Have you been Grace'd like Mary?
Notes
Transcript
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Do you ever feel that your life is disconnected from the big happenings of this world of God and His kingdom in it? Sure we’ve got things happening in our lives - we’ve all got family and friends, and school and work and neighbors, and jobs and hobbies - but often all that seems so far away from the big story of God in Christ working in this world, doesn’t it? We are content to trudge through lowly events or for our lives without God and His Kingdom.
Application: Advent is about expecting and preparing God’s Christ to enter your lowly circumstances and to step u for His kingdom. In fact, that’s really the whole story of the Bible. From the Fall in Gen 3-11 theme for whole world is barrenness death, alienation, frustration. And Genesis 12 - is about God entering our lives through a miracle child - that pull our lives into His plan - for real blessing, to build a real community. An angel comes promises a miracle child to Abraham and Sarah - Isaac . Well we can see the same thing here at the beginning of NT same sort of faith is needed, as God is coming into the brokenness and problem of our lives, our world. And you know what it is even the same type of faith that is need in this year 2021 barrenness, and brokenness of our lives, our relationships, and it is hard to believe God would break-in so to speak! We’d just rather just get over Covid, just get through school, just trudge on in all our plans and relationships, and not expect God to work. Almost like we place God on hold, and we stay stuck in our daily little plans without God, maybe even daily sin!
As I prepared this sermon about Jesus and Mary this week, it was pretty easy to think of how all you teenagers should be able to relate to Mary - to God interrupting and intervening in Mary’s life. But at the end of my preparation, I came to the shocking realization that just about everything we know about Mary is from Luke. And he begins his second book Acts, with Mary too. Quite shocking for me to realize that as Jesus rose, ascended into heaven -sending His Spirit down on 120 disciples gather in upper room - and there in Acts 1:13-14 Luke records there are 12 named apostles, 120 disciples in all, and then the only other name he records is a woman who would have been exactly my age - there is Mary -34 years later and there she is still aligning all the details of her life, the sorrows and sufferings, the opportunities and the service - relating all to God’s big plan in Jesus! And as church tradition has it another couple decades at the end of her life she is with John ministering in the church community at Ephesus. But look at teenage Mary now, 34 years she’s got plans in her life for betrothal. What is the business of your daily life right now? For you might be same, season of work, or family situation, middle of life and just stuck, for many Covid. Well this morning, through Luke God gives us in Mary - not grace, but a model of our real faith in this Jesus and His Kingdom.
See, Mary was prepared with a Message from God, to receives the Christ and plays her part in His Coming Kingdom! And this morning
Key Truth: Like Mary, you too with this message from God, must receive the Christ & play your part in His coming Kingdom.
A. Mary receives Jesus in the context of her Lowliness & Trouble
Big stuff and events, Theophilus - cosmic history of Jesus, Herod king in Judea - political establishment - intrigue of Idumean, , Got family of Levi - religious establishment - Zech & Eliz Jerusalem temple. But our text, really describing the first Christian, takes place not in big plitical seat of power, nor religious sea of power, but in small-town, backwoods 70 miles NE nestled away in shadow of M Tabor, Nazareth..
Young probably mid to older teenage girl. Like camera in movie from all hustle bustle of big things happening in world, camera goes up to your home, you in your bedroom. And we are given what she in her little town life, as she looks at her future. What’s she doing? texting her boyfriend, the carpenter on the other side of town. Except publically witnessed engagement betrothal. She can’t wait for the wedding ceremony and starting their home - that’s her big thing right now in her little life. Let me ask again for you. What’s the big thing right now? How would you feel if God interpreted all your plans, showed up in the middle of them?
Luke more strongly than with Zechariah angelic visit, Luke now states that this angel is Gabriel v.26 Gabriel on e arch-angels’ one of two named - sent from God. And he underlines THE ANGEL IS SENT DIRECT FROM GOD TO MARY! Now we get excited when Amazon package arrives at our door, real letter or card from a person haven’t seen in a while. But here is a message direct from God, from central headquarters from heaven to Mary. Now we have God’s Word even more certain direct to us, recorded in Scripture. But how do we receive it?
Zechariah met the angelic message with unbelief - how can I be sure - sign - doesn’t make sense, our age. And listen, Mary could also have responded, you are God, you do all that big stuff on the global and national cosmic scale, but don’t come interrupting my life right now. And you and I could do this with God’s Word too. Not hear it preached personally to you, not pick it up and read in daily life! But look what Mary would miss!
