Luke 1:26-56 Where did you come from?

[0:00] Let's turn please to Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1. And we're going to read from verse 26 down to verse 56. Verse 26 down to verse 56 of Luke chapter 1.

[0:30] Luke chapter 1 beginning to read at verse 26. This is the word of God. In six months the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth.

[0:44] To a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you.

[0:56] But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive and your woman bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

[1:11] 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. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there will be no end.

[1:22] And Mary said to the angel, How will this be, since I am a virgin? And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

[1:35] Therefore the child to be born to you will be called Holy, the Son of God. 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.

[1:48] For nothing will be impossible with God. 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.

[2:01] In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country to a town in Judah. And she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.

[2:13] And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she exclaimed with a loud cry, Blessed are you among women. And blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

[2:26] For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.

[2:37] And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

[2:50] For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed. For he who is mighty has done great things for me. And holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

[3:04] He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from their thrones. And exalted those of humble estate. He has filled the hungry with good things.

[3:15] And the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel. In remembrance of his mercy. As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham. And to his offspring forever.

[3:30] And Mary remained with her about three months. And returned to her home. Amen. This is a reading of God's inspired, inerrant word.

[3:40] Will we stand to sing Goliath again please. To 2 Samuel chapter 7. 2 Samuel chapter 7. And again we're going to see how ultimately Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the promise to King David.

[3:54] Ultimately Jesus Christ is King David's greater son. And we're reminded here in 2 Samuel 7. How the Lord promises David that he will never lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel.

[4:05] And ultimately of course that is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 2 Samuel chapter 7. And we'll read the whole of the chapter together.

[4:17] 2 Samuel chapter 7. And beginning to read at verse 1. And this is the word of God. Now. When the king lived in his house. And the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies.

[4:30] The king said to Nathan the prophet. See now. I dwell in a house of cedar. But the ark of God dwells in a tent. And Nathan said to the king. Go. Do all that is in your heart.

[4:41] For the Lord is with you. But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan. Go. And tell my servant David. Thus says the Lord. Would you build me a house to dwell in?

[4:53] I have not lived in a house since the day. I bought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day. But I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel.

[5:04] Did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel saying. Why have you not built me a house of cedar? Now therefore.

[5:14] Thus you shall say to my servant David. Thus says the Lord of hosts. I took you from the pasture. From following the sheep. That you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went.

[5:26] And I have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name. Like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people.

[5:38] And will plant them. So that they may dwell in their own place. And be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more. As formerly. From the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel.

[5:50] And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you. That the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled. And you lie down with your fathers.

[6:02] I will raise up your offspring after you. Who shall come from your body. And I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

[6:13] I will be to him a father. And he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity. I will discipline him with the rod of men. With the stripes of the sons of men. But my steadfast love will not depart from him.

[6:25] As I took it from Saul. Whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.

[6:37] In accordance with all these words. And in accordance with all this vision. Nathan spoke to David. Then King David went in. And sat before the Lord.

[6:48] And said who am I. O Lord God. And what is my house that you have brought me thus far. And yet this was a small thing in your eyes. O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant's house.

[6:59] For a great while to come. And this is instruction for mankind. O Lord God. And what more can David say to you. For you know your servant. O Lord God. Because of your promise.

[7:11] And according to your own heart. You have brought about all this greatness. To make your servant know it. Therefore you are great O Lord God. For there is none like you. And there is no God beside you.

[7:23] According to all we have heard with our ears. And who is like your people Israel. The one nation on earth. Whom God went to redeem. To be his people. Making himself a name.

[7:34] And doing for them great and awesome things. By driving out before your people. Whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt. A nation and his gods. And you established for yourself.

[7:45] Your people Israel. To be your people forever. And now O Lord became their God. And now O Lord God. Confirm forever the word that you have spoken. Concerning your servant.

[7:56] And concerning his house. And do as you have spoken. And your name will be magnified forever. Saying the Lord of hosts is God over Israel. And the house of your servant David.

[8:07] Will be established before you. For you O Lord of hosts. The God of Israel. Have made this revelation to your servant. Saying I will build you a house. Therefore your servant has found courage.

[8:18] To pray this prayer to you. And now O Lord God. You are God. And your words are true. And you have promised this good thing to your servant. Now therefore may it please you.

