THE FACES OF CHRISTMAS
FAITH
Luke 1:26-38
‘For no word from God will ever fail.”
INTRODUCTION
Christmas is a time of FAITH.
Nowhere is this truth seen than in how Mary responded to the news that God had chosen her to be the mother of the Son of God.
We see the wonder and the wisdom of God’s Sovereign plan.
It was not to a wealthy, well known popular princess. But to a lowly, humble poor country girl, that God chose to use as the vehicle for Christ’s entrance into this world.
The lesson we learn from Mary’s response, is that God honors those who humbly surrender to His call
What do we know about Mary?
Luke 1:26-38
English Standard Version (ESV)
26In the sixth month the angel(A) Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named(B) Nazareth,27(C) to a virgin betrothed[a] to a man whose name was Joseph,(D) of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
Half of the world magnifies her to the point where Mary takes precedence even over Jesus. The other half of the world, puts her in the sidelines, and forgets about her after Luke chapter two.
What we know about Mary is,
• She was young. Mary was pledged to be married. At that time, it was customary for girls to be engaged at 12-13 years of age (around the time of reaching puberty). One reason was to ensure girls maintained their virginity until marriage. It’s very possible that Mary could have been as young as 12-13, or as old as 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. But also
• She was poor. We read Luke 2:22-24 that Mary and Joseph took baby Jesus to the temple to be circumcised. They were required to bring one of two offerings: either a lamb for a burnt offering and a dove or a pigeon for a sin offering. If a lamb was too expensive, the parents could bring a second dove or pigeon instead. Mary and Joseph brought the two doves, because they couldn’t afford a lamb. You and I might have thought this family is too poor to provide for Jesus but apparently God didn’t think so. Mary was young, and poor, but also
• She was from Nazareth. Apparently, Mary was a young girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Nazareth was a town with a bad reputation. Remember what Nathanael said when He learned Jesus from Nazareth?
John 1:46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” …
You and I might have thought No way. No telling what this girl grew up seeing and hearing and doing in a bad town like that. Apparently, God didn’t take this into consideration in choosing Mary to be mother to His Son.
Mary was young, poor, and from Nazareth—all characteristics make her seem unusable by God. But God chose Mary for one of the most important jobs He ever asked anyone to do.
As the story unfolds, we take note of MARY’S SURPRISE.( 26-33)
28And he came to her and said, "Greetings,(E) O favored one,(F) the Lord is with you!"[b] 29But(G) she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for(H) you have found favor with God. 31And behold,(I) you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and(J) you shall call his name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of(K) the Most High. And the Lord God(L) will give to him the throne of(M) his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob(N) forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
Mary was perplexed and afraid at Gabriels greeting. First of all, it isn’t every day that you are visited by an angel. After all, that was reserved for people like Moses, Abraham, and Elijah. Who was Mary, but a simple teenage girl from the sticks.
Then there was Gabriels greeting,; "Greetings,(E) O favored one,(F) the Lord is with you!"
The King James adds the words, Blessed art thou among women.’
Warren Weirsbe asks three probing questions:
Why would an Angel be sent to HER? In What ways was she highly favored by God? How was God with her?
First of all, the choice of Mary highlights God’s Sovereignty in choosing. His choice of Mary had little to do with her background, spirituality, age, or gender. It had everything to do with His providence in extending his grace to whomever He chooses.
There would have been many others who might have had the response, “well its about time God. I knew it was only a matter of time before you noticed me,’
That was not Mary’s attitude. She was simply doing what she knew she should be doing. Do pretense. No agenda. Just living faithfully before God and willing to do and be whatever God called her.
There was nothing unique about her that such things should happen. She was one among hundreds of other teenage girls that God could have chosen.
But HE chose Mary. This tells us something of Gods soverienty. He chose her. And it tells us of his grace. He chose her. Not because she had a pedigree, but because of His Divine grace and love, He put his hand on her life.
What is significant is Mary’s response to the Lords sovereign grace.
Mary’s response reveals her humility and honesty before God.
She certainly never expected an Angel to appear to her let alone be singled out by God as highly favored.
Then Gabriel gave her even more incredible news; she would be the mother of the promised Messiah, and she would give birth to a son and call him Jesus.
I want to have us notice that Gabriel affirms both the diety and humanity of Jesus.
