Luke chapter 1 verses 26 through 38. This is God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient, authoritative word for you, his people.
Luke 1, starting at 26.
Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.
The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was.
Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Verse 31.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and he shall be called Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the son of the highest and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.
And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and ever.
And of his kingdom, there will be no end.
Then Mary said to the angel, How can this be since I do not know a man?
And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the highest will overshadow you.
Therefore, also the Holy One who is to be born will be called the son of God.
Now, indeed, Elizabeth, your relative has gone and also conceived a son in her old age.
And this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
For with God, nothing will be impossible.
Then Mary said, Behold, the maidservant of the Lord.
Let it be to me according to your word.
And the angel departed from her.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
You may be seated.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever.
Let's pray.
Lord, we praise you that you have not left us in darkness,
but you have shown the light of your glory into this world in the person of Jesus Christ.
We praise you for the light that has overcome the darkness
and for how the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord,
how this gospel continues to conquer and push back the darkness.
Lord, no shadow can stand before your unfolding glory.
We praise you, Father, that you speak still today,
that your Holy Spirit makes your word active and sharp and alive.
We pray that your word will shine into the darkest places, Lord,
of our minds that need to be enlightened and reformed,
and that you'll draw us, Father, by your love, by your conquering power,
to more and more conform to this image and likeness of your Son,
that he will be glorified,
and the purpose of his mission will be fulfilled in us as people.
We ask this for your glory, for our good, and for his precious namesake.
Amen.
Well, failure to prepare is fatal.
History teaches us this.
If the Romans were to set their eyes on your piece of land
and you were not ready for them to come with their army and their artillery,
it was game over for you.
You know how the Roman Empire would expand and conquer.
They would begin by surrounding your countryside.
They would then destroy your farms,
cut off your supply of food,
so that you become starved and weakened on the inside of the walls.
After a while, if you were to try to negotiate with the Romans,
they would give you a settlement that is so unfavorable,
they would drive you into poverty by heavy taxes.
If you were to fight when you're already weakened without food,
you would easily get slaughtered,
and any survivors would then become their slaves.
Failure to prepare for a conquering kingdom is fatal.
This is the time of Advent.
Advent.
And I want to encourage you that Advent is a time of Christ's kingdom coming
and for us to prepare for it.
Where does that word Advent come from?
Well, after Julius Caesar in about the year 100 before Christ,
he won a battle in Asia Minor,
so just north of Philippi, where we've been going in our series.
He later returned home,
and famously, or at least supposedly, according to historians,
he declared those famous three words in Latin,
veni, vidi, vici.
It's a phrase that means I came, I saw, and I conquered.
What does that have to do with the word advent?
Well, that verb, venire, or ven,
it means to move towards, to draw nigh, to approach,
to arrive at, to be present, or to advance upon.
It means I came to that land that I saw, and I conquered it.
It's the coming of a conquering king.
Since God finished the revelation of the Old Testament,
there have been 400 years without a prophet being risen up,
and the spirit poured out so they could give new revelation.
400 years without an angel showing up from heaven,
and speaking on behalf of God to God's people.
And there's been a remnant waiting for those 400 years
for the coming of the king,
the coming of Messiah, the anointed one.
They're waiting for him to come.
Those 400 years were 400 years of advent,
making themselves ready,
preparing themselves because the king is coming to their land.
An example of this remnant that was waiting
for the coming of the anointed one,
you can actually turn a page forward in your Bible.
It's Luke chapter 2, verse 25.
We read of Simeon.
He's described as being just and devout.
He's a man whose faith is serious.
He's wanting to be in the presence of God,
to stand forgiven and righteous before the Lord,
devout to search the scriptures.
And it says that Simeon, Luke 2, 25, was waiting.
He was waiting for the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And he's one of many who will prophesy,
and who will burst forward into song.
So, beloved congregation,
Advent is not bells and smells.
Advent is a time to get your soul ready
for the second coming of Christ.
My question for us today is,
are you ready for the coming of the Lord?
Are you ready for the coming of the Lord?