[8:30] To bless the house of your servant. So that it may continue forever before you. For you O Lord God. Have spoken. And with your blessing. Shall the house of your servant. Be blessed.

[8:42] Forever. Amen. This is the reading of God's. Inspired inerrant word. Well let us turn. Let's turn please in our Bibles then. To Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1.

[8:53] In these verses. 26 through 56. 26 through 56. Of Luke chapter 1. We recently got some new neighbours across the street from us.

[9:07] Directly across the street. It's a lady who lives on her own. And one morning I was taking Judah for a walk. To get the paper when the lady was in the garden. So. Stopped to have a chat with her.

[9:18] It started out. You know. As it normally does when someone's moved into a house. Have you got all the boxes unpacked? Are you starting to feel settled in? That sort of thing. But then the next question I wanted to ask her.

[9:29] I didn't ask her. But the next question I wanted to ask her was. Have you moved far? Where have you moved from? Where have you come from? And what we're trying to do with that question.

[9:39] Is try and suss this person out. Well do I know anyone who lives where they used to live? Do I know anyone who lived in the same area? We're trying to make connections. And say well.

[9:50] Do you know such and such? And as we come to Luke's gospel this morning. And as we come to these verses in 26 through 56 of Luke chapter 1. They're trying to answer the same question for us about Jesus.

[10:02] Well where did Jesus come from? What's Jesus' heritage if you like? What's his lineage if you like? And we're reminded in these verses that Jesus' heritage.

[10:15] Jesus' lineage goes all the way back to the beginning of time. That there never was a time when Jesus was not. That Jesus is the everlasting son of the most high God.

[10:27] That Jesus' lineage and heritage leads us back before the foundation of the world. And leads us back ultimately to God himself. That he is the everlasting son.

[10:40] That he is the everlasting prince of peace. We want to see three things this morning. I want to think about three things this morning. Firstly we want to think about the everlasting kingdom.

[10:54] The everlasting kingdom that we're told here Jesus ushers in. That he is King David's greater son as we thought about in 2 Samuel 7.

[11:05] Secondly then we want to think about an everlasting God. The everlasting God who will perform this miraculous act. And then thirdly finally we want to see how Jesus is the everlasting offspring.

[11:18] Who is the ultimate fulfillment of that promise to Abraham. As Mary sings this song of joy she remembers that great promise that God made to Abraham. And how ultimately it will be fulfilled through her son.

[11:31] So firstly then we think about the everlasting kingdom. The everlasting kingdom. And we see that in verses 26 through 33. 26 through 33.

[11:44] Last week as we thought about these first 25 verses in Luke chapter 1. We finished with that great promise to Zechariah. That great promise to this old man. That his wife who was considered barren.

[11:57] Would conceive and bear a son. We saw of course Zechariah's unbelief. Well how will I know this? I'm an old man. How will this come to pass?

[12:09] And how Zechariah was struck dumb. And now as we come to this section. Now as we start in verse 26. We see this same angel. Verse 26. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel.

[12:21] Is sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. The same angel is sent from God to another woman who is barren.

[12:31] This time though not through age. Not through infertility. But barren because she is a virgin. Barren because she isn't yet married. But notice the time frame that Luke gives us here in verse 26.

[12:44] What does he tell us? That it was in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. Now this isn't necessarily a chronological reference for us.

[12:56] This isn't saying that it was in the equivalent. This isn't saying that it was in the month of June that the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee. Rather it happened in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy.

[13:09] Look at verse 24. What do we read of chapter 1? After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived and for five months she kept herself hidden saying da da da da da. And then in verse 26 we read in the sixth month.

[13:22] So the most natural reading of that is that it's in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. It's in the sixth month when things are being revealed. It's in the sixth month where she can't keep herself hidden any longer.

[13:34] That the angel is sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. God sends the angel.

[14:07] Mary receives the revelation. God reveals himself and his plan and purposes through this angel. And Mary receives the revelation and plan and purpose of God.

[14:21] And that's the way divine revelation always works. God reveals himself to us. It's not that we figure it out for ourselves. It's not that we have enough magical mystical experiences and finally figure out what God wants from us.

[14:35] Rather God shows himself to us. God reveals himself to us. And that's what we believe the Bible to be of course isn't it? It's only a little detail but it reminds us of those great truths.

