WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.759 Well, good morning. It's good to be here with you this morning. As Tommy said, my name's Jeff, and I've been going to Church of the Advent for a little over a year. 00:00:10.179 --> 00:00:17.740 And this church, this church family, has become a place where I have grown a lot of deep affection and love. 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:24.400 And it's just good to, it's such an honor and a privilege to bring God's Word this morning. 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:34.500 Um, as, as Tommy said earlier, we are in the third Sunday of the season of Advent, um, which is a season in the Christian calendar, which is a season of waiting and anticipation. 00:00:35.239 --> 00:00:45.739 Uh, it's a season where we reflect on the people of Israel and how for 400 years they were waiting for God to fulfill his promises, uh, to bring a Savior, to bring a Deliverer and a Messiah. 00:00:46.179 --> 00:00:52.759 And as we reflect on, uh, the life and the story of Israel, we're reminded, uh, that we are also a people who wait. 00:00:52.759 --> 00:01:02.759 Uh, some of us are waiting in our vocations. Uh, we're waiting to finish a degree program or we're waiting to, uh, to find a new job or a different job. 00:01:03.140 --> 00:01:08.519 Uh, a lot of us are waiting in our relationships. Uh, perhaps we're single and we want to be married. 00:01:08.979 --> 00:01:15.079 Perhaps we're, we're married and we want to have kids or perhaps we have kids, but we're waiting for them to grow up and get out of the house. 00:01:15.739 --> 00:01:22.539 Uh, we're also waiting as neighbors in D.C. as we think about, um, the, our, our neighbors, uh, in our city. 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:30.740 Uh, who experience, uh, marginalization and perhaps poverty. Uh, we wait for our city to be a place for, with more peace and shalom. 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:39.560 We're also waiting as a church, uh, as we've talked about a lot that we're waiting for a more permanent space, uh, where we can live out our life and our mission together. 00:01:40.160 --> 00:01:45.600 Um, so we're a people who wait, but the thing about waiting is that waiting is really painful. 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:55.299 Uh, in some way, shape, or form, all of us experience the ache of waiting, the ache of, of unfulfilled desires that we're longing to be, uh, satisfied. 00:01:55.299 --> 00:01:59.159 The ache of broken relationships that we're longing to be healed. 00:01:59.679 --> 00:02:04.879 Um, and the ache of just living in a fallen world where things are not as they're supposed to be. 00:02:05.199 --> 00:02:10.919 And, uh, we come to the passage this morning with two women who knew what it meant to wait. 00:02:10.919 --> 00:02:13.919 And they knew, uh, the ache and the pain of waiting. 00:02:14.419 --> 00:02:15.419 Elizabeth and Mary. 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:23.099 And like the rest of the people of Israel, they were waiting for the promised Messiah, the Savior that, that God promised to bring. 00:02:23.259 --> 00:02:25.879 But they were also waiting, uh, because they were pregnant. 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:28.259 Uh, because they were expecting a child. 00:02:28.679 --> 00:02:33.000 Um, and so no doubt they were experiencing, uh, all the expectation and the anxiety. 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:36.159 And even some of the pain that comes with waiting to be a mom. 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:44.259 Um, and what we see here in this passage in Luke 1 is that in the midst of their waiting, in the midst of their ache, uh, they encounter God. 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:49.080 And in the midst of their ache, God brings great rejoicing into their lives. 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:56.379 And so what they show us and what I want us to see this morning is that even in the ache of waiting, that we can rejoice. 00:02:56.920 --> 00:03:01.699 And that we can rejoice because God is writing a story of reversal. 00:03:01.699 --> 00:03:13.239 He's writing a story of reversal about who really matters, about who is really blessed, about who really receives God's salvation, who is on the right side of history. 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:19.199 So we're going to look at two aspects of this reversal this morning that God brings, the story that he's writing. 00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:23.459 We're going to look at, uh, the reversal of who experiences God's blessing. 00:03:23.899 --> 00:03:26.519 And then secondly, we're going to look at how that reversal comes. 00:03:27.259 --> 00:03:31.159 So first, we're going to look at the reversal of who experiences God's blessing. 00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:38.939 So in the passage right before this, in Luke 1, uh, the angel Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her that she's with child, that she's pregnant. 00:03:39.500 --> 00:03:50.939 And she, and Gabriel also tells her that her, her, uh, relative Elizabeth is also, uh, expecting to be pregnant with John the Baptist, uh, the prophet who is to come to prepare the way for Jesus. 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:54.180 And Luke tells us that Elizabeth and Mary are relatives. 00:03:54.180 --> 00:03:56.039 He doesn't quite say how they're related. 00:03:56.039 --> 00:04:01.280 Uh, but Luke also tells us that both of these women experienced miraculous pregnancies. 00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:06.879 So in Luke 1, 5 through 25, we're told that Elizabeth has a miraculous pregnancy because of her age. 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:12.879 Luke 1, 26 through 38, we're, we're told that Mary's pregnancy was miraculous because she was a virgin. 00:04:13.819 --> 00:04:19.599 And so upon hearing this news that not only was she pregnant, but her, her old, uh, relative was pregnant. 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:20.720 She has to go see her. 00:04:20.780 --> 00:04:24.240 So she rushes out into the countryside to see Elizabeth. 00:04:24.400 --> 00:04:26.060 It was probably a two to three day journey. 