I want to see in Luke 1,
four ways to be ready
for the king that's coming
and advancing his kingdom.
The first one is this,
in verse 26,
to be ready for the coming of the Lord.
Realize that heaven invades earth
when you least expect it.
Heaven invades earth when you least expect it.
In verse 26, we read,
now in the sixth month,
what is this point of reference?
You can go back two verses.
So look at Luke 1, verse 24.
We're told Elizabeth had conceived,
even though she was in her old age.
It was God miraculously allowing
someone much beyond the age
of giving birth to a child
to become pregnant.
And then we're told in verse 24
that she hid herself five months.
So this clarifies,
it's now the sixth month
of Elizabeth's pregnancy.
The angel Gabriel
was sent by God
to a city of Galilee named Nazareth.
See, heaven,
it will invade earth
when you least expect it.
Picture this trip.
Gabriel, an angel of the Lord,
God most high.
His trip goes from glory
to utter simplicity.
It goes from highest heaven
to Nazareth.
Look in Luke chapter 1, verse 19.
Gabriel had made another appearance
and he described himself this way
in Luke 1, 19.
I am Gabriel
who stands
in the presence
of God.
This is where Gabriel stands.
This is where he goes to work.
It's in the presence
of God.
What does the Bible say
about the presence of God?
In Hebrews 12, 22,
we're told the presence of God.
It's a heavenly Mount Zion,
the city of the living God
surrounded by an innumerable
company of angels.
So there stands Gabriel
before God the creator
with an innumerable company
of angels in heaven.
Revelation 4 and 5
described heaven
as a place of worship
where the voice of angels
is crying out
the glory and the praise of God
along with all the souls
that God has redeemed
throughout the Old
and the New Testament
by the great host
that surround the throne of God.
And we're told in Luke 15, 10
that heaven,
the presence of God
is a place of joy
that the angels of God,
they burst forth in joy,
rejoicing over one sinner,
who repents.
That's where Gabriel
gets to work
day and night
before the throne of God.
And from the holy throne
of God in heaven,
he sends Gabriel
to Nazareth.
Simple,
middle of nowhere,
quiet town of Nazareth.
When God gave to the Israelites
the land of Israel,
the promised land,
you remember how
the 12 tribes,
the two half tribes
are made into 13,
but they each were given
a portion of land
in Israel.
Well,
this place of Nazareth
was given to the half tribe
called Nap,
I'm sorry,
to the tribe of Naphtali.
It was the son
of Rachel's
maidservant.
So not the beloved Rachel,
but the place
where Rachel's bond slave,
her son,
was given.
This land of Nazareth
had turned
to worship the idols.
They had been conquered
by the Assyrians
much before
the two southern tribes
fell to idolatry.
The people that lived
in the land of Nazareth
had been scattered,
carried away.
There had been a remnant
that had been left back,
but then
when the Lord brought them
back out of captivity
and they began
to live in the land,
the Assyrians
had purposely
intermingled them
and mixed them.
So these northern tribes
were looked down upon
by the two southern tribes
as being impure,
unkosher.
Even the other Galileans
who lived in this
northern region
would mock Nazareth
as an out-of-the-way place.
It's not something
you would expect
anything great
to come from.
You remember
the words of Nathaniel
in John 1.46.
He said,
can anything good
come out of Nazareth?
Well, we read that
in verse 26.
This is exactly the town
that the Lord
sent Gabriel to.
And in verse 27,
we read,
it was to speak
to a virgin
who was betrothed
to a man
whose name was Joseph
of the house of David.
A person would be betrothed.
Their parents
would talk to other parents
and they would agree
that this daughter
around the age 13
would be given
in marriage
to this boy
or this young man.
You would be betrothed
for one year.
It was legally binding.
And during this one year,
it was a period
of testing
to make sure
that the two
could remain pure
for one another.
It was a period
of chastity.
If this betrothed girl
were to
become impure,
then the young man
who was betrothed
to her
during this one year period,
he had two options.
He could apply
justice to her
according to Deuteronomy
chapter 22
verse 21,
and he would stone her
as an adulteress
for being unfaithful.