[14:48] That the Bible is God's revelation of himself to humanity. That the Bible is God's inspired inerrant word to us. It was the work of God the Holy Spirit to inspire.

[15:01] To get men to write down the word of God. We cannot find our own way to God.

[15:12] God must reveal himself to us. God's revelation of God. So the angel sent from God. It's sent to this provincial backwater town.

[15:22] It's sent to a town of no real significance. To a woman of no real significance in the world's eyes. It's just an ordinary woman.

[15:34] Getting ready to be married. Betrothed to this man Joseph. We've said it before but it bears repeating. We've said it before but it's good to remind ourselves that betrothal was more than our state of engagement.

[15:51] Betrothal was to all intents and purposes to be married. If you wanted to break off a betrothal effectively you needed to get a divorce. But at this point even though they were betrothed. Even though to all intents and purposes they were married.

[16:04] Mary and Joseph would not live together. And there certainly would be no question of sexual relations happening between Mary and Joseph. But this is where things begin to take an upward turn if you like.

[16:21] The angel's been sent to Nazareth. Sent to this town. Sent to a virgin. Verse 27. Betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. And again notice the little detail that Luke records for us.

[16:33] Of the house of David. Joseph himself is just a humble carpenter. Joseph himself is just a town fixer if you like.

[16:46] But he is of the house and line of David. Here is the connection to the great kings of the past. Here is the great connection to the royalty of the past.

[17:00] The angel comes and greets Mary in the name of the Lord. And describes her as the favoured one. Assures her that the Lord is with her. And what's Mary's response?

[17:12] Mary responds, verse 29, by being troubled. She's not really sure what's going on. She was greatly troubled at the saying. Tried to discern what sort of greeting it might be.

[17:25] She couldn't work out if this angel appeared. She couldn't work out if being favoured by the Lord was a good thing. Or a bad thing. Now we can perhaps be a little bit harsh on Mary here, can't we?

[17:38] I mean, after all, the angel calls her favoured. It's pretty clear that this is a good thing. The angel calls her blessed. It's pretty clear that this is a good thing. It doesn't seem to take a whole lot of intellect to work out that this is a good thing.

[17:51] But don't forget where we are in history. Don't forget where we are in biblical revelation. The Lord has been silent for 400 years. The Lord has been quiet and not revealed anything to his people.

[18:06] And now suddenly here is this young girl. With an angel standing in front of her telling her that she is blessed by the Lord. Of course she doesn't really understand.

[18:18] She's no reference point for it. She's no way of understanding. She's nothing to compare it with. And when we think about that, we can perhaps understand why she is so reluctant.

[18:31] We can perhaps understand her confusion when the angel appears here. I remember when I was a younger man, probably 18, 19, 20, helping out at holiday Bible clubs, helping out at kids clubs, all up and down the land of Ireland.

[18:51] Some of the kids, most of the kids were probably around sort of 6 to 11. And if some of them were misbehaving, I just had no idea how to deal with it. I was a young man.

[19:01] I never had any experience of children. I didn't understand what to do. And nothing to compare it with. And I imagine that's how Mary feels here.

[19:13] She doesn't know what's going on. She doesn't understand what's going on. She's just a young girl with an angel standing in front of her. Trying to figure out if this is a good thing or not.

[19:26] But notice as we noticed last week, Zechariah, the priest, was afraid when this angel appeared. Mary, this young girl, is afraid when the angel appears. But notice what the angel says.

[19:37] Just as he reassured Zechariah last week, so, verse 30, the angel said, Don't be afraid, for you have found favor with God. You can imagine that comes as a huge sigh of relief.

[19:50] Here is this young girl afraid. And the angel says, Don't worry. But then comes the bombshell of verse 31. You will conceive in your womb and bear a son.

[20:05] And you shall call his name Jesus. There are plenty of kids at the time who would have been called Jesus. It's probably just the equivalent of Oliver or whatever of today's modern usage.

[20:20] It just means the Lord save. It's the equivalent of Joshua that we read in the Old Testament. But notice the purpose of the child.

[20:31] He will be great, verse 32. The mission of the child, verse 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.

[20:44] Now we can miss the wonder of these words. We can miss the wonder of these words because they're so familiar to us. We read them every Christmas.

[20:58] But what God is promising here, what God is revealing to this young, betrothed virgin, is that she's going to give birth to the Savior. It's that she's going to give birth to the Messiah, to the one all Israel had been waiting for.

