Christmas 2006 200658.ser
“A Woman Blessed”
CLBC 9 December 2006 a.m.
Subject: Consecration
Theme: Complete submission or surrender
Passage: Lu. 1: 26 - 38
Intro:
So who was this Mary who appears on the pages of scripture as the mother of the Lord Jesus? Really we know very little about her. You might say that she was a relatively unknown person who is suddenly thrust into the foreground of one of the two most important events the world has ever known.
Now although the person was not known, it is not as though the event was not known. From the fall of our first parents, there had been the prophecy about the seed of the woman who would bruise the had of Satan. Isaiah had given his famous prophecy of a virgin who would call her son Emmanuel,”God with us.” And indeed two separate genealogies had been carefully preserved, one given in Matthew’s account and another in Lule’s. It has been suggested that one is the family record of Joseph and the other of Mary. And now the ‘fullness of time’ had come, when all of the prophesies would begin to be fulfilled.
As we read this account I want to set before you 1. A Chosen Woman; 2 An Astonishing Announcement; and 3. An Unbelievable Explanation. 4. A Humble Submission
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.”
She was:
1. A Chosen woman:
Although she was not known to man, she was known to God. He knew who she was. He knew where she was, in the town of Nazareth. He knew her exact circumstance: her espousal to Joseph a direct descendent of King David.
And so, in the councils of heaven the commission was given to the angel Gabriel to pay a visit to this young woman to bring God’s message to his chosen instrument.
She was:
a. a pure woman
v.27 - a virgin - she herself explains the meaning of the word in verse 34, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" Joseph at first had second thoughts until it was made plain to him that Mary was not compromised; that her conception was a supernatural act of God.
She was betrothed to Joseph - it appears that betrothal in Israel was stronger than engagement in our culture. Betrothal seems to imply Joseph’s care for her until they could be married, it was not a licence for sex before marriage.
They needed to be secure in the knowledge of her purity and the supernatural nature of her pregnancy in the months that followed as they faced the slander and innuendo of small town gossip and bigotry. As Philip Yancey says in “The Jesus I never knew”, “small towns do not treat kindly young boys who grow up with questionable paternity.” p. 32
She was:
b. a favoured woman
28 “And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
The words highly favoured is actually one word from the family of words for rejoicing, joy, grace and speaks of one upon whom favour is bestowed.
None of us could receive anything from the Lord if He did not choose to bestow His favour upon un and extend His grace to us. There was nothing in Mary, and there is nothing in us to cause God to be merciful or gracious to us. He chose to be favourable to this young woman. He chose to be with her, and He chose to bless her from among all the women. I am sure that she was a most exceptional young woman, but if she was, it was because God had prepared her to be an exceptional young woman.
She was also
c. a troubled young woman
Lu 1:29 “But when she saw [him], she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.”
There is no wonder she was troubled, for she was experiencing one of those very rare occasions of seeing a visitor from the world of glory.
Quite apart from the one delivering the message, she didn’t understand the message. She was a humble young woman and she could not comprehend such a thing as God selecting her or calling her blessed, or highly favoured.
What a disservice has been done to her by making her into something she is not.
“Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.
Amen”.
The first part of this prayer is lifted right out of scripture, but the second half in which she is described as the mother of God and the idea of her as an intercessor on our behalf was introduced by the Catholic Church around the time of the Council of Trent in the 1500’s and becomes the basis for the Mariolatry which is so utterly opposed to scripture. How many millions of people have been misled by this false teaching!
The Mary to whom the angel spoke would have no part of it.
Now while we are considering Mary and her amazement at what was happening, let’s consider:
2. This Astonishing Announcement
It first involved:
a. an unusual messenger - v.26, “the angel Gabriel was sent by God”
Now, it is true that as we read the scriptures we know that angels are spirit beings who inhabit the spirit world. They were created by God as His special servants to do His bidding. They are referred to also as “ministering spirits” sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation.
In this capacity, angels have, at times, shown themselves to human beings, particularly at times of fresh revelation from God. At the point at which Jesus Christ was to come into this world, we notice that angels were especially active, appearing to Zecharias, to Mary, to Joseph, to the shepherds. They again were active at the point of Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
Still, Mary had never seen an angel before, and there is no doubt that she was surprised at this visitor. We always picture angels as radiant, glowing beings complete with wings, yet in the Old Testament we see angels appearing as men, and it was not what they looked like but what they did which alerted the people to their supernatural beings. So, perhaps he wasn’t so different, because she was troubled, but not frightened, and you notice that she talked to him. She listened intelligently and she asked important questions.
