Luke
1:26-38[i]
Christmas
songs are playing on the radio and in all the stores, songs about mistletoe,
Rudolf and white Christmases.
We
celebrate love and peace. We celebrate
the birth of a Savior. We sing about
peace on earth and joy to the world.
Truly, the
birth of Jesus Christ in the manger at Bethlehem is worth celebrating. He is God with us, Emmanuel, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. He is our
hope and salvation, and represents God’s favor toward us.
In spite of
the celebration and the words we hear about God’s love for us, it may not seem
that God loves us. With all that happens
in our lives and in our world, it can seem at times that God is not here. Do we really enjoy God’s favor? What does it look like to be favored of God?
Mary was a
young virgin engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. She was chosen by God to be the mother of
Jesus. She, of all people, represents
what it means to be favored of God. Mary
said of herself, “. . . and from now on all generations will call me
blessed.” When the angel greeted Mary,
he said, “Greetings, favored woman! The
Lord is with you!”
Even this
greeting shows Mary was favored of God.
As we consider Luke’s account of this moment in history, we will learn
truths about God’s favor.
The first
truth is, “It changes everything.”
Luke 1:29
tells us Mary was confused and disturbed by the angel’s greeting. Let’s
consider this.
First, it
was unusual to get a message from an angel.
Gabriel and Michael are the only angels named in Scripture. Earlier in Luke chapter 1 Gabriel appeared to
Zechariah and said of Himself, “I am Gabriel!
I stand in the very presence of God.”
An important messenger delivers important news. The appearance of an angel or angels usually
causes fear. The importance and
appearance of the messenger would have been unsettling for Mary.
The
greeting the angel started with was also strange to Mary. He started with a greeting that meant grace
and favor and named her as one who was favored of God. Then he stated, “The Lord is with you.”
The next
verse tells us she was trying to figure out what such a greeting might
mean. In other words, this was not a
typical greeting.
Both the
message and the messenger signaled that this was a major event. Mary’s world was about to change. In fact, this greeting signaled the beginning
of events that would change the world forever.
There are
moments and events in all of our lives that come as life changers. These events can be either good or bad, but
they are events that leave us disturbed and wondering, trying to figure out
what these things mean.
The
question is, “Can we trust God?”
The angel
reassured Mary. “Don’t be afraid, Mary.” (Luke 1:30)
The Lord
Jesus reassured His disciples. “Don’t
let your hearts be troubled. Trust in
God, and trust also in me.” (John
14:1)
The Lord
God reassured Israel. “For I know the
plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They
are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
(Jeremiah 29:11)
The Lord
reassures us. “And we know that God causes
everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called
according to his purpose for them.”
(Romans 8:28)
The message
the angel brought was just as astonishing as the greeting had been. He said:
You will conceive and give birth to
a son, and you will name him Jesus. He
will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his
ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel
forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
(Luke 1:31-33)
Again, Mary
was left confused and wondering. So, she
asked a question. “But how can this
happen? I am a virgin.” (Luke 1:34)
The angel
then explained one of the greatest miracles that God ever performed. He said:
“The Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he
will be called the Son of God. (Luke
1:35)
This was so
amazing that the angel gave this important additional piece of
information. “For nothing is impossible
with God.” (Luke 1:37)
When
Zechariah received the message that he would have a son in his old age he did
not believe it. Consequently, he was stricken and unable to speak until the child was born. When Abraham received the message that he
would have a son in his old age he believed God and it was counted to him as
righteousness.
These
events are similar to events like Israel standing at the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s
army coming behind them, or David facing Goliath. They are all beyond human capabilities.
We all have
one big issue that is beyond our capabilities.
The issue is sin. We can do
nothing to save ourselves from sin.
The
similarity in all these events or situations is that we must trust what the
angel said, “Nothing is impossible with God.”
God parted the Red Sea and destroyed Pharaoh’s army. God enabled David to defeat Goliath. God gave Isaac to Abraham. God gave John to Zechariah. God washed away
our sins with the blood of His own Son.
We all face
events or news that will leave us confused and wondering how these things can
be. The question is, do we believe God like Abraham or doubt like
Zechariah?
Mary chose
to believe and accepted the news with grace.
She said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come
true.” (Luke 1:38)
The
greeting Mary received signaled a big change.
The news was beyond human capabilities, and now we see that it would
cost her everything.
Before we
talk about the cost, let us consider what she was gaining. She says in the verses that follow:
Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done
great things for me. He shows mercy from
generation to generation to all who fear him.
His mighty arm has done tremendous things! (Luke 1:46-51)
Mary was
gaining the biggest blessing and privilege of any person in history. She was to be the mother of the Savior of the
World, God in human flesh. Her Son was
the Son of the Most High God.
However,
consider the cost.
People
would look down on her. Her own fiancé
was going to divorce her quietly because of the pregnancy. The only thing that stopped him was the
intervention of a messenger from God.
Mary’s word was apparently not good enough. The Bible does not tell us what other people
thought, but even today, many people do not believe that Mary was a virgin.
Besides the
cost of community acceptance, Mary suffered.
This is what was prophesied of her, “. . . a sword will pierce your very
soul.” (Luke 2:25)
We assume
this meant that she would have to watch her Son die on a cross. However, we do not know what she had to
suffer as the mother of the Son of God.
This one prophecy gives us an idea that she suffered greatly as
opposition to the ministry of Jesus grew to the point of His murder.
Mary did
not know what the cost would be, but her response shows that she understood
what was required of her. She said, “I
am the Lord’s servant. May everything
you have said about me come true.” (Luke
1:38)
Mary
classified herself as a servant.
The word is
slave.
In a
culture and age where slavery was an institution enforced by the government, being
a slave meant to be wholly owned by someone else and to be entirely at their
disposal.
When God
favors us, it costs everything.
Abraham
left his home and family in Mesopotamia.
Moses gave up the riches and privileges of being a prince in Egypt. Paul gave up being a privileged ruler of
Israel. Hebrews 11 speaks of people who
paid the price saying:
Some were jeered at, and their backs
were cut open with whips. Others were
chained in prisons. Some died by
stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and
goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated.
They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains,
hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
(Hebrews 11:36-38)
God
promises new life. God promises eternal
life. God promises that in this world we
will have trouble. (John 16:33)
God chooses
that some prosper and have the world’s goods.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Job and many others were very
prosperous. This does not mean they did
not suffer in their turn. However, what
we know of these people is that they were not their own. They belonged to God. Their money and possessions were God’s money
and possessions.
What is
troubling is the lifestyle that says, “I can accept God’s gift, but I am still
my own person. I like having my sins
forgiven. I like the idea of eternal
life. Heaven sounds wonderful. However, tithing is a burden. Fellowshipping with other Christians is a
bore. Trying to control my desire for
sex, or food, or money, or acceptance, or what I want is not necessary. Besides, God wants me to be happy, and this
makes me happy.
Salvation
is free. It is a gift. However, the Apostle Paul puts it this way:
Don’t you realize that your body is
the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought
you with a high price. So you must honor
God with your body. (1 Corinthians
6:19-20)
Christmas
changes everything. The birth of the
Savior changes everything. It was an
event that was beyond human capacity, even bigger than the biggest events of
your life. The next time you face a life-changing moment will you face it like Mary did, “I am the
Lord’s servant . . .”
[i]
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation. Copyright © 1996,
2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.