God Will Send His Son

Luke 1 Verses 26 to 38 God Will Send His Son January 11, 2026 Lesson 2 Standing by His Word Class Presentation Notes AAAAAA

Background Scriptures: 

2 Samuel 7:13–17 (NASB95)

13     “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

14     “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men,

15     but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

16     “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

17     In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

Isaiah 7:14 (NASB95)

14     “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6–7 (NASB95)

   6          For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

   7          There will be no end to the increase of Hisgovernment or of peace,

On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness

From then on and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lordof hosts will accomplish this.

Main Idea:

· God would not just send a prophet: God would send Himself.

Study Aim:

· To understand that “Nothing is Impossible with God”

Create Interest:

· Luke 1:26–38 tells the story of Gabriel’s visit to Mary to announce another supernatural birth. Gabriel visits a virgin named Mary and announces that she will give birth to the Messiah, whom she will name “Jesus.” The conception will be miraculous. Gabriel also tells Mary of another unusual conception, referring to the pregnancy of Elizabeth.[1]

Lesson in Historical Context:

· What do we know about Mary? She was a Jewess of the tribe of Judah, a descendant of David, and a virgin (Isa. 7:14).She was engaged to a carpenter in Nazareth named Joseph (Matt. 13:55), and apparently both of them were poor (Lev. 12:8; Luke 2:24). Among the Jews at that time, engagement was almost as binding as marriage and could be broken only by divorce. In fact, the man and the woman were called “husband” and “wife” even before the marriage took place (compare Matt. 1:19 and Luke 2:5). Since Jewish girls married young, it is likely that Mary was a teenager when the angel appeared to her.[2]

· What is said about her is striking and sets before us a tremendous example of submissiveness to God’s will. Submissiveness to God is an absolute essential for every believer.

o Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel (v. 26).

o Mary was pure, a virgin (v. 27).

o Mary was highly favored by God (v. 28).

o Mary was very human (vv. 29–30).

o Mary was told she was to bear the Messiah (vv. 31–33).

o Mary was expected to believe the miraculous (vv. 34–35).

o Mary was encouraged to believe: “With God nothing is impossible” (vv. 36–37).

o Mary was submissive (v. 38).[3]

Bible Study:

Luke 1:26–30 (NASB95) God's Gracious Greeting

26     Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,

27     to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28     And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

29     But she was very perplexed at thisstatement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.

30     The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

· Mary was betrothed to Joseph. Betrothal lasted for a year and was quite as binding as marriage. It could be dissolved only by divorce. Should the man to whom a girl was betrothed die, in the eyes of the law she was a widow. In the law there occurs the strange-sounding phrase, “a virgin who is a widow.”

· In this passage we are face to face with one of the great controversial doctrines of the Christian faith—the Virgin Birth. The church does not insist that we believe in this doctrine. Let us look at the reasons for and against believing in it, and then we may make our own decision.

· There are two great reasons for accepting it.

o The literal meaning of this passage, and still more of Matthew 1:18–25, clearly is that Jesus was to be born of Mary without a human father.

o It is natural to argue that if Jesus was, as we believe, a very special person, he would have a special entry into the world.

· Now let us look at the things which may make us wonder if the story of the virgin birth is to be taken as literally as all that.

o The genealogies of Jesus both in Luke and in Matthew (Luke 3:23–38; Matthew 1:1–17) trace the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph, which is strange if Joseph was not his real father.

o When Mary was looking for Jesus on the occasion that he lingered behind in the Temple, she said, “Your father and I have been looking for you anxiously” (Luke 2:48). The name father is definitely given by Mary to Joseph.

o Repeatedly Jesus is referred to as Joseph’s son (Matthew 13:55; John 6:42).

o The rest of the New Testament knows nothing of the virgin birth. True, in Galatians 4:4 Paul speaks of Jesus as “born of woman.” But this is the natural phrase for any mortal man. (cp. Job 14:1; 15:14; 25:4).

· But let us ask, “If we do not take the story of the virgin birth literally, how did it arise?” The Jews had a saying that in the birth of every child there are three partners—the father, the mother and the Spirit of God. They believed that no child could ever be born without the Spirit. And it may well be that the New Testament stories of the birth of Jesus are lovely, poetical ways of saying that, even if he had a human father, the Holy Spirit of God was operative in his birth in a unique way.

· In this matter we may make our own decision. It may be that we will desire to cling to the literal doctrine of the virgin birth; it may be that we will prefer to think of it as a beautiful way of stressing the presence of the Spirit of God in family life.

· Mary’s submission is a very lovely thing. “Whatever God says, I accept.” Mary had learned to forget the world’s commonest prayer—“Thy will be changed”—and to pray the world’s greatest prayer—“Thy will be done.[4]

Thoughts to share at this point:

· I share with you William Barclay’s viewpoint because of my respect of his scholarship and know his heart from years of following his works.  In addition, I have class members who have honest questions for which I cannot produce answers on this side of Heaven.   Perhaps much like we have learned in 2025 from the healthy dialogues by Charlie Kirk and his organization with seekers or nay-sayers, we should be prepared to defend/explain our faith.

