Christmas Through Mary’s Eyes Series

Christmas Through Mary’s Eyes

Series: Christmas Through Their Eyes

Chuck Sligh

December 15, 2019

NOTE: PowerPoint or ProPresenter presentations are available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives.

Some thoughts borrowed from two sermons by T. Michael Crews and Jonathan McLeod on SermonCentral.com.

TEXT: Luke 1:26-38 (TO BE READ LATER)

INTRODUCTION

People look at Christmas through different eyes.

• Christmas through the eyes of little ones usually involves something about a big fat man who rides a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer, you know…logical stuff like that.

• In the more enlightened kids eyes you can see visions of…not sugar plums, whatever that was…but visions of toys, toys, toys, toys and more toys. – Yay for toys!

• What others see in Christmas are times of family gatherings, the repetition of decades-old family traditions, delicious food around a table with loved ones, football games, and for the children, more toys, toys, toys. – Yay for toys!

• But many see Christmas through the eyes of loneliness and sadness, with no memories of happy gatherings—just sad memories of a broken family or alcohol or drug abuse, or depression or mental illness.

• To those of us who are saved, we look at Christmas through totally different eyes: We see an added dimension, the spiritual realm, where we’re reminded that one day God became a human and was born as a baby who grew up to be the Savior of the world!

But what did Christmas look like through the eyes of the participants? First of all, they didn’t even understand how they fit into the drama we now call Christmas. They just knew some really amazing things were going on, like strange visions, and the appearance of angels, and being told of fulfilled prophecies through them, and a strange birth in a strange place with strange supernatural occurrences surrounding the whole affair—like an angel army heralding good tidings to some shepherds who then show up at the door of their stable or cave to worship the baby.

Even today we see the amazingness of it all, but we know the rest of the story. What was Christmas like to Mary and Joseph in the early stages of the drama, before it all made sense; before “the rest of the story” was even played out? To Mary and Joseph, it must have been exciting, but also very confusing and scary. Let’s look at Christmas through Mary’s eyes and have a Mary Little Christmas this morning.

I. FIRST, MARY SAW THAT NO MATTER WHO SHE WAS, GOD COULD USE YOU. – Verses 26-27 – “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto 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.

Illus. – Do you remember the last time you filled out a job application? You had to give all your personal data, and summarize your background, your education, your experience, and so forth. One question they often ask is, “What is it that makes you uniquely qualified for this position?”

Now, how do you answer that question without coming off as a snob? Employers assume your AVAILABILITY, but what they really want to find out is 1) your LIABILITIES—what would make you UNSUITED for the job, and 2) your ABILILITES—what skills and talents will HELP you do the job.

But God doesn’t operate this way. Mary came to see that no matter who you are, God can use you! God isn’t as interested in your ABILITY as He is in your AVAILability.

Verses 26-27 paint a picture of an ordinary girl with some serious liabilities:

1) She was YOUNG.

Remember that in that day, it was not unusual for girls to be betrothed as young as 15 years of age (around the time of reaching puberty). Mary could well have been as young as 15 or 16 when Gabriel visited her.

You and I might think this girl is too young for God to use her, but apparently God didn’t think so.

2) Also, Mary was POOR.

We read in Luke 2:22-24 that Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to the temple to be circumcised. To do so, they were required to bring one of two offerings: either a lamb for a burnt offering, or if the parents were too poor to bring a lamb, they could instead bring two doves or pigeons for a sin offering. Mary and Joseph brought two doves, indicating they were poor.

You and I might have thought this family was too poor to provide for Jesus, the King of Heaven, but God didn’t think so.