[21:15] She is going to give birth to King David's greater son. That's why we read from 2 Samuel 7. It's that great promise, that great assurance for David.

[21:25] David says, I'm going to build a house for God. And God says, no, I'm going to build a house for you. And actually more than that, I'm going to give you this everlasting son.

[21:37] 2 Samuel 7, God promises David that he would never lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel. And here then is the fulfillment of that promise.

[21:52] Here is the one who would rule over the everlasting kingdom. Here is the one who shows God's covenant love and faithfulness. Over the kingdom of your son, Mary, there will be no end.

[22:08] He is born to be the everlasting king. He will be the Messiah. The boy who the angel announces here would be no ordinary boy, no ordinary child.

[22:25] But he is the son of God. He's the eternal king who sits on David's throne. But I wonder this morning, is that who he is to you?

[22:36] Is he the one who fulfills all the Old Testament promises? Is he the one who all of scripture is pointing to? Or is he just another baby?

[22:50] Just another boy? It's the everlasting kingdom. First and then. Secondly, we want to see the everlasting God. The everlasting God.

[23:01] And we see that in verses 34 through 45. Verses 34 through 45. Now again, try and put yourself in Mary's shoes at this point.

[23:14] She's patrolled to Joseph. She's not married yet. She's still a virgin. And this angel appears to her and says, You're going to have a son. More than that, the son is going to be the son ultimately of God.

[23:26] The promise of a child perhaps in and of itself wouldn't have been that shocking. After all, she's betrothed. So the promise of a child would have been a good thing.

[23:37] It would have given her a certain amount of reassurance. But it's perhaps the immediacy of the promise that takes her by surprise. The wonder of who her son would be. She asks the natural question in verse 34.

[23:48] How can this be? Since I am a virgin. I've never known a man. How can I be pregnant? How can I give birth to a child?

[24:01] Oh, Holy Spirit, the angel answers, verse 35. Will come upon you. The power of the Most High will overshadow you. And the child will be holy. Will be set apart to God from his birth.

[24:14] If you were a Greek reading this for the first time, if you were a Greek reading Luke's Gospel for the first time, this wouldn't really surprise you.

[24:27] The ancient Greeks were very familiar with the idea of God having sons or daughters with the daughters of mankind. But those children, if you like, always came about through natural relations.

[24:39] It came from God coming to earth and finding one of the sons. One of the daughters, sorry, of the sons of men. But what we have here is radically different.

[24:51] What we have here is something completely different. This will be the work of the Holy Spirit. Creating something holy. Creating something set apart in the womb of Mary.

[25:04] Now I know this is a struggle, Mary. I know this is difficult for you to understand. But notice that he gives her some proof, some reassurance. Verse 36. Behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son.

[25:18] And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing is impossible with God. God spoke and the world came to be.

[25:32] God said let there be and there was. God enabled Mary's elderly relative Elizabeth, sorry, to conceive and bear a son.

[25:45] If God can do all of these things, then do you think it's too hard for him to fulfill his promise to you? If God can do all that, then can he not do what he's promised?

[25:59] Mary offers her willing obedience. Let it be to me as you have said. Verse 38. I am the servant of the Lord.

[26:12] I am the servant of the Most High. Let it be. What a great response. The response of humble obedience.

[26:25] Despite the social stigma of having a child when you were betrothed. Despite the whispers in the street that ultimately would have gone on behind Mary's back.

[26:36] Mary readily agrees to the Lord's plan. She's willing to sacrifice herself and her reputation to do all that the Lord says.

[26:51] And what lessons we can learn from Mary for costly, sacrificial obedience to the plan and purpose of God in our lives. Obedience that sets aside our comfort and ease.

[27:07] And instead seeks God's will to be done. So Mary gets herself together. She heads off to see Elizabeth. And she comes to the house.

[27:18] In verse 39 and 40. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And as soon, verse 41, as Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.

[27:33] So one of the things I think that pregnant ladies look forward to most is that sensation, that feeling of the baby moving inside you. That sensation of feeling the baby kick for the first time.

[27:46] By the 400th time it probably gets pretty tiring. But to do it the first time, to experience it the first time, is amazing. And what happens here as Mary comes to Elizabeth, as Elizabeth hears Mary's greeting in her ears, the baby leaped in her womb.

