The Greatest Story Ever Told [Mary]
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This morning we looked at the life of Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus. We saw how his life was altered by a seemingly scandalous situation [Mary], but yet he adapted to the situation to fulfill his purpose in ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’, because he listened to the voice of God!
Tonight we will look at the mother of Jesus, Mary.
Text; Luke 1:26-38
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by 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. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then 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 bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; 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 of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
1. Nazareth; 26
1. Nazareth; 26
Mary’s hometown does not seem like the place you would choose if one was seeking for a Savior. Nazareth was a backwater town with a bad reputation. It was located 75-100 miles north of Jerusalem at the edge of Gentile country. The scriptures even refer to it as “Galilee of the Gentiles”.
1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles.
So obscure and insignificant was this tiny town that it is not even mentioned by name in the Old Testament, the Talmud, or the writings of Josephus. Remember what Nathanael said about it.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
So the logical question to ask at this point is, “Why would God choose a girl from this cesspool of society to be the mother of the Savior of the world?”
2. Virgin; 27
2. Virgin; 27
The word “virgin” is from the Greek word parthenos {par-then’-os} which means “a woman or a man who has never had sex,” but also a person who has abstained from uncleanness and ungodliness.
Mary was sexually pure, but also pure in her heart. She was not sinless, but she was a godly, chaste young woman, even though she lived in the midst of ungodly people.
There are a least two reasons I know that God chose Mary.
To fulfill the prophesy in Isaiah as to “the” virgin.
14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
A Holy God cannot inhabit a dirty vessel
21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
Mary was a lovely young lady who yielded herself to the will of God and not the ways of the world. Her heart was right and pure!
3. Highly Favored and Favor; 28, 30
3. Highly Favored and Favor; 28, 30
Highly Favored- from the Greek word charitoo {khar-ee-to’-o} which means having an appearance or features of a particular kind that are pleasing.
The Lord is well pleased with your appearance/features of ‘holiness, purity of heart and your virginity’
Favor- from the Greek word charis which means “grace” that brings joy because of acceptance.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
Just like Mary! God favors us: He saves us, gifts us, uses us. We are favored by the God of the universe—a phenomenal privilege and an awesome responsibility to make ourselves available to receive His favors.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (1996). The Gospel according to Luke (p. 18). Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
4. Mary’s Faith; 31-34
4. Mary’s Faith; 31-34
If Mary was troubled over the fact of seeing the angel Gabriel you would imagine she was shocked to no end to hear she was going to give birth to the Messiah! But that’s actually not the case.
Mary wasn’t surprised about the Messiah coming but that she would be the mother because she was a “virgin”. I don’t believe Mary was doubting the angels words but she just wanted to know how this could be accomplished.
What is faith? Trusting God with what you do not see and often cannot understand.
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”
19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
5. Faith Rewarded; 35-37
5. Faith Rewarded; 35-37
The angel then told Mary how this would take place as she would be overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I cannot tell you how this happened but her faith was imperative for this to take place.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
We cannot believe that God can use us if our faith does not trust Him alone!
6. Mary’s Submission; 38
6. Mary’s Submission; 38
Maidservant- bondslave. Mary was totally submissive to the will of God regardless of the consequences that she might in-cure from her actions.
There was the idea of being an unwed mother. Who of that day would ever believe Mary’s story? Mary was a willing to be available to God regardless of the cost.
There was Joseph’s discovery of her pregnancy. The shock of broken trust and of personal embarrassment were more than most people could be expected to bear. Mary was a willing to forfeit Joseph and their planned life together.
There was the threat of being condemned to death because of adultery. She had to face the possibility of being stoned because she would appear to be immoral.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (1996). The Gospel according to Luke (p. 20). Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
Total surrender to God is an absolute for salvation but also for service.
33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
Close;
Mary was a young female from a backwater town —with all odds against her to fail. To the people of her day, there was nothing that would make her seem unusable by God for any major task. But God chose Mary for one of the most important acts of obedience in ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’, to be the mother of the Savior of the world, the Son of God!
You may feel that your ability, experience, or lack of education makes you an unlikely candidate for God’s service. I know I did. But we should never limit God’s choices and abilities to do the impossible. He can use you if you trust him by faith!