00:04:26.960 --> 00:04:33.520 And, um, and we can imagine some of the mix of emotions of what Mary feels as she's heading out to go see Elizabeth. 00:04:33.700 --> 00:04:36.420 She's probably feeling, uh, a mixture of uncertainty. 00:04:37.200 --> 00:04:44.780 Um, like, you know, are the people in my community, are, are they actually going to believe me when I tell them that they, I'm miraculously pregnant? 00:04:44.779 --> 00:04:48.559 You know, are they actually going to believe me or are they just going to assume that I've been sleeping around? 00:04:49.119 --> 00:04:55.159 Uh, there's probably some anxiety about, uh, what does it mean for me to be the mother of God, uh, of the Messiah? 00:04:55.519 --> 00:04:57.139 You know, what if, what if I mess up? 00:04:57.239 --> 00:04:59.359 You know, what if, what if Joseph and I run out of money? 00:04:59.699 --> 00:05:07.939 You know, what if we can't feed our kid is, um, is ultimately the fate of human history, um, going to be thwarted because we are bad parents, you know? 00:05:07.939 --> 00:05:18.980 Um, and so she's, uh, she's probably heading on this two to three day journey to go see Elizabeth, uh, with all of these, um, emotions swirling around inside her. 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:28.060 Um, and what Luke tells us is that she experiences the grace of God when she comes to Elizabeth's house before she even gets through the door. 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:34.740 Uh, we're told that Elizabeth hears Mary's greeting and, and the, uh, John the Baptist leaps in her womb. 00:05:34.740 --> 00:05:41.300 Uh, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, uh, speaks an incredibly, uh, beautiful prophetic word over Mary. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:46.340 And she says, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:50.579 Now, the reason why this is striking is that Elizabeth would have had no idea that Mary's pregnant. 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:54.220 There was no, she, she didn't, uh, you know, there was no email. 00:05:54.340 --> 00:05:56.800 She didn't get a text message from Mary saying that she was pregnant. 00:05:57.139 --> 00:05:58.740 She might not even know that Mary was coming. 00:05:59.259 --> 00:06:01.319 It would have been too early for Mary to be showing. 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:04.240 There's no way for Elizabeth to have known that she was pregnant. 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:11.300 And yet, God, through the Holy Spirit, speaks this amazing, beautiful word of blessing over Mary through Elizabeth. 00:06:11.960 --> 00:06:18.439 And in response, Mary bursts forth with praise and with worship and rejoicing to God. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:25.540 It's almost as if all the uncertainty and anxiety that she was, was swirling around inside her is quieted. 00:06:25.860 --> 00:06:29.500 And it's, and this joy and worship to God bubbles forth. 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:32.980 Uh, Mary's words here are known as the Magnificat. 00:06:32.980 --> 00:06:38.759 Um, it's a, it's a prayer, it's a song that's been used in the church's liturgy, uh, throughout the centuries. 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:43.319 Um, it's a prayer that you'll find, uh, in the book of common prayer, uh, in morning and evening prayer. 00:06:43.780 --> 00:06:46.220 Um, and it's, they're amazing words. 00:06:46.280 --> 00:06:47.060 They're beautiful words. 00:06:47.140 --> 00:06:47.939 So we're going to look at them. 00:06:47.939 --> 00:06:52.100 So she starts in verses 46 and 47 by saying, 00:06:52.100 --> 00:06:58.439 My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:01.300 What is, what does she rejoice in God for? 00:07:02.259 --> 00:07:05.920 Well, first she rejoices in what God has done for her individually. 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:08.819 In verses 48 and 49, she says, 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:12.379 For he has looked upon the humble estate of his servant. 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:15.780 For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. 00:07:16.300 --> 00:07:18.540 For he who is mighty has done great things for me. 00:07:18.960 --> 00:07:20.360 And holy is his name. 00:07:21.080 --> 00:07:23.680 It's this beautiful acknowledgement that God has seen her, 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:27.639 and that he has chosen her, despite her low position. 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:30.500 Mary was a pregnant teenager. 00:07:30.500 --> 00:07:31.740 She was uneducated. 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:35.899 She was probably poor, in a blue collar, low, lower class household, 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:43.000 low, low social standing, part of a, in a, uh, minority oppressed religious group in the Roman Empire. 00:07:43.720 --> 00:07:48.959 And yet she rejoices the fact that God has chosen her to be the mother of the Messiah. 00:07:49.060 --> 00:07:52.379 Her words here parallel Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 2. 00:07:53.019 --> 00:07:56.699 Uh, Hannah was a mom in the Old Testament who, who also had a miraculous birth, 00:07:56.699 --> 00:08:03.759 and, and who gave birth to Samuel, uh, a man that, that God would use greatly in the life of the people of Israel. 00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:06.800 And so Mary, who's steeped in the stories of the Old Testament, 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:11.699 recognizes that in the same way that, that God had blessed Hannah and used Hannah's son, 00:08:12.139 --> 00:08:15.199 that God was doing the same thing again for her. 00:08:15.779 --> 00:08:22.699 That he's going to bring, uh, a, a, a son who's ultimately going to do great things and deliver Israel. 00:08:22.919 --> 00:08:23.939 And she is amazed. 00:08:24.039 --> 00:08:24.519 She's shocked. 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:26.060 She's blown away that it would happen to her. 00:08:26.699 --> 00:08:30.019 And so not only does she rejoice for what God has done for her individually, 00:08:30.300 --> 00:08:34.340 she also rejoices in what God has done for all people generally. 