A Message

How do most people receive messages today? Letters, text message, emails, occasionally and rarely in person by a courier, etc. SAY – I would think that the more important the message, the more formal the delivery. For example, if a person was asked by the President to serve as a cabinet level secretary, or as a federal judge, OR a SCOTUS justice, it is doubtful that the person would receive the invite via text. I doubt that even President Trump would tweet an invite to serve in such a position – maybe fire you that way, but NOT invite you to serve.

LOOK at Noah in Genesis 6. When God decided that the evil of man was so great that it required man’s destruction, the Bible says that God “said to Noah, the end of all flesh has come before me,.”

When God called Abram, He “said to Abram, “Go out from your land and your relatives.” And when Abram reached Sechem, the bible says that the “Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.”

When God called Moses to serve Him in delivering from Israel from Egyptian slavery, the bible says, Exodus 3:2 (ESV) And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.

In all these cases the Lord either spoke to them or appeared to them; it was either speaking or, as in today’s passage, an emissary sent to covey a message about the coming of the King, but in way that no one would expect. I would say that the more important the message, the more personal the delivery. In this case, a message needed delivered to someone whose life was about to be changed in a way that no one’s life had ever been changed before, or since. This is because,

I. The message is from God.

READ 26.

A message of this importance would not be delivered by just anyone, evidently from what we read, not even a human. In this case God sent one of His messengers to deliver the message. There are three angels mentioned in scripture, the fallen angel Lucifer, with the other two being Gabriel and Michael. V26 tells us the angel Gabriel was sent. The word, angel, is from the Greek, aggeloV, meaning, “messenger,” or “envoy.” This can be either a human messenger as in Revelation 2:1- 3:22, or, in this case a heavenly being named Gabriel. We read of Gabriel in other places. Daniel 8:16 (ESV) And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” Daniel 9:21 (ESV)21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.

At this point, Gabriel had already been sent to inform someone else of a special delivery baby. In Luke 1, Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to tell him of the impending birth of his son, John.

What is notable is Luke 1:19, which says, And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. Who better to bring a message from God but the one who stands in the very presence of God. This message from God was to be,

A. Delivered to a virgin.

READ 27. This is proof that God was involved. If man had been writing the story, someone of “royalty” or great wealth or fame would have been the one to whom this was going to happen. But not God, here we see that the message is delivered to a virgin. Mary was of the lineage of David, BUT, not considered royalty. She was just a common, unknown to the world, young lady, a virgin who was betrothed to a man also of the house of David. We know from reading other places that they were ordinary people, NOT of great wealth, but not living in abject poverty. She was selected by God for an amazing task and God is going to let her know by sending Gabriel with a message. When Gabriel addresses her, his address was very formal and let her know her status before the Lord.

B. This was puzzling.

READ 28-29. The word translated into English as, “Greetings,” was a formal greeting wishing someone well.[1] Using this greeting meant you were on good terms with the person sending the greeting, WHICH, goes along with the rest of the greeting. Favored one. This meant that Mary was favored by God. ASK – have you ever favored someone? Sure. I’ve seen kids in school who, for some reason, were favored by teachers. They could get away with almost anything, while someone else, NOT so favored, would get in trouble for almost anything.

In this case, her favor was NOT necessarily for anything she had done. The word, “favored,” is in the passive voice, meaning, the subject, Mary, is the recipient of the action, favor, only because of God’s choice. We see that specifically in the third part of the phrase when Gabriel says, The Lord is with you. Wouldn’t that make your day? But Mary was “troubled,” at this saying, trying to figure out this greeting. What does this mean?

Gabriel does not make it clear in what the favor consisted. Nor is it quite clear what caused Mary to be greatly troubled. We might understand fear at the sight of an angel (as with Zechariah), but her distress is linked with the saying. Evidently in her modesty she did not understand why a heavenly visitor should greet her in such exalted terms.[2] Fortunately,

C. Comfort was given.

READ 30. Gabriel tells her, what most angels told people when they appeared to them; “Don’t be afraid.” Gabriel does not yet tell her what is about to happen, but he again tells her that she had found favor with God. He doesn’t say why, just that she had. Sometimes we don’t need to know, WHY. But know it is time for the message and,

II. The message is about the Promise.

For the Promise, we must go back to Abraham. God chose Abram when he was in the land of Haran. (Gen. 11:31). While in Haran, God spoke to Abram and gave him a promise in Genesis 12:3 (ESV)3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Later, God repeats it in,