The angel Gabriel, begins the message from God to her - v.28 Greetings, O favoured one, the LORD is with you. Did you know that’s how God began the exodus - God regarded, heard the suffering details of their life. God saw, remembered his covenant WITH THEM. He came down to dleiver them, first thing he tells Moses! And He came down to Moses and made the ground Holy where he stood. And Israel kind of says, If God is with us why… problems,, forget about it I will just stick with my regular life and my regular plans. Something to think about. Some of us really think God the Father disappoint and angry with us, and stand far off, so even if Jesus is loving God the Father is not for us or with us! But here is the announcement that by sheer grace, God the Father loves Mary and its because of that love that God the Father is sending Jesus to her and us!
But O Favoured one, same word grace. Mary isn’t so different than you or me, She is not sinless and able to dispense grace to others, but she has received grace - she has fullness of grace as gift from God. Sure from her mother from line of Levi, Elizabeth and Zech are cousins. And sure you can tell from her father’s side, on line of David, can tell she knows the promises of Scripture her song a few moths of reflecting later. But if you want the faith of Mary, must hear these words and believe that God has ENGRACED you too, not because of where born or what religious acts you’ve done, pure love and mercy!
Mary responds first like everyone who sees an angel. Bibilcally angels are not cute chubby faced, halo encircled imps. They are envoys of heaven, they are warrior bringing judgment, or announcing big revelation. They instill fear and awe. Mary is greatly TROUBLED - unique word - Agitated … strife - her mind. Why? She can’t hardly believe that God would have grace for her. Sure upright believer but she knows her sin, she know her weakness. She feels I’ve got to earn it,
But listen again: v.30 core command and comfort in the Bible - repeating something that must be repeated in a believers soul: Luke 1:30
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Do you get that a search has been made EUREKA - grace has been found between you and God. Unlike Zechariah she does believe, and will ask how can I be part of this?. But even as the message sinks in that the Christ, the Saviour will be conceived in her, she is going to be mother to the Son of God become incarnate, it starts to register: I am going to be pregnant before knowing a man. And I am going to be pregnant without being married. And my dear Joe, and what will he think? And Mary can’t put it together, can’t understand miracle of how child to be conceived in her - be very Son of God … What does she do, what does your heart do - when God says I have grace, I have plans for your little life, promises and wonders can’t fully understand now - do you push that out in unbelief. Or believe that Isaiah promises - God dwells with the lowly … Is 57:15
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Christmas calls you to believe the craziest thing - the Son of God really comes to take on human nature - for Mary that would be in her very womb - but for you and me … no less miraculous that this Jesus as fully God and fully man - comes by Word and Spirit to our little lowly lives, in them iddle of all our rush of plans. Interrupts us! Col Christ in me the hope of glory!
Now watch what is going on in Mary’s agitated heart, yet so full of faith: greatly troubled, but look what she is doing v.29b, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be… she is told the miraculous news of the incarnation of Son of God within her - and she is asking by faith - How will this be. That word discern - dialogue, how school masters of old - draw out the truth by process of q/a So this passage this example of little young Mary’s life - God’s plan and your reality - smashes together - hold both in cognitive dissonance - trust and obey - work it out Lord. Your life is not too small, you are not too sinful or insignificant. Though you may not be the one in whose womb the Lord chooses to to be conceived to take eon our human nature, still just as very personal - to all who believe him, he gives the right to become children of God. You may not be Jesus physical mother. But Jesus Himself says - all who believe and who do will of my Father - they are my mother , brother and sister. Advent means coming, not just first and last coming of Jesus. It is also about Christ coming to you spiritually! And so like Mary taking your life circumstance, right now All The Lowly and Troublesome details of your life in simple faith, say Yes Jesus I want you to come into my life now!
But next Mary is a model of the faith you and I need, not just in the context of our lowliness.
B. Mary receives Jesus as the Biblically Predicted King, not a “personal” Magician
Even at this early stage, when Mary couldn’t have understood much of the Christ Person and Work, Mary carefully accepts God’s description not her made up wishes of what a personal Saviour would be. You need to ask yourself do I accept Jesus as this Saviour King ,or do you just want Him to be my personal spiritual magician?
