A miraculous birth
Luke 1:26-38
December 10, 2017
Three misconceptions about Mary:
1. Mary was sinless
2. The perpetual virginity of Mary
3. Mary as the co-redemptrix of humanity
Four angelic predictions about Jesus:
1. He will be great v.32a
2. He would be called the Son of the Most High v.32b
3. He will be given the throne of David v.32c
2 Samuel 7:16
4. His reign and kingdom would never end v.33
Three applications for us this morning:
1. All humanity needs a Savior
Isaiah 64:6
2. God has provided a Savior
Matthew 1:21 1 Peter 1:3-4 Ephesians 2:4-5
3. We receive Him and live in Him by faith vv.36-38
35 years ago this next week, my first born, Benjamin James Barksdale came into this world. His first 90 seconds were touch and go, but by God’s grace, he made it just fine. (Pic of Ben) It was a miraculous birth. You know, I think all births are miraculous. But there is one birth that stands apart and above every other birth in history.
Luke 1:26-38
v.26 6th month: this connects to the previous passage when Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, was told she would have a son, John, later known as John the Baptist. This passage we’ll study today begins at Elizabeth’s 6th month of pregnancy
Gabriel: the word angel means “messenger’ and Gabriel was an angelic being who bore the message of great news: a child would be born that would save people from their sins.
Galilee: remember last week we talked about how Jesus first came to this war torn, ravaged and humiliated part of Israel. He was a light shining in the darkness to bring them hope.
v.27 virgin: meaning she had no physical relationship, not even kissing, with her beloved.
engaged: actually it was something called a betrothal; betrothal was much more serious than what we call engagement. It lasted a year, while the groom would go and build a house and prepare for his bride; she was to keep herself pure and undefiled—if she didn’t, she would be stoned to death. Contemporary anti-type??
house of David: meaning Joseph was a descendent of David; this is critical because prophecy after prophecy insisted that the Messiah would be a physical descendent of this great King David
v.29 troubled: what the heck? What does this mean?
v.31a (only) Now listen: obviously Mary was in mild shock at seeing an angels so Gabriel has to say, “snap out of it girl—pay attention to what I’m saying”
Now let me stop right there. I want to take a moment and correct Three misconceptions about Mary: (build) Many of you come out of a faith tradition that teaches some non-biblical doctrine. My heart here is not to accuse or criticize as much as it is to contrast the official dogma of the Roman Catholic church and what the Bible teaches.
1. Mary was sinless. The Immaculate Conception is a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Immaculate Conception refers to the sinless state of Mary. Those who hold to the Immaculate Conception dogma point to the phrase that Mary was in v.28 “Rejoice, favored woman.” Some translations say she was “full of grace”. That word grace comes from the Greek word grace (charis): a gift; unmerited favor. What made her blessed, what made her favored, was not her sinless perfection, but the sovereign choice of God to choose her to be the vessel for the birth of the Savior. Jesus was and is the only human being to be morally perfect. He avoided being tainted by the seed of sin passed down to every generation from the time of Adam because that seed of sin passes down through the father, not the mother.
2. The perpetual virginity of Mary. Catholic doctrine states that Mary remained a virgin her entire life. This is in direct contradiction of Scripture that identifies several children, including James, as the children of Joseph and Mary.
3. Mary as the co-redemptrix of humanity. Catholic doctrine teaches that because of the elevated status that Popes assigned Mary, that she is "the gate of heaven," "Advocate," and "Mediatrix," ascribing to her a cooperative role in the work of salvation. This is found NO where in the Bible. I could stand here all day and identify Scripture that identifies Jesus as the the Door, the Gate, the Lamb, the Light, the Life, the Savior who takes away the sins of humanity.
So that leads us to finish the passage. Look at v.31b “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus.” The name Jesus, as He would have been called by His family and friends, Jesus (Yeshua): Yahweh saves Yahweh the personal name of the Triune God. Salvation comes from God, and God only.
Four angelic predictions about Jesus:
1. He will be great v.32a
We toss that word ‘great’ around. Did you have a good Thanksgiving? Yeah it was great. How did you do on your exam? An A? That’s great! Is your football team going to be playing in the Final Four? That’s great!
The word ‘great’ is a superlative and so Using this word in reference to Jesus, Gabriel was saying that Jesus would be awesome, fantastic, incredibly important. It carries with it the idea of being large in size. So the phrase, “Large and in charge” would pretty much capture the meaning.
