JUST JESUS: CHAPTER BY CHAPTER THRU LUKE
OBEDIENT TO THE WILL OF GOD
LUKE 1:1-80
#JustJesus
INTRODUCTION… Catholics vs. Protestants, biblebelievers.com/bennett/bennett_mary-worship.html
If you were not aware, the Christian faith is divided into three main flavors: Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant. If you did not already know it, you are sitting in a Protestant Church. Surprise! The reasons for the different branches of Christianity are old and require a history lesson which we will not do today. We actually watched some videos on in our most recent Wednesday Night Bible Studies that would help with some of that.
Needless to say, there are some differences between Catholics and Orthodox believers and Protestants. There are certainly differences in the way worship services are conducted and how the church is run. There are also some theological differences. One of the major areas where Catholic Christians differ from other Christians is in their understanding of Mary. They believe some things about Mary which the Bible simply does not support and our church tradition shies away from:
* Immaculate Conception (Catechism 490-492) states that Mary was born without the guilt sin so that she could produce Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us that all have fallen short of the glory of God.
* All Holy (Catechism 411, 493) states that Mary lived a sinless life. No one is sinless, but Jesus.
* Perpetual Virginity (Catechism 496-511) means she was always a virgin. The Bible indicates Joseph and Mary had a normal marriage after Jesus was born and names His brothers and mentions sisters.
* Assumption (Catechism 966, 974) means Mary did not die, but was taken up into Heaven. Not in the Bible.
* Co-Mediator (Catechism 968-970, 2677) says we can trust her and pray to her with our cares and concerns. The Bible is very clear that Jesus Christ is our only mediator.
* Queen of Heaven (Catechism 966, 971, 2675) means she is exalted in Heaven with God. Uh no. There is one God and He has no equal or consort.
Catholic Christians are putting Mary the Mother of Jesus in places and giving her honor or characteristics that she does not deserve and cannot have as a created human being. To be honest, it is idolatry. Because of how Catholics wrongly elevate Mary to the status of equal with Jesus, most Protestant churches (that would be us!) say absolutely nothing about Mary when it comes to anything. We skip over Mary at Christmas. We shudder when we have to read Luke 1. Well, we are reading Luke 1 today!
I would like us to set aside everything we think we know or believe about Mary or have heard or whatever and let us just look at the Scriptures. Let us look at Luke 1 without any issues clouding us and have an appreciation for Truth found in Luke 1. Luke 1 is quite vast with 80 verses and the most significant portions of Luke 1 deal with Mary, the mother of Jesus.
TRANSITION
So, what do we find?
I. MARY FOUND FAVOR WITH GOD
As we begin to read about Mary in Luke 1, we find that at the very least, this woman found favor with God Almighty. I don’t know about you, but I would like to do that as well… I would like to find favor with God.
READ LUKE 1:26-33 (ESV)
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from 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. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And 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 bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to 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.”
In this passage we have the announcement to Mary about the birth of Jesus. Before we get too far, notice what the angel says about Jesus. First of all, His Name will be and is Jesus. In Hebrew that name is “Yeshua” which can also be translated “Joshua.” The name Jesus, which comes from the Latin word, means “God is salvation” which is quite appropriate for what Jesus would be doing with His life and His death and is descriptive about the purpose of the baby. That Name is so special that most of the time in the English-speaking world we do not usually name anyone Jesus. If you do, they become a punk rock musician and change their name to Kevin (true story).
Second, Jesus that would be born was and is the Son of God. This is a basic Truth about Christianity. One must believe that Jesus was the Son of God to be a Christian. This belief means Jesus would be made of the same substance as God and yet be a human being. He was and is 100% God and 100% human. I know that the math on that does not add up, but this is theological math with a purpose that points to Truth so Jesus is completely God and completely human at the same time. Jesus is not half-and-half like something that goes in coffee or some kind of demi-god, but both God and human at the same time.
Third, Jesus the Son of God is not only God on Earth (which is more than enough), but He is also Jewish royalty descended from the line of King David through Mary and even his adoptive father Joseph. He is of King David’s royal family line and inheritor of the throne of Israel. The child to be born to Mary was and is absolutely amazing and we get all of that from the brief conversation Mary has with the angel Gabriel.
Now let’s focus on the words the angel said to Mary. First of all, the angel tells her in verse 28 that she is “highly favored” by God. I looked and the phrase “highly favored” is used twice in the Bible and one of them is right here talking about Mary. It is a phrase that means God’s gracious greetings and favor was given freely to Mary. The other instance is in Ephesians 1:6 where we are told that God’s grace is given to us freely and the end result is that we who are believers are highly favored by God. The angel says again in verse 30 that Mary has found favor with God.
