It's God's living and active word.
! What do we believe?
! We probably believe many things.
!
The thing about believing is, we find it more likely to believe when we find something plausible, isn't it?
When we can make sense of it and it fits into what we already know.
There's a name for that, it's called confirmation bias.
We believe the things that confirm what we already know.
But more than that, even often, we believe because of who tells us the things that we believe.
And you might believe the moon is made of cheese when you're three years old.
Because your parents told you the moon is made of cheese.
And parents wouldn't lie to you, would they?
But give it a few years and they work it out.
Those children, slowly but surely, what we want to believe plays a bigger role in who we believe.
There's a big word for that, it's cognitive dissonance.
We don't believe things that don't fit with what we've decided make sense.
And when we see things and hear things that don't fit with what we believe, we dismiss those things.
Because it doesn't fit with the values that we've decided to believe already.
And that's part of why the world feels so divided right now.
People won't hear each other.
They won't believe each other's bona fides.
Because they can't hear each other.
Because they won't believe the other side.
And last week we heard of a promised son, John the Baptist.
And his father, Zechariah, despite hearing this promise from the mouth of the angel Gabriel,
didn't believe the promise of a son for him and Elizabeth.
Did he?
He placed more faith in his knowledge of biology and human physiology and his experience
than a word from an angel who ministers in the presence of God.
When we don't want to believe, we find it very hard to believe.
So when we come in this passage to the second angelic promise,
the second angelic announcement of a son in as many weeks,
we're actually primed, aren't we, for another slightly disappointing experience.
Where seemingly a sceptical recipient of God's grace doesn't believe it,
when he or she cannot believe it, because they don't want to believe it.
Now Zechariah's wife was unable to conceive and they were old,
and the angel Gabriel made an unlikely promise to them.
She will conceive and bear a son, and he will be great before God,
and a prophet of the Most High.
As we saw, we had some sympathy for Zechariah, didn't we?
It is an unlikely promise in those circumstances.
And we had some sympathy for him as he struggled to believe this unlikely,
incredible promise from God.
But if that was an unlikely promise,
today we have what looks like an impossible promise.
Because of all the people,
this young girl Mary,
while in her teens,
from a backwater town called Nazareth in Galilee,
also gets a visit from the angel Gabriel.
And she's also promised a son.
And the only difficulty here is,
she's not married.
And as she reminds the angel,
verse 34,
she is a virgin.
Literally, she says,
I have not known a man.
You know,
they were not stupid in those times,
like we sometimes think,
in our arrogance.
They knew that babies didn't come by pollination in the air.
So she knows what she's talking about.
And it's enough reason for her to disbelieve the message, isn't it?
You will conceive a son,
but she has not slept with a man yet.
But there's more to the story even than that,
that makes it an impossible promise.
And look closely at what the angel promises her.
In verse 30,
she has found favour with God.
She, a young unmarried girl from nowhere?
That's not how society works, or worked.
And what does this favour entail?
She will conceive and have a son,
and she must call him Jesus.
A child named by God.
This is incredible.
Impossible enough, given her circumstances.
But there's even more.
He will be great.
He will be called the Son of the Most High,
and he'll be given the throne of his father David,
the great king.
God's first chosen king for Israel.
And the one from whom the Messiah,
the Saviour of the world,
would come.
Put yourself in her shoes.
That just sounds utterly impossible.
And not just that,
he will reign forever,
with no end to his kingdom.
We're used to governments and rulers
coming and going,
and often they stick around way too long.
And it feels like there will be no end to their rule.
But inevitably, they do go eventually.
So this is all an astonishing promise.
Even disregarding the practicalities
of how she would conceive a child
in her unmarried state.
There's a reason why immaculate conception
is shorthand in our language,
isn't it, for something that's impossible?
And because this angel's promise
is drenched in language about God,
there's no doubt that this child is God
coming to the world as a human.
Never mind the biological impossibilities.
Is Mary being the mother of God,
being born as a human being in Jesus Christ?
I think maybe the impossible promises
are the most believable sometimes.
The most impossible promises
are the most believable
if we realize who is making them.
We don't know all of what Mary understood
of what the angel said to her
and how much she grasped.
And we're looking back at this
and we know a lot more
than she did at that time.
But she understood enough
to realize this would be
a difficult situation for an unmarried girl.
And she expresses that to the angel.
How will this be,
since I'm a virgin?
And we think, when we hear that,
there's a lot of echoes
from the first passage we read,
isn't there?
Zechariah also expressed some doubt.
There's an angel, fear,
a significant child is promised and named.
There's some doubt.
And there's a sign or instruction
about what's coming next.
But really what we see
when we listen at Mary's response
to what the angel tells her
is strikingly different
to what Zechariah said.
He was afraid at the sight of the angel.
Mary is troubled at the saying,
if you look at verse 29.
Not the angel.
You could actually translate that
as well as perplexed.
She wondered at what it might mean,
what this angel is telling her,
that she is favoured.
Now you could say
she's got a natural difficulty
to understand why
she would be considered favoured
by the Lord.
But Zechariah probably
has more of an irrational fear
at the sight of the angel
in the temple,
being a priest.
And note how she
doesn't ask for a sign.
But she gets one anyway.
You know your parent cousin Elizabeth
has conceived in her old age.
There's nothing impossible
for God, Mary.
Your cousin Elizabeth,
who is in her old age
and was barren,
is already six months pregnant.
And if we look closely,
we see some differences as well
in the description
of this child, don't we?
John the Baptist
was going to be great before God.
This child will be great.
Period.
Verse 32.
And that's more Old Testament
language for God there.