Genesis 17:7 (ESV)7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you., and then repeats it again in,

Genesis 22:17–18 (ESV)17 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, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

Later on in Daniel, whilst giving the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel says, Daniel 2:44 (ESV)44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,

Ultimately, and always,

A. It involves a birth.

READ 31. It always involved a birth. It involved Isaac’s birth, Jacob’s birth, and the birth of many down through the centuries UNTIL it was time for the One who can fulfill the promise. Here, in verse 31, the angel tells her she will conceive, and not only that, but the child would be a son, and he told her what to name the baby boy, Jesus, a common enough name in first century Middle east. But what Mary did not yet know is that,

B. The Son fulfills the promise.

READ 32-33. Gabriel said that her son would be different. Great, but great in a way that surpasses all other greatness – the Son of the Most High. Here is where the Promise is stated that it would be fulfilled. With Mary’s son, Jesus, receiving the throne of David and reigning over the house of Jacob for ever and an unending kingdom, this speaks back to the prophecy in Daniel 2:44 of an eternal kingdom. Jesus, the son of Mary fulfills that promise. Amazingly,

III. The message is accepted.

READ 34. She didn’t doubt, only puzzled. When Gabriel gave the message about Zechariah’s son, Zechariah did not believe. Here, Mary did not doubt, she just did not understand. Somehow, the way this message is conveyed, it comes across to Mary that this will happen before she and Joseph “consummate” their marriage. How then could she conceive when she has not had relations with her betrothed? Thus her question, “How will this be, since I am a virgin.” In her mind, and rightfully so, this is impossible. This is where God comes in,

A. God would accomplish the promise.

READ 35. In ancient mythology, the gods, little g, would find a woman and have normal relations with her resulting in her getting pregnant and delivering a “demi-god,” half man, half god. Of course, this actually reduces those so-called “gods” to nothing more than men with some sort of superpowers but also all the fallacies, failings, and faults of mere mortal men.

LOOK at the difference though in how Gabriel describes what is to happen. Some guy isn’t going to slip into her house after hours, the Holy Spirit will come upon her, and God’s power will “overshadow” her. That word, “overshadows,” summons the image of when a cloud would cover the mountain when Moses went up, or when Jesus to Peter, James, and John up to the mount of transfiguration and he met Moses and Elijah. SAY – remember what Peter said, “it is good that we are here, if you want I’ll build three shelters for you, Moses, and Elijah,” AND at that point Matthew 17:5 (ESV) says, 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

It’s like this overshadowing is when God does something He only wants a certain few to witness or be affected by it. In Matthew, it was Peter, James, and John to whom God spoke for their benefit. In Luke, God’s power would “overshadow” Mary so that she would conceive, without sexual relations, so that the child to be born would be called “holy – the Son of God.” This was amazing so the angel gives Mary something.

B. A sign was given.

READ 6-37. Mary knew Elizabeth was barren and now she is told that in Elizabeth’s old age, she has conceived and is 6 months along. What man sees as impossible God does for with God NOTHING is impossible. In her simple faith,

C. Mary accepted the message.

READ 38. You can not get any simpler, or more obedient, than Mary’s response to all this amazing information. It’s very simple. Look, I’m the Lord’s servant, let it be according to your word. It’s like Isaiah in Isaiah 6:8 (ESV)8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” It’s very simple. If you trust the Lord and believe Him, then why doubt and why question, why not just say, Let it be, Lord, and accept the message as Mary did.

CONCLUSION

· The message is from God and it was delivered to a virgin. This was puzzling, but comfort was given.

· The message is about the Promise. It involves a birth and the Son fulfills the promise.

· The message is accepted. God would accomplish the promise. A sign was given and Mary accepted the message.

The message that Gabriel brought to Mary was of the advent of the coming King, the Messiah. I say to you that Jesus is the Messiah. Yes, He was born to a virgin in Bethlehem, but more importantly He was without sin and died for your sin. If you will accept that message by repenting of your sin, believing that He died for you and rose again, you can be saved.

Romans 10:9–10 (ESV)9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Romans 10:13 (ESV)13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Will you call on the name of the Lord today and be saved? If you want to talk about this, have questions, or are not sure, come talk to me, after worship or sometime this week, but don’t put it off too long.

If you have but are looking for a church home, perhaps PRBC can be such a place. Again, talk to me about it after worship or this week.

Or if you just have questions, ask.

PRAY

[1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 1075.

[2] Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 3, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 89.