Mary and the Word "Be"
Notes
Transcript
Notice the Detail
Notice the Detail
We all write in very similar fashions, and Luke was not any different. Go back to the details in Luke
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.
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!”
It’s All in The Details
It’s All in The Details
Notice the intrinsic structure of the compared text.
Time: Days of Herod, In the sixth month.
Time is an interesting concept. ie 1:15PM means 15 minutes past the hour and 45 minutes before the hour.
The calendar system in use there was the Syro-Macedonian calendar, introduced by Alexander the Great over three centuries earlier. The Julian Calendar was put in place by the Romans in 45 BC. The Hebrew year for the Jewish calendar count starts in the year 3761 BC.
Place: City of Galilee, named Nazareth
At the time, Nazareth was a small Jewish village of only 400 to 500 people, hence Jesus and his family were well known in the community.
Characters: An Angel, A woman named Mary, was a virgin betrothed, To whom: Joseph, Lineage of David
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
Gabriel is earning his pay. He had just delivered the good news from God to Zachariah. Good news but not a proper reception. Can you put yourself in the place of Gabriel when you received a similar assignment but not to an “old man” but to a 14 year old virgin? He is about to announce to her that she will bear a son without knowing a man and conceived by the Holy Spirit.
The Annunciation
The Annunciation
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?”
The Latin Vulgate - et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit have gratia plena Dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus.
“and the angel went in to her and said, "Have full grace! The Lord is with you, blessed are you among women. Jerome, a biblical scholar of his day completed the Vulgate, from the latin word “volgus”, meaning language, in 405 AD. In Jerome’s day, Common Greek, the language of the New Testament, was widely known throughout the Roman Empire. The Old Testament also existed in a popular Greek form, the Septuagint, so anyone who knew Greek had access to the entire Bible.
To Be Or Not To Be
To Be Or Not To Be
Luke 1:34-37
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.
Angel: What Will Be. Mary: How will this be? Mary: Let it Be! Then, in the end: Can it be?
Angel: What Will Be.
Angel: What Will Be.
Luke 1:31-32
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 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,
Mary: How Will This Be?
Mary: How Will This Be?
Luke 1:34
Luke 1:34 (ESV)
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
We discussed this last week in the difference between Zachariah’s doubtful response and Mary’s asking how is it going to happen because I am willing. If you were writing this story to convince the world easily of the birth of Christ, wouldn’t you have stayed away from the story of the virgin birth?
Mary didn’t say, “Well Gabriel, I’m glad you’ve arrived. I have been praying to God from me to be the chosen one, to be the mother of the Messiah.” She is not challenging the angel’s statement? She is a troubled teen age girl that doesn’t understand how it will happen. You are going to have a son but not on the human level. In the same way anyone asks you how can it be that God would save a sinner like me. Isn’t that a reasonable question? Her question is not that of Zachariah of unbelief, her doubt is that of how can this possibly be.
Luke 1:35-37
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.
Remember Gabriel, the angel messenger, who stands in the presence of God has just delivered this amazing, unbelievable, by the world’s standards, message to a 14 year old virgin. He has to know this information is staggering for a teenage woman to process. And by the way, she has to have a racing mind about what her betrothed, Joseph, will have to say.
The Holy Conception of Jesus Christ is the core of our faith. You have to get past this in faith and belief before you can call Jesus Lord.
The Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into Hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven; And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; The Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.
Why were the Creeds created by the early church? Becuase of the heretic doctrines that was confusing and challenging the young church. From Gnosticism, Docetism - affirming that Christ did not have a real or natural body during his life on earth but only an apparent or phantom one.
What is about to take place is inexplicable in human terms. Doubts today are virgins births do not happen. Your philosphy may be if it was real why hasn’t happened since. Validation of scientific evidence is that once a study is published it’s conclusion should be repeatable. That then leads to the thought if the virgin birth has not been repeatable then you have to reject the resurrection in the same light of your logic. 1 Corinthians 3:19-20 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness: (20) and again, The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain.
Luke 1:36
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.”
Now he has her undivided attention, has convinced her of the truth of the message. There is only one thing to do now, accept this message or reject it. What does Gabriel chose to talk about? And I believe he is looking her in the eye wondering, “Am I about to lose her?” Scripture interprets scripture and one miracle can help accept another. +
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Mary: Let it be!
Mary: Let it be!
Luke 1:38
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.
Mary’s Bravery
Mary’s Bravery
As I spoke about before on this passage, we need to comprehend the bravery of Mary. If you will, notice it’s not even Joseph’s turn yet. No one knows why Luke did not get the details of Joseph’s side of the story. But we do have Matthew’s account.
Matthew 1:18-19 “18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”
Can it Be?
Can it Be?
He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race;
'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!
Now Mary magnifies her savior to be born.
Luke 1:47-55
Luke 1:47–55 (ESV)
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
