Son of God, Jesus is:

The image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

The radiance of His glory (Hebrews 1:3).

The only Begotten, Beloved Son from all eternity in whom the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9).

The Only True God and the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

He will be called great and the Son of the Most High.

Jesus is God.

Jesus

But the angel also says You shall call His name Jesus.

Jesus is Christ’s uniquely human name.

It was not revealed until His incarnation.

Throughout the whole Old Testament the name of Jesus is never mentioned once until right here where the eternal Son of God took on human flesh.

Christ’s Humanity speaks to His work as our Mediator.

As our Prophet, Priest, and King.

As Prophet He reveals God’s glory and God’s will for our salvation… where will we go? You alone have the words of Eternal Life (John 6:68).

As Priest He laid down His life as a sacrifice and intercedes on our behalf.

And as King He conquers all our enemies and rules over all to the Salvation and Blessing of His people.

As Mediator… Jesus is our Savior.

In fact Jesus’ Name means “The Lord God Saves.”

Matthew 1:21 You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Jesus bore our flesh to bear our sins.

He took on our flesh and lived a perfect and sinless life as a man.

He fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the Law for us.

He kept God’s Law on our behalf.

And then He died in our place for our sins.

He bore the wrath of God that our sins justly deserved and became a curse for us (Galatians 3:10).

He died in our place as a man and gave His life as a perfect, sinless substitute that by His active obedience in keeping the Law and His passive obedience in bearing the curse of the Law on our behalf… for the wages of sin is death… Christ reconciled us to God.

We are justified… declared righteous… by grace through faith in Him.

God accepts us and God forgive us on the works and merits of Christ.

That’s why the Bible says all our righteousness is in Him.

Christ is our righteousness because the Eternal Son of God became a Man to save us from our sins.

You don’t have the Gospel if you don’t have Christmas.

Love of Christ

But here’s what usually gets lost in Christmas and the Doctrine of the Incarnation.

We spend all of our time talking about the Doctrinal Truth… and Fidelity… and the Mystery!

How is Christ both Truly and Fully God and Truly and Fully Man?… One Person with two whole, perfect, and distinct natures without any confusion or mixture of the two? (1689 8:2).

Again… God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts? (Isaiah 55:8-9).

But what usually gets lost is Christ’s love.

Christmas proclaims the Love of Christ.

The Doctrine of the Incarnation should not be Doctrine for Doctrine’s sake.

We see this when we contrast the juxtaposition of the Son of the Most High and You shall call His Name Jesus.

Jesus left the glories of Heaven…

His own glory in the presence of the Father that He shared with the Father before the world existed (John 17:5).

The worship of the Angels…

All to suffer and die as a man.

Philippians 2:6–8 Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Emptied Himself does not mean that Christ ever stopped being God or set aside His divinity.

It means He humbled Himself… nullified Himself.

Debased Himself and made Himself nothing all to save us from our sins.

We see the Love of Christ in the Humility of Christ in taking on our flesh in His incarnation.

No one was ever made so low because no one ever came from so high.

For the Eternal Son of God to become a Man was an infinite condescension.

Debt

Imagine if someone came and paid off all the debt on your house.

You would be overwhelmed by the benevolence of it… the kindness of it.

They didn’t have to do that.

And in fact the more someone goes out of their way to help us the more grateful we are for it.

And there is no farther “out of the way” then heaven to earth.

And Christ didn’t just pay the debt on our house… He paid an infinite debt that we could never hope to pay on our own.

And that house debt example even falls short because its not just some rich benefactor that pays for it and goes on His way.

Christ paid for it by laying down His own life… by His own death even death on a cross!

Christ left heaven to die for you!

Think how low Christ made Himself to save you.

How far down the Eternal Son of God reached to pull your life out of the pit (Psalm 103:1-3).

The incarnation is the love of Christ in action to save you from your sins.

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came… from where? Heaven to earth… to seek and to save the lost.

Matthew 20:28 The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

And Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

Don’t miss the love of Christ in the glory of Christmas.

The babe in the manger is not just God coming to earth.

He’s God’s love for you!… God’s love to save you!

Great Puritan theologian Thomas Watson asks what does the incarnation show us about the Love of Christ?