00:08:35.259 --> 00:08:37.779 In verses 50 to 53, she says, 00:08:37.779 --> 00:08:59.519 What do we see here? 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:10.679 We see that Jesus, or, uh, that Mary is declaring the realities of God's salvation and his judgment. 00:09:11.199 --> 00:09:17.480 Mary's saying that the, the story that God is writing throughout human history is ultimately a story of reversal. 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:22.579 And that that reversal happens both through salvation and through judgment. 00:09:22.580 --> 00:09:26.759 So the hungry are filled, but the rich are sent away empty. 00:09:27.580 --> 00:09:31.259 The humble, you know, the humble are exalted and the proud are scattered. 00:09:31.820 --> 00:09:35.740 The weak are lifted up and the powerful are brought down. 00:09:35.740 --> 00:09:43.960 And Mary rejoices because she realizes that part of what it means for her to be the mother of the Messiah is that in the grand scheme of human history, 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:48.100 God is not on the side of the rich and the powerful and the famous. 00:09:48.100 --> 00:09:53.340 Rather, he is on the side of the humble and the weak and the poor. 00:09:54.259 --> 00:10:01.080 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who is a German theologian and pastor who was executed under the Nazi regime, under Hitler, 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:04.540 says this, commenting on this passage. 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:08.779 He says that God is not ashamed to be with those of humble state. 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:12.519 God does his miracles where we least expect it. 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:19.799 He loves the lost, the forgotten, the insignificant, the outcasts, the weak and the broken. 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:22.620 Where men say lost, he says found. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:25.460 Where men say condemned, he says redeemed. 00:10:26.059 --> 00:10:28.480 Where men say no, he says yes. 00:10:29.179 --> 00:10:32.259 Where men say contemptible, God says blessed. 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:36.679 Where men look with indifference or superiority, he looks with burning love, 00:10:37.319 --> 00:10:39.059 such as nowhere else is to be found. 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:45.619 Listen, Jesus wasn't born in an Ivy League family with a trust fund and lots of connections on Capitol Hill and Wall Street. 00:10:45.719 --> 00:10:52.059 No, he was born to two parents in Nazareth with little to no money, little to no college education, few connections. 00:10:53.299 --> 00:10:58.079 And this reality, the fact that Jesus came to be born to parents of such a humble position, 00:10:59.119 --> 00:11:06.319 what it means for us is that this pretty much reverses all of our social and economic and political categories. 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:10.140 It's a reversal of who's important and who's unimportant. 00:11:10.740 --> 00:11:12.160 Of the haves and the have-nots. 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:14.440 Of the insiders and the outsiders. 00:11:14.560 --> 00:11:15.960 The good people and the bad people. 00:11:16.340 --> 00:11:17.700 Who's significant, who's insignificant. 00:11:18.800 --> 00:11:23.160 Socially, what it means is that there's no ethnicity, there's no race, there's no group of people, 00:11:23.260 --> 00:11:26.520 there's zip code or neighborhood that's superior towards one another. 00:11:27.160 --> 00:11:30.080 You know, if God can come and be born to parents who are from Nazareth, 00:11:30.680 --> 00:11:33.680 there's no social or ethnic pride that we can have. 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:41.919 Economically, it means that true wealth, true riches, has little to nothing to do with material goods and money. 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:48.899 Politically, it means that no human authority, no human government has ultimate power. 00:11:50.079 --> 00:11:53.959 And just to help you understand how charged these words are, 00:11:53.960 --> 00:12:01.480 that Mary says there have literally been governments throughout history that have banned these words. 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:05.660 That have banned the public praying or singing of these words. 00:12:05.660 --> 00:12:08.800 Because they knew how politically subversive they were. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:14.799 Because what it means is that all human governments are under the sovereign rule of God. 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:18.379 They are ultimately derivative of a greater king. 00:12:18.899 --> 00:12:22.179 Because God brings down rulers from their thrones. 00:12:22.779 --> 00:12:24.299 But he exalts the humble. 00:12:25.059 --> 00:12:28.139 Listen, do we, is this something that we embody in our lives? 00:12:28.819 --> 00:12:33.459 Is this something that, this kind of reversal, do we embody this reversal as a church? 00:12:33.460 --> 00:12:36.780 Do we associate with people of different social or economic status? 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:41.960 Or are we ashamed of people who would, society would think would be unimportant or insignificant? 00:12:42.780 --> 00:12:46.280 You know, if I'm honest, I think it's easy in a place like Washington, D.C. 00:12:46.280 --> 00:12:52.240 to only want to associate, to only want to be around people with power and money and influence. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:54.920 But God says that's not the story that I'm writing. 00:12:54.919 --> 00:13:01.799 I'm writing a story of reversal where the poor are rich and where the humble are exalted. 00:13:03.219 --> 00:13:07.659 You know, think about the ultimate goal of your work or your vocation. 00:13:08.579 --> 00:13:17.719 Is the ultimate goal of your work to exalt yourself, to gain greater position, to get a bigger salary, to have lots of power and influence? 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:25.980 Or ultimately, is the goal of your work to humble yourself and to exalt others, to seek their flourishing, to seek their good, to solve their problems? 