Well, good morning.
In light of the announcement that Nick just made, it's not easy to get up here.
It's the Christmas season, characterized by joy, peace, festivities, and celebrations.
And yet, we gather this morning also to mourn the loss of Noah and to grieve with his family.
It didn't seem right for me to begin my sermon with the lighthearted introduction that I had written,
one that began with a man who ate an airplane,
or to talk about our cultural predisposition to make God small
and limit what we think he can do in light of our understanding of science.
That's actually what I wrote, what I had prepared, and what I'm not going to talk about.
But it does seem right to turn our hearts and our minds to God.
As we grieve with the Hodgkins and we remember Noah and the way that he was a blessing to his family
and to our church and to the world,
we want to do so in a way that turns our hearts to God,
even in the face of unexpected tragedy like this.
For it is God that we need most at this time.
We need God to be our help, our comfort, our hope, and our stay.
And we need not just the idea of God,
but we need his person, his character, his nature.
And we need to know with confidence how he interacts with this world and with us.
And with that, we turn to our text this morning,
which is in Luke chapter 1.
It's page 803 in your pew Bible.
It is a part of the Christmas story that is well known, the Annunciation.
A story central to our faith.
One that is so well known that we are in danger of it becoming overly familiar.
It comes on the heels of a passage that Nick preached on last week
about God who came to an ordinary woman, Elizabeth,
and opened her womb when she was barren so that she might bear a child
who would proclaim the coming redemption and deliverance of God's people.
And in this passage, in the Annunciation,
what I want to do this morning is to look at it
to see what it has to say to us about God.
So that's what we're going to do.
Let's read it together, and then we'll pray,
and then we'll spend a few minutes meditating on this together.
Luke 1, verse 26.
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a city of Galilee named Nazareth
to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David.
And the virgin's name was Mary.
And he came to her and said,
Greetings, O favored one.
The Lord is with you.
But she was greatly troubled at the saying
and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
And the angel said to her,
Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
And of his kingdom there will be no end.
And Mary said to the angel,
How will this be, since I am a virgin?
And the angel answered her,
The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy,
the Son of God.
And behold, your relative Elizabeth,
in her old age,
has also conceived a son.
And this is the sixth month with her,
who was called barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.
And Mary said,
Behold, I am the servant of the Lord.
Let it be to me according to your word.
And the angel departed from her.
Let's pray together.
Lord, as we come to this passage this morning,
we ask for your help.
Lord, your help to open our eyes to you
in light of this well-known passage
for us to see you afresh this morning.
To know your character,
to know your purpose.
Lord, to see you, Lord, clearly.
And that you might, Lord,
work in our hearts so graciously
that we would respond to you in faith.
That we would believe what we see
about who you are in this passage.
And that in believing, Lord,
we would find hope and life in you.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
I love the narratives of Scripture.
And this is a great narrative story.
It begins with a setting.
The angel Gabriel came
in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy
to a woman named Mary
who lived in Nowheresville.
If Mary was an ordinary person,
Mary was a nobody.
And God chose to come to her
and make an amazing proclamation to her
about what he was going to do.
And if you look through this
through the lens of a narrative story,
the story builds with tension.
What kind of greeting is this?
Don't be afraid.
Here's what I'm going to do.
And it climaxes.
It reaches its high point of tension
in verse 34
where Mary says,
how can this be?
For I am a virgin.
And in the answer to that,
we begin to see the character of God
on display.
And the other thing we see
as we read through this narrative
is that there are times
when in the middle of narrative stories,
there are speeches
or announcements
or proclamations.
And in this one,
verses 31 through 34
give us a very particular proclamation
about who this baby would be
and how this baby would expose
and show and display
the character of God to us.
And so that's what we're going to look at
this morning.
Those two questions.
One, how could this be?
And two, who is this child?
So first,
let's look at this first question.
How can a virgin give birth to a child?
Now, we brush over this so easily
because this has been something
that the church has affirmed
for 2,000 years.
But stop and think.
This is a miracle
that God would bring to a woman
who had never had intercourse,
had never known a man,
would impregnate her,
would make her,
make inside of her a child.
And this was amazing back then.
They knew even then
it took a man and a woman
to create a baby.
This announcement
was against the science
even back then
and even more so now
that we need this,
that this is the way it is.
And so for the last 2,000 years,
people have asked this question,
how could this be?
Now look,
we need to think through
some of the questions
that are behind that.
Some people,
if we hold to
the world being a closed system,
if we hold to
a naturalistic scientific worldview
that excludes the possibility
of supernatural activity,
then we have a priori
denied God's existence
and eliminated this possibility.
But if there is a God,
then we need to be open
to the fact that God
could do something miraculous
like this.
There are some people
who think,
well isn't this story
just a myth?
Just like the other myths
in the ancient world
about how God
would come down
and have intercourse
with a human woman
and produce.