Or he could choose
to show her mercy
by divorcing her quietly.
Mary's relatives
were told
she traveled down
to visit Elizabeth,
so that was
her side of the family
that lived in the hill
country around Jerusalem.
And Elizabeth's husband
had been chosen
to be the high priest
that year.
We also know that
Joseph had to travel
down to Bethlehem
to trace his family
heritage down south.
Bethlehem is very close
to Jerusalem
as well.
But how did this
young couple end up
not close to Jerusalem,
the pure tribes,
but way up in Nazareth,
out of the middle
of nowhere?
We don't know
the details of their story.
It's likely that
either their parents
or grandparents
for work and survival
had to migrate
within the country.
We do know that
Joseph and Mary
were working class
and very poor
because when they came
to bring a sacrifice,
they didn't bring a lamb.
They had to bring
a poor man's offering,
which was pigeons.
And we knew that
Joseph was a carpenter's
apprentice,
getting started,
learning a trade.
And this is where
the angel Gabriel
shows up.
We don't get a lot
of details about
the life of Mary
and Joseph or Jesus
in those formative years,
but we do read
in Luke 4,
chapter,
I'm sorry,
chapter 4,
verse 16,
that it was in Nazareth
where Jesus had been
brought up,
that Jesus went
to the synagogue.
Synagogue would be
not a temple,
but a place
where God's people
could go to read
the scriptures
for themselves.
And Jesus went there
on a Sabbath,
as was his custom,
and he stood up
and read.
So growing up
with these poor,
simple parents,
going to the synagogue,
hearing the word
of God read,
this is the simple
upbringing of the
Son of God.
Small town,
small church,
you work,
you study,
you do it again
the next week.
heaven will break
into earth
when we least
expect it.
It might feel
the same for you
today.
Your life is simple,
it's routine,
feels very mundane,
and here we have
a small group
of people awaiting
the coming of the
Messiah,
the King,
the promised one,
and they're living,
devout,
reading his word,
studying his word,
coming to hear
from the Lord
week after week.
Will we be ready
for the next
coming of the King?
1 Thessalonians 4,
16 and 17
says that the Lord
himself,
again,
will descend
from heaven,
not Gabriel this time,
it will be Jesus
Christ himself.
He will come
to earth again,
and it will be
with a great shout,
with the voice
of an archangel,
with the trumpet
of God,
and the dead
in Christ
will rise first.
Then we who are
still alive,
we will be caught
up together
with them in the clouds,
and we will meet
the Lord in the air.
Heaven will burst
onto this earth
when we least expect
it once again.
So let's be ready
for the next coming
of the Lord.
The second way
we do this
is to realize
that our salvation
depends entirely
on God's grace
for you in Christ.
Realize that
your salvation
depends
entirely
on God's grace
for you
in Christ.
I want to point
this out with
Mary
and her response
to the angel.
Look at verse 27
at how Mary
is described.
We're told by
this same author
under the inspiration
of the Holy Scripture
that Simeon
was devout
and just.
And that's how
Elizabeth and Zacharias
were described.
But to Mary
there's no description
given.
Look at verse 27.
It simply says
the virgin's name
was Mary.
Not pointing out
any other blessings
or attributes
or meritorious traits
of this young one.
Verse 28 says,
Having come in,
the angel said
to Mary,
Rejoice,
highly favored one.
The Lord is with you.
Blessed are you
among women.
Do you see
the simplicity
of it?
such a quiet town
you can almost hear
the door crack
open,
screech,
and then here comes
Mary entering the house
and before her
is an angel
who moments ago
was in the presence
of God most high.
But this greeting
is very calm.
There's no ceremony
to it.
It just simply says,
Rejoice,
favored one.
The Lord is with you.
Blessed are you
among women.
And Mary's response
in verse 29
says that when she saw him,
the angel Gabriel,
Mary was troubled
at his saying
and considered
what manner
of greeting this was.
We have to understand
their custom
to realize
what that sentence means.