“He was [made] poor, that He might make us rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). He was born of a virgin, that we might be born of God. He took our flesh that He might give us His Spirit. He lay in the manger that we might lie in paradise. He came down from heaven that he might bring us to heaven. And what was all this but love?

…Behold the love that surpasses all knowledge! (Ephesians 3:19; Watson, A Body of Divinity, Banner of Truth, 2021, 196).

Christmas proclaims the Love of Christ.

Number 2…

II. Christmas Proclaims the Almighty Grace of God

Luke 1:34–35 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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.”

When we come to the Virgin Birth we come to one of the most amazing miracles of our faith.

One that is mocked and ridiculed by the world.

Why?

Because that’s not how babies are born.

You need a mom and a dad… the birds and the bees… everyone knows that.

A virgin birth… from a human perspective is absolutely impossible.

And so… because of that… people try to downplay the miraculous conception of Christ.

They think its too fantastic… too preposterous… to impossible to believe so they try to water down our faith.

They’ll say well Christ wasn’t really born of a virgin… the word virgin means young girl.

However if you take what Mary literally says in the Greek she says, “How will this be, since I know no man?”

The Virgin Birth is absolutely essential to our faith… meaning you can’t be said and deny it.

Word

For one… it would say that the Word of God is not true.

The Gospels repeatedly say that Jesus was born of a virgin.

And if you get rid of the virgin birth… what else do you have to throw out?

What other parts of the Bible do you get to pick and choose?

Do you just get to throw out any part that you don’t like.

When it comes to the Bible we either believe all of it or we believe none of it.

Its the Word of God.

Incarnation

In addition… the virgin birth is essential to the Gospel itself.

If Christ had been born with two human parents number 1 it would have been hard to believe He really was the Son of God.

Original Sin

But Number 2… He would have inherited Adam’s Original Sin.

When we talk about Original Sin that’s a Doctrine that says through Adam we inherit Adam’s Guilt and condemnation before God and Adam’s corrupted Sin Nature.

We are all born dead in our trespasses and sins.

We are all born as children of wrath… Guilt… and slaves of sin… Sin Nature (Ephesians 2:3, John 8:34).

This Doctrine comes from the book of Romans that says Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned… [and] one trespass led to condemnation for all men… [and] by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners (Romans 5:12, 18-19).

This is every human being ever born in Adam.

But by His Virgin Birth Jesus was kept from this guilt and original sin.

Not that Mary wasn’t sinful or that women somehow have nothing to do with passing on original sin.

Covenant Headship

To understand this you have to think Covenantally.

Why is Adam’s guilt and sin transferred to us?

Because he is our father and he sinned as our representative and Covenantal Head.

We share in his guilt because Adam… as our father… represented us and sinned before God under the Covenant of Works.

And so Jesus… by being born of a Virgin… has no earthly, biological father.

Like the first Adam… He is… like Luke says… the Son of God (cf. Luke 3:38).

He did not have Adam as His Covenant or Federal Head.

He was a New Adam!… the beginning of a new Creation.

He was born in the likeness of sinful flesh… that’s Romans 8:3… and yet, Hebrews 4:15, he was without sin.

Through the Virgin Birth Jesus was able to be descended “from Adam “without ever being “in Adam.”

That’s why Luke says the Child will be called holy - the Son of God.

He had no sin… he had no guilt of His own.

By being born of a virgin Jesus really was a man who could offer His life as a sacrifice for our sins.

It was man that sinned against God… it was man that owed the debt.

But no man could pay it because God’s holiness demands man’s perfect righteousness.

The wages of sin is death and none of us could atone for our own sin (Romans 6:23).

But Jesus as the New and Perfect Adam could pay for our sin and as the Son of God could offer His life as a pure and spotless sacrifice.

This is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

And the Passage we looked at earlier in Romans 5:18–19 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

In Adam… you are condemned… a slave… dead in your trespasses and sins.

In Christ you are free and forgiven and you are given the gift of Eternal Life.

Overshadow

And the Virgin Birth itself even points to this.

When Mary asks, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” the angel says The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Now Jesus’ birth was not carnal in anyway.

It was a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

But the language Gabriel uses that the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High will overshadow you goes back to Creation and God’s glory filling the Tabernacle.