Let me put this in perspective for you. We know that Jesus Christ was the Child of Promise. What I mean by that is that Jesus Christ was not an accident, but rather an on-purpose baby born at exactly the right time in God’s divine purpose and will. Jesus Christ was always coming to save us. Now, of all of the women in Jerusalem and Galilee and all the towns of the Israelites and in all the places all over the world where Jewish people lived, God picked Mary the son of Jacob betrothed to Joseph (Matthew 1:16) to be His earthly mother. That is pretty stinkin’ awesome.
Of all the women in the entire world, it was her.
Of all the women in all of Israel, it was her.
Of all the women in all of the tribe if Judah, it was her.
Of all the women from the descendants of David, it was her.
She was quite special.
TRANSITION
A key question I have in Luke 1 as I read was: What made her so special? What made God choose Mary out of all the women He could have chosen? Why her? I believe His divine favor rested on her because of what we see in the rest of the passage and is absolutely Truth that we can apply to our lives.
II. MARY WAS OBEDIENT TO THE WILL OF GOD
What made her so special? What made God choose Mary out of all the women He could have chosen? Why her? I can tell from reading in Luke 1 that one of the most basic things that brought her into the will of God as the mother of Jesus was her obedience to the will of God. She was willing to follow and obey.
READ LUKE 1:34-38 (ESV)
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Please notice three truths about Mary’s response to the message of the angel:
First, notice the question word that Mary begins with in verse 34 after the angel speaks to her. I certainly don’t fault her for asking a question after she is told that she will give birth to the Savior of the World and she will be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit (whatever that means).
Mary does not ask “Who?” Mary does not ask “Why?”
Mary does not ask “When? Mary does not ask “Where?”
Mary asks “How?” which signals to me that in the briefest of moments God is communicating with her via heavenly messenger that she has accepted the reality of it and simply was unsure how God was going to make His will accomplished in her life. Honestly, I think any questions at this point are normal and expected, but she asks the question which shows her great faith.
Second, notice that in verse 38, Mary makes a declarative statement about her willingness to do what God has designed. She states matter-of-factly with no hesitation that she is the servant of God. She identifies herself and one who is obedient to God and serves the will of God. This is another one of those words that is not often used in the Bible (3x). The KJV uses the word ‘handmaid.’ I like that word because she self-identifies as a slave and servant of God and will follow Him and His will. That is a significant word used in her response and again shows her great faith.
Third, I want you to notice in verses 34-38 that she identifies herself as the willing obedient servant of the Lord, but I also want you to notice what she does NOT say in verses 34-38. She does not complain. She does not cry “woe is me.” She does not ask more questions or put out a fleece to test God or ask for a sign to help her courage or pursue getting this all in writing with no small print… she amazingly wholly accepts His will exactly as He wills it. Mary accepted the will of God in her life as His will and went with it.
What Mary the mother of Jesus exhibits is true obedience to God. There are several examples of those who exhibit this type of behavior in the Scriptures:
READ GENESIS 12:4 (ESV)
So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
Abram was an old rickety man when God promised to make him the father of a great nation. He just went as the Lord told him showing amazing faith. He followed the will of God.
READ 2 CHRONICLES 31:20-21 (ESV)
20 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. 21 And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.
Hezekiah had influences around him and family history that would lead him away from God and yet when he was faced with the truth, he obeyed the will of God. He followed after God with his whole heart.
READ PHILEMON 21 (ESV)
21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
The Apostle Paul wrote to his friend Philemon about a runaway slave and asked him to forgive the slave and take him back into his home. He knew Philemon took his faith in Jesus seriously and so he automatically knew that Philemon would obey and forgive.
APPLICATION
In Luke 1, we find Mary obedient to the will of God in a striking manner, but not unheard of. She followed in the steps of faith of people like Abraham and Hezekiah and even some people we read about in the New Testament. She fully accepted the will of God in her life.
This brings us to thinking about ourselves and looking at our hearts and willingness and obedience. As we take a look at Mary, we can learn a lesson from her. We can learn from her not because she was sinless or some kind of exemption in humanity (which she is not), but we can learn from Mary because when she was put in a difficult situation, her faith in God produced in her the right response. Repeat: When Mary was put in a difficult situation, her faith in God produced in her the right response.
When we are faced with a difficult situation, what is produced in us? Do we complain? Do we cry out in sadness to God “woe is me?” Are we angry with God for mishandling this life He gave us? Do we doubt God because He is not acting the way we think He should? I do not see any of that produced in Mary, but only obedience to the will of God. That is a lesson worth depositing in the spiritual bank.
TRANSITION
Now, it was at this point in writing my sermon that I went on to another point of the passage which was to round out Luke 1 for us. You see, Mary is not only a wonderful example of obedience to God, but she is also a wonderful example of how to praise God. We see that in Luke 1:46-55 with the song that she sings to God in which she praises Him. Luke 1:46-55 is a famous passage called ‘the Magnificat’ where Mary magnifies and glorifies God for His promises and His mercy.