A great example
that was helpful to me
is,
do you remember
in the Old Testament
when one of the patriarchs
was going to meet another
or when we had
Jacob going back
to meet Esau
and there's,
send the caravans
out in front
with all the gifts
and let me come
and make myself
low before him
and show like,
I'm submissive to you.
You're the Lord
in this relationship.
I'm humbling myself
as I greet you.
So how a greeting
happened in the custom
of the ancient Hebrew people,
it was establishing
right off the bat,
how are we going
to interact
with one another?
And it would be presumptuous
for a 13-year-old girl
who has nothing
to be described by
except that she was young
and virgin
to expect
to be on the same level
as the angel Gabriel
from the presence
of the Lord
who strikes fear
in anyone.
So she's surprised
at what manner
of greeting is this?
The angel
from God's presence
is greeting me
and saying,
you are highly favored.
The Lord
is blessing you
above all other women.
This doesn't make
any sense.
She's the one
who should be
making herself low
and giving
these exalted
greetings and praise
to this glorious figure
from heaven.
In verse 30,
the angel said to her,
Do not be afraid, Mary.
You have found favor
with God.
You have found favor
with God.
That phrase,
to find favor
with God,
has been used
by the Roman Catholic Church
to create an entire
idolatrous body
of teaching.
The Roman Catholic
Council of Trent
wrongly interpreted
that phrase,
to have found favor
with God,
as to be full
of grace.
And it's then taught
that Mary is all holy.
If you're full
of God's grace,
there's no room
for sin,
therefore you are
fully all holy.
Pope Pius IX
in 1854
taught that Mary
was redeemed
from the moment
of her conception.
It just keeps adding
on these requirements
then for Mary
to give birth
to the Holy Son of God.
How could her sin
have not polluted him?
And therefore,
she must have never
had sin in her whole life.
She would have also
been sinless.
All of this is based
on that exact little phrase,
you have found favor
with God.
The verb is
to have found.
So that's a good translation.
You have found favor
with God.
The word favor
in the Greek
is karim.
Karim.
And that literally
means grace.
152 times or so
that word is used
in the New Testament.
130 of those times
it's translated
as grace.
It's a mere handful
of times
where it's translated
as anything other
than grace.
Here's an example
in Acts 15, 11.
It's through the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ,
through the karim
of the Lord Jesus Christ
that we shall be saved.
You hear the word of God
of the gospel
and you believe.
God who knows the heart,
he acknowledges you
by giving you
the Holy Spirit
and purifying your heart
by faith.
So that's the same translation
of the word karim,
grace.
This phrase,
to have found favor
in the eyes of God,
this also brings to mind
a couple passages
in the Old Testament
where that same description
is given.
In Genesis 6, 8,
we're told that Noah
found grace
in the eyes
of the Lord.
Now the Hebrew word
is chin,
Noah found chin,
and so how is that
word translated?
Well in Exodus 13, 17,
God said of Moses,
you, Moses,
have found chin,
or you have found grace
in my sight
and I know your name.
The sins of Noah,
the sins of Moses
are very clear
in the Old Testament.
The point is that
God looked upon
all those who deserve
punishment and wrath
for their sin
and instead of giving them
what they deserve,
they are ill-deserving.
Instead,
he gives them favor
and blessing
and it's the same word
to describe to Mary
finding grace
in the sight of God.
We read in verse 38,
Luke 1, 38,
then Mary said,
behold,
the maid servant
or the bond slave
of the Lord.
Let it be to me
according to your word.
And then the angel
departed.
See,
even Mary's faith
is nothing extraordinary.
Mary's faith
is simply the faith
of a child.
She is trusting
this word
that the Lord
has given her,
surrendering to the Lord
himself,
trusting in his word.
And that's how she is ready
for the coming of the Lord.
She receives this
by faith,
trusting in the grace
of God to her.
Alone.
For you to be ready
for the coming of the Lord,
that's the response
that God calls of you
as well.
When Christ returns,
don't remain unrepentant,
proud.
See,
the demons
know that God
is coming again.
In Mark 1, 24,
they say to Christ
that his first coming,
what have you to do
with us,
Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come
to destroy us?
We know who you are,
the Holy One
of God.