2. He would be called the Son of the Most High v.32b
We said earlier that the Messiah would need to be in the lineage of David. That was one side of Jesus’ family tree. But this points to the other side of His family tree. To be called a “son of someone” carried with it the idea of being a carbon copy of that person. Now for you millennials, we used to have this thing called a typewriter (pic), and to make copies you put a piece of carbon paper between two sheets of paper in the typewriter so that when the key struck the first piece of paper, the carbon would make the same letter on the 2nd sheet. Jesus is being called a carbon copy of the Most High God. This is speaking of His divinity; an equal part of the God head. Fully human—yes. AND, fully divine.
3. He will be given the throne of David v.32c
As we said earlier, the Messiah would need to come from the lineage of David. That was God’s declaration to David when He made Him king. “Your house and kingdom will endure before Me forever, and your throne will be established forever.’ ” 2 Samuel 7:16
4. His reign and kingdom would never end v.33
We talked about this in week 1: there is The Already (build) The Present and The Not Yet. When Jesus came the first time, the Incarnation, God in the flesh, He lived a perfect life so He could die a perfect death, right? And when He walked out of the tomb on that 1st Easter morning, He proved that He had conquered sin and death and He ushered in a new age where sin no longer destroyed us for eternity and death no longer was the final enemy. That’s The Already.
In the Present, Jesus reigns and rules sitting at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us even this very moment. And even though circumstances seem dark and hopeless, He is still in loving control, working all things together for our good and His glory.
But there is the Not Yet. One day, Jesus will come the 2nd time, the 2nd advent, the 2nd coming, and He will do away with Satan and his demons, He will do away with all pain and every type of suffering, do away with all death. For now, His kingdom and reign seem hidden from most, but one day His reign and kingdom will be obvious to all. At that point, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. This is the New Heaven and the New earth, that God promises; an existence where there is only good and glory and joy and peace. And we who are saints long for His return when all of this nonsense right now is brought to an end.
So Gabriel has blown this little 14-15 year old girl’s mind with all this. Notice how she responds in v.34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?” And Gabriel tells her in v.35 “The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.”
There are at least Three applications for us this morning:
1. All humanity need a Savior We cannot save ourselves. Left on our own, we are hopelessly lost and separated from God. The Bible says that sin has separated us from God. Sin is falling short of the standard. God’s standard is moral perfection…and we are far, far from morally perfect.
Someone might be thinking: I’m not THAT bad. Granted, you may not be an ax murderer, but no one in their right mind could claim moral perfection, right? Now, God says that “All your acts of righteousness are like filthy rags to me” Isaiah 64:6 I don’t want to be too indelicate here, but those filthy rags refer to pieces of cloth used used by women during their menstrual cycle. This is how God looks at our attempts to be good and wholesome and righteous.
Humans are innately depraved. Depravity does not mean that people are as wicked and sinful as they could be. Nor does it mean that people are incapable of doing good deeds. It just means that the bad in us, the sin in us, ruins us, disqualifies us to a holy and righteous God.
Illustration with eggs and skillet…
2. God has provided a Savior
In the gospel of Matthew, we have the account of the angel telling Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, about what was going to happen to Mary. And the angel says, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
We are separated, depraved, and deserving of nothing but the judgment and awful wrath of a holy, just and righteous God. “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:3-4 “ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, 5 made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! Ephesians 2:4-5
There it is. Grace. Charis. A gift. How do we obtain the gift? We can’t attain it, we can only obtain it. How?
3. We receive Him and live in Him by faith vv.36-38 (on screen)
What did this little adolescent girl say when she had heard the explanation of the truth? “I accept your word; I accept the truth. I bow or bend my will to yours. According to your word, your will, so be it.”
What is your response today? Will you continue trying to earn God’s favor; continue in your mistaken notion that you and God are just fine; that He is fine with you the way you are? Or will you confess your sin and your need for a Savior and bend your will to His?
You know, every year we pull out the Christmas decorations and begin to decorate inside and outside. There is one big Tupperware tub full of icicle lights and it’s my job to put them up. And even though every year when I take them down, I try to put them in the tub in a way that they won’t get tangled. But sure enough, despite my best efforts, when I begin to take them out the next year, they get all tangled up. You can actually hire someone to detangle lights and hang them…but I insist on going thru the same madness every Christmas.
Despite our best efforts, our lives get hopelessly tangled up. And the only way we become untangled is to let Jesus do the untangling. You can even hang the lights up on the outside of your life and give off the message that everything on the inside is wonderful. But you know that’s not true. Invite Jesus into your life to untangle your mess. Nothing is impossible for Him.
Prayer (1-2-3 invitation—this can be the best Christmas EVER…; then to believers: are you here this morning and you’ve received the gift of salvation, but right now you are not bending your will to His will? Seeking your pleasure, not His; seeking your desires, not His; seeking your will, not His. Here’s what you need to do: Seek His forgiveness and tell Him that you want His way to be your way in every area of your life. It’s impossible to do on our own strength; but Nothing is Impossible with God.)