· As for me, I have no problem with Gabriel’s announcement and that fact that Mary and Joseph had no sexual relations prior to Jesus birth…thus the immaculate conception further demonstrates that “Nothing is impossible with God”….my God who created all things from nothing…including us as His loving creations/people to have fellowship with Him now and to eternity should be choose to believe and follow Him.

· FAITH…is a challenge we all face…Forsaking All I Trust Him.  I do!

· I submit the following to help you make your own decision.

What did the angel Gabriel say to Mary?

· Gabriel greeted Mary with “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28) He then reassured her, saying “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.”

· The angel’s central message announced her role in a divine plan. Gabriel told her she would conceive and bear a son to be named Jesus. He described the child’s identity and destiny—that he would be great, called the Son of the Most High, given the throne of his father David, and would reign over Jacob’s house forever with an endless kingdom.

· When Mary questioned how this could occur given her virginity, Gabriel explained that “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”  He also referenced her relative Elizabeth, who had miraculously conceived a son in her old age, and assured her that “nothing will be impossible with God.”

· Gabriel’s announcement drew on Old Testament imagery and promises that would have resonated with Mary’s Jewish faith. Everything Gabriel proclaimed found its source in God’s previous revelation through Hebrew Scripture and Jewish tradition, making his message intelligible to Mary, who as a devout Jewish woman knew the Lord and understood him as the Most High.[1]

· The angel’s words positioned the coming child within Israel’s messianic expectations while announcing something unprecedented—a virgin conceiving by divine power rather than human means.

[1] Thomas G. Weinandy, Jesus Becoming Jesus: A Theological Interpretation of the Synoptic Gospels (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2018), 10.

· Consider how God reached out to Mary through the angel Gabriel, demonstrating that He initiates contact even in the humblest of circumstances.

o This initial greeting dispels fear and emphasizes God's desire for intimate fellowship with humanity.

o This remind us that God's interventions often come unexpectedly, yet they are full of grace and intention.

o In moments of doubt or fear, believers are encouraged to rest in the assurance that God seeks them out personally, quelling fears with His presence.

What does ‘highly favored’ mean in Luke 1:28?

· The Greek word underlying “highly favored” in Luke 1:28 is kecharitōmenē (κεχαριτωμένη), which has “grace” (Greek: charis) at its root[1]. Rather than describing Mary’s personal qualities or virtue, this term indicates her status as a recipient of divine blessing. The word means “endowed with grace,” enriched with grace[2]—emphasizingwhat God has given to her rather than what she possesses in herself.

· The Greek word charitoo means “highly blessed” or “much graced,” and appears only one other time in the Bible, in Ephesians 1:6, not concerning Mary but concerning believers generally[3]. This parallel usage is significant: believers are highly favored not because of who they are, but because of where they are—in Christ[3]. Mary’s designation as “highly favored” similarly points to her position within God’s redemptive plan rather than to inherent personal merit.

· The phrase carries profound theological weight in its context. Mary is being greeted as one full of the grace of God and blessed among women[1]. The angel’s salutation encompasses multiple dimensions: the greeting “Hail” means “Joy to you,”[4] while declaring “The Lord is with thee” represents great gain—the presence of God, which wise people recognize as genuine blessing[4]. Together, these elements communicate that Mary has been chosen by God’s grace for a unique role in salvation history, not through her own worthiness but through God’s sovereign, gracious selection.

[1] Eve Tibbs, Seeing the Gospel: An Interpretive Guide to Orthodox Icons (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2025), 60. [2] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933). [See here.] [3] Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 297. [4] John G. Butler, Analytical Bible Expositor: Luke (Clinton, IA: LBC Publications, 2009), 18.

Luke 1:31–33 (NASB95) Glorious Gospel Announcement

31     “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

32     “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; 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 His kingdom will have no end.”

· Gabriel gave her the good news: she would become the mother of the promised Messiah whom she would name Jesus (“Jehovah is salvation”; see Matt. 1:21). Note that Gabriel affirmed both the deity and the humanity of Jesus. As Mary’s son, He would be human; as Son of the Highest (Luke 1:32), He would be the Son of God (Luke 1:35). “For unto us a Child is born [His humanity], unto us a Son is given [His deity]” (Isa. 9:6). The emphasis is on the greatness of the Son (cf. Luke 1:15), not the greatness of the mother.

· He would also be a King, inherit David’s throne, and reign over Israel forever! If we interpret literally what Gabriel said in Luke 1:30–31, then we should also interpret literally what he said in Luke 1:32–33. He was referring to God’s covenant with David (2 Sam. 7) and His kingdom promises to the people of Israel (Isa. 9:1–7; 11–12; 61; 66; Jer. 33).