As Mary’s son Jesus would be human; As the Son of the Highest, He is the Son of God, as the prophet Isaih proclaimed,
6(A) For to us a child is born, to us(B) a son is given;
(C) and the government shall be(D) upon[a] his shoulder, and his name shall be called[b] Wonderful(E) Counselor,(F) Mighty God (G) Everlasting(H) Father, Prince of(I) Peace.
A friend of mine had posted on his facebook wall this eternal truth, that we dare not get wrong,
God did not send Christ to us; God came to us in Christ
Dr .Fred Penny
Gabriel also declares that Mary’s child would also be a King, inherit David’s throne and reign over Isreal FOREVER!
Jesus came to Earth to be the Savor of the world. He also came to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies and promises made to the Jewish fathers.
Today, Jesus is enthroned in Heaven, but is not on David’s throne, …Yet.
One day He will return and establish His righteous kingdom on Earth and fulfill all the promises made concerning Christ.
That is Mary’s SURPRISE.
Now lets consider Mary’s SURRENDAR ( 34-38)
And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"
Mary knew WHAT would happen, she did not know HOW it would happen. When she asks the question, “How shall this be..’ it is not out of unbelief as Zacharias responded, but rather an expression of faith.
Mary believed the promise, but she did not understand its performance. How could a virgin give birth to a baby?
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.
First, Gabriel explains that this would be a miracle. It would be the work of the Holy Spirit and not any human agency.
Gabriel is careful to point out that the Baby would be holy, and not share the sinful human nature of man.
According to the Bible, Jesus knew no sin ( 2 Cor. 5:21); For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
He did no sin ( 1 Peter 2:22) He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his
mouth.
; and he had no sin ( 1 John 3:5) You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
All of this was essential iof Jesus was to be our spotless lamb to die and take away our sin. He had to be a pure, spotless lamb.
The Bible says that Mary would be ‘overshadowed’ by the holy Spirit.
That word is apllied to the presence of God in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle ( Ex.40:35)
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Mary’s womb became a Holy of Holies for the Son of God.
Gabriel ended his message by giving Mary a word of encouragement. Her aged relative Elizabeth was also expecting a baby, proving that with God NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE>
In the OT, God gave the same encouragement to Abraham, when he promised him a son in his old age ( Gen 18:14). This was the testimony of both Job and Jeremiah ( Job 42:2; Jer. 32:17) and even of our Lord Jesus ( Matt. 19:26)
I personally like the New International Version ( 2011) translation of this verse,
‘For no word from God will ever fail.”
God accomplishes His purpose through the power of His word,
For he spoke, and it came into existence, he issued the decree, and it stood firm. ( Psalm 33:9)
Mary’s response was not of fear, resistance, or even cautious acknowledgement. Her response was of humble SURRENDAR to God’s word and will.
She identifies herself as the Lords servant. One translation uses the word BOND servant. In others words, she hears God word, and she responds by willingly offering her life as service to the Lord no matter the cost.
She serves as an example of what it means to follow the Lord in mind, body and spirit.
Imagine the fears she might experience as a result of her pregnancy:
• Possible divorce by Joseph. Joseph at first assumes that Mary has been unfaithful to him. What else would he have thought? He decided to divorce her (which, according to their law, was necessary to end the engagement) before he was told in a dream that Mary’s baby was, in fact, conceived by the Holy Spirit. But right now, Mary doesn’t know how all of that will work out. But she does know God will be with her, whatever Joseph does.
• Possible rejection by her family. Did Mary’s family believe her story that the baby growing inside her was the Son of God? Would you believe that if your daughter told you that story? We are never told anything about Mary’s parents’ reaction to her pregnancy. But it’s very possible that they didn’t believe her story. But Mary believes God is with her, no matter how her parents may react.
• Certain rejection by her community Imagine the gossip that must have circulated Nazareth. The people have Nazareth would have accused her of adultery—a sin that was not looked on lightly as it is today. It’s likely that Mary was shunned by those who had once been her friends. But Mary believes God is with her, even if her friends abandon her.
• Possible death by stoning
According to the law, this was the penalty for adultery. By New Testament times stoning was rare, but it was still a possibility.
Have you ever thought about how God wants to use you? Perhaps you feel you are too old, or too young to make a difference for the Lord. Or it might be that your educational or social status is your excuse for holding back from letting God make a difference through your life.