Creation

In Genesis 1:2 it says And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Tabernacle

And in Exodus 40 God’s glory overshadowed or settled on the Tabernacle… the same word we have here (Exodus 40:35).

Connection to Christ

So what does all that mean?

That the Spirit’s work in the Birth of Christ says that Jesus is the New Adam of a New Creation… we just looked at that…

And that He is the True Tabernacle and Tent of Meeting where we draw near to God and our sins are forgiven.

The good news of the Gospel itself… the good news that God saves us by His almighty, sovereign grace.

Grace Alone

As we said… the Virgin Birth was a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

It was not by human work or effort.

It was not as if a man and woman came together and all of a sudden created a Savior.

God alone brought it about by His grace and His power.

In the same way… none of our salvation is through any kind of human work or effort.

There is nothing we can do to save ourselves.

We can’t work enough… obey enough… sacrifice enough to save our selves from even one of our sins.

All of our salvation…just like the virgin birth… is by God’s almighty grace and power.

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.

We are saved by Grace Alone through Faith Alone in Christ Alone… not human works or efforts.

Almighty Grace

And where it is impossible for us to save ourselves… God in His mercy and in His grace saves us in His Almighty Grace in Power.

Luke 1:34–37 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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 virgin birth is impossible.

The very thought of it is impossible.

Who has ever heard of someone being born of a virgin?

And that is precisely the point.

How can someone be born of a virgin?

Nothing will be impossible with God.

That’s the angel’s answer.

And that’s God’s own answer for us for How might we be saved?

This isn’t the last time this idea comes up in the Gospel of Luke.

In Luke 18 a rich young ruler comes to Jesus and asks, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit Eternal Life? (Luke 18:18).

And Jesus’ answer is You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” (Luke 18:20).

Essentially… Jesus gives Him the Law.

Well, doesn’t Jesus know the gospel?

Yes!… He’s essentially telling the man… perfect righteousness.

That’s the only way you can be saved and have Eternal Life.

Jesus was trying to show the man his sin.

But the man says, I’ve done all that.

And so Jesus says to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor… and come, follow me” (Luke 18:22).

In other words… believe in me…

Give up your life… die to yourself… and live all of your life following me.

And that man when away very sorrowful because he was very rich.

He kept all the commandments except for Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and you shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3).

When the Disciples saw all this, they asked, Who then can be saved? (Luke 18:26).

To which Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (Luke 18:27).

We cannot save ourselves, but God alone has the power to save.

How can someone be born of a virgin?

How can a dead men live?

That’s more impossible than a virgin birth.

How can sinners ever be made right with a holy and infinite God?

By God’s Almighty grace…

Nothing will be impossible with God.

Christmas Proclaims the Almighty Grace of God.

The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

And we cannot save ourselves.

As Jesus said, You must be born again (John 3:3-8).

And just as with the virgin birth, the only way to be born again is through the supernatural work of God’s grace and the Holy Spirit.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God… That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:3, 6).

The only way to be saved is by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ.

That’s why the angel said You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

We are not saved by Human works or effort.

The Virgin Birth, theologically, is a reminder that we are saved by God’s Almighty power and grace.

Gospel Call

So if you are here today and you are not saved… if you have not died to yourself and trusted in Christ…

Don’t go this Christmas without opening the greatest gift of all… God’s grace in Christ.

Believe in Him… Trust in Him… and He will give you Eternal Life.

How? Pray God… be merciful to me a sinner.

I believe Jesus that you are the Son of God and died for my sins.

My life is yours… will you please save me?

And God will give you grace in Jesus Christ.

A free gift and the best gift you could ever receive.

Conclusion

The story of Christmas really is the Great Proclamation of the Gospel.

Its the Love of Christ in humbling Himself in His incarnation.

He left the glories of heaven and took on Himself our flesh and blood (Hebrews 2:14).

He emptied Himself and made Himself the lowest of the low all to save even the lowest sinner.

And He did it all out of His great love for us to save us from our sins.

And in the Virgin Birth we see the good news of God’s almighty Grace.

His power to do what is impossible for us to do ourselves.

Who then can be saved?… What is impossible with man is possible with God.

The true gift of Christmas is the Gospel of God’s love and grace.

Let’s Pray