[28:08] I don't think this was anything supernatural per se, anything out of the ordinary. But Elizabeth's understanding of it is. Don't misunderstand what I'm trying to say here.

[28:19] This understanding that Elizabeth has of who Mary is, is supernatural. This understanding of Elizabeth, of who Mary carries in her womb, is supernatural.

[28:31] But I'm not sure that the baby leaping in her womb was anything supernatural. Elizabeth recognizes this greeting, recognizes the baby leaping in her womb, because the Christ has appeared.

[28:48] She gains this insight, we're told, verse 41, because she's filled with the Holy Spirit. And she greets her young cousin Mary with extraordinary terms, doesn't she?

[29:00] Blessed, verse 42, are you amongst women. Blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why has the mother of the Lord come to see me? Not a hint of bitterness, not a hint of jealousy, not a hint that Mary is stealing some of her limelight.

[29:15] Rather joy, that her young cousin is knowing and experiencing the blessing of the Lord. How difficult it is, friends, when we see others prospering, to be genuinely happy for them.

[29:32] How difficult it is, when we see others perhaps prospering in material terms, to be genuinely happy for them. How difficult it is in ministry, when other churches are growing, and yours shrinks not to think, well, why isn't my church growing?

[29:50] But Elizabeth, despite this great news that she's had, there's no hint of bitterness towards Mary, towards this young upstart.

[30:04] Why? What is it that enables her to react the way that she does? I think that she knows two things. These two things that sustain her, these two things that enable her to truly enter into Mary's joy.

[30:16] Firstly, she knows that she deserves nothing from the hand of God. That the baby that she's been given, that the baby she carries in her womb is a gift of grace, is a blessing she doesn't deserve.

[30:32] And so Mary's pregnancy won't diminish her own happiness. And when we see others prospering, we can adopt the same attitude that Elizabeth adopts here, to know that we deserve nothing from the hand of God.

[30:45] We earn nothing from the hand of God. But that all that comes to us comes from the hand of a gracious, generous God. And so we can rejoice when we see others prospering.

[31:00] Secondly, she knows that she's part of the everlasting plan of God. And she's content with her role in that. She knows that her baby will be the forerunner.

[31:13] She knows that her baby will set the way for the Messiah to come. And she's happy with that. She's content with her plan, her part in the plan and purposes of God.

[31:29] And we can be content knowing that our God is sovereign and that our God holds the future. whatever comes to us comes to us as part of the plan and purpose of God.

[31:44] The everlasting God has decreed it. And Elizabeth will accept it. The everlasting God then who sets his plan and purposes thirdly, finally then, we want to see the everlasting offspring, the everlasting offspring.

[32:03] And we see that in verses 46 through 56, this very famous song of Mary, the Magnificat. And the final thing that we want to notice is the fulfillment of prophecy that Mary understands Jesus to be.

[32:17] We see it in verse 55. That God has remembered Israel, that he has helped Israel as he spoke to our fathers. But notice then, to Abraham and to his offspring forever, this everlasting offspring that was promised to Abraham.

[32:35] All of those years ago, that great promise to Abraham as God spoke to Abraham, he promised him that he would have offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky.

[32:48] Abraham is an old man, Sarah his wife, barren. God promised that Abraham would have an heir. God promised that through that heir all of the nations of the world would be blessed.

[32:59] And here then in Jesus Christ we see the fulfillment of that. We see the everlasting offspring promised to Abraham finally come to fruition. Here is the one through whom all the nations of the world will be blessed.

[33:12] Here is the one who will bring many sons to glory. with the birth of Jesus Christ, Mary's boy, something entirely new was happening.

[33:25] As Paul will tell us later on in scripture with the birth and death of Mary's boy, the Gentiles were being grafted in. The Gentiles were being brought in to the chosen people of God.

[33:36] The Gentiles would be welcomed and accepted in God's sight. Here is the one through whom all the nations of the world will be blessed. Jesus Christ came this morning so that we could have everlasting life with God.

[33:54] So that sin could be dealt with and we might know God. Don't waste that chance, that opportunity this morning.

[34:06] Rather turn to him, accept him as your saviour, accept that he is King David's greater son. That he is the everlasting son promised from the foundation of the world.

[34:19] That he is the ruler of an everlasting kingdom that will have no end. That he is the saviour from sin. Amen.