Sermon: “An Angel Visits Mary”
Luke 1:26-38
A sermon for December 6, 2020
Pastor John Bright
Luke 1 “26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”
There is an old saying… “If God is your co-pilot, you need to change seats.” I mentioned in Bible Study recently that some folks – like my wife – are far more comfortable being in the driver’s seat. There was a day when my wife would be all white knuckled holding on to the door if she had to ride in the passenger seat. Any of you like that? For some folks, there is a need to be in control – to be in charge.
Today, we meet Mary – a picture of submission.
One of the nagging questions for readers of Luke’s Gospel is why the Angel reacts one way to Mary’s questions and a completely different way to Zacharias’ questions? Last week, we looked at that other angelic visitation in Luke chapter 1. The two encounters are similar: The Angel Gabriel appears in an unexpected way, both of the people visited by the angel experience fear, the angel tells each to not be afraid and announces a miracle. In both accounts, this is when a question arises. For Zacharias, the question is about the age of he and Elizabeth. For Mary, the question is about her not having access to the normal means to become a mother. Zacharias is scolded but Mary is reassured.
First, let me say that God is big enough for any question you want to ask. The asking of questions is not what is the issue in these two encounters. Here’s what I think is going on – God can tell where your questions are coming from and there are lots of reasons we ask questions. Let me put it this way – I imagine there were lots and lots of times that Zacharias, a 60-something year old priest, had wondered “Why no children?” When we look at Mary, probably a young teenager of 13 or 14, I just don’t see it as probable that she spent even a little time wondering “Why no baby all by myself?” This is all new for Mary and an old (maybe sore) subject for Zacharias.
The news from Gabriel to Mary would shock most of us…
Your child will be the Messiah – v.32-33
“32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
The Old Testament Prophets told of a Messiah who would come as a descendant of King David. In the time of Jesus, the Jews believed the Messiah would re-establish the Kingdom of David and throw off Roman rule of Israel. Jesus proclaimed the kind of Messiah he would be in Luke 4:
“16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
In this meeting with Gabriel, Mary also learns what we will all come to know – Jesus is the Son of God – He is divine and human, like no other person to ever walk upon this earth. Try to imagine hearing these words – v. 32 (he) “will be called the Son of the Highest” and v. 35 “, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Any woman hearing such a prophetic word over her child would wonder if she were up to the task, but that teen-aged mind of Mary goes in a different direction.
The Impossibility of the Virgin Birth v.34-37
“34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Let’s talk Virgin Birth for a couple of minutes. That’s one of the foundational elements of our Christian Faith upon which the world wants to cast doubt. Why? Because it seems as impossible to us today as it would have to Mary some 2,000 years ago. To further complicate the matter, there are many Protestant Believers (that’s everyone who isn’t Roman Catholic) … as I was saying, Protestant Believers mix up the Virgin Birth with a term from the Roman Catholic Church – The Immaculate Conception. This refers to Mary and her Mom and Dad. She was conceived in the “normal way” – I really can’t go into more detail than that since this sermon is G-Rated. Roman Catholic theology needed to work out a way for the Mother of Jesus to not have any stain of original sin, so The Immaculate Conception of Mary was a grace of God that they believe did not pass original sin to her.
So, Mary’s question is about the “normal way” and her very normal, teen-aged mind could not fathom what Gabriel would say next. God would be the father of her child. WOW!
Through the centuries of the Church, we have clearly understood that there was no physical contact between Mary and the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus would be Fully God and Fully human, His conception needed to be both Divine Spirit and human flesh. In the womb of Mary, the power of the of the Holy Spirit placed the very Glory of God that the Israelites had experienced in the wilderness. In that womb – where there is normally a mother’s and father’s DNA – the full creative power of the God who spoke the Universe into existence knit together His Only Begotten Son.
Just in case Mary was thinking it would be impossible – Gabriel tells her about her cousin, Elizabeth, who got pregnant 6 months before. Would she know about this already? Nobody knows, but she may have. If so, how many would be saying “That seems impossible!” God made sure Zacharias and Elizabeth could have a son the “normal way” even if the parents are past the age to have children – just like Abraham and Sarah. Now, just in case she missed it, the Angel ends with – v. 37 “For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Did you miss that? What’s impossible for God? NOTHING! NO THING! NOT ONE THING!
“Hey, Pastor John are you trying to tell me that nothing is impossible for God?” ABSOLUTLY and that should be a kick in the pants for your faith and my faith!
Speaking of faith…
Mary Makes a Statement of Faith v.38
“38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”
This brings me back to the topic of submission which is something of a dirty word in a day when folks claim victimhood and say they are being oppressed. Their response is to do what they want… no matter what! If what you want to do is 180° opposite from the truth of God’s Word – it’s your business. Yes, it’s your business – just don’t try to make be believe that God is ok with what you are!.
It’s in this day and time we read Mary’s words – “Yes Lord – I am your servant. I will do what you need me to do.” That’s a picture of submission and an example for you and me as modern-day Disciples of Jesus Christ.
Imagine with me a Christian, sitting at home during the pandemic restrictions. Not sure what he is doing, but he does not expect God to show up – “Hello! I’m your God.”
“Hey, God. I’m glad you’re here – I’ve got some questions about this whole coronavirus thing.”
“Actually, I’m not here to be interviewed. I came to tell you what I need you to do. Will you be my servant and go where I need you to go?”
“I guess so, God, but it kind of depends.”
“Depends? On what?”
“Well, I guess you already know that there are a lot of travel restrictions right now.”
“Okay, anything else?”
“Well, I would have to check my schedule. I have plenty of Facebook Live sessions and Zoom meetings and conference calls now that the church can’t meet in person.”
“Is that all?”
“Well, now that I think about it, I would appreciate it if you didn’t ask me to do anything hard or anything that would make me feel uncomfortable. Can you do that for me?”
(Silence)
“Hey, God – are you still there?”
(Silence)
The Bible is full of the truth that God is in control. The sheep don’t lead the flock – that’s the job of the shepherd. How does the 23rd Psalm begin? “The Lord is my shepherd.” That makes me a sheep.
God will never hire you as a consultant – He does not need you (let that sink in for a minute). You need Him and God wants to be there for you when you can finally admit your need. Can you be the willing servant that says – “Thy will be done”? I know it’s tough… letting go and letting God have His will and His way.
If there is anything standing in the way of a submission to God – let this season of Advent be the time when you finally let it go and get rid of it… forever. Amen.