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:32.600 You know, I think this image of reversal is actually a great image for our vocations in this world. 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:39.960 You know, I love the fact that, you know, we're a church that partners with D.C. 127. 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:44.400 And, you know, their mission statement is an amazing mission statement. 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:49.840 Their mission statement is the reversal of the foster care list in Washington, D.C. 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:55.980 I think that that is a beautiful mission statement because it reflects the heart of God, 00:13:56.460 --> 00:13:59.440 which is ultimately to bring about a redemptive reversal in this world. 00:13:59.860 --> 00:14:04.160 You know, what kind of reversal does your work, does your vocation ultimately bring about? 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:11.799 Maybe it's something obvious, like poverty or injustice or something like that. 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:13.879 But maybe it's not as obvious. 00:14:13.980 --> 00:14:18.740 Maybe it's not as obvious to think, what are the things that my work in this world is trying to reverse? 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:26.199 I think that in a way that all of our work is, in a way, all about the reversal of chaos. 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:37.940 That we live in a fallen world and things tend towards chaos, but the human vocation is to bring order to where there is disorder, to bring, to reverse chaos. 00:14:38.220 --> 00:14:39.580 I think this is what parenting is. 00:14:40.180 --> 00:14:45.040 I think parenting is the reversal of chaos, which is why I think it's so difficult. 00:14:46.780 --> 00:14:54.920 But Mary's point, Mary's heart, her joy is ultimately pointing us to the fact that God is writing a story of reversal. 00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:59.360 So where our social, our political, our economic categories are totally flipped upside down. 00:15:01.079 --> 00:15:04.500 And the question for us this morning is, do our lives line up with that story? 00:15:04.620 --> 00:15:07.360 Does our life as a church line up with that story? 00:15:08.339 --> 00:15:11.360 So we see the reversal of who experiences God's blessing. 00:15:12.079 --> 00:15:15.139 And then secondly, we see how that reversal comes. 00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:17.500 We see how that reversal comes. 00:15:17.500 --> 00:15:27.820 If you notice in the text, when it was read, when Kevin read it earlier, that it seems that Mary is acting with confidence as if these things have already happened. 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:31.440 So a lot of the verbs here are in the past tense. 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:33.899 That he has brought down the proud. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:35.700 That he has filled the hungry. 00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:37.480 That he has sent the rich away empty. 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:43.779 And that should bring for us attention as we read this text. 00:15:43.899 --> 00:15:50.399 Because in verse 56, it says that after three months of being with Elizabeth, that Mary returned home to Nazareth. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:52.139 To her old life. 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:54.460 To the home that she lived in. 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:58.019 To be engaged to the same carpenter that she was engaged to. 00:15:59.300 --> 00:16:00.480 Nothing's changed for her. 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:04.600 And yet, she's rejoicing as if everything's changed. 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:05.200 You know? 00:16:05.700 --> 00:16:06.940 So what do we do with this? 00:16:07.560 --> 00:16:12.259 The key to seeing how God's reversal comes is actually to look at verses 54 and 55. 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:17.040 Which say that he has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy. 00:16:17.680 --> 00:16:19.000 As he spoke to our fathers. 00:16:19.460 --> 00:16:21.840 To Abraham and to his offspring forever. 00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:26.620 Mary is recalling the covenant promise that God had made to Israel. 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:28.680 That he had made to Abraham. 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:30.120 That it was going to be through him. 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:31.879 It was going to be through his seed and through his family. 00:16:32.040 --> 00:16:34.440 That he was going to bless all the nations of the earth. 00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:38.060 And as the story of the Old Testament unfolds and goes on. 00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:41.220 We see with greater and greater clarity how this is actually going to work. 00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:46.399 We see that what's going to happen is that God is going to bring a king. 00:16:47.420 --> 00:16:48.600 Whom God is going to bless. 00:16:48.659 --> 00:16:50.399 And it's through the kingship of that king. 00:16:50.460 --> 00:16:52.740 It's going to be a king in the line of David. 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:56.720 And it's through his kingship that God is going to bless the whole world. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:02.639 And Mary is rejoicing in the fact that that king is her son. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:06.620 This is what Gabriel tells her in the passage just before this. 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:08.100 In Luke 1, 32 and 33. 00:17:09.059 --> 00:17:11.539 Gabriel tells her that your son will be great. 00:17:11.660 --> 00:17:13.240 And he will be called son of the most high. 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:16.240 And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:19.160 And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:20.380 And his kingdom. 