So the faith
of the demon says,
yes,
he is coming
and he will destroy
all those
who do not bow
their knee to him.
They fear
the first coming
of the Lord.
And Paul words
very sternly
in 1 Corinthians 16,
22,
if anyone
does not love
the Lord Jesus Christ,
let him be
accursed.
And then he says,
oh come,
Lord Jesus.
Maranatha.
See,
that should be
our prayer
in the face
of injustice.
Someone who
denies Jesus Christ,
does not believe
God at his word,
stands proud
and unrepentant
before the Lord.
Our prayer should
simply be to turn
to God and say,
come quickly,
Lord Jesus.
My temptation
is to take matters
into my own hands,
but I need to remember
I'm a sinner
just like that.
I would be just
as blind
if God hadn't
shown me his grace
and shown me his favor
when I'm ill-deserving.
Because my salvation
depends entirely
on God's grace
for me in Christ.
And then it changes.
I can pray,
come quickly,
Lord Jesus.
Not because
I live in fear
like these demons,
but because I trust
I am fully pardoned,
fully forgiven,
fully united to God
by the person
and work of Jesus.
I stand
in his grace alone.
Well,
the third way
to be ready
for the next coming
of the Lord
is to trust
that he is
who he says
he is.
To be ready
for the coming
of the Lord,
trust that the Lord
is who he says
he is.
Look at verse 31.
We read,
Behold,
the angel tells Mary,
you will conceive
in your womb
and bring forth
a son
and shall call
his name
Jesus.
and he will be great
and will be called
the son
of the highest.
The Lord God
will give him
the throne
of his father David
and he will reign
over the house
of Jacob forever
and his kingdom
there will be no end.
Mary,
do you trust
that Jesus
is who he says
he is?
Both Mary
and Joseph
were told
by the angel
to give
this baby
the name
Jesus.
And we know
that Mary
goes to visit
Elizabeth
but then the next
thing that happens
is that Mary
and Joseph
travel together
and they would
have so much
to process together
that God
has revealed
to them
and making sense
of what God
has told them
by the mouth
of his own angels
his servants
and messengers
that came from
the presence
of God
most high.
so they can
refer now
to this little
baby in the tummy
as Jesus
like parents
love to do
and as they're
talking together
husband and wife
as they travel
to Bethlehem
Jesus
his name
will be
Yeshua
means to save
in Exodus
14
13
Moses
is given
this word
stand firm
and see
the salvation
of the Lord
which he
will work
for you
today
to read
that with
the Hebrew
word inserted
it's this
stand firm
and see
the Yeshua
of the Lord
which he
will work
for you
today
Yeshua
means
salvation
and you
can picture
Mary's thoughts
well Isaiah
43 11
God says
behold I
am
the Lord
and there
is no
other
savior
besides
me
God
says
I
am
the
Lord
there
is
no
other
savior
besides
me
and
Isaiah
45 22
says
turn to
me
and be
saved
all the
ends
of the
earth
for I
am
God
and there
is
no
other
see
the
teaching
of the
Old
Testament
is
very
clear
there
is
one
being
capable
of
saving
sinners
and who
is it
it's
God
himself
there
is
no
one
else
who
can
save
there
is
no
other
savior
besides
God
I
am
the
Lord
himself
and
Joseph
recalls
Matthew
121
in fact
turn there
so you can
see it
with your
own
eyes
Matthew
121
the
angel of
the
Lord
appeared
to
Joseph
in a
dream
saying
Joseph
son
of
David
do
not
be
afraid
to
take
to
you
Mary
your
wife
for
that
which
is
conceived
in
her
is
of
the
Holy
Spirit
and
she
will
bring
forth
a
son
and
you
will
call
his
name
Yeshua
salvation
for
he
will
save
his
people
from
their
sins
how
much
of
this
could
Mary
and
Joseph
have
put
together
with
what
God
revealed
to
them
we
can
use
a
logical
syllogism
to
arrive
at a
conclusion
that
sound
here's
the
first
premise
according
to
Isaiah
43
there
is
no
savior
besides
God
here's
the
second
premise
we
got
to
reconcile
according
to
Matthew
21
Jesus
will
save
his
people
from
their
sins
do
you
get
this
there's
no
savior
besides
God
Jesus
will
save
his
people
