Hope: The Mother's of God's Chosen

Introduction

This Advent series as we prepare to celebrate the Coming of God’s Son, the time of Christmas, we are going to look at a few stories in the lives of the people in Scripture and how their story impacted the greater narrative of the Christmas Story in a sense, how they prepared us for the Christmas Story.

Today’s theme is that of Hope.

If there is one message that some of us are feeling and many of the people in Merritt is that of Hope.

Hope can be defined as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”

If you are a residence of Merritt, these past two weeks have been just that. Whether your house or your street has been affected or not, we all had an expectation of what was to come next.

This story is involving two main individuals and the journey they walked as they lived prepared for their hope for the future.

We are going to look at the story of Two women’s lives, how they intersected and the hope that was brought out in their lives.

The Mother’s of God’s Chosen

This morning we are going to narrow in on the Mother’s of God’s Chosen. The mother of the forerunner and the Mother of the Messiah

Two women who’s story of hope looks very different, but their story collides together.

Two women both at very different stages in their lives are looking at the same God from very different perspective, yet the future that they have been told has the same journey. In many cases the journey they walked through can be applied to the journey we face in hope.

There hope in the future is only possible because of their hope in a God of promises and faithfully fulling all of His promises.

Elizabeth’s Story

The first Mother that we want to look at this morning comes from the story found in Luke.

Turn with me to the first chapter of Luke and let’s read the all familiar passage

Luke 1:5–17 ESV

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Can you image Elizabeth’s response to the whole situation. If you will notice that she wasn’t mentioned in the dialogue only as a acknowledgement.

Let’s take a look at her life

First off, there has been years of hoping . Hope in becoming a mother. In the culture of the day, barrenness brought on shame and many questions from those in the community in which she and her husband lived.

I can well image that there were often prayers offered up to Yahweh asking Why.

Why are these events happening in our lives?

As you can see with the verses outlined in the story of Luke this couple were very faithful in their service for God.

It was not only her devotion to God, the scripture points out that she was of the line of Aaron. The ultimate High Priest.

As a couple, they had done everything right in their faith towards God.

they were described as Upright, yet no children. Scripture even mentions that children are a blessing. I sure they wondered why

I am sure she spend countless hours crying and pouring out her requests to God. She was walking down two parallel roads, one of grief and the other of joy.

It is a point to note.

When we are going along in our lives and being faithful to God, we can’t see the future plans of God.

We can continue in Hope, that the God of this universe, has everything in control. No matter what the circumstance we find ourselves in today, God is a sovereign God. He has a plan and we stand in Hope knowing that one day we will find out His perfect plan.

We too can walk down a road of both grief and joy because of hope.

Yet when we look at this first mother in comparison to the other mother, this mother’s story was different.

The two mothers there is a sharp contrast between the two Stories.

Notice that the Angel didn't’ talk with her, Elizabeth it was her mute husband communicated the the news from the Angel.

Her message of Hope was second hand information. She had to rely on the hope given by someone other than the messenger of God. Someone close to her.

Elizabeth was to be the mother of the long awaited forerunner of the Messiah.

It would have been every young Jewish girls dream to be the mother of the messiah, and now we see an older women, as described as past her years, being told by a mute husband the good news of the calling of their lives.

She was to be the mother of John the Baptist. A man that will bring good news and announcement of the coming messiah.

She was to be the mother of the son who will lose his life for speaking the truth.

I wonder if in that moment, as she began to contemplate what will be asked of her,

As a parent, image being told this information about your son.

luke 1:16-17 “16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.””

This was all said, by an angel to Zechariah.

Do you realize that

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke (1. The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold (1:5–25))

3. The appearance of angels is likewise appropriate for an account that teaches that God has acted decisively in the history of his people to accomplish our salvation. ....... Actually the appearance of an angel is no more remarkable than the Incarnation itself.

This angel appearance, was in the holy place, a place where only the priest, chosen priests were allowed to go.

And all this was relayed to his wife, without a voice.

Without the passion, the excitement, loaded with shame of doubt for his Disbelief from God’s Messenger. His hope now was living in the promise of what was to come.