But as we close, I want us to consider the application that Mary’s faith and trust in God has for each of us today.
1. NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, THE LORD CAN USE YOU. (v. 26-27)
Mary teaches us God is not as interested in your abilities as He is in your availability. No matter who you are, God can use you.
Through God’s choice of Mary, He teaches us: no matter who you are, the Lord can use you.
You might think you are too young, that you don’t have enough money or talent for God to use you. You might think your background or past mistakes might make it impossible for God to use you. Don’t limit God. He can use you if you trust Him.
Out of all the queens, princesses, daughters of the wealthy and influential, God chose a poor teenager from a town with a bad reputation to be the mother of Jesus.
She had two vital characteristics God looks for: humility and faith. She knew she wasn’t worthy of the honor God offered her. Yet she still believed God could use her, if she trusted Him. Do you believe God can use you? Or do you think you’re too small—too young, too poor, too weak to be used by Him?
2. NO MATTER WHAT PROBLEMS YOU FACE, THE LORD IS WITH YOU. (v. 28-33)
There are some things you just don’t want to go through alone
Christmas, for instance. I don’t know of anybody who likes to spend Christmas all by themselves. I’m sure there are some, but most of us want to be share the celebration with people near and dear to us.
But we don’t like to go through trouble alone, either. If you get sick with nobody to sit up with you or comfort you, you’ll probably be more miserable. When you lose your job, or your spouse or your child, you need somebody with you to help you make it through.
Of course, the One Person you need more than anybody else when you face problems is the Lord. Mary teaches us that no matter what problems you face, the Lord is with you.
The angel says in vs. 30, “Do not be afraid.
The message from the angel totally changed Mary’s life. She was getting ready to be married and live a normal life. But now her life would be anything but normal. How could she be calm and courageous as she faced all of the problems that her pregnancy might cause? She would cling to the words the angel spoke in vs. 28: “The Lord is with you.” The Lord would be with her. He would help her. He would give her the strength and courage to face anything.
The same Lord makes that same promise to you and to me.
Psalm 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
Hebrews 13:5 …For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Mary’s story teaches us that no matter what problems you face, the Lord is with you. Mary faced the possibility of rejection from Joseph, her family, and her community and even the possibility of being stoned, but she knew that the Lord would never abandon her.
One of the titles given to Jesus was “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” One of the great themes of the Old Testament is the concept of God living with His people. Jesus is our Immanuel. He is “God with us.”
Two lessons from Jesus’ mother Mary: no matter who you are, God can use you. No matter what problems you face, God is with you. Look at one more:
3. NO MATTER WHAT HE PROMISES, THE LORD CAN DO IT. (v. 34-38)
A little boy asked his mother where he came from, and also where she had come from as a baby. His mother gave him a tall tale about a beautiful white-feathered bird. The boy ran into the next room and asked his grandmother the same question and received a variation on the bird story. He then scampered outside to his playmate with the comment, "You know, there hasn’t been a normal birth in our family for three generations."
The Bible records several instances where there was not a “normal birth.” God sent a son to Abraham and Sarah long after they thought having a baby was possible.
In Judges 13, an angel of the Lord told Manoah and his barren wife that they would have a special son they would name Samson. Samuel, the first prophet, final judge, and anointer of kings was the answer to the faithful, persevering prayers of his godly mother, Hannah.
John the Baptist’s mother, Elizabeth, was in her sixties or seventies when she gave birth to the prophet. But none of those special births was as amazing as the birth of Jesus Christ. His birth was a virgin birth
When we talk about the virgin birth we mean that Jesus was conceived in the womb of His mother Mary by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit and without a human father.
Now that doesn’t sound any more normal or possible back then than it does today. But look at Mary’s reaction in vs. 38 (read.) Even though the angel’s news was unbelievable, she believed it. Mary didn’t understand it, but she also didn’t doubt it. She believed that no matter what He has promised, the Lord CAN DO IT.
We must admit that, all these centuries later, Jesus’ miraculous conception remains impossible to understand by human reason alone. God chose not to explain the details of it to us.
The real issue is not whether a virgin can conceive; the real issue is whether anything is impossible for God. But if you will allow me to take just a short tangent for a moment, I want to address an important question some ask today: Why is the virgin birth important?
