Mary Did You Know?

Until this week, I never thought God ever had a problem He couldn’t overcome. After all, God is all-wise, all-knowing and all-powerful. There is nothing that is impossible for Him. After all, He is God. He created the heavens and the earth. He spoke them into existence. If He can do that, then there really can’t be anything He can’t do… right? But then as I was reading the Christmas story this week, I came to realize that God did have a problem. If God was going to become one of us, live among us and do something to stop the evil of sin from destroying us; if he was going to come into the world and experience everything we experience, yet do so without sin so He could become the perfect sacrifice for us – well, then God had to find just the right woman:

a woman who was not only a virgin, but was already betrothed to be married; a woman who was not only Jewish, but was betrothed to a man in the kingly line of David; a woman who would be willing to suffer the disgrace of being found out she was pregnant; and most of all a woman who was willing to believe the impossible! A woman who was willing to BELEIVE that God could bring His Son into the world through her. Where was God going to find such a woman? Where was God going to find a virgin teenager with the faith and humility to trust Him with the greatest miracle in history? That’s what we are going to look at this morning. So if you brought your Bible with you, let me encourage you to open it to the first chapter of Luke. For here in Luke 1:26-38, we get to meet that woman, a young virgin girl named Mary.

Now up this point in her life, Mary was just another newly engaged daughter excited about planning her wedding day. She was a lot like my daughter Courtney, who’s been doing nothing but planning for her big day. She’s thinking about dresses and venues, dances and photographers and isn’t too concerned with what God has in mind for her future. Joseph is the one who occupies her dreams. Not in her wildest dreams does she ever imagine the plans God has in store for her. But then God’s messenger, Gabriel, reveals to her four amazing truths that will not only change her life, but will change history. And the first one is found in verses 26-28, where Gabriel tells her:

You are Highly Favored In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

I love how Luke wrote this gospel. He has listed for us everything God was looking for. Mary is a virgin who is betrothed to Joseph. Now, once you were betrothed in the Jewish culture you were considered legally married; even though the consummation of the marriage won’t take place until your wedding day at the end of one year. This is important for two reasons. First, God’s Son needed to be born without sin, since the sin nature is passed through the seed of the father. But at the same time, Mary needed to be legally married. That’s why God needed to find a virgin who was legally betrothed. Second, God’s Son needed to be born into the legal line of King David, so that His son could fulfill the role of the promised Messiah. And since Joseph is of the line of David, Mary is a perfect candidate to bear God’s son. She has the racial, ethical and legal requirements God is looking for. That’s what we see here. But apart from those requirements Mary was just an ordinary teenage girl. But God’s message to her through Gabriel was about to change everything for her: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Now, this greeting must’ve come as a shock to Mary. The only other time Gabriel came to deliver a message to anyone was when he came to Daniel. And now he comes to Mary, a young, poor girl from Galilee. Angels like this don’t just stop by and bless girls like her. And yet his message to her is profound: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! All of a sudden Mary discovers that God has chosen to make her the object of His grace. Mary holds special favor in God’s eyes. And yet she hadn’t done anything special to deserve such favor.

And that’s precisely the point here. God chose to act on her behalf. God chose to bless her. And the way He chose to favor her was by being with her. When Gabriel said, “The Lord is with you” he was delivering God’s message that God was going to help her succeed in whatever He asks of her. After all, when you heard that God was with you, this meant that whatever you put your hand to, you were going to succeed. But succeed at what? What is God is going to ask of me? Mary did not know. She had not asked for God’s favor. She did not seek God’s favor. So its no wonder that when we come to verse 29, that we read, Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. Luke 1:29

Mary was greatly troubled at the angel’s words. “My little world was going along quite fine, thank you. And now you come along and tell me that “God has my back, that He is with me.” This is freaking me out. I have my life all planned out. I’m going to marry Joseph. We’re going to raise a family. We’ll do our best to keep the law of Moses and love the Lord our God. But this is a little too dramatic, a little too personal, and a whole lot disruptive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the Lord favors me, but I’m not too sure I’m ready to do whatever it is that He’s going to ask me to do.”   You see, Mary was young, inexperienced and mostly afraid.

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, Luke 1:30 Mary is no different than us. She hears the good news that God is with her, that He will help her. But she’s also quick. She knows what that means. It means she is going to have to step out in faith and trust Him. God coming to her in this way is going to turn her life upside down.

And that’s scary. Like us, she is afraid of what that will mean. Our human nature is naturally afraid of the unknown. That’s why we’d rather call the shots, play it safe, then let God intervene in our lives… even if it means He wants to bless the socks off us.  So Mary is afraid of what God wants with her. And Angel knows it. So he says, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.”

And Isn’t that the message of Christmas? “Do not fear. You have found favor with God.”  Mary needed to hear the same message of good news we need to hear. With God there is no fear. When you have the favor of God, you have nothing to worry about. When you have the favor of God, His eyes are always on you: He will always watch over you, He will always protect you, He will always provide for you. When you have the favor of God, He will always do good for you. And He will be with you through whatever you are facing. He will never leave you nor forsake you…. Mary knew that. But she needed to hear it again. Just like we need to hear it again and again, and again: “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.”

