“COMMUNICATION OF OUR MESSIAH” Luke 1:26-38
FBCF – 12/15/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Tommy Bolt was a professional golfer in 1950’s. Was playing in LA. Had a caddy w/ reputation of constant chatter. Before they teed off, Bolt told him, “Don’t say a word to me. And if I ask you something, just answer yes or no.”
During the round, Bolt found the ball next to a tree, where he had to hit under a branch, over a lake & onto the green. He got down on his knees & looked through the trees & sized up the shot.
“What do you think?” he asked the caddy. “5-iron?” “No, Mr. Bolt,” the caddy said.
“What do you mean, not a 5-iron? Just watch this shot.”
The caddy rolled his eyes. “No-o-o, Mr. Bolt.”
But Bolt hit it & the ball stopped about two feet from the hole. He turned to his caddy, handed him the five-iron & said, “Now what do you think about that? You can talk now.” “Mr. Bolt,” the caddy said, “that wasn’t your ball.”
Accurate communication is an important aspect of our lives. And it was an important aspect of Jesus coming into the world. Today, we are going to look at how God communicated this news to Mary & what that means for us today.
EXPLANATION – Luke 1:26-38
Luke’s Gospel is filled w/ good news for everybody! Key verse – Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man came to seek & save the lost.” This message of this book is a message for anybody anywhere. Luke shows us the universality of Jesus & the universality of the Gospel. As we will look at next week, the coming of Jesus into the world as our Savior is a message that is filled w/ “good tidings of great joy which shall be to ALL people” (Luke 2:10) – not to SOME people – not to GOOD people – not to DESERVING OR WORTHY people – but to ALL people!
Let’s divide our passage up into 3 sections:
HERE’S WHO’S BRINGING THE NEWS – v. 26-29 – It’s no coincidence that the angel chosen to bring the greatest news the world has ever heard has a name that actually means “God is great.” Gabriel means “God is great.” He had already appeared to the priest, Zechariah, w/ the great news that he & his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son who would be John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. Unfortunately, Zec looked at his circumstances instead of to God & didn’t believe Gabriel. Result? He was struck dumb & couldn’t talk for next 9 months.
- “Zacharias paid a price for his unbelief. His unbelief did not make God take HIs promise back; it just kept Zacharias from enjoying it.” (https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/luke-1/)
- Same commentator: “Strangely, many Christians would not consider this a punishment – they don’t mind keeping quiet about the good news of Jesus.” (https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/luke-1/)
500 yrs before his visit w/ Zechariah, Gabriel had taken a message from God to Daniel. Next stop for Gabriel after Zechariah was Nazareth. No need for GPS or Google Maps – God sent him directly to Mary’s home. Gabriel, the “God is great” angel, sent by our great God to deliver the great message that Jesus was coming. What a great assignment for Gabe!
HERE’S WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN – v. 30-33 – Before he could tell her why he was there & what was going to happen, he had to calm her down since she was “greatly troubled” – “confused & disturbed” (NLT). Angels always had to say “Fear not” – “Don’t be afraid” – b/c, contrary to popular opinion, angels are not cute, chubby little babies in diapers on toilet paper packages. They are warriors & mighty messengers from God! Right now, they are fighting an unseen battle against demonic forces in the heavenlies, thwarting & hindering Satan’s plans & schemes against us.
After he calms her down, he gives her the most unbelievable message she had ever heard or would ever hear in her life. Here it is:
- “God has blessed you.”
o v. 28 - “O favored one…” v. 30 – “…you have found favor w/ God…”
o Be clear: Mary was not any more special than anyone else. Not chosen b/c she was more holy or more spiritual. God’s favor toward her was an act of His grace. She didn’t deserve this blessing. Just like us!
- “You are going to get pregnant.”
o Even though she was a virgin & had never been intimate w/ a man.
- “You are going to have a baby boy.”
o The focus of Christmas, the focus of the Gospel, & the focus of God’s perfect plan of salvation is on this boy, not on Mary. This boy & this boy alone can save. No one else can – not Gabriel, not Mary, not Joseph – only this boy. Which is why Gabriel said…
- “You are going to name Him Jesus.”
o His very name means “God saves” or “the Lord is salvation.”
o Bill Gaither – “There’s something about that name” – Charity Gayle – “I just want to speak the name of Jesus” – There’s power in that name! There’s joy in that name! There’s love in that name! There’s salvation in that name! Say it! Shout it! Proclaim it!