00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:23.020 And of his kingdom there will be no end. 00:17:23.740 --> 00:17:30.900 Mary understands that the baby that is growing inside her is going to grow up to be a king who has an everlasting kingdom. 00:17:30.900 --> 00:17:36.180 And this is ultimately a fulfillment of everything that the Old Testament points towards. 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:45.120 The Old Testament had, the Old Testament prophets had promised and announced that God was writing a story of reversal. 00:17:45.259 --> 00:17:46.960 That there would be a king who would come. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:54.140 Whose mission would be nothing less than the entire restoration of the entire cosmos. 00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:58.680 Nothing less than the complete reversal of sin and death and evil and justice. 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:04.740 So part of the way that the prophet Isaiah pictures it is that when the Messiah, when the king would come. 00:18:05.100 --> 00:18:07.740 That people would beat their swords into plowshares. 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:10.440 That the wolf would lie down with the lamb. 00:18:11.120 --> 00:18:13.019 That every valley would be raised up. 00:18:13.060 --> 00:18:15.100 That every mountain would be exalted. 00:18:15.100 --> 00:18:20.240 The picture in the Old Testament prophets is the restoration of the entire cosmos. 00:18:20.420 --> 00:18:21.620 Back to the way God designed it. 00:18:21.700 --> 00:18:23.360 Back to the way that things were meant to be. 00:18:23.560 --> 00:18:25.000 By reversing the curse. 00:18:25.180 --> 00:18:27.340 Reversing the effects of sin and death. 00:18:27.339 --> 00:18:29.599 That's the mission of the king. 00:18:31.879 --> 00:18:38.000 Isaac Watts gets it right in his hymn, Joy to the World, that we sing around Advent and Christmas time. 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:45.099 That line where he says that he comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found. 00:18:45.959 --> 00:18:47.079 Far as the curse is found. 00:18:47.179 --> 00:18:48.839 That's the mission of the king. 00:18:48.899 --> 00:18:50.359 To reverse the effects of sin. 00:18:50.699 --> 00:18:54.480 And to bring the restoration of the whole creation. 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:59.640 And Mary is rejoicing because even though this reversal isn't fully complete. 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:02.700 That it has already begun. 00:19:03.059 --> 00:19:06.259 And the reversal has begun because the king has come. 00:19:06.339 --> 00:19:12.759 And the arrival of the king means that God is fulfilling his promises to reverse the effects of sin and death. 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:16.940 And she rejoices with the confidence that says not only is this going to happen. 00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:19.380 It's as good as done. 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:22.160 It's inevitable. 00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:23.140 It's as good as done. 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:27.259 So, if you think, you know, a couple of just illustrations. 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:32.059 If you think about when you're depositing a check to your bank account through your phone. 00:19:32.660 --> 00:19:36.660 And you take out your mobile app and you take a picture of the check on the front. 00:19:37.080 --> 00:19:38.580 And you take a picture of the check on the back. 00:19:38.900 --> 00:19:39.860 And you hit deposit. 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:40.640 You hit confirm. 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:41.580 You know. 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:45.220 What happens is, you know, you've, you've, the transaction is now pending. 00:19:45.380 --> 00:19:46.500 The bank has to review it. 00:19:46.560 --> 00:19:48.100 The security team has to look at it. 00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:48.860 Make sure it's valid. 00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:49.820 Right. 00:19:49.980 --> 00:19:51.800 So, you have to wait for the money to get into your account. 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:53.340 But really, it's, it's as good as done. 00:19:55.580 --> 00:19:58.860 Another illustration is, you know, thinking about when you graduate from college. 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:02.060 And you've finished all your classes. 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:03.580 You've, you've taken all your exams. 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:06.380 You know, you've completed all your degree requirements. 00:20:06.600 --> 00:20:08.440 You, you go to your graduation ceremony. 00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:09.480 You walk the stage. 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:11.500 People clap for you. 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:13.240 You know, and then the ceremony's over. 00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:13.799 You've graduated. 00:20:13.940 --> 00:20:14.299 It's done. 00:20:14.940 --> 00:20:15.940 But then what happens? 00:20:16.579 --> 00:20:19.299 You've got to wait, like, months for that diploma to arrive. 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:22.099 Because they don't give you your actual diploma on the graduation. 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:23.960 But, so you've got to wait. 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:26.480 You've got to wait for your diploma to come. 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:27.940 But the reality is, it's as good as done. 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:29.660 You've already completed. 00:20:29.819 --> 00:20:32.539 The work has already been accomplished. 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:33.559 You're still waiting. 00:20:34.120 --> 00:20:38.200 But you can rejoice in the fact that the victory is inevitable. 