Mary's Big News (Advent 2, December 4, 2022)

MARY’S BIG NEWS

Text: Luke 1:26 – 38

Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, (27) to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. (28) The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." (29) Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. (30) But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. (31) You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. (32) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, (33) and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end." (34) "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" (35) The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (36) Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. (37) For no word from God will ever fail." (38) "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.

Years ago, when I was in seminary, I had a huge disagreement with one of my classmates who questioned whether or not Jesus was really born by the supernatural means of a virgin birth. I thought to myself if this guy is going to question the virgin birth, then how can he walk by faith? If God created the world out of nothing, and He did, (which is called in academic circles "creation ex-nihilo"), then certainly all things are possible with God (Luke 1:37)!

We know that God obviously chose the Mary, who was a virgin to be the mother of His only begotten Son (see John 3:16 KJV cf. John 1:14), the Lord Jesus Christ. What about Mary’s genealogy? The Bible tells us that there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen more from David to the exile of Babylon and fourteen from the exile to Christ (Matthew 1:17). Joseph’s ties to this genealogy are mentioned in Matthew 1:16. What about Mary’s genealogy?

There are two uncanonized books that record that Mary’s parents were Joachim and Anna (Mary and the Protenvangelion). (See The Lost Books of the Bible. New York, New York: Bell Publishing Company, 1979 pp. 17 - 27). Much like Sarah and Abraham, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, Elkanah and Hannah, the Shunammite woman and her husband, Joachim and Anna were a childless couple who were later blessed by the Lord and given a child. Mary was chosen by God even before her birth for the special assignment that God had in store for her (Mary 2:12).

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joachim and told him that he and his barren wife Anna would soon have a child and that they were to name her Mary (Mary 2:9 [from the Lost Book of the Bible. p. 19]). Today we will explore God’s plan for Mary, God’s plan for us and God’s plan for the lost.

GOD’S PLAN FOR MARY

One question that may come to mind is why was Anna barren?

1) Punishment: Was Anna barren because she was being punished? Isn’t that sometimes the first conclusion that people draw? That’s what Job’s friends did when they insinuated that all the tragedy Job experienced in losing his family, his servants and his, livestock?

2) God’s gift: Joachim obviously experienced shame and reproach: “For He [God] hath surely seen your shame, and hear your unjustly reproach for not having children: for God is the avenger of sin, and not of nature. And so when He shuts the womb of any person, he does it for this reason, that he may in a more wonderful manner again open it, and that which is born appear to be not the product of lust, but the gift of God” (Mary 2:4 - 5).

3) The meaning of her name: The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", and "wished for child". However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from mry "beloved" or mr "love".https://www.behindthename.com/name/mary

Can you imagine how excited that Anna was when she found out that she was going to have a daughter?