· Jesus came to earth to be the Savior of the world, but He also came to fulfill the promises God made to the Jewish fathers(Rom. 15:14). Today, Jesus is enthroned in heaven (Acts 2:29–36), but it is not on David’sthrone. One day Jesus will return and establish His righteous kingdom on earth, and then these promises will be fulfilled.[5]

· This reveals God's faithfulness and His power to accomplish what seems unreachable. God's plans for salvation are both deeply personal and profoundly cosmic, prompting believers to trust in the ongoing fulfillment of His promises.

o As God brought forth His Son, believers can be affirmed that God is working through their lives to fulfill His kingdom purposes.

Luke 1:34–38 (NASB95) Mary's Miraculous Marvel

34     Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

35     The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

36     “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

37     “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

38     And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

· Whatever Luke (and Matthew) are trying to say with this story, they are simply reporting that Jesus did not have a father in the ordinary way, and that this was because Mary had been given special grace to be the mother of God’s incarnate self.

· The angel gives what looks like a double explanation for the whole event. The Holy Spiritwill come upon Mary, enabling her (as the Spirit always does) to do and be more than she could herself. But at the same time ‘the power of the Most High’ will overshadow her. This is something different: God himself, the creator, will surround her completely with his sovereign power.

· All this sounds extremely peculiar, but we should remember that in the Bible, and in Jewish and Christian thought at their best, the true God is the one in whose image humans were made in the first place. We aren’t talking about a pagan god intervening roughly and inappropriately in the affairs of mortals, but about the one who, as St Augustine said, made us for Himself.

o When he takes the initiative, it is always a matter of love, love which will care for us and take us up into his saving purposes.

§ Mary is, to that extent, the supreme example of what always happens when God is at work by grace through human beings.

God’s power from outside, and the indwelling spirit within, together result in things being done which would have been unthinkable any other way.

· Of course, no one is likely to be convinced of Luke’s story who isn’t already in some sense open to the possibility that Jesus, though certainly a fully human being, was also the one in whom Israel’s God had made his personal appearance on the stage of history.

o And it’s important to say that neither Luke nor Matthew (the two writers who speak about Jesus’ conception directly) suggest that this is the most important thing about Jesus.

o In all of Paul’s writings, he never mentions that there had been anything unusual about Jesus’ conception or birth. Jesus’ death and resurrection remain, for him, far more significant. But to those who have come to some kind of faith in the crucified and risen Jesus, whose minds are thus opened to God being uniquely present in him, there is a sense of appropriateness, hard to define, easy to recognize, about the story Luke and Matthew tell. It isn’t what we would have expected, but it somehow rings true.

· Far more important for the whole story, though, is the political or royal meaning Luke gives to the whole event.

o The child to be born will be the Messiah, the king of the house of David. God had promised David a descendant who would reign for ever—not over Israel only, but also the whole world. And this coming king would be, in some sense, ‘God’s son’ (2 Samuel 7:14; Psalm 2:7; Psalm 89:27).

§ As with a good deal of New Testament language about Jesus, this is both a huge theological claim (Jesus is somehow identified with God in a unique way which people then and now find it hard to grasp and believe) and a huge political claim(Jesus is the true ruler of the world in a way which leaves Caesar, and the powers of the world today, a long way behind).

· Put all this together—the conception of a baby, the power of God, and the challenge to all human empires—and we can see why the story is so explosive. Perhaps that’s one reason why it’s so controversial. Perhaps some of the fuss and bother about whether Mary could have conceived Jesus without a human father is because, deep down, we don’t want to think that there might be a king who could claim this sort of absolute allegiance?

· Whatever answer we give to that, we shouldn’t miss the contrast between muddled, puzzled Zechariah in the previous story and the obedient humility of Mary in this one. She too questions Gabriel, but this seems to be a request for information, not proof. Rather, faced with the chance to be the mother of the Messiah, though not yet aware of what this will involve, she says the words which have rung down the years as a model of the human response to God’s unexpected vocation: ‘Here I am, the Lord’s servant-girl; let it be as you have said.’[6]

· We, as viewers could be encouraged to emulate Mary's openness to God's purpose, understanding that nothing is impossible with God. The climax of this passage is Mary’s submission, which invites us to surrender our doubts and embrace God's call, confident that God equips us to do extraordinary things through His Spirit.   Grace and peace to you this day!

Questions to Ponder:

· How does Mary's response to God's call challenge our own responses to God's direction in our lives?

· How can we actively seek and recognize God's intervention in our daily challenges?

· What does this passage reveal about the nature of God's involvement in human affairs?

· In what areas of your life do you struggle to believe that nothing is impossible with God?  To help you please read the following😊

What does Luke 1:37 mean by ‘nothing will be impossible with God’?

