The Angel and Mary

Last week’s text and today’s lesson provide us with a setting that is easy to write-off as “I’ll never need that.” After all, what is the likelihood that an angel will appear to us physically? And IF an angel appears, what are the chances that any one of us will be told that we will supernaturally conceive and bear the Son of God?

While these situations are indeed unlikely and unexpected, I believe all Scripture is profitable and that today’s verses specifically provide a unique invitation to participate in God’s work in our world.

Gabriel Speaks to Mary (Luke 1:26-27)

Luke 1:26–27 ESV:2016

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from 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. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Contrast (v.26)

1. In the previous section Gabriel appears to a man in the city who is surrounded by crowds.

2. In this section Gabriel appears to a woman in an obscure village.

The Characters (vv.26-27)

1. Gabriel, whom we met last week, is one of only 2 angels who is named in the Old or New Testaments. The other one is Michael. [Some find a 3rd angel who fell before the creation of earth by comparing Isaiah 14, Ezek 28, & Rev. 12. His name is Lucifer]

2. Rather than give a name then a description, Luke describes her before giving her name. This underscores her humility and obscurity.

3. Fiancé of Joseph,

a. They were “half-married” which would give legal standing to his eventual heirs.

b. Betrothal was more than our engagement, it was a legal standing that permitted opportunity for husband to prove his ability to provide and bride an opportunity to prove chastity.

This gap between betrothal and consummation is a beautiful picture portrayed in Matt 25 with the story of 10 brides waiting for their groom and is an Illustration of the Church today where we are fully secure in our salvation, yet we eagerly anticipate the day when Jesus will come again to receive us unto Himself that where He is, we may be also.

Transition: Once we know the characters of this drama the next verses reveal the plot.

Gabriel States to Mary (Luke 1:28-37)

Luke 1:28–37 ESV:2016

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And 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 bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 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. 36 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. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

The Salutation (vv.28-30)

1. While Zech saw the angel and was troubled, in Mary’s case the interaction begins with a greeting. “Grace to you, O one who has received Grace”

2. Mary’s response to this appearance and greeting is confusion (not doubt, as in Zechariah). The trouble experienced by Zech is doubled in Mary, greatly troubled.

The holidays can be troubling and often reveal deep emotion. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a statistically proven phenomenon. Stress over expectations, Grief over loved ones who are no longer with us, Physiology of decreased Vitamin D from lessened sunlight, Discouragement in the way others treat us, and clinical Depression all escalate during the winter months. All of these emotions can contribute to greater isolation and deeper hurt.

3. God’s solution for trouble/confusion is Grace.

Mary is about to receive freely the special favor of God. She is a picture of those who receive God’s grace on the basis of his kind initiative[i]

The Son (vv.31-33)

1. Who He will be

· His name will be Jesus – MT 1:21 (when Angel appears to Joseph) give the significance of this same. “He will save his people from their sins.”

2. What He will do

a. Great (John will be “great before the Lord”, Jesus will be great everywhere and for everyone)

b. Son of God (essence of sonship, not source)

c. Throne of David (in a time when Judea was occupied by Rome, God renews the promise that He will rule them directly)

Luke will make much of Davidic descent in this section. The house of David is mentioned in 1:69, the city of David and his house in 2:4, and the city of David in 2:11. Luke’s genealogy goes through David in 3:31[ii]

d. Eternal reign (no time)

e. Limitless kingdom (no boundaries)

Nothing will overcome Jesus or bring a halt to his reign. Luke–Acts makes clear that neither official Jewish rejection nor crucifixion will stop the plan of God for his Davidic king.[iii]

The Snag (v.34)

1. Soon or eventually? The Angel’s prophecy could be fulfilled through an eventual son of Joseph. But Mary gets the sense that this may happen immediately and her current situation did not permit for pregnancy.

Mary does not currently know a man and thus cannot expect to be pregnant. She understands normal biology![iv]

2. Mary’s virginity reveals 2 truths. 1) her morality in that she had not known her fiancé, and 2) God’s protection in that she had never been violated by Roman soldiers.

3. Zechariah’s how was tainted by doubt (Gabriel gives us this insight in v.20), but Mary’s how is more about curiosity & timing.

The Strategy (v.35)

1. In last week’s announcement we saw that God intervened and blessed human activity. In this week’s pronouncement, God supercedes any human involvement and does a divine, creative act.

Luke sought to teach that since Jesus’ birth was entirely due to the “overshadowing” of the Holy Spirit, Jesus would be uniquely set aside for God’s service, i.e., he would be “holy.”[v]

2. The 3rd person of the trinity arrives, the power of the 1st person of the trinity covers her, and the 2nd person of the trinity is given a name.

The Sign (v.36)

1. Without Mary asking for a sign, Gabriel provides one

2. God’s goodness to others and in our past is a great faith-builder that we can trust Him to continue to act in the future.

3. If God could do the impossible for Elizabeth, Mary could trust that God can do the impossible for her as well.

The Statement (v.37)

· Sometimes God intervenes in human activity. Sometimes God acts independent of human. Whenever our requests do not come to pass, it is NEVER due to God’s inability!

The Creator God who brought life out of nothing and created humans from the dust is also able to create human life in a womb.[vi]

Transition: The Angel tells a detailed and magnificent story. All that is left is to consider Mary’s response to it…

Mary Submits to God’s Plan (Luke 1:38)

The Surrender (v.38)

1. Mary’s surrender would involve physical and emotional costs.

a. Her relationship with her parents would be tested.

b. Her betrothal with Joseph would be endangered

c. Her reputation in the community would be jeopardized

2. Mary places the risks on one side of the balance and the reward of being favored by God on the other. She then reaches the only logical conclusion.

3. Mary used the word servant - pertaining to being under someone’s total control,[vii]

4. Mary humbly and without reservation aligns herself with God’s plan.

Transition: As I mentioned in the introduction, it is extremely unlikely that any of us will ever find ourselves in exactly Mary’s situation, so what do these verses say to us? I observe…

Conclusion:

3 Certainties/1 Question

· Jesus’ conception was unique

Mary was just in asking “How will this be?” because all of the realities that have been present in every other human pregnancy were not present when Mary conceived Jesus. The birth of Jesus was a divine creative act by Almighty God.

· God is able to bring His word to pass

Our world is full of uncertainty. Health, finances, employment, relationships, and politics are just a few of the domains where we are uncertain about 2020.

Yet, amid all these questions, God remains sure; He is still sovereign; He is still at work in the human experience; And His love is still calling out for our humble and faithful cooperation.

· God’s grace touches human lives

Although mankind has rebelled against God’s plan and rule and we are all sinners by birth and by choice, God chose to initiate an act of grace by sending Jesus to pay our sin penalty and restore current and eternal relationship with God.

God’s grace leaves us in the same predicament as Mary.

· How will you respond to God’s grace?

Today some of us will leave this building unchanged by the reminder that God is graciously calling us to humbly surrender to His plan.

Some of us will hear this message, repent of selfishness and renew our surrender to God’s plan.

And it just may be that some of us this morning will surrender for the first time to God’s redemptive plan by confessing 1) I know that I’m a sinner and I’m sorry. 2) I believe that Jesus died as the full penalty for my sin. 3) I surrender to His plans and direction for my life from this day into eternity.

[i] Darrell L. Bock, Luke: 1:1–9:50, vol. 1, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1994), 111.

[ii] Ibid., 115.

[iii] Ibid., 117.

[iv] Ibid., 118.

[v] Robert H. Stein, Luke, vol. 24, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 86.

[vi] Bock, 122.

[vii] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 259.