from
their
sin
the
only
conclusion
you
can
draw
is
that
Jesus
in
your
womb
is
God
look
at
Mary's
response
go back
to
Luke
chapter
one
we're
told
that
Mary
was
reflective
you
know
she
pondered
these
things
in
her
heart
we're
told
two
times
there's
so
much
to
ponder
here
and
as
she
ponders
and
meditates
at
some
point
the
Holy
Spirit
inspires
her
and
she
bursts
into
song
look at
Luke
chapter
one
verse
46
Mary
says
my inner
being
my soul
magnifies
the
Lord
in my
womb
is the
one who
will
magnify
all of
God's
attributes
to the
world
God
my
Savior
Jesus
salvation
the
only
one
who
will
take
away
the
sins
of
his
own
people
my
own
sins
and
he
will
be
called
son
of
the
highest
the
phrase
is
El
Elion
El
means
God
and
it's
the
Lord
God
in
excelsis
it's
God
most
elevated
is
what
the
one
inside
of
me
will
be
called
Jesus
Christ
is
not
a
created
angel
he
is
not
a
spirit
making
appearances
on
earth
but
he
is
the
only
co
existent
eternal
God
the
son
creator
of
all
without
beginning
without
end
who
took
on
a
growing
fetus
body
inside
the
womb
of
simple
Mary
in
middle
of
nowhere
Nazareth
in
verse
32
Luke
132
the
angel
says
the
Lord
God
will
give
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
you
got
your
finger
there
in
Luke
you've
turned
to
Matthew
1
I
want
to
do
this
fast
but
I
don't
want
to
lose
you
but
what
I
want
you
to
see
are
two
things
this
reference
to
the
father
from
the
line
of
David
you
know
he
says
the
throne
God
will
give
him
the
throne
of
his
father
David
Jesus
gets
the
lineage
of
David
from
both
Mary
and
Joseph
it's
because
we
get
two
different
genealogies
there's
a
genealogy
in
Matthew
chapter
1
and
there's
another
genealogy
in
Luke
chapter
3
you're
welcome
to
flip
back
and
forth
and
also
study
this
more
carefully
yourself
the
genealogy
in
Matthew
chapter
1
leads
to
Joseph
who
is
legally
the
father
of
David
and
the
angel
refers
to
Joseph
son
of
David
and
so
legally
in
terms
of
the
census
within
Israel
Joseph
is
of
the
line
of
David
Jesus
is
born
legally
into
the
household
of
Joseph
son
of
David
but
Mary
is
also
from
the
line
of
David
and
if
you
look
at
Luke
chapter
3
it's
a
different
genealogy
than
Matthew
chapter
1
Mary's
lineage
which
is
given
in
Luke
chapter
3
it
also
includes
the
line
of
David
so
the
other
names
are
different
but
the
meeting
point
is
from
this
line
of
David
both
in
Mary
and
in
Joseph
and
if
you
think
about
the
audience
of
each
of
these
books
Matthew
was
written
for
Jews
who
would
believe
the
gospel
and
they
wanted
to be
able
to
see
this
like
tracing
out
the
patriarchal
line
it
leads
to
Jesus
Christ
born
under
the
house
of
Joseph
in
Bethlehem
all
of
the
prophecies
are
fulfilled
but
Luke's
gospel
comes
later
all
of
us
need
to
understand
how
is
this
good
news
for
me
as
well
and
we
can
look
at
Luke's
genealogy
and
you
see
where
this
one
ends
up
it
goes
all
the
way
to
Adam
described
as
the
son
of
God
who
God
made
in
his
image
see
the
promise
to
Adam's
wife
Eve
is
that
the
seed
of
woman
will
destroy
the
serpent's
head
and
this
is
good
news
for
Jew
and
Gentile
for
all
of
us
who
can
trace
our
lineage
all
the
way
back
to
Adam
and
in
our
catechism
today
we
read
how
in
Adam's
fall
sinned
we
all
but
now
from
that
same
fallen
line
comes
the
seed
of
woman
the
lineage
of
Mary
the
lineage
of
Eve
all
the
way
back
it's
God
keeping
his
promise
for
the
whole
world
isn't
this
a
beautiful
gospel
how
is it
that
the
seed
of
woman
could
bring
a
savior
the
old
testament
always
describes
the
seed
of
a
man
you
know
Abraham
to
your
seed
it's
always
in
reference
to
the
man's
line
but
the
promise
in
Genesis
3
15
is
the
seed
of
woman
would
crush
the
serpent's
head
and
here
in
the
genealogy
in
Luke
3
and
the
promise
of
Mary
without
the
physical
help
of
Joseph
bringing
to
not
only
that
he
is
who
he
says
he
is
but
he
will
do
what
he
says
he
will
do
what
does
he
say
he
will
do
to
Mary
look
at
verse
34
Mary said to the angel, how can this be since I do not know a man?