Can you imagine an angel showing up to you and saying, you are going to have a child and that child is going to become mind blowingly popular and filthy rich> Imagine your child is going to be the greatest singer, or fantastic great hockey player, or most famous powerful politician on the planet. Just watch some hockey mom or hockey dad’s , watch a parent with up coming violinist - some of them are living their dreams and lives through their child. They have their future all mapped out.
Now that could have been how Mary received Jesus. Here is the long awaited popular Jewish Messiah. My boy is going to be my ticket out of poverty and into the upper crust of society. We’re so used to hearing about who Jesus is, but put yourself in Mary’s sandals as first century Jew - easy to receive Jesus but as rock star political military social revolutionary miracle-man.
And so too in our day and age - you know what many have turned Jesus into - their own desires - social political leader, or philosopher deep doctrine and insights. In our culture - MTD - study of young adults grew up in the church - Moral Therapeutic Deism - not complicated - Jesus just going to be some who teaches how to be nice get along, and his goal is to get us to accept ourselves get rid of guilt feelings, and have high self-esteem - little ep talk to thrill us, and Deism - who is Jesus - far away God, but if you are in a real bind, why Jesus exists for nice, people feel good about themselves, and wehn they end up in a bind in this world - just call on him like a genie - he doesn’t have a plan, he just fits into your plans to make life easy, to fix things but only when you get into a bind.
But at the heart of God’s message to Mary and to us is the Biblical Description of the Person and Work of Jesus. This is the heart of being prepared to receive the Coming of Jesus and of His coming into your own life by faith, and of his final Second Coming at the End of the World. Do you know this One that Gabriel announced? Look first not at His work but at the most extraordinary Person Jesus is announced to be: Luke 1:31 I. He is the Unique GOd-Man!
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
Jesus is going to be in every way a regular human child - nothing unnatural about way grew in Mother’s womb or was born into this world. But what was miraculous , but something so super-natural about way He was conceived. Mary says how can this be, literally because I’ve never known a man. How can a truly human baby come without a father . And the answer is not that the Holy Spirit will be the Father, contribute the fathers side of the sperm and egg. No Luke 1:35
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.
Do you see the miracle of the virgin conception? Just like when God created the first persons, Adam & Eve, here too He is using preexisting material . Adam’s body from the dust of the ground, Eve from rib of Adam. Jesus miraculously created from human nature of Eve’s ovum - but like the first creation in Genesis 1 the Holy Spirit using the same word when translated into Greek - hovering being over, overshadowing - God’s power - so human nature in every way taken to the person of the Son of God who existed for ever, but now has also become human . And what is this - born of a woman, sharing our flesh - by miracle shows - this child by the power of the Spirit fully human, but with no sin and is holy. And so the announcement of the Person of Jesus is that he is fully human, but he is the Second Adam, humanity perfected and sanctified by the Spirit. But He is more than human.
Who is the person of Jesus? II. He is the Heir to the God’s Kingdom. He is great - Almighty God Himself, the Son of the Most High - called the Son of God. Need to hear this, this Jesus second person of the Trinity always exists as eternally-generated Son. But in the OT Son of God also means like Adam - a child of God. And even more in the OT lingo to be a Son of God is a title to be the first born heir of God the Father!. That’s what Adam was to be as our representative, that’s what the promised Son of David the future King was supposed to be , God’s heir on earth, adopted by the living God - to receive all the blessing and the kingdom and to reign with all the gifts God would give him.
And look at the third part of the announcement of Jesus’s Person and His work: iii. Jesus is King! 32b,33 And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” As we will see tonight these are references to Jesus coming as the Son of Man in Daniel 7 , whether Mary realized it or not, she is hearing that her child’s work - won’t be to get famous and then make Mary’s life easy. This Jesus, whose name means Jehovah Saves, who like the first Joshua was supposed to bring people into rest shalom, Promised Land, his job his work is to build a kingdom that is not of this world, that will have no end, It’s reign of grace in this world, but not of it, and he willl have set up the reign of a house - Acts 9 Amos - rebuilt tabernacle of David = Jews and Gentiles… Daniel 7 we will see people of Messiah have to go through tribulation amid the ups and down s of this world, but that Messiah will give the kingdom Dan 7:18, 27
And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’
Would have been hard for Mary to put this all together, would she just think she was getting the rock star Jesus, her personal ticket to an easy life. Or would she really prepare to receive Saviour of Kingdom of Grace, transforms human nature form the inside out, brings a kingdom based on forgiveness but transforms people out of brokenness for holiness? Read her song when visiting Elizabeth her cousin and see that teenage Mary, knew the OT prophesies and promises - that the Messiah would cast down and defeat humanity's pride, and would come with Mercy for the humble and as their King would lift them up, and establish that kingdom promised to Abraham of old. Mary know this is not about private little kingdom that God fits into our lives, but that this about fitting into God’s kingdom and life .