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:49.360 Mary understands that the fulfillment of the reversal that God is beginning through the baby in her womb is so inevitable that she can rejoice as if it's already happened. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:55.619 And the good news for us this morning is that we can have the same kind of joy that Mary had. 00:20:55.679 --> 00:21:00.519 Because the baby in Mary's womb accomplished the victory of the kingdom in our place. 00:21:01.159 --> 00:21:03.779 Because his victory was a victory of reversal. 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:12.259 Earlier we saw that the story that God is writing is a story that brings both salvation and judgment. 00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:14.379 Where the humble are exalted. 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:16.200 The proud are cast down. 00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:17.119 The hungry are filled. 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:18.200 The rich are sent away empty. 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:22.879 And we see that most clearly in Jesus. 00:21:23.660 --> 00:21:26.519 The gospel is a gospel of reversal. 00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:31.460 The gospel is that Jesus Christ took on the judgment that you and I deserved. 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:35.000 So that we might receive the blessing that he deserved. 00:21:35.900 --> 00:21:40.160 And Mary's song points us to the reversal that God accomplished for us in Jesus. 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:41.180 He was God. 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:43.879 He was infinitely powerful. 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:45.240 He was infinitely rich. 00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:46.980 He was infinitely exalted. 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:49.759 And yet, he humbled himself. 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:51.240 And he became weak. 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:52.500 And he became poor. 00:21:52.579 --> 00:21:55.819 He lived the life, the perfect life that deserved all of God's blessing. 00:21:55.819 --> 00:22:00.139 And yet, in his death on the cross, he received only God's judgment. 00:22:01.220 --> 00:22:06.119 This is why Christianity is the complete reverse of every religion, of every moral code out there. 00:22:06.659 --> 00:22:11.259 See, morality and religion say live a good life, do the right things, and you'll be blessed. 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:15.339 Christianity, the gospel, says the complete reverse. 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:18.559 It says there's no amount of good things that you can do. 00:22:18.639 --> 00:22:20.439 There's no amount of religious works that you can do. 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:21.960 It can't be done. 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:23.399 Real blessing doesn't come that way. 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:25.240 Our sin problem is too great. 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:33.319 No, the only way to be saved, the only way to receive God's blessing, is to have the Son of God completely reverse places with you. 00:22:34.620 --> 00:22:40.880 So, one of my favorite books, one of my favorite stories of all time, is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:46.299 And it's a story that begins with that famous line, you know, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. 00:22:46.299 --> 00:22:48.079 And it's set in the French Revolution. 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:55.440 And two of the main characters in the story are Sidney Carton and Charles Darnay. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:00.200 And over the course of their story, their friendship grows. 00:23:01.100 --> 00:23:04.820 But one thing that's striking is that these two guys look a lot alike. 00:23:05.019 --> 00:23:08.000 They have a lot of physical resemblances to each other. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:20.619 And as the story goes on, Charles Darnay is actually arrested and he's tried and he's found guilty of conspiring with the French aristocracy. 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:22.859 This is after the storming of the Bastille. 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:28.799 It's during the reign of terror and where a lot of French aristocrats were being arrested and killed. 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:31.079 And Darnay is sentenced to death. 00:23:32.399 --> 00:23:37.359 But he's got a wife, he's got a kid, and Carton doesn't. 00:23:37.500 --> 00:23:40.299 So, Sidney Carton, his friend, decides to do something. 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:47.319 And he goes and visits his friend, Charles Darnay, in the middle of the night and visits his prison cell. 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:51.740 And he actually tricks him, he drugs him, makes him unconscious. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.119 And they actually switch clothes. 00:23:54.119 --> 00:24:01.779 And he has a friend carry Charles Darnay out of the cell, out of the prison, while Sidney Carton remains in the cell. 00:24:03.199 --> 00:24:08.379 And the next day, Sidney Carton is carried to the guillotine. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:12.799 But no one notices the difference because of their physical resemblance. 00:24:13.699 --> 00:24:17.899 But Sidney Carton, ultimately, he goes to the guillotine for his friend. 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:20.139 He reverses places with him. 00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:26.000 And it's that line that maybe is familiar to you, where Sidney Carton is going to the guillotine. 00:24:26.140 --> 00:24:28.300 He's going to lay down his life for his friend. 00:24:28.360 --> 00:24:31.340 And he says, it's a far, far better thing that I do than I've ever done. 00:24:31.860 --> 00:24:35.560 And it's a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever done. 00:24:37.020 --> 00:24:38.720 And that's what Jesus did for us. 00:24:39.820 --> 00:24:41.640 Salvation comes through reversal. 