• It shows that SALVATION must ultimately come from the Lord. The virgin birth of Christ is an unmistakable reminder that salvation can never come through human effort, but must be the work of God Himself. Our salvation only comes about through the supernatural work of God, and that was evident at the very beginning of Jesus’ life when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, not by a man.
• It made possible the uniting of full DEITY and full HUMANITY in one person. Jesus was both fully human and fully God. He had to be in order to be our Savior. He had to be human because only a human being like us could pay the price for our sins; He had to be God because only God was perfect enough to pay for our sins. In other words, the virgin birth allowed Jesus to be, at the same time, completely God and completely man. He was the Son of God, and the Son of Man. As Man alone, Jesus could not have saved us; as God alone he would not. Incarnate, he could and did. Malcolm Muggeridge in Jesus. Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 15.
The virgin birth means that Jesus Christ is unique—He is both God and man. He is qualified to be our Savior.
Mary knew that a virgin birth is impossible, but she also believed that “nothing is impossible with God.” Whatever God promises, He delivers. No matter what He promises, He will do it.
What promises of God are you tempted to doubt? You’re reading the Bible one day, and your eyes light on one of the promises of God.
A promise not for Israel, not just for the Jews, but a promise to whoever believes.
John 11:26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
1 John 5:14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
John 10:10 …I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Do you ever read promises like these and say, “Yeah, right. Like that’s gonna happen. Not for me, not now, not after all I’ve been through.” But those promises are made by God. It doesn’t matter how impossible they seem—there is nothing, nothing nothing impossible with God. Whatever He promises, He always does, without fail. What you have to do is what Mary did: believe: say, “Let it be to me according to Your Word, O Lord.”
Little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul.—Anonymous
That’s the way it worked for Mary. That’s the way it can work for you, if you will believe.
We really don’t know what Jesus learned from His mother. We don’t know the impact of her life on His, or how much of Who He grew up to be was a reflection of the love and character of His mom. But God has left the record of what this young mother named Mary can teach you and I:
No matter who you are, the Lord can use you.
No matter what problems you face, the Lord is with you.
No matter what He has promised, the Lord can do it.
As we look at Mary we see the face of faith in action. Faith is more than believing in our head. Faith involves our actions.
The Great Blondin was a daredevil whose stage was Niagara Falls, where a tightrope was stretched across the great falls which he would walk across and back again.
In his show he would ask the crowd if they believed that he could walk across and back again. The crowd would respond with: “We believe you can Blondin! We believe you can!” So Blondin would do exactly that and walk across the great falls. On one occasion Blondin came with a wheel barrel and asked the crowd if they believed that he could cross the great falls pushing this wheel barrel. The crowd once again shouted “We believe! We believe!” So Blondin do just that and crossed the falls pushing a wheel barrel. On his return back he asked the crowd if they believed that he could do it again, but this time with someone in the wheel barrel. The crowd once again shouted “We believe! We believe!” to which Blondin asked back, “who is willing to get into the wheel barrel?” At which point silence fell over the thousands in attendance.
Will we live our life differently because of what we believe? Will I change my priorities so they are in line with God’s? Am I willing to allow God to change my character to be like his Will I trust God and get into the wheelbarrow.
THE FACES OF CHRISTMAS
FAITH
Luke 1:26-38
‘For no word from God will ever fail.”
INTRODUCTION
The lesson we learn from Mary’s response, is that God honors those who humbly surrender to His call
MARY’S SURPRISE.( 26-33)
Mary’s SURRENDAR ( 34-38)
Mary’s trust and faith in God teach us that
1. NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, THE LORD CAN USE YOU. (v. 26-27)
2. NO MATTER WHAT PROBLEMS YOU FACE, THE LORD IS WITH YOU. (v. 28-33)
3. NO MATTER WHAT HE PROMISES, THE LORD CAN DO IT. (v. 34-38)
Faith is more than believing in our head. Faith involves our actions.
The Great Blondin
Will we live our life differently because of what we believe? Will I change my priorities so they are in line with God’s? Am I willing to allow God to change my character to be like his? Will I trust God and get into the wheelbarrow.
RESOURCES
Commentaries
Warren Weirsbe, Expositional Commentaries on the New Testament
Full Life Bible Commentary
Gaebeliens Commentary, Luke
Sermon Central
Have Yourself a Mary Christmas, Michael crews
Sermoncentral.com/ Illustrations