And yet, a thought kept gnawing at me as I tried to continue my sermon.
The thought surrounded Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
So, I backspaced a whole section of my sermon.
APPLICATION IN THE LIFE OF JESUS
Before we read from Luke 22, I need to remind you about some theological mathematics that we talked about earlier. It is important to our Christian faith and also to Luke 22 that we remember that Jesus was and is the Son of God, made of the same substance as God, and yet is also a human being. He was and is 100% God and 100% human. Jesus has this dual nature that are both true and are hard to understand.
With Jesus being God, this means He is unlimited in His understanding of time and the universe and all powerful and has command over things seen and not seen. He. Is. God. Jesus is eternal and never was created (John 1:1, Ephesians 3:9) for all things were created by Him (Colossians 1:16-17, Hebrews 1:1-2).
With Jesus being human, this means He is limited in His understanding and energy and effort and is bound by time and flesh and was tempted to sin (John 1:14, John 4:6, Galatians 4:4, Philippians 2:5-8, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 4:15. He. Is. Human. Jesus was born from a woman and lived and breathed and ate and learned to read and to do carpentry and slept and farted.
So, Jesus is both Jesus Christ and Jesus of Nazareth at the same time. The theological and historical fact that Jesus is both Jesus Christ the Son of God and Jesus of Nazareth a carpenter and teacher bears down on us when we read Luke 22. Let’s read from Luke 22.
READ LUKE 22:39-46 (ESV)
39 And He came out and went, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him. 40 And when He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
This passage from Luke 22 happens right before the jerk Judas shows back up leading guards right to Jesus and points out Jesus to them. Jesus is then arrested. This passage happens right before His arrest.
Jesus spends time praying on the Mount of Olives. He knows His time is short in His life because it was to die that He was born. He knows this and yet it is extremely stressful and dread inducing for Him. We know this because He kept praying over and over. We know this because verse 44 tells us that His blood mixed with his sweat as it fell from his brow.
It is verse 42 and the words of Jesus that stand out to me.
RE-READ LUKE 22:42 (ESV)
“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Jesus prays at the most pivotal time that God the Father’s will should be done and not His own. Jesus prays so that He would be obedient and resist all temptation to flee or make His death go His own way. He is in a most difficult situation. How is it that Jesus is able to pray that God’s will be done?
We might at first say… Jesus automatically has to die. That’s actually not true. John 10:17 says clearly Jesus chooses to lay down His life. We might also say… well Jesus is God and so it is an automatic thing that He follows the will of God because He is following His own will. Again, keep in mind Jesus’ dual nature and that willingness and innocence are what make the cross of Christ the cross of Christ and not some other cross. We might be tempted to say that because Jesus was the Son of God that His death was a forgone conclusion and an automatic event, but if we say that we cheapen the death of Jesus because Jesus, a sinless innocent human being willingly laid down His life for us.
So… how is it that Jesus is able to pray that God’s will be done in this dreaded situation? Let us remember Luke 1. What did we discover about Mary? In Luke 1, we find Mary obedient to the will of God in a striking manner, but not unheard of. She followed in the steps of faith of people like Abraham and Hezekiah and even some people we read about in the New Testament. She fully accepted the will of God in her life. I submit to you that Jesus of Nazareth learned to obey the will of God from His mamma. I could add Matthew 1:18-25 into the mix and also say that Jesus of Nazareth learned to obey the will of God from his adopted papa as well. Jesus of Nazareth was able to pray “not My will, but Yours, be done” because that is what He saw at home.
SUMMARY/CHALLENGE
Mary the mother of Jesus was a woman who certainly was special. Of all the women that God could have chosen, He picked her. That makes her blessed and unique. She was a woman of phenomenal obedience to God and exercised real meaningful faith as she walked through life. I happen to believe that this quality of her faith… the willingness to obey… was transferred to her oldest Son and impacts us even now.
The challenge then is laid out for us: we must also be a believer of obedience.
Christianity is not a faith of convenience. Believers in Jesus are not only believers in Jesus when life is good and blessed and rosy, but trust and obey when life is terrible and bleak and full of thorns. Difficulties come. Hardships press down on us. Questions without answers fill us. Yet, our faithfulness to God remains.
CONCLUSION IN PRAYER
INVITATION
Jesus submitted to the will of God.
Do you know what God’s will is for each and every person? God’s will for each and every person is that they come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Accepting Jesus not only as Savior, but also as Lord is the most important decision any of us can make. God’s will is that you have a relationship with Jesus and by believing in Jesus you will have life in His Name. Is that something you have done? Have you accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and followed God’s will to be immersed in Him (Acts 2:38) and have forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit? Choose Him today!
