What Did Mary Know?
CCCAG, Christmas Day 2022
Scripture: Luke 1:26-33
Merry Christmas Everyone, and thank you for coming to church this morning. (Title)
I read a news article on Friday that said over 35% of pastors canceled their Sunday church services this morning because it’s Christmas. The most offered reason was to allow the congregation to spend time with their families.
I found that very odd.
Wouldn’t you want your family to be surrounded by God’s family on a Sunday, celebrating the birth of our savior? So again, I thank you for coming today.
This morning, we are going to continue some of the same thoughts from last week where we considered Mary, the mother of Jesus, and how she would treasure things in her heart about HIM.
We are going to continue this study into Mary and this morning in looking at “What did she know” about what God was calling her to do?
Luke 1:26-33
In the sixth month, 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 be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name 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 the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
Prayer
Premise--
Mary was indeed special. The Holy Spirit decided her story was important enough that we should read about it and study it, and even study her. I know some may feel uncomfortable with that if you came from a certain religious background, but this is not a veneration of her. We are not praying to her, worshipping her, or believing she was forever without sin as Christ was.
What Mary is to us is an example of how God can use a willing vessel, and that is what I want to focus on this morning.
The first thing that we see that Mary knew is
I. She was chosen
Considering the time she was in, and the exact lineage necessary for Mary to be chosen, it was likely that there were only a few dozen females in all of Israel that met the requirements to be the mother of the promised Messiah. You can see her lineage in Luke 3, where the Greek physician Luke records Mary’s lineage versus the lineage seen in Matthew in which the former tax collector follows the traditional means of lineage in following the father’s family.
What they both show is that both Mary and Joseph were descendants of Abraham, descendants of Jacob AKA Israel, descendants of King David.
The family tree splits at that point where Joseph’s line follows down through David’s son Solomon and Mary’s through David’s son Nathan.
The reason this is important is that God made a promise to Abraham, Jacob, and David that their heir would be something special. In David’s case, God promised him that eventually his descendant would sit on the throne in Jerusalem forever.
So God protected the promise. And protecting that promise was not easy.
Because of the many wars, captivities, and scattering of the Jews throughout the world, there probably wasn’t a lot of females of the correct lineage, with the correct character for God to chose from during that time.
So, God protected, nurtured, and made sure that Mary was in a position for his plan to be accomplished!
If you consider for a moment everything that could have gone wrong with God’s plan, you have to be surprised it even worked.
A few considerations-
What if Mary’s family had settled somewhere other than Nazareth.
What if Joseph or Mary didn’t want to get married.
When you look at the genealogies- What if one chain in that ancestral link had been broken? God’s plan completely derails.
By the way- it came down to one boy, hid in a temple for 7 years. Joash was the last of David’s bloodline and escaped the purge of an evil woman who usurped the throne.
There are a hundred other things that could have gone wrong- but they didn’t!
What is our taken away from that this morning?
Just like Mary was chosen, protected, and kept for such a time to bring forth God’s promised-
God has done the same thing for you this morning.
That’s right-God still has a plan and mission for you. You have been chosen to be in the Kingdom of God for such a time as this. All of the good, and all of the suffering in your life has brought you to this specific time to serve His kingdom in a very specific way.
The second thing we see that Mary knew was-
II. God was with her
There is a fact about Mary that may be a little uncomfortable to our 21st century minds- Mary was probably about 13 when Gabriel spoke to her.
Because of religious art from centuries ago, we have this image in our minds of a woman in her late 30’s early 40’s, but that was not the custom of her day. Typically girls married at 13ish.
We can’t get teenagers today to put down a phone and help with dishes much less start running a household and family.
Not only was Mary facing starting a new family, but she was facing certain death- she was in the betrothal part of the Jewish marriage custom- what we could called the engagement. She had not consummated her marriage to Joseph, so if she is found to be pregnant, the Law of Moses demands that she will be taken to the town gate and stoned to death for adultery.
All of this has to be on her mind as she considers the words of the arch angel.
Her response is what made her special-
Luke 1:38
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."
Mary knew that even though this made no sense, would most likely mean she would be permanently shunned if not executed for being with a child out of wedlock, AND lose her husband.
She trusted God, and knew that HE was with her.
What that shows us today is that God may have a calling on your life, or a task He has uniquely prepared you for. It may even seem like time has run out- you are too old, too infirm…that it’s too late for God to use you.
Let me give you some good news- the bible says that the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. If you continue to resist that calling, the scope of how much God can use you might change a little.
If you resist the calling for 40 years, obviously time will become a factor and how much you can be used. Don’t let that discourage you though-God can take the most broken vessel and reshape it into something He can use.
If you, like Mary, believe He is with you. (pause)
The third thing Mary knew is that
III. She was a vessel
As a man, I have no idea what it feels like to have a life forming inside of me. To feel a kick, a rollover, or that kind of movement is something only females can experience.
Now imagine feeling all of that, and knowing that what you are carrying is actually the God of the universe choosing to have a human experience.
Imagine that kind of feeling. Being a male, I really can’t understand it fully, but I imagine it was overwhelming for Mary at times.
She was carrying God around with her, even to the point of her cousin Elizabeth’s child, who would grow up to be John the Baptist, leaping inside her woman when Mary drew close to her.
Mary knew she had that unique privilege of carrying God with her.
But you know what?
So do you!
After rising from the dead, and a few days before Jesus ascends into heaven the apostle John records in
John 20:22
22 And with that (Jesus) breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the triune God, and if you have accepted Jesus as your LORD, God, Savior, and King then you, like Mary, are carrying God within you. Before Jesus left this earth, He restored what had been lost in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned and became naked- no longer clothed with God’s presence inside of them.
A Christian is supposed to be a vessel that carries God’s spirit with them into the world, so others can see God and be saved!
Not only do we carry God, but we also wear his power on us-
In Acts Chapter 2,
Acts 2:2-4
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Again, this is the Father reestablishing the connection with humanity HE has always desired- to be in us, and upon us in power.
To be like Mary- carrying God inside us so that we can birth more Christians through our witness.
The last thing I want to point out to us this morning that Mary knew is this-
IV. Fear Not
It says in Luke that Mary was very troubled by this pronouncement from Gabriel.
But Gabriel told her fear not- the LORD is with her!
I wanted to end at this point because often people only remember the the first few minutes, and the last few minutes of a sermon, so I wanted to leave you with the same pronouncement-
Fear not.
Even if it seems like there is no hope of God ever intervening in your struggles.
Fear not
Even if the news talks about wars and rumors of wars.
Fear not
Even when they are predicting power grid failures
Fear not
Even when they predict things like Winter Bomb Cyclones
Fear Not
Even when the news consistently talks about food shortages and famine
Fear not.
Even when it seems like our own government wants to turn on it’s citizens.
Fear not.
Whatever is troubling you today. Whatever is keeping you from experience the fullness of the Joy of the LORD
The LORD would say to you today- Fear NOT!
For I am with thee, my rod and my staff will comfort thee.
Fear not.
Prayer