This is the biblical sense of knowing.
She's saying, I am a virgin.
Verse 35.
And the angel answered and said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the highest will overshadow you.
Therefore, also that the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Well, in the Apostles Creed, we confess these two things.
That Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary.
Mary herself, an eyewitness telling Luke, the historian, her eyewitness account.
She affirms this in verse 34.
I am a virgin.
I have never known a man.
And we're told that Jesus was, in verse 35, conceived this way.
The Holy Spirit will come upon Mary and the power of the highest will overshadow you.
God's creative power as an overshadowing act.
There's no need for contact.
God will truly generate a male child in the womb of this young lady, Mary, by the creator himself.
His own power through which he brought the world into being.
The Holy Spirit will give to the God-man, Jesus Christ, the divine nature.
Mary, from her egg, will give to Jesus Christ, the human nature.
God himself would miraculously cause the Y chromosome of a male to be in the female egg.
This is genetically, biologically impossible.
Scientists would have no way of replicating this, even on the quote-unquote lowest forms of life.
This will be a male created in the womb of a female without the help of another human male.
This is an act of God.
In verse 34, he's described as the Holy One.
See, our Lord Jesus Christ knew no sin.
2 Corinthians 5.21
Our Lord Jesus Christ did no sin.
1 Peter 2.22
Our Lord Jesus Christ had no sin.
1 John 3.5
We're told that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ was prepared for him inside Mary's womb by the Holy Spirit of God.
Hebrews 10.5
So how did this sinless Holy One enter and develop and grow inside the womb of Mary?
Verse 35 gives us this word, overshadowed.
That the Holy Spirit would overshadow Mary.
Gabriel uses the same word with this promise to Mary that the Old Testament had used to describe the presence of God in the Holy of Holies.
In the Jewish tabernacle.
In Exodus chapter 40, verse 35.
The New Testament is given to us in Greek.
The Old Testament in Hebrew.
But there was also a Hebrew, I'm sorry, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament called the Septuagint.
So when the New Testament uses a Greek word, you can see where that Greek word was used in this Greek translation of the Old Testament.
And we're told in Exodus 40.35 that Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting.
Why?
Because the glory of the Lord had overshadowed and filled it.
The cloud had settled and rested over it.
And the glory of the Lord so filled the tent of meeting that Moses couldn't get in.
That's the overshadowing glory of God.
The same thing happened at the dedication of the temple.
Where the priests couldn't come in physically.
They were blocked because of the weight of God's glory.
It so filled the temple.
That's overshadowing glory of the Holy Spirit.
It's the spiritual splendor.
All of God's attributes manifested in the space and time of earth.
So that there's a physical block.
I can't even approach the Holy of Holies.
Because God's presence has overshadowed it.
And that's the promise given to Mary.
God will do what he says he will do.
The glory of God will overshadow you, young Mary.
God will do what he says he will do.
Isaiah 7.14 says,
The Lord himself will give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel.
Well, there's that suffix again, L, which means God.
God with us.
Mary's womb became a holy of holies for the holy son of the holy God.