00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:50.920 Jesus Christ, the king of the universe, reversing places with sinners, taking on our sin, our shame, our guilt, and absorbing the wrath of God and our place. 00:24:51.580 --> 00:24:53.960 And in return, we receive his righteousness. 00:24:54.180 --> 00:24:57.680 We receive his victory over sin and death. 00:24:58.080 --> 00:25:05.840 But not only that, we receive the power and the riches and the status of the kingdom. 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:10.240 But it's not just everybody who experiences this reversal. 00:25:10.379 --> 00:25:12.339 It's only those who can come with nothing. 00:25:13.159 --> 00:25:15.279 It's only those who come hungry. 00:25:15.439 --> 00:25:17.679 Those only who come weak and poor. 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:19.899 Who admit that they have nothing to offer God. 00:25:20.179 --> 00:25:22.079 That they have no religious credentials. 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:23.639 That they can't fix themselves. 00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:25.439 They can't outrun. 00:25:25.559 --> 00:25:27.939 They can't outperform their guilt or their shame. 00:25:28.299 --> 00:25:29.399 They don't have it together. 00:25:29.500 --> 00:25:30.579 They're spiritually bankrupt. 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:32.779 They know they need a savior. 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:37.160 Those are the ones who experience the reversal that Jesus did in our place. 00:25:37.319 --> 00:25:39.899 And those are ultimately the ones who are filled. 00:25:40.859 --> 00:25:42.660 Those are ultimately the ones who are exalted. 00:25:42.819 --> 00:25:44.119 Those who are blessed. 00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:48.539 It's like if you were in a situation where you had all these debts. 00:25:48.619 --> 00:25:50.480 You had all these loans that you couldn't pay off. 00:25:50.599 --> 00:25:54.099 And you realize the only way out was to file for bankruptcy. 00:25:54.399 --> 00:25:58.879 And so you file for bankruptcy and you have a meeting with your creditors. 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:03.220 And they meet with you and they're looking at all your debts. 00:26:03.340 --> 00:26:03.920 All your loans. 00:26:04.040 --> 00:26:10.340 And they say, okay, Mr. Simpson, we've decided to go through with bankruptcy. 00:26:10.520 --> 00:26:11.340 We've canceled all your debts. 00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:12.380 We've canceled all your loans. 00:26:12.740 --> 00:26:13.320 You're forgiven. 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:14.700 You're free to go. 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:17.940 Is that the gospel? 00:26:20.040 --> 00:26:21.400 That's only a part of the gospel. 00:26:21.460 --> 00:26:22.400 It's only half the gospel. 00:26:22.800 --> 00:26:26.640 The gospel isn't just that your debts have been paid and you're free to go. 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:29.400 The gospel is also that you're free to come. 00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:34.980 The gospel is more like you're in that meeting with your creditors and you've got all these loans you can't pay off. 00:26:35.580 --> 00:26:36.580 Got all these debts. 00:26:37.700 --> 00:26:43.980 And the CEO of Capital One comes in the room and he says, here's what we're going to do. 00:26:44.580 --> 00:26:47.500 Not only are we going to cancel your debts, not only are we going to pay back your loans. 00:26:48.100 --> 00:26:50.460 But Mr. Simpson, here's what we've decided to do. 00:26:52.020 --> 00:26:55.180 I'm going to transfer the title of CEO to you. 00:26:55.180 --> 00:26:57.779 You're now the CEO of Capital One Bank. 00:26:58.279 --> 00:27:02.299 And here's my personal bank account number and the routing number. 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:04.100 My bank account's yours now. 00:27:04.500 --> 00:27:08.120 And here's the keys to that car outside, that Ferrari. 00:27:08.539 --> 00:27:09.360 It's yours now. 00:27:09.420 --> 00:27:10.539 And here's another set of keys. 00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:12.320 That's the keys to my house. 00:27:12.360 --> 00:27:14.340 And here's the keys to my beach house. 00:27:15.600 --> 00:27:17.380 You know, that's what the gospel is. 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:23.980 It's the complete reversal where Christ takes on our sin and we get all the riches of him and his kingdom. 00:27:23.980 --> 00:27:32.240 You know, one of the things I try to tell students at Maryland all the time is that you don't actually really understand union with Christ. 00:27:32.360 --> 00:27:43.460 You don't fully understand what it means to be united with Jesus until you understand that what the New Testament says about our relationship to him sounds utterly ridiculous. 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:51.700 It sounds utterly ridiculous because you get to places in Colossians 3 where it talks about how that we've been raised with Christ. 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:54.259 That we are seated with him in the heavenly realms. 00:27:54.340 --> 00:27:56.420 That our lives are hidden with him. 00:27:57.380 --> 00:28:00.299 And if you think about it, that sounds ridiculous. 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:02.720 It's like, no, I'm not. 00:28:02.940 --> 00:28:07.940 Like, I'm seated in an auditorium at Luke Seymour High School in Brooklyn. 00:28:07.940 --> 00:28:09.860 Like, that's where I'm at. 00:28:11.340 --> 00:28:19.480 But the gospel is that not only are you seated in an auditorium in Brooklyn, but you are also raised with Christ. 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:22.600 You are seated with him in the heavenly realms. 00:28:22.900 --> 00:28:24.039 Your life is hidden with him. 00:28:24.320 --> 00:28:26.340 Listen, do you know what kind of language that is? 00:28:27.620 --> 00:28:29.299 It's the language of royalty. 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:32.120 It's the language of a king. 00:28:33.019 --> 00:28:34.939 Listen, how are the humble exalted? 00:28:35.299 --> 00:28:37.439 How do the poor become rich? 00:28:38.299 --> 00:28:39.500 How are the hungry filled? 