The promise of Hope was also different for the husbands in this narrative.

Zachariah was given the news of the upcoming conception before the event happened while Joseph was given of the news after the conception.

How did Elizabeth walk down the road of grief and joy?

What was Elizabeth’s response?

luke 1:25 “25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.””

I sure there was more communication between the two, but Elizabeth in the end, no matter how long it took, short or long, came to a realization of where we gain our true hope.

The years of placing her hope in God, that she would one day pass on an inheritance of a child was not being revealed.

One person put it this way.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke 1. The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold (1:5–25)

To be childless brought sorrow and often shame. At her advanced age, Elizabeth could no longer entertain the hope of each Jewish woman to be the mother of the Messiah. While her situation and the subsequent intervention of God had its precedents in the OT (cf. Sarah, Gen 17:16–17; Hannah, 1 Sam 1:5–11), no other woman had such a total reversal in fortune as to bear the forerunner of the Messiah.

To end this part of the message, with a view of Hope to a mother of God’s Chosen, Elizabeth was given God’s grace in her life.

The story is even richer as the name Zachariah, means “God remembers”

Folks there are times when we too walk down the same road and there are two lanes. One lane is grief, loss, and possible even fear, while the other lane is full of hope, joy and promise.

As we head into breakout rooms, I want you to spend a few moments together celebrating. To share if you are willing, stories of hope in your life. They may be recent, they may be in the past.

God brought hope to this couple well in years of waiting, God brings hope today no matter what is in front of you.

What keeps us coming back to the lane in our road is this that my hope is found in this,

Philippians 1:6 ESV

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Let’s break for a few minutes in breakout rooms if you prefer, you can stay in the main session to reflect upon this hope. I will be playing a music video as we wait for the groups to return.

Breakout rooms

Mary’s Story

I hope that the time in the breakout rooms you had a wonderful chance of hearing stories of Hope. At the end of the service we will once again open the rooms for those who like to spend some time in prayer with one another.

Right now we are going to shift to another mother.

This story was much different than our first couple.

Luke 1:26–38 ESV

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. 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.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

The first glaring difference in this soon to be mother’s story from that of Elizabeth is that Mary received the news first.

The words of Hope, came to a young girl and the news would have been one of shock, possible scandalous, and possible death for her.

It is now wonder why she would have said, How can this be?

Her hope was found in the acceptance of God’s grace.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke 2. The Birth of Jesus Foretold (1:26–38)

Mary is “highly favored” because she is the recipient of God’s grace. A similar combination of words occurs in Ephesians 1:6—“his glorious grace … which he has freely given [same Gr. word as for ‘highly favored’] us.” Some suggest that Luke implies that a certain grace has been found in Mary’s character. While this could be so, the parallel in Ephesians (the only other occurrence of the verb in the NT) shows that the grace in view here is that which is given all believers apart from any merit of theirs. Mary has “found favor with God” (v. 30); she is a recipient of his grace (v. 28), and she can therefore say, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (v. 47).

This is a familiar story we all have heard before, I want to take a different approach this morning wit the story.

I want to look at this story as we begin to prepare for Christmas this season. For some of the people in our church and for many in our community, the future needs the hope offered in this story.

In order to do that, I want us to look at the next part

Their Story

Their story. The two mother’s to be come together to support one another in their life of hope.

Let’s look at the story

Luke 1:39–45 ESV

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

What did Mary do, after hearing the news of her about to change life,

She went to a relative.

She began to life a life of a displaced person.

In the midst of hope, she spent the next six months away from her home.

Wedding preparations were put on hold.

Courtship with her soon to be husband were stopped.

She entered into the life of what many believe to be her cousin, a cousin that was 3 months pregnant with a promise of hope.

To her cousin who is living in hope, but I am sure was scared as well as this was her first child. Many people her age have had their children, and this was her first.

Now her cousin arrives to her house, newly pregnant, full of hope but I can image just a little of fear.

I poured over time lines of the Christmas story and although it is not specifically clear when Joseph was told that Mary was pregnant, I don’t think it was right away.

