Mary was engaged to be married, an arrangement agreed upon by her father and Joseph. Her heavenly Father had a wrinkle to add. Pastor Jason shares from Luke 1:26-38.
Enjoy this message? Consider visiting Ravenna Church of the Nazarene where Pastor Jason is serving as the Senior Pastor. Have a prayer need? Want to share something with Pastor Jason? Send The Dirt Path Pastor a message. Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thedirtpathpastor
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Mary was engaged to be married, an arrangement agreed upon by her father and Joseph. Her heavenly Father had a wrinkle to add. Pastor Jason shares from Luke 1:26-38.
Enjoy this message? Consider visiting Ravenna Church of the Nazarene where Pastor Jason is serving as the Senior Pastor. Have a prayer need? Want to share something with Pastor Jason? Send The Dirt Path Pastor a message. Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thedirtpathpastor
Help spread the gospel through this podcast by subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing this episode.
According to babycenter.com, these are the most popular baby names in 2023:
· Olivia, Noah
· Emma, Liam
· Amelia, Oliver
· Sophia, Elijah
A couple of biblical figure names in there. Not sure what makes certain names popular each year, but these are the names that were popular this year.
At the time of Christ’s birth, there was a popular name among the Jewish people. It was a name that matched the prayers of mothers living in a nation under Roman rule. A popular and common name for Jewish boys was Jesus. It was the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means “Yahweh saves.”
As we know, there is only one Jesus who is Lord of all. There is only one Mary who was the mother of Jesus. And this Mary is the focus of our passage today.
Luke 1:26-38(CSB)
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. Then the angel told her: “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”
Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?”
The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
This is the Word of God.
For the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Who is Mary? Mary was only a teenager, but she was legally bound to Joseph, though not married yet. Her dad had already met with Joseph or his representatives, payment had been received with a contract in place. Now Mary was waiting for Joseph to bring her into his home, with divorce or death the only way out. But we know that the Bible tells us Joseph was an honorable man, so this was a good match blessed by Mary’s father.
Mary was awaiting this new life when the angel Gabriel appeared to her. Gabriel shared that God had chosen her through His grace. As Mary listens to Gabriel, she has two interesting reactions. When the angel greets Mary, verse 29 says, “Mary was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be.” “Deeply troubled” in Greek means “to agitate greatly, trouble greatly.” God was up to something, Mary knew this. But she may have been wondering “Why me?” “What is so special about me?”
The second reaction comes after Gabriel tells Mary she will be having a baby. Mary knows how things work and that she is a virgin. She asks not out of doubt, but curiosity rooted in faith. Gabriel shares that in a similar manner to when Adam was created, the Holy Spirit will knit together life inside her womb.
All this had to seem unbelievable. Mary was surrounded by other women about to give birth, praying and hoping their children would be the Messiah, and she was trying to make it to her wedding. Gabriel shared with Mary that God had also blessed her cousin Elizabeth with a child. God was doing another impossible thing, and it would be a sign to Mary that God could do the impossible.
We can find the story of Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah in Luke 1. It is a story about Zechariah’s reaction to God’s plan for his family. Zechariah was a priest serving in the Temple when the angel Gabriel appeared to him. He and his wife were an older couple, passed the age of childbearing, and the text says Elizabeth was unable to conceive. But Gabriel tells Zechariah they would have a son. In verse 18, Zechariah reacts by saying, “How can I know this? I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.” God does not like Zechariah’s response, so Zechariah’s voice is taken away so he can sit and think about it.
Elizabeth was carrying John the Baptist in her womb. The next scene following the announcement to Mary is John the Baptist leaping in the womb at the presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb. Gabriel shares Elizabeth’s miracle with Mary as assurance to Mary that God could do the impossible.
God calls Mary to be the mother of the Christ. The Lord is sovereign and can use any means or person He chooses. But even so, God has given Mary a choice in this matter. She could have said no, and to be fair the risk for her was great. Divorce was a real possibility, and death by public execution could be on the table. Not to mention the damage that would be done to Mary’s reputation. Verse 38 records Mary’s response and choice, she says, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be done to me according to your word.”
God calls Mary to this task; she gives her consent. Do you notice God blesses Mary with this choice? Do you also consider who God does not ask for permission to do this? Mary’s dad has made all these arrangements for his daughter, but God does not seek his permission to disrupt them. An angel is sent to Joseph to get him on board with what is happening, but God does not ask him as Mary’s husband if it is okay. When it came to Elizabeth and Zechariah, God promised to give them a child, and God silenced Zechariah because of his lack of faith. But again, God is not seeking the man’s approval, He is seeking their acknowledgment of His plan.
The truth revealed to us in this passage is God calls men and women, sons and daughters, young and old, rich and poor to be used for His purposes. They are given a holy task and then sent to live it out in faith. He never calls the wrong person, and He never leaves them powerless to complete the task.
This leads you and me to this question: What is our role in this? If you are the person called by God, then you have a choice whether you will accept it. There will be a personal cost involved, but know to deny the life God has for you is to settle for less than God’s best for you. Acceptance leads to a strengthening of your faith and a life assures of His blessings in that life.
What about those of us impacted by God’s call? God does not need our permission to call our husbands, wives, kids, or anyone else. Our role is to affirm what God is doing. We are to trust that God knows what He is doing and to live out our faith accordingly. There will be a cost, however, our role is not to scare the called away based on the burden, but we to do what we can to help them lift.
Through Mary, God challenges our worldview by saying I am responsible for my life of faith, and you are responsible for your life of faith. It is not based on gender, parental authority, or societal pecking orders. It is based on our response to Jesus and our commitment to living out that faith. Therefore, the decision becomes can I in my life of faith support you in your life of faith? Our submission is to God while also willingly submitting to and supporting one another.
Can I trust Jesus? Can I trust the God that drew me to Himself and sent me out as He calls others to Himself and sends them out? Can I let Him have His way instead of trying to get my way? If I can do that, then I get to be a witness of His power not only in my life but your life. I get to be His cheerleader for you as He does the impossible in your life. I get to be a co-laborer with you as He has called us to be co-laborers with Him.