Luke 1:26-38 (2)

Intro

*Refer to “Come on Ring Those Bells” discussion; songs that get stuck in your head this time of year*

It is the same with stories; we hear these Christmas Bible stories year after year, and they can become rote.

I believe God wants to teach you something new, or remind you of something profound

Let’s pray together for this to be the case *Pray*

The Story

Setting = a newly betrothed couple (Mary and Joseph) living in Nazareth of Galilee, waiting to be married and live happily ever after.

Nazareth - sleeply village of no importance in the northern part of Israel near the Sea of Galilee

Betrothal - a binding agreement of marriage; required a divorce to undo

Much different than our modern idea of being engaged

Young women (like Mary) would have been only 12 - 14

Mary was a virgin (as expected)

All takes place 6 months after Zechariah’s encounter with Gabriel (6 months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy)

Gabriel again serves as God’s messenger, this time with impossible news for Mary.

Read verse 28

At first, Mary was troubled

Troubled = perplexed; confused… what does this mean?

Gabriel reiterates that God has chosen to bless Mary, and explains exactly what type of blessing this will be

Read verses 30 - 33

What?! All of her people’s hopes are going to come true, and she will play an integral role. Overwhelming!

Just like Zechariah, Mary expresses questions and doubt

Read v. 34; Zechariah said, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man...”

Unlike Zechariah, Mary is not given a consequence, but proof:

Read v. 35 - 37

This will be a miracle that God will work in her life

Elizabeth’s pregnancy (and Zechariah’s story) are further proof that what God says will happen, can happen

Gabriel quote Genesis 18:12 - 14 (read verses)

Both Elizabeth’s and Mary’s stories are tied to Abraham and Sarah

Or perhaps we should say that Abraham and Sarah’s story was already tied to Jesus. This was ALWAYS God’s plan.

Mary chooses to believe, submit and rejoice

Read v. 38

Gabriel leaves, but Mary’s experience is just beginning.

Where does this leave us? To look at the incredible, audacious, hopeful claims of who Jesus truly is.

Jesus Our Saviour

Mary was told to name the child Jesus, which points to his role as Saviour (“The Lord is salvation”)

In his account, Matthew drives this point home (from the perspective of Joseph’s dream)

Cf. Matthew 1:20 - 25

Jesus came to save us all from our sins!

We must admit our need of salvation

We must admit our inability to save ourselves

It had to be Jesus, and His nature is the key:

Son of Man (fully human)

Jesus was fully human; he was carried to term by Mary, born, raised, lived, suffered and died

He lived the complete human experience, in fullness. No shortcuts

It was necessary for our Saviour to be human so He could make up for the original human mistake

Cf. Romans 5:17

Jesus succeeds where Adam (and all other human beings) have failed. He is the one man who can truly offer life

Son of God (fully divine)

Our Saviour needed to be human, but no human can be perfect; He aslo needed to be divine

Gabriel calls Jesus “the Son of the Most High” and “the Son of God.”

He is divine! He is fully God

Only God could accomplish all of what was necessary to secure our salvation while remaining both loving and just

The people weren’t expecting God Himself; yet that is who Jesus is

Cf. John 1:14

Jesus is divine, and that divinity is necessary for Him to be our Saviour

The virgin birth is a crucial doctrine for the church

Clear up any misunderstandings:

Not sexual, not just a “maiden,” not a perpetual virgin

The virgin birth is the ONLY way our saviour could enter the world as fully humand and fully God

The result? The hypostatic union (fully human, fully divine, one individual existence)

We strive to understand the nature of Jesus better because it impacts our understanding of our own salvation.

Jesus Our King

Not just our saviour, Jesus is our king

Gabriel declares that Jesus is the complete fulfillment to a promise God made to David thousands of years prior:

Cf. 2 Samuel 7:12 - 13

So much of Gabriel’s message points to the past; this has ALWAYS been God’s plan

As we continue to discover in the NT, Jesus is not just the Davidic king of Israel; He is the King of kings for all (including you and me)

We are His subjects

When Mary accepts the angel’s message, she calls herself a “servant” of the Lord; servant = female slave

To follow a king is to be subject to Him; to follow a master is to be a servant or even a slave. We are not the one’s calling the shots!

As followers of the King, we must listen to Him above all others

His words goes; we are accountable to living for the king, not any other human authority… including ourselves

As followers of the King, we must set aside our own freedoms for the sake of the kingdom

If we champion our own rights and freedoms, we run the risk of being poor subjects, because it is NOT about us.

Cf. Luke 9:23

A loving king of an eternal kingdom

Doesn’t sound too appealing? It all depends on the nature of the king

Jesus loves unconditionally, saves us from our sins and gifts us with eternal life

Because His kingdom is eternal

“Son of Man” was a title that Jesus loved to use to describe Himself, which leads us directly to this vision of Daniel:

Cf. Daniel 7:13 - 14

What kingdom are you a part of? Who do you serve? Don’t settle for anything less than what lasts forever.

Pray

Take it Home

Have you trusted Jesus to save you from your sins? Pray that prayer of trust (for the first time or as a reminder).

What in your life is keeping you from following the King wholeheartedly? How can this change?