And so with those simple words of truth, the angel gives her the assignment that will change her future: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. Now the first part of this message is not all that profound: God will be with her and she will bear a son. That’s kind of par for the course when you get married: children were considered a blessing from the Lord. But now, her assignment gets specific when Gabriel announces the name she is to give this child:

You are to give Him the name Jesus you are to call him Jesus.He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end. Luke 1:32-33 Boom! All at once, the significance of the angel’s visit becomes crystal clear: This child she will conceive; this baby she will carry, will be no ordinary child. He’s to be called Jesus. Jesus is the Greek translation of the common Hebrew name Joshua, meaning “Yahweh saves.”

But then he says, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” With this description, there was no mistaking who’s son this will be. Jesus will be God’s Son. Now she gets it. Mary is highly favored by God and the Lord will be with her, for she will be giving birth to God’s One and Only Son. This is her assignment.

But there’s more. This child will rise up to be Israel’s King, the Messiah. He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end. This child, this Jesus, this Son of God will be the King of Kings – God’s chosen one. No wonder the angel said that He will be great. For centuries Israel had been waiting for her Messiah. And now God has chosen for Mary to be His mother. Yahweh will save His people through her son. But He is also to be God’s Son. Now, at this point any normal teenage girl, hearing this, would be completely overwhelmed… But not Mary. She’s calm, cool and collected and has the presence of mind to ask the angel, “How will this be since I am a virgin?” And the angel tells her: 4. God Himself will do the Impossible through you

“How will this be since I am a virgin?”The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on 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. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

I love that Mary asks this question: “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” What this tells us is that Mary has already believed the message. She believes God has chosen her to be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. Her faith is remarkable. It’s simple… But like a good Jewish mother to be, she is practical: “God, how’s this going to work? No virgin has every given birth to a child. It is a physical impossibility. “Can you give me a clue as to what to expect if I’m going to be expecting?”

And again, Luke is brilliant in recording the precise details of their encounter. He writes: “The Holy Spirit will come on 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.”

God will come to her by His Holy Spirit, and His power will overshadow her. In other words, God will work this miracle of conception through His presence and by His power. Look at this word “overshadow.” Every time this word is used in the Bible it is used to show the powerful presence of God. It was first used of God in the cloud that overshadowed the tabernacle when the tent was filled with the glory of God. It is next seen in the cloud that overshadows Jesus at his baptism when God declares Jesus to be His beloved Son. And the final appearance of this overshadowing cloud is at Jesus’ transfiguration, when the Father once again declares that Jesus is His beloved Son.

God will come to her. He will be present with Her and when He does, the beloved Son of God will be conceived in her. How awesome is that? And at that time, what Isaiah penned 700 years previous will come to pass: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

And let just take a side bar here for a moment. This beautiful picture of God favoring Mary, of God conceiving His Son in the womb of a virgin, changes everything. God is not indifferent to our plight. One of the most common questions about the evil that is so prevalent in our world is this: “Why didn’t God do something to stop or prevent that evil from happening?” Well the miracle of the virgin birth proves that He did. God’s Son entered our world through the womb of a humble country girl. Jesus was born in a dirty stable on the backside of a forgotten little town. He gave up the riches of heaven to come and experience life just like us. He moved into the neighborhood, and served the unloved, the broken hearted, and the nobodies of this world, all the while knowing that one day He would be crucified at the hands of wicked men, so that through His death, he could put an end to evil.   And now He puts an end to evil one life at a time. By transforming the heart of anyone who would put their faith in him.

And it was at that moment, we see Mary’s heart change. For God had found the right woman. For once she hears the angel’s word:   For no word from God will ever fail.”

That was enough for Mary. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

God had found what He was looking for: Not just a Jewish virgin girl betrothed to Joseph of the line of David, but a woman who believed God’s Word and was willing to obey it!

This is what I love about Mary. She never sought God’s favor, but God sought her out and chose to favor her. And even though she was troubled and fearful, she listened to God’s plan for her life. And even though God’s plan would change everything for her – Mary believed God. She trusted that what God said was true – that He would be with her to help her. She trusted that God would work in her to do the impossible. And even though bearing His child would change her life, she was willing to do God’s will.

This is what I love about Mary, because in so many ways, Mary is us. God sought us out and chose to favor us. He sent Jesus into the world to be born of a virgin, so He could give us a Savior – to put an end to the evil in our hearts and give us a new heart – Jesus’ heart, so we might live a new life. You see God has a plan for your life. He wants to conceive His life within you. He wants to come into your life to give you a new heart, a fresh start. He wants to change your future. And He wants to be with you, just like He was with Mary.   You are the one He’s been looking for all your life.

God created you. God loves you. And He wants to be with you. The question then, is the same one that Mary grappled with that day: Are you willing to trust Him?

Are you ready to let Him change your future?

Do you believe Jesus died for you?

If that’s you, then trust God’s Word about Jesus. For no Word from God will ever fail!   And God’s Word declares: the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord! So trust in God and put your faith in His Son Jesus – and you will receive the gift of eternal life.

Let’s pray.