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Good Thursday morning dear “Walking with Jesus” friends,
We’re counting down the days till Christmas. Not ‘shopping’ days, but rather ‘prepare your heart’ days!
Since December 1st, we’ve been following the chronological story leading to that first, miraculous Christmas. If you have missed any of the days you’ll find them on the “daily archives” tab at the top of this page.
Today we arrive at one of those parts of the Christmas story you’ve heard since you were a child. “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee…” As you can tell we’re in Luke 1:26 in the Bible.
The “sixth month” is not the month of June, but rather the sixth month of the miraculous pregnancy of a dear woman named Elizabeth, whose husband Zechariah had described her as being “well along in years” (1:18) and Dr. Luke had explained Elizabeth as “barren” her entire adult life (1:7). This miraculous pregnancy is even more significant than Sarah & Abraham (Isaac) or Elkanah & Hannah (Samuel). Their son would be known as John the Baptizer, the forerunner of the Messiah Jesus.
Since we know these verses well, may I simply point out a few things that perhaps you’ve not considered before? Gabriel is the same angel who appeared in the Temple to Zechariah (Luke 1:13-19). Now, 6 months later, God has sent Gabriel again, from where he “stands in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19), to planet earth, northern Israel, the town of Nazareth, looking for one particular young girl, Mary. We don’t know how or where Gabriel found her, but he said “Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you… you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (1:28-32)
This describes one of the most significant events in history… the incarnation of God into the human race.
Books have been written, songs inspired, movies made, but still no one can really fully explain all the incredible aspects of God actually coming to live among us, as the God-man… Jesus the Christ. Fully God and fully man. But this miracle is essential to our Christian faith. Mary’s Holy Spirit induced pregnancy without Joseph is essential if Jesus will NOT inherit a sin nature, like every other human descendant of a sinful man & woman. If Jesus is not “fully God”, and has inherited a sin nature, then he must die for his own sin, and cannot give his life as atonement for our sin. If Jesus is not “fully man”, then he cannot relate to us humans and be a Savior who would suffer and take the full wrath of God upon him, for our sin.
It is vital we understand Mary was a virgin and her pregnancy was the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit of God. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (1:35).
God’s selection of Mary and use of the phrase “highly favored” is not because of anything special about Mary that qualified her for this miracle. God does not explain, anywhere in the Bible, the specific reasons for which He chose Mary to be the earthly mother of Jesus. I assume Luke 1:38 is the primary reason: “I am the Lord’s servant… may it be to me as you have said.” A willing heart, submissive to God’s purpose and work, is always a priority when God is looking to do something significant here on earth among us humans. Right?
It is important we realize that while Mary had this unique experience of a miraculous conception with the Holy Spirit, she was just like every other young woman who has ever lived. She was not sinless. While Jesus was Mary’s firstborn child, Jesus was not her only child.
Mark 6:3 describes a scene in Nazareth where people are trying to figure out how Jesus can teach in the Synagogue with such authority and wisdom while not having studied with the Rabbi’s, and how He can perform the miracles? The people said “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” So it appears Mary had at least 6 other children after Jesus was born. We presume all those children were conceived with Joseph her husband, as their father.
While the miraculous conception was mind stretching beyond comprehension, this word from the angel Gabriel was also very troubling to Mary: “The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end.” (1:32,33) As we’ve discussed before, for several hundred years the expectation of the Jewish people was that their Messiah would come in power and lead Israel to a return to the glory years of David & Solomon, when Israel was the pre-eminent nation in the region of Palestine. Mary would likely have understood these words to be the long awaited announcement that her son would be a great military and political leader. A king perhaps unlike any who had ever reigned in Israel. We can only imagine the ideas this spawned in Mary’s mind and heart.
It is true Jesus was born into the royal lineage of king David, that is why Joseph & Mary went to Bethlehem to register for the census. It is true Jesus was born into the family heritage of Jacob, the tribe of Judah. But the kingdom Gabriel spoke of was not an earthly kingdom of square miles, citizens, government, taxes, economics, education, health care, road systems etc. The kingdom of which Jesus is King is unlimited by geographical boundaries, unrestrained by governmental structures, not measured by GDP nor worried about inflation or unemployment numbers or import/export tariffs.
Jesus’ kingdom is an eternal, spiritual kingdom and citizenship is through Redemption and Regeneration and Adoption in God’s family! Jesus’ kingdom is Jews (the house of Jacob) and Gentiles (non-Jews), world-wide, of all generations who have trusted in Jesus for their salvation from their sin condemnation!
Jesus reigns as Messiah, the royal King of Israel, not elected by vote and not restrained by the Knesset. Jesus has no Prime Minister. He alone is Sovereign. He is “King of kings and Lord of lords” and one day Jesus’ sovereign authority over all will be recognized by all. Remember our study of Philippians 2:6-11? “Every knee will bow and every tongue proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”
While we know these truths now, with the benefit of all Jesus’ teachings and the entire New Testament, none of this was known to Mary. We don’t know exactly when Mary told Joseph about her miraculous conception. We do know that Gabriel told her about Elizabeth’s miracle and as we’ll see tomorrow, Mary quickly made plans to go visit Elizabeth and Zechariah. Why do you suppose?
I’m sure you’ve noticed there is no mention of Mary’s parents and her relationship with them. That should not lead us to consider that she was an orphan nor that there was any dysfunction in her family. I believe it’s another way the Holy Spirit of God protects us from being distracted and keeps us focused on the main thing… the incarnation miracle of God. The miraculous union of the Holy Spirit & Mary resulting in a pregnancy unlike any other at anytime in history.
It’s likely Mary did not mention this angelic visit to Joseph between vs. 38 & 39 of Luke 1. In fact, I doubt she mentioned it to anyone. She simply packed her bag and went to spend some extended time with the only two people on earth whom she believed might understand her situation and help her understand what God was doing in her, in them and what God was about to do in our world.
May I ask two important closing questions today…
1. As God is even right now searching for men and women whom He can invite into His amazing purposes here on earth… when He looks at you and me, does God find us to be men and women ready and willing to partner with Him even in outrageous, miraculous, illogical ways? Will God find us to be the men and women through whom He can accomplish miraculous things this Christmas and in 2020? Or does God find us to be skeptical, inflexible, demanding guarantees and proofs from God before we are willing to take faith steps with Him?
2. Second question… Are we allowing the complexity of our world economics, technologies, scientific advancements, political debate etc. to overwhelm or dwarf the powerful, unexplainable, amazing miracles of Christmas?
Please my dear friends, don’t loose your awe of the Christmas miracles and how every person in the Christmas story is just like you and me… faced with the decisions of belief and faith steps!
I invite us all to search our hearts and engage with God in a season of prayer making ourselves fully available to HIM for whatever He would like to involve us in as He accomplishes His purposes in our world. . .
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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