For truly he had
b. a startling message:
Luke 1:30 “ 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."
Again he assures her that she should not be afraid; that she has found favour with God.
He then goes on to foretell her
(1) conception v. 31
“you will conceive in your womb” - she will become pregnant.
(2) the sex of the child is given even before conception
Nowadays with ultrasound parents are given the opportunity to know the sex of their baby some time before it is born, but what instrument could tell the sex of the child before it was even conceived?
(3) child’s identity given before conception
As Zecharias was told the name he was to give to his son, so Mary is told the name of her son. - Jesus - Jehovah is is salvation - Saviour; “You shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins”, Matthew 1: 21 and there is another name given to this child as well. “You shall call his name Emmanuel: God with us” Matthew 1:23 (Isaiah 7:14)
(4) his fame -"He will be great, v.32
Now this word is our word “mega” and it has startling implications:
It speaks of things that are great, large, spacious, numerous, large, abundant,
violent, mighty, strong,
When used of a person’s rank, it speaks of authority and power
When speaking of importance it speaks of great weight, and importance
When speaking of a thing highly esteemed, it speaks of excellence, splendid, prepared on a grand scale, stately. In other words this speaks of one whose value is beyond that of any created being.
(5) his person - “will be called the Son of the Highest;”
The term Son of used in this way refers to Son of Man; Son of God ; Son of David;, my beloved Son; only begotten Son ; firstborn son; but here it is the Son of the Highest, the most high, and can only be understood as the designation of Eternal God.
(6) his position - “and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.”
Hear God’s Word to David in 2 Samuel chapter 7
12 "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 16 "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." 18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: "Who [am] I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? 22 "Therefore You are great, O LORD GOD. For [there is] none like You, nor [is there any] God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”
Now hear the Holy Spirit’s own interpretation of that promise as given through the apostle Peter in Acts 2:30 "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 "he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 "This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. 34 "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, 35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."‘ 36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
(7) his reign - "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
Daniel 2:44 "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Daniel 7:13 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Da 7:14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.”
You see, Mary is not the primary character in this appearance of the angel. The visitation from heaven is not about Mary, but about her son.
3. an unbelievable explanation
Now I am sure that Mary’s head was spinning at what she has seen and what she has heard. How could she take this all in? And yet Mary retains her ability to think clearly. We see this in
a. Mary’s humble request for explanation v.34
Lu 1:34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
She may have been young but she was not naive. There was a full awareness of the process of conception - and here we have her assertion of innocence. She has never been with any man, Joseph or otherwise, so how could she possibly conceive a child? In answer she is told:
b. the source of her conception
Lu 1:35 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.”
We used as an illustration the other night the claims of people who have experienced God’s healing: People speak about the sense of a warmth that goes all through their bodies, a tingling sensation. There was no visible presence, no physical touch, and yet the healing was accomplished.
So, I believe it may have been with Mary. God is a Spirit, and He who created male and female; He who made the womb; He who gave the power of conception could certainly overrule natural processes to accomplish His divine purpose.
c. the result of the conception
“therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Here then is the explanation of the spotless, sinless birth of the Lord Jesus. Every human child conceived by natural means inherits the sin nature which has been passed down through every generation since Adam and Eve. But the Lord Jesus was not conceived by natural means. Therefore he does not receive the sin nature of all mankind. Romans 8:3 “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God [did] by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
Jesus Christ was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, but without the sin nature which causes every human being to sin. He alone of all men was holy, blameless, sinless, and thus able to offer his life as a sinless sacrifice on our behalf.
d. further assurance given
Was Mary yet convinced? Then an object lesson will be given of the power 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
e. a ringing assertion: "For with God nothing will be impossible." "no word from God shall be void of power"
4. A Humble Submission v. 38
Here we see the true greatness of this young woman, for the greatest thing we can ever do is to submit our will to the will of God.
Lu 1:38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."
Here then is the conclusion of the matter A Chosen Woman has received An Astonishing Announcement; and . An Unbelievable Explanation with Humble Submission “And the angel departed from her.”
Conclusion:
Now this is the story of each one of us. When we are given the privilege to receive Christ, and surrender our heart to Him, that is the greatest thing that could possibly happen to us. For the real story in it is all about Christ- the King who comes to reign in our hearts.
On our part we need to follow in the steps of Mary for this is what God is looking for: those who will humbly submit to His will, no matter the cost. But ultimately it is Christ who is at the centre of the picture, whom we shall worship throughout eternity.
I would ask you one question: ARE YOU SURRENDERED TO HIM?
Amen!