God is the only one called great
without any kind of qualifier.
Zechariah and Elizabeth
will conceive a son.
Previously impossible,
but now possible,
but still through normal means.
Mary will conceive not a son,
but the son.
And this son will have
no human father.
The Holy Spirit
will overshadow her.
And that's all, again,
Old Testament language
if you listen closely.
God dwelling with Israel
in the tabernacle.
You know, it's the same
kind of language.
And we're primed here
for this impossible promise
through all the language
and all these descriptions.
And on many levels,
it seems like the promise
to Mary is the more
impossible promise
to believe.
Doesn't it?
We know about medical miracles
and it fits with our experience.
And we chalk it up
often to something
we can't explain
and we move on.
But as I said,
we often believe
what we believe
primarily because
of who it comes from.
And Mary,
contrary to Zechariah,
realizes who this promise
is coming from.
And verse 38,
Behold,
I am the servant
of the Lord.
Let it be to me
according to your word.
Have you ever,
growing up,
had to do something scary?
Something you didn't think
you could do?
And then your father
takes your hand
and looks at you
and he tells you,
trust me,
you can do this.
What seems impossible
and like a completely
implausible promise
for Mary
becomes not just
believable
but desirable
when she takes
into account
who it is
making the promise.
Many people say
they can't believe
Christianity
because
they can't believe
the miracles
recounted in the Bible.
But that's
working backwards.
Of course miracles
don't make sense.
If there isn't a God
who can do the impossible.
But if there is
such a God
then miracles
just point to him.
He doesn't depend
on them
to be real.
And this miracle,
this arguably
greatest miracle
ever,
God becoming man,
happens in private,
out of sight,
as verse 31
reminds us
explicitly,
in Mary's womb.
But God
becoming man,
the Son of God
taking on human nature
is unheard of,
impossible
by any human standard
or story
or myth.
But it's not impossible
for a God
who created
all things
out of nothing,
is it?
It isn't impossible
for a God
who created
the first human beings
and breathed life
into them
and who raised people
from the dead
as Jesus did.
It certainly
isn't impossible
for Jesus
who himself
rose from the dead
as he promised
to do.
So when we consider
who God is,
this promise
of who Jesus is
becomes not just
not impossible
but actually
very plausible.
of course
God can promise
that his Son
will reign forever
if he is the
eternal God
who created
heaven and earth.
When the earth
was formless
and void
we read at the
beginning of the Bible
the Spirit
hovered over the water
and God spoke
and everything
came into existence.
And of course
he can create
a human being
also God
out of nothing
when the Holy Spirit
overshadows Mary.
She didn't ask
for it
she didn't desire it
she humanly speaking
had no role in it
but she is chosen
by God
to be a part
of the greatest
miracle ever seen
and she believes it
because she knows
the God
who promised it.
I don't know
if you've seen
but the supermarket
Shane Little
has a
has a Christmas
slogan
this year
a Christmas
you can believe in.
No
we have a surprise
for them
an all powerful
God
promising to provide
a saviour
for the human race
who will rule
forever
and who can create
life where there
was none
or where it's
utterly impossible
is more believable
than a promise
of happiness
because of low prices
for Christmas crackers
and stolen bites.
and I think
the problem
for us
might be
closer to home
we might even
be able to believe
that Jesus
is the son
Jesus is the son
of God
and that he
became man
that he was
the promised
saviour
Israel had
waited for
and who all
the prophets
and John the
Baptist
included
promised
but when we
hear that our
sin can be
forgiven
that this
promised son
took it all
upon him
we forget
who he is
and react
more like
Zechariah
when he
was promised
the impossible
many people
wouldn't argue
with who Jesus
is or deny
that he is
the son of God
come to be a
man
but they
won't be able
to believe
that all
they have to
do to be
saved
is to believe
that the
son of God
died for
them
and that if
they believe
in him
they too
will rise
from the
dead
they might
think
and this
might be
you today
that they'll
never be able
to break
from their
sin
never be able
to change
never be able
to be saved
because of
what they've
done
that it's
too great
too much
and too
bad
that seems
like an
impossible
promise
to many
many people
but
thinking that
forgets that
there is
right now
a man
in heaven
Jesus Christ
was born
2000 years
ago by the
power of the
Holy Spirit
from a young
virgin called
Mary
who God
himself has
promised will
reign forever
and who
even death
couldn't hold
that forgets
that he
promised
that whoever
believes in
him will be
saved
it forgets
that he
promised he
will intercede
for us
right now
it forgets
that when he
promises to
raise those
who believe
in him to
eternal life
he has
already gone
before us
all things
that seem
impossible
but it has
happened
it's natural
for us to
look at our
own hearts
and think
we can't
be saved
if we're
honest about
what we
know about
ourselves
we wouldn't
save ourselves
very often
but like
Mary
faced with
impossible
promises
we need to
look at
who makes
those promises
rather than
what we
think is
possible
because we're
rarely a good
judge of what
is possible
if we're
honest about
that as
well
Elsa Mandela
said it's
always impossible
until it's
done
to paraphrase
that
Jesus being
conceived in
this way
reminds us
that it is
impossible
unless it's
God doing
it
and then the
great
comfort to
us
as Paul
writes in
2 Corinthians
1
all the
promises of
God
find their
guess
in Jesus
so this
Christmas
let's consider
how God
has shown
us favour
us
undeserving
people
done nothing
to deserve
his favour
like Mary
by fulfilling
for us
an impossible
promise
let's believe
that promise
and say
with Mary
behold
we are the
servants of
the Lord
let it be
to us
according to
your word
Amen
let's pray