God with us.
Conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Born of the Virgin Mary.
Now look at Luke 1.37.
Do you believe that God will do what he says he will do?
I love how Gabriel's message from the presence of God himself.
It ends with encouragement.
Luke 1.37.
For with God, nothing will be impossible.
I think the best translation is by the American Standard Version of this phrase.
No word of God shall be void of power.
God will do what he says he will do.
God accomplishes his purposes through the power of his word.
God bless you.
Psalm 33.6 and 9.
By the word of the Lord, the heavens were made.
And by the breath of his mouth, all their host.
For he spoke and it came to be.
He commanded and it stood firm.
No word of God shall be void of power.
Brothers and sisters, trust that the Lord will do what he promises.
Make sure you're ready.
Let's be among the remnant that are waiting for the coming of the king.
God did what he said he would do.
Our Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth just the way God promised he would.
And our Lord Jesus Christ is coming again.
His kingdom is advancing.
And his kingdom will be established.
The final promise is not simply that he would come to earth and die for our sins.
But that he would be risen.
And that he is coming again.
And of his throne and dominion there will be no end.
That's the end of the story.
We long for the Messiah.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
We search the scriptures.
We pray together.
We encourage one another.
Heaven will again invade earth when the world least expects it.
Let's be ready.
Would you pray with me?
Father, we thank you for your promises.
Father, we thank you for your revelation of yourself through Jesus Christ.
The full radiance of your glory.
Please prepare our hearts so that we will be ready for when you come again.
Amen.
Well, we get to celebrate the Lord's Supper in the most fitting way,
because we celebrate his work and his first coming,
and we look forward to the promises that he will still fulfill in his second coming.
We celebrate the Lord's Supper every week together.
This is for believers, for those of you who know that this is the blood of your Savior,
shed for the forgiveness of your sins.
It's the only way you could be right with God.
We're told to partake in a worthy manner to make sure that we are in the faith,
receiving Christ by grace alone.
We're to keep the feast with sincere hearts, grounded in God's promises,
not with malice or wickedness in our lives.
If you trust in the worth of Christ's blood to forgive you fully,
and you know that the Spirit of Jesus dwells in you,
then come to his table, visitors, to feed your faith upon him.
He is set before you today again, Christ clothed in his gospel.
I want to give you two encouragements as you meditate
and celebrate the glorious work of Jesus for you.
Think of those comforting words from Gabriel to Mary.
These are God's words for other sinners like you and me,
as they were for Mary.
You can approach the holy, holy, holy God now through Christ.
You don't need to be afraid.
In Christ, you have found favor with God.
Jesus Christ is great here with his people.
He is exalted, magnified, declared to be great, son of the highest.
So by coming forward, you're proclaiming that this is who Jesus is,
that he is the Lord God himself,
who will have the throne of his father, David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.
This is what you're proclaiming with God's people
as we prepare for his return.
And if the spirit of the Lord is making your heart tender again today,
praise him.
You might be asking like Mary,
how can this be for a person like me?
And so hold on to the promise that the Holy Spirit is the one
who moves to give new life.
He overshadows his people still.
He moves with the power of the highest.
And Jesus Christ, the Holy One,
is the Son of God through whom all of this is made possible.
For with God, nothing will be impossible.
So by coming to the Lord's Supper,
you're declaring like Mary as well,
I receive this by faith.
Behold the bond slave of the Lord,
and let it be in my life according to your word.
Respond that same way today.
Amen.
You know, and as we see around the Christmas decorations,
there's one that I think is a great reminder,
and it's the wreath.
The wreath has the spikely leaves of the evergreen,
reminding us of the crown of thorns,
and then the red berries on it,
which remind us of the drops of Christ's blood.
But when you see that,
remember that's of his first coming.
And a picture of his second coming is right here,
the banquet feast,
when he would drink the wine that he's been waiting to drink
in celebration of all his bride being with him
in his father's house forever and ever.
And of his dominion, there will be no end.
So keep those two images in mind
with the person and work of Jesus Christ
for you again today.
You may be served.
Thank you.