I wonder even if Joseph wasn’t told of the situation until months later.

Joseph was in Nazareth and Elizabeth traveled to Jerusalem.

That was a 146 km trip.

Mary, made her way to her cousin’s house possibly by herself.

In 9 months later, being fully pregnant, she will be making the trip back to Bethlehem, which by the way is farther away.

Having Hope is a powerful strength in our lives and we can see this in the story of these two mothers to be.

Their story is not intersected both Mother’s to be hold onto the news of God’s story in their lives.

One having hope because of a long awaited request and its fulfilled beyond her wildest dreams. The mother of the forerunner of Christ.

She now has a new to be mom enter her house and declares Hope into the life of her cousin with powerful words from God.

Before Mary came int the house, life for her was preparing for the upcoming child. Then Mary enters. The scripture describes that she was full of the spirit when she proclaims the words of Hope to her young cousin.

Mary’s response breaks out into a song, similar to that of a distant relative who was also the mother of God’s Chosen.

This story of the two mother comes to an end.

Luke 1:56 ESV

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

If you have tracked the timeline, Mary came in Elizabeth’s 6th month of pregnancy and around 3 months.

We do not know if she stayed to see John being born, but we do know that when she went home to be with her soon to be husband, she was well along on her way not hid the news.

I wonder what happened between the two mom’s of promise.

I wonder what stories they shared between them as they looked in HOPE of what their lives would be like.

I’m sure there were days of anxiety of possible fear, but it was the promise of hope that would sustain them through those days.

One thing that we can learn from this story is this.

Hope is contagious, it can be given to others.

For many of us, we have something of great hope to offer to others.

Our Hope

This leads us to our hope this Christmas Season.

As we begin to look forward to the Christmas season, and we rub with people who may very well be without hope, we have something to give them.

Giving hope to someone is equitably powerful in the lives of people.

In the midst of caring for their personal needs, and for some they are great, we can offer hope of the Christ child that came into this world amidst two mothers who were most likely scared and concerned.

The coming wasn’t the just good news of Great joy but the Hope was what he was coming to do.

The hope found in this Christmas story is what he came to do.

i tim 4:10

1 Timothy 4:10 ESV

10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Our toil and striving is to bring this message of Hope to those in need of salvation.

As we consider the stories let me give you this image.

Traveling through life is like driving on the highway in winter and there are two lanes. Depending on what is in front of us we are in one of two lanes. One lane is clear, the other has rough patches.

Depending on what is in front of us, sometimes we are drawn to the rough lane to pass the obstical in our lives.

We hold onto the steering wheel tighter, we are in the lane for a moment and then are back into the better lane.

Grief and Joy are a part of life. The two mother’s stories show us only the Hope side, but rest assured there would be times in their life that the fear appeared but we don’t stay in that part too long.

If you are experiencing grief right now, Hope is knowing that the other lane is still there, Hang onto the steering wheel, let others hand on for you, put your trust in God to sustain you through those times.

These next few months we have the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus as we work with organizations to bring about personal hope of the rebuilding of their lives, but we mustn’t forget to also give Hope in the risen lord.

In talking with one of my neighbors, who hasn’t received as much damage as I am experiencing, he said, “i feel guilty”.

It was a great opportunity to share with him,

I said, don’t be, God will take care of me. My hope is in Him.

Is this road going to be easy, no, but I haven’t lost my hope.

We have the greatest hope to offer to people in various tangible ways.

It’s our job as disciples of Christ, as we continue to know God, growing to be like Christ, and give to others that we also share

The message of the greatest hope.

Hope of the coming salvation for those who believe.

In Summary

In summary, these two mothers came together to be the mothers of Promise. Their hope was place in the God who brings us peace and comfort.

During this Advent season, this week we focus on the Hope we have and the Hope we can give to those around us.

Let’s take some time to gather in breakout rooms this last time, praying for one another and pray for those who we can give this hope of salvation.

Looking forward to next week, Hoping that will all that is happening that we can once again gather in person.

Amen.