And yet what you see here
is a unique story
because never was there
a virgin birth
in those stories.
Some people wonder,
if this is so important,
why is it that the rest
of the New Testament
ignores it
and doesn't say anything about it?
Well,
it's fascinating to think
about the fact that Matthew,
the Jewish writer,
writing to the Jews
to convince them
that Jesus is the Messiah,
and Luke,
the Greek writer,
writing to a diaspora
trying to give the evidence
for why he believes
Jesus is the Savior
with two very different audiences,
yet they both record this.
And some have argued
that in fact
this has not been talked about
as much in the later letters
because in fact
it was so easily accepted
as true
because those who were there
could testify to it
during the early church.
And so for the church
up until the 1800s,
this was rarely questioned.
And finally,
some people ask questions
about the virgin birth
because they wonder,
doesn't this somehow
make it impossible
for Jesus to be fully human?
If he was conceived
in a way that was not natural
but was supernatural,
could he actually have
the proper DNA?
But do we not think
that God
who created the world
and who created
the whole process
to begin with
could miraculously interact
with Mary
in such a way,
not sexually
but creatively,
to make a life
inside the womb
of a woman
who had never known a man?
So this is what it says
in response to Mary's question
in verses 35 and 36.
The Holy Spirit
will come upon you
and the power
of the Most High
will overshadow you.
Therefore,
the child to be born
will be called holy.
That is set apart.
Something distinct
from everything else
you've ever seen.
God will come
like he came in the temple.
The word for overshadow
is the same word
that talks about
when the presence of God
enters the tabernacle
in Exodus 40.
God will come over you, Mary,
and fill you with his presence
in a special way
that will create a child in you.
How do we see God
on display in this passage?
First, we see
God's creative power.
He comes to Mary
and he makes life.
There are echoes
of the Spirit
hovering over
the chaos of the world
and then bringing life
and order to it.
And friends,
if we are honest,
every human conception,
every human being
created in God's image
in the womb
or even in an in vitro
is made in God's image
and is a work
of God's grace,
it is cool
that we know
far more about that process
than we ever did before
and yet it is still
an astounding mystery
and a wonder
that life is created
in these ways.
And so, friends,
let us stop
and simply sit in awe
that the virgin birth
tells us
that God is powerful
than that He is doing
something uniquely powerful
in this gracious creation
of this one child.
We don't know
the mechanics,
but we know
the outcome
of fully God
and fully man
Savior
who's come
to rescue us.
And this is the second thing
that we see about God
in the virgin birth
is God's initiative.
It wasn't like Mary
was going around saying,
I wonder if God would
give me a virgin conception
in my womb.
What a great idea.
Why don't I do that?
Far from Mary's mind,
far from the minds
of anyone in Israel,
God broke into this world.
God initiated with Mary
to create this child.
We often conceive
of our religious life
as us seeking God,
but here we see God
seeking us,
initiating to do
the very thing
that we need
so that we might know Him.
Friends,
I wonder this morning,
as we think about
God's power
and God's initiative,
how do you respond to that?
Are there places
in your life
that feel dead
and barren?
Are there ways
where you need
Jesus to bring
renewing life
to you?
Maybe you're here
this morning
and you're exploring Christ
and you haven't experienced
His life-giving power
through faith in Him.
The God of the Bible
is one
who makes new creations
out of all of us
who are dead in our sin.
The God of the Bible
promises
a renewal
of all things
where creation
will be made new.
And if you think
that God has forgotten you,
if you feel overlooked
or ignored
or abandoned
by Him,
this story
reminds us
that God
is a God
who takes initiative
towards us.
He is seeking us
and calling us
to Himself.
He is seeking out,
He is doing,
going ahead of us
to do the things
that we need
so that we can know Him
and respond to Him.
And this is the doctrine
of the virgin birth
applied to us.
But this story
tells us more
about God
than simply
His initiative
and His power.
It also tells us
through the identity
of this child
God's purpose
and intention.
So let's look again
at verses 31 through 34
as Mary is
trying to figure out
what do you,
God,
what do you mean?
What are you doing?
Gabriel says this,
Behold,
you will conceive
in your womb
and bear a son
and you shall call
His name Jesus.
He will be great
and will be called
the Son of the Most High
and the Lord God
will give to Him
the throne
of His father David
and He will reign
over the house
of Jacob forever
and of His kingdom
there will be
no end.
In this little speech
in the middle
of the narrative
the angel says
this is the point.
This is the thing
I want you to focus on
of all the things
you could see here.
This is what
I want you to know.
I want you to know
what God is up to
by the way
that this child
is described.
I want you to see
God's purpose
and I want you to see
God's intention.
God's purpose
is by naming
this son Jesus
and we know
what Jesus means
we can look over
in Matthew
and know that
Jesus means
Jehovah saves
the God
that God saves
and that He
and He
in Matthew
Joseph is explicitly
told you will
call His name Jesus
for He will save
His people
from their sins
and this is the kind
of God that we see
a God who has come
to rescue sinners
like Mary and Joseph
like you and me.