HERE’S HOW IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN – v. 34-37 – Mary asked the obvious question (v. 34) – “HOW???” Gabriel’s answer let her know that this would be completely an act of Almighty God. The Holy Spirit would “overshadow” her (v. 35).
- “overshadow”- to cover w/ a cloud – as in the cloud of the Shekinah glory of God in the OT (Exodus 40:34 – “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” - & the cloud of God’s glory on Mt of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5 – “While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”).
- The Holy Spirit did not “mate” w/ Mary in some crude, weird way. It was totally an act of the sovereign power of God & His glory! And Gabriel made that abundantly clear when he said, “For nothing will be impossible w/ God.” (v. 37)
o Do you believe that? Do you really believe that? Do you live your life in such a way that shows that you believe that? Are you attempting things that are impossible for you to do & that only God can do? Because…
APPLICATION – When you truly believe that nothing is impossible with God, your whole life changes.
YOU REALIZE WHO YOU ARE – “Behold, I am the Lord’s servant…” – Such an important & necessary moment for Mary – the moment that she realized that the greatest thing she could do for the rest of her life was to simply serve the Lord – to be His slave – doule – “female slave” – not the mother of God, not the co-redeemer, not an intercessor in heaven – but a slave of God for the rest of her life. Nothing is greater than that! This simple, humble teenage girl came to a life-changing, life-altering realization at that moment: Since nothing is impossible w/ God, she could serve Him & be used by Him in an unbelievable way!
That’s true for you & me, too! There is nothing greater than to be a servant of the Lord for the rest of your life!
- Greater than being the President of the USA
- …the greatest athlete the world has ever seen
- …the most successful entrepreneur…
- …the most intelligent person…
- …the richest billionaire…
YOU SUBMIT TO GOD’S PLAN – “…let it be to me…” – Once Mary realized the privilege that awaited her, she was all in! She willingly & definitively submitted to His plan, as crazy as the plan may have sounded from a human standpoint – a no-name teenage virgin from a no-name town engaged to a no-name carpenter is going to give birth to the Savior of the world! Really???
When you truly believe that nothing is impossible w/ God & you go all-in & submit to His plan for you, you get to participate in things that ONLY GOD can do!
- You start believing & seeing that He can & will use a little Baptist Church on a corner in a little town in MS to do CRAZY things for His Kingdom! – things we’ve never done before – things we’ve never thought about before – things that ONLY HE can do!
o Build a sanctuary
o Plant churches
o Send missionaries all over the world
o Give more generously than we’ve ever given before
o Baptize more people than we’ve ever baptized before/Disciple more people
- You start believing & seeing that He can & will use the ordinary people sitting in that Baptist Church’s sanctuary in that little town in MS to do extraordinary things for His Kingdom!
- You start believing & seeing that He really, really WILL use YOU to do those extraordinary things: to tell people about Jesus & bring them to Jesus, to disciple people in their relationship w/ Jesus.
- You start believing & seeing that, if He can use a normal, humble teenage girl to accomplish His plan, He can use: (have each group stand)
o YOU – even as a child (Gage Mardis)
o YOU – teenage boy or girl
o YOU – college student & young single adult
o YOU – busy young moms or dads…young married couple
o YOU – middle-aged businessman…middle-aged career woman…married or single
o YOU – senior adult…retired or not…still married or a widow or widower
“One ordinary Christian in the hand of Almighty God can do ANYTHING God commands.” (Henry Blackaby)
YOU TRUST GOD’S WORD – “…according to your word.” – The way you realize who you are & submit to His plans – is by knowing that HE SAID IT! You can trust Him to do what He says He’s going to do. “God, if this is what you’ve said that you want me to do, I’m all in!”
- No matter what anyone thinks or says – Sure there were those who gossiped about Mary
- No matter what the cost – Simeon told Mary – “a sword will pierce your soul” (Luke 2:35)
- No matter how outlandish it may seem
- “God, I’m all in!”
YOU GET UP & GO – v. 39 – “In those days Mary arose & went with haste…” – Mary heard God speak to her through Gabriel & she got up & went to see it. She believed what God said & she acted on it. Didn’t waste any time…Which brings us to our invitation…
CONCLUSION – “Are you all in?”