· Gabriel’s statement emphasizes God’s unlimited power in response to what Mary perceived as humanly impossible[1]—her virginal conception of a child. The phrase operates on multiple levels in Luke’s narrative.

· First, God is not bound by the laws of nature that He created and can accomplish anything consistent with His holy nature and purposes[1]. This isn’t a claim that God operates without any constraints; the statement does not teach that God can do illogical things such as make square circles or create a stone too heavy for him to lift[2]. Rather, it affirms divine sovereignty over creation itself.

· Second, the declaration functions as reassurance grounded in precedent. Mary would have been familiar with the Old Testament account of Isaac’s birth to Abraham and Sarah, who were well beyond their childbearing years[1]. Gabriel’s reminder of what God had done in the past reassured Mary of His power to keep His word to her[1].

· Interestingly, the Greek text employs a pun based on the repetition of the noun “rhēma” (word/matter), with the repetition connecting the affirmation that nothing is impossible with Mary’s acceptance of the angel’s message to her[3]. This wordplay links God’s power to accomplish what He speaks.

· Beyond the immediate context, God only needs to speak in order for something to come to pass, and no word of God can fail[4]. The statement thus encompasses not merely isolated miracles but the reliability of all God’s promises—His commitments to guide, protect, and fulfill His purposes in believers’ lives remain certain regardless of present circumstances.

[1] John F. MacArthur Jr., Luke 1–5, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009), 59–60. [2] Darrell Bock, “Apologetics Commentary on the Gospel of Luke,” in The Gospels and Acts, ed. Jeremy Royal Howard, The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible (Holman Reference, 2013). [See here.] [3] James Parks, Wordplay in the Bible (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2021). [See here, here.] [4] Chris Tiegreen, The One Year Heaven on Earth Devotional: 365 Daily Invitations to Experience God’s Kingdom Here and Now (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Momentum, 2015). [See here.]

For a special reminder for your everyday life, I submit the following😊

· The promise “I will not leave you or forsake you” appears numerous times in Scripture, and it is consistently given when God’s children face challenging, new, or overwhelming circumstances. God never calls His children to a task or leads them into difficulty only to abandon them[1]. This faithfulness is not based on human righteousness, but on God’s own perfect nature. The central message is that God is with us forever because of His grace[1].

· While this promise does not guarantee exemption from trouble, it secures believers against desertion, ensuring God’s company, assistance, and provision through strange and difficult ways[2].

· Even when we stray, doubt, or mess up, God remains present to lift us up, offer hope, provide wisdom, and fully restore us[3]. Unlike people who may leave or desert us, God is fundamentally different - He cannot and will not abandon His children, as leaving them vulnerable or without comfort goes against His very nature[4].

[1] Paul David Tripp, Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018). [See here, here.] [2] Today in Christian History: Daily Devotionals (Christian History Institute, 2025). [See here.] [3] Boyd Bailey, The Way of Wisdom: A Journey towards Spiritual Growth (Atlanta: Wisdom Hunters, 2014). [See here.] [4] Michelle Nietert and Lynn Cowell, Strong and Secure: 100 Devotions for Young Women (Grand Rapids, MI: Zonderkidz, 2025), 204.

Christ Will Not Desert Us

· For He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”—Hebrews 13:5(ESV). Several times in the Scriptures the Lord has said he will never leave us. He has often repeated it, to make our assurance doubly sure. Let us never harbor a doubt of it. The promise is specially emphatic.

· In the Greek it has five negatives, each one definitely shutting out the possibility of the Lord’s ever leaving one of his people so that he can justly feel forsaken of his God. This priceless Scripture does not promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always have our Lord’s company, assistance, and provision.

· We need not covet money, for we shall always have our God, and God is better than gold, his favor is better than fortune. We ought surely to be content with such things as we have, for he who has God has more than all the world besides.

· What can we have beyond the Infinite? What more can we desire than Almighty Goodness? Come, my heart; if God says he will never leave you, nor forsake you, be much in prayer for grace, that you may never leave your Lord, nor even for a moment forsake his ways.

v About the author and the source Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) was an eminent and successful preacher who often suffered deep depression. In days of darkness, he clung to God’s promises. One of his most-beloved books consisted of daily readings based on promises that faith could rely upon: The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith. Charles H. Spurgeon. The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith. New York: American Tract Society, n.d.

Today in Christian History: Daily Devotionals (Christian History Institute, 2025).

[1]Douglas Mangum, ed., Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament, Lexham Context Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), Lk 1:26–38.

[2]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 172.

[3]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, The Gospel according to Luke, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1996), 15.

[4]William Barclay, ed., The Gospel of Luke, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1975), 12–13.

[5]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 172.

[6]Tom Wright, Luke for Everyone (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 9–12.