00:28:40.879 --> 00:28:42.439 It's through union with the king. 00:28:43.339 --> 00:28:45.099 By being clothed with his righteousness. 00:28:45.299 --> 00:28:46.439 By being heirs of his kingdom. 00:28:47.459 --> 00:28:55.659 And not only has he given us the riches of his kingdom, but he has also entrusted us with the mission and the message of the kingdom. 00:28:55.660 --> 00:29:02.160 To proclaim and to demonstrate to the world a message of reversal that it is in Jesus Christ that the humble are filled. 00:29:03.100 --> 00:29:04.420 Sorry, that the humble are exalted. 00:29:04.640 --> 00:29:07.080 That the hungry are filled. 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:08.820 The poor become rich. 00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:17.559 And what the season of Advent reminds us, what Luke chapter 1 reminds us, is that even those things are true now. 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:22.759 They're fully and completely true because of what Christ has accomplished for us. 00:29:23.779 --> 00:29:26.460 That is also true that we're still waiting. 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:31.339 It's also true that we're still waiting for the kingdom to come in its fullness. 00:29:31.339 --> 00:29:34.459 Like Mary, all of us are going to go back and we're going to leave this place. 00:29:34.959 --> 00:29:38.980 And we're going to go back to situations in our lives where we're still waiting. 00:29:39.799 --> 00:29:43.359 Where we still experience the ache and the pain of waiting. 00:29:44.019 --> 00:29:45.339 Where there's still tears. 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:47.579 Where there's still sorrow. 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:48.559 Where there's still pain. 00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:55.480 But the message of Advent is that as we wait, that there is a joy that goes deeper than the ache. 00:29:56.159 --> 00:30:00.379 Because we have a king who has accomplished a victory that's as good as done. 00:30:01.339 --> 00:30:06.299 One of my favorite scenes in Lord of the Rings is in the third book, The Return of the King. 00:30:07.019 --> 00:30:09.459 After the ring has been destroyed. 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:13.720 And Sam and Frodo are rescued by the eagles. 00:30:13.839 --> 00:30:15.299 And they're taken to Gondor. 00:30:15.439 --> 00:30:18.439 And they wake up in Gondor. 00:30:18.839 --> 00:30:20.480 And Sam wakes up before Frodo. 00:30:20.619 --> 00:30:23.259 And Sam is trying to figure out, like, did all this really happen? 00:30:23.319 --> 00:30:24.019 Was it a dream? 00:30:24.139 --> 00:30:25.279 Or was it real? 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:27.459 And then he sees Gandalf. 00:30:27.579 --> 00:30:29.959 And he's reminded that, yeah, it was actually real. 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:31.640 All of this stuff actually happened. 00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:34.380 You know, the enemy has been defeated. 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:35.400 The ring's been destroyed. 00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:38.700 And then he asks Gandalf this question. 00:30:38.840 --> 00:30:46.019 And Sam says, Gandalf is now the time when everything sad is going to come untrue. 00:30:46.019 --> 00:30:49.299 And I love that question. 00:30:49.299 --> 00:30:58.319 And the answer that if we're in Christ, if we belong to Jesus, the answer to that question is absolutely yes. 00:30:58.839 --> 00:31:04.299 That we rejoice in the future where everything sad is going to come untrue. 00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:07.420 Because we have a king who's writing a story of reversal. 00:31:07.579 --> 00:31:09.319 Because Jesus Christ came into the world. 00:31:09.319 --> 00:31:12.220 And he reversed the power of sin and death. 00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:20.019 And it's a story where, even though we ache in our waiting, it's a story where the ache doesn't get the last word. 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:23.579 It's a story where our pain doesn't get the last word. 00:31:23.919 --> 00:31:25.759 Where our sorrow doesn't get the last word. 00:31:26.460 --> 00:31:29.399 Where cancer doesn't get the last word. 00:31:30.159 --> 00:31:32.399 Where injustice doesn't get the last word. 00:31:32.700 --> 00:31:33.579 Jesus does. 00:31:33.579 --> 00:31:38.460 Because he's the king who has come and will come again. 00:31:38.579 --> 00:31:43.779 And so the invitation this morning for us is to rejoice in the king of reversal. 00:31:44.339 --> 00:31:47.599 To rejoice in the victory that he accomplished for us in his death and resurrection. 00:31:48.419 --> 00:31:52.899 And to rejoice at the final fulfillment of that victory is as good as done. 00:31:52.980 --> 00:31:53.480 It's inevitable. 00:31:54.799 --> 00:32:01.139 That as we do that, as we rejoice in the king of reversal, that we are also called to become the people of reversal. 00:32:01.140 --> 00:32:06.720 To see ourselves as those who are united with Jesus and empowered by his spirit. 00:32:06.820 --> 00:32:09.820 To be about his kingdom work of reversal in this world. 00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:16.680 And to bring that kingdom of reversal to bear in our homes and in our jobs, in our neighborhoods. 00:32:17.620 --> 00:32:19.040 To see the humble exalted. 00:32:19.180 --> 00:32:20.259 To see the hungry filled. 00:32:20.360 --> 00:32:22.280 To see the poor become rich. 00:32:22.580 --> 00:32:27.420 Because in Jesus Christ, we know that that is what has already happened for us. 00:32:28.060 --> 00:32:29.100 That we're in him. 00:32:29.180 --> 00:32:30.180 That we're royalty. 00:32:30.180 --> 00:32:36.360 And what we experience in Christ now is only a taste of what's to come. 00:32:37.180 --> 00:32:40.140 And because of that, we can find incredible joy. 00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:42.480 We can find incredible rejoicing. 00:32:43.539 --> 00:32:44.460 Even in the waiting. 00:32:45.340 --> 00:32:47.460 Even as we ache for him to come again. 00:32:48.100 --> 00:32:48.640 Let's pray. 00:32:48.640 --> 00:32:48.660 Let's pray. 00:32:48.660 --> 00:32:48.700 Let's pray.