We see that this child
this unique conception
has come for a unique purpose
to save us
and not simply
to rescue us from sin
but to bring us
into a kingdom
that He will reign over
forever and ever
so this is God's intention
if God's purpose
is to save us
God's intention
is to bring us
into a kingdom
and this is where
He layers on
all of these descriptions
this is why
we read the passage
from 2 Samuel
earlier in our
service
because in 2 Samuel
God makes a covenant
with King David
as He's establishing
His people
in the promised land
He's saying
I'm going to make
a covenant with you
because this is
the next step
in the progress
of my redemptive plan
for me to create
a people
who will be
my people
in my creation
to worship me
and to serve me
and to glorify me
under my rule
and reign forever
and we know
that in the Old Testament
Israel never succeeded
in doing that
and we know
that at this point
in the Gospel of Luke
in this time in history
the nation of Israel
was crying out
God show us your plan
it feels like
we've been abandoned
Rome is taken over
and we are lost
and God comes
and He says
I'm going to give you
this child
and He's going to
save you from the sin
but He's also
going to fulfill
all of these
Old Testament promises
that are seen
in the covenant
and if you went back
and you looked
at the passage
you will see
that this son
will be called great
and it will be
a distinct greatness
that will characterize
His reign
a greatness
greater than anyone else
He will be like a son
someone in intimate relationship
with God the Father
He will be a ruler
who will sit on a throne
and who will exert His will
for justice and righteousness
in the world
and He will establish
a kingdom
that will never end
the promises made long ago
to David
are going to be fulfilled
in this special baby
the unique conception
led to this unique individual
who will bring this redemption
what does this mean for us?
how do we apply
God's purpose and intention
to our lives?
friends
it means that in Jesus
there is a kingdom
that will last forever
has there ever been a kingdom
in human history
that has lasted forever?
I studied Chinese history
in college
lots of emperors
and dynasties
thought they were going
to last forever
and they didn't
certainly the Roman emperors
thought that the Roman Empire
would last forever
and it didn't
the British Empire
upon which the sun
never sat
because it spanned the globe
did not last forever
and as Americans
let us be humble enough
to acknowledge
that the American Empire
will not last forever either
no human kingdom
past, present, or future
will last forever
but God has promised
that His kingdom
will come
and it will be
a glorious kingdom
and this one
this baby
will reign over it
forever
a kingdom of peace
where strife
and warfare
have ceased
a kingdom of righteousness
where justice
is established
and evil
is overcome
and done away with
a kingdom of joy
where sadness
and sorrow
will be wiped away
a kingdom of life
where sin and death
are defeated
and a kingdom
that will last forever
so these things
will have no end
but they will simply
abundantly
continue to be
in a glorious
and ever expanding way
friends
isn't this the kingdom
that you long for
in your hearts
it seems impossible
in our fallen world
to imagine
that this could happen
but as
this passage
ends with
we are reminded
that just as God
can bring life
into the womb
of a barren woman
who is too old
to have children
just as God
can bring life
into the womb
of a virgin
who had never
known a man
so we are reminded
that with God
nothing
is impossible
and the most amazing
thing
that this God
has done
is sending
a savior
to rescue people
like you
and like me
this is the most
amazing thing
that God
has ever done
because we don't
deserve it
and if we haven't
grappled with that
yet
it's time to do that
because we don't
deserve it
and yet God
has sent
this child
to come
to rescue us
from our sin
from our rebellion
from all the ways
that we daily
ignore
reject
dishonor
God
he has come
and in his
initiative
he has reached out
towards us
and in his power
he is taking hold
of us
and he is inviting us
to respond to him
the way Mary
responded to God
in response
to God's
revelation
of his power
and his initiative
and his intentions
and his purpose
Mary said
behold I am
the servant
of the Lord
let it be
to me
according
to your word
Mary is not
a sinless person
for us to pray to
but she is a
great example
of humble faith
for us to emulate
and to see
in her
an example
of a godly
response
it is by faith
that we cling
to God
who has come
for us
in Jesus
and as we
this morning
as a church
family
both celebrate
Christmas
and
mourn with the
Hodgkins
this is the God
that we need
more than anything
else
so let's pray
Lord we thank you
this morning
Lord that you
have not left us
alone in our sin
and in our
barrenness
in our sorrow
and our grief
but Lord you have
come for us
in Jesus
and you have done
it in such a distinct
such a unique
such a wonderful
way
Lord to show us
your character
to show us
your nature
Lord I pray
this morning
Lord that we
would
see you
Lord I pray
this morning
that you would
give us
faith
to respond
to you
and trust
and belief
in confidence
and in joy
we pray this
in Jesus name
Amen