And that brings us to the last way that God this morning is calling to you through this announcement of the coming of Jesus. Mary is an example of how you must receive Jesus in the lowly circumstances of your life, even this year. She is an example of how your faith in Jesus must be in Jesus Bibilcially predicted job of King, not your private Jesus as magician to make your life easy. But lastly Mary must be a model for your faith in Jesus, in how it actively responds with obedience!
For me this is the most remarkable thing about Mary. Luke is the one who records not only Mary’s involvement here, but through out Jesus earthly life and ministry, and in Acts 1 only Mark includes the dramatic and critical conclusion of what we know about her, there she is with the disciples in the upper room. Tradition has it went with John and ministered in Ephesus.
C. Mary actively responds by signing up for her part in the coming of the kingdom.
This morning’s message from God to you, for preparing for Christ’s coming is not - is receive Christ like Mary, receive this word and put your faith in Him like she did. Faith is not just a passive belief, assent and then doing nothing. True faith - issues in a repentance, where we pull your life in line with God’s will, His program. You, Say no to life just lived for yourself, and Yes to life lived for and with Jesus! Look at Mary’s response. I am the Lord’s servant, I sign up! How can you get to that point?
There is something so wonderful in the help Gabriel offers this young teeenager, so full of faith, but also much confusion and uncertainty of what this will mean going forward. How could Jospeh belive this, what would life be like as a single mom with a child that would always be looked at a monser, bastard? You might miss it but Gabriel gives Mary a hint:
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.
This is not just a confirmation by another mircale go and see Elizabeth. Most commentators see this as a hint for Mary to visit Elizabeth. You who have cancer you know how helpful to speak with other, you raising teenage kids, you who are pregnant. Gabriel encourages Mary to go up even though 70 mile trip - go see aged wise righteous, miracle preganacy in old age. And Mary says, I’ll invest in friendsip with others who are signing up for Messiah’s kingdom.
Do you see how Mary is model for your faith today? You have been given grace, you have been shown the Person and work the plan, program the kingdom of Christ. Even though your role isn’t like Mary’s 2000 years ago, you too have been given a gift and several stations, several cplaces, with several people, where you are called to serve. And like Mary you must speak to others, serving in a similar way! Mary doesn’t say: I am a slave, or merely a handmaid like Margret Atwood, rent a womb, for God - No. Mary is syaing, “God willingly and knowingly joyfully, albeit nervously not knowing what to except - I agree with what you are doing - with this Jesus King and Kingdom and I give myself for service!
Gabriel points out what God is doing in her cousins life and in Mary’s life, and in Jesus coming and Gabriel sums it up: Nothing is impossible with God. Could that be said of you giving your life to King Jesus this morning! As one commentator put it: No sin too black, no heart to hard, no work too hard for a believer to do, no trial too hard to be borne, grace is sufficient for us, no promise to great to be fulfilled, no difficulty to great for a believer to overcome, Yes you need this certainty: Your Faith can only rests calmly & peacefully, when it lays its head on the pillow of God’s omnipotence!”
And so here is the heart of Mary’s response: I will be the mother of the Lord Jesus, I accept the trial of faith, I accepts burden and dangers and the inconveniences! Can you say the same to God this morning in your calling? When you know God’s will do it! Arguing after this are unfaithfulness!
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.
WOW - like Beetles song - Let it be … Literally what Amen means. What are you giving your amen to in life. Consider this as end a year begin another. What am I giving my Amen to, in service to Christ?
Your life will be transformed, if you give your Amen to Christ and his call in the lowly details of your daily life. Do you remember the mother of all living, Satan tempting her - she believed the lie, just live for your own private dream and desire - just twist God’s word to fit your plans - God’s not so great, His kingdom plans holding back - you can do better yourself - And here is the Second Eve, and she puts her faith in God’s Word and give sAmen to God’s call to join with Jesus and the missio f His Kigdom. And this Mary teeenagers middled aged, aged, this Mary is a model of faith and servanthoood for us! O what simple and pure faith. Holding to God’s wrod about Christ - according to your gracious word - I will follow you.
