Mary

 For a while, no one noticed Mary's pregnancy. But no one can hide things from a mom for long. Finally, Mom noticed & told Dad. He called for a meeting with Joseph & his parents. When they all gathered, Dad gave Joseph a hard look. "Mary's pregnant." Joseph's parents gasped. But Joseph was adamant. "It wasn't my fault!" All eyes swiveled to Mary. She spoke calmly. "It isn't mine, either." Humanly, one of them had to be lying. But truth is often stranger than any lie. Let's turn to the true story in Lk 1:26-35, 38. It was 26athe 6th month after Gabriel announced Elizabeth's pregnancy. For her, it was an impossible pregnancy. She's over 60, well after childbearing years. She's another Sarah. In her 6th month, 26bGod sent the angel Gabriel. This time, 26cto Nazareth. It was a shoddy, tiny town. It had water, but it was in a basin surrounded by hills. No road led to it, so no one went there. No one ever wrote about it. Not the OT. Not Josephus. Not even the Talmud or Mishnah. Nothing good happened there. Nothing was expected to. Its reputation? Bad. In Jn 1:46, Philip told Nathanael about Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael replied, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" It's so small, so no-account, Luke even has to tell his readers where it is! It's a 1-camel town in Galilee. And "town" is generous. Only a few families live there. Mostly farmers. All, dirt poor. It's a no-account town with no-account people. And Galilee? Set in a Gentile area, Jews in Judah & Jerusalem also think it's no-account. To top it off, people there talk funny. To that Nazareth, Gabriel went. Before, he went to a woman over 60. This time, it's 27aa young virgin. At least 12yo, 14 max. By custom she's already 27bpledged (betrothed) to be married to a poor carpenter named Joseph. He mostly makes yokes wooden farm tools (yokes, plows, etc.). He's also 27c a descendant of David. Living in Nazareth, no one cares if he's in David's line. And 27dthe virgin? Mary. A poor peasant girl. Living at home with her parents. Betrothed to a local carpenter. Looking forward to marriage at the end of her betrothal year. She's illiterate. What does she know of Scripture? Just what she's heard in synagogue & memorized at home. Her life trajectory? The opposite of extraordinary. Marry poor. Give birth to a lot of poor children. Never travel. Live & die a few miles from Nazareth. Her life's end? Die like so many before her: a nobody, in a no-account town, in the middle of nowhere. 28aThat's the virgin Mary Gabriel went to. Not a word about her virtue. Nothing about how religious she was. Not a word to explain why God chose her. She's ordinary. Not exceptional. Just ordinary. The issue isn't her beauty (inner or outer), or her worthiness. She just has God's favor. Gabriel's message reflects God's favor. 28b"Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Wow, that's positive! Or is it? 29aHis words greatly trouble Mary. Interesting. Zechariah & Daniel see Gabriel & are terrified. But Mary? No fear. What does trouble her?29bShe wonders, 'What kind of greeting is this?' She may be poor, but she has God's favor! After 400 years of God's silence, He doesn't just speak. He's with her! What's that about? 30aGabriel reassures her. "Don't be afraid, Mary. Uh-oh! We know better. Whenever anyone says, "Don't..."? Be afraid. 30bYou've found favor with God. Great. What's the bad news? 31aYou'll be with child & give birth to a son. Hmmm... Mary's betrothal year isn't up. She doesn't live with Joseph yet. News of a son should be great news! But now? Living at home? That's a good reason to be afraid! Gabriel isn't done. 31bYou're to give him the name Jesus. In Hebrew, Joshua. Yahweh Saves. Could her son be the Messiah? Jewish girls have prayed for centuries that they'd be mother to the promised Messiah. And Mary? Could it be she's the one? 32aHe'll be great & called the Most High's Son. God's Son?? No one is expecting the Messiah to be God's Son!! 32bThe Lord God will give him his father David's throne. She thinks for a minute. If God is his father, how will he be descended from David? The only possible answer? Mary knows she too is David's descendant. Now, she's almost sure. Her son will be the long-awaited Messiah! But why now? If only could be some other time. After her marriage! Gabriel isn't done. 33aHe'll reign over Jacob's house (Israel) forever. He pauses. 33bHis kingdom will never end." At this, she's positive. She will be mother to the Messiah! God's Son! God has favored her more than any other woman. Though single, Mary is going to be pregnant. We'd have lots of questions. She should've had questions, too. She has God's favor, but look at the cost. All her dreams. Till now, her dream has been to marry Joseph. Soon, everyone in Nazareth will know she's pregnant. At best, Joseph will marry her anyway. But even then, she'll have to live with a damaged reputation. That's the best case. More likely, Joseph will divorce her. And the worst case? Dt 22:20-21. 20If, <, the morning after her wedding night> no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, 21she'll be brought to the door of her father's house. There, the men of her town shall stone her to death. All this flashes through her mind. She should be afraid & have many questions. Nope. She doesn't ask why. Or how to lessen the cost. She has just one question. She's had the talk. So, 34"How? I'm a virgin?" (If you need proof that Scripture insists it was a virgin birth, this is it. No other meaning of the word fits here.) 35a"The Holy Spirit will come upon you. Other Scriptures help us get this. When Saul was chosen as king of Israel, in 1 Sam 10:6, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. Ever since Pentecost, that's happened to all believers. But what Gabriel says next is mystery. How will Jesus be conceived? 35bThe power of the Most High will overshadow you. The Greek points to a mystery. In the LXX Ex 40:29 (NIV Ex 40:35), Israel had just dedicated the Tabernacle. 29Moses wasn't able to enter into the tabernacle of testimony because the cloud was overshadowing it. The tabernacle was filled with the Lord's glory. In the NT, all 3 accounts of the Transfiguration (Mt 17:5, Mk 9:7, Lk 9:34) use the same word. In all 3 accounts, a cloud enveloped [overshadowed] them. This is a mystery. How? Only God knows. What do we know? In Mary, the Holy Spirit somehow produced a holy Son. Jesus' conception is unique in all human history. It may even have happened before Gabriel left her. What Gabriel says next is also a mystery. 35c"The holy one to be born will be called God's Son. No human father will be involved in the Messiah's birth. God is His Father. Mary weighs the cost, then speaks. And we start to see why the Lord chose her. 38a"I'm the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you've said." The response of faith. 38bThen Gabriel left her. What did Mary have to offer God? She's a poor young girl from a tiny village on the wrong side of the tracks. What can she offer? To help us see it, what if she'd said, 'No'? What if she wasn't the 1st young virgin Gabriel asked? Just the 1st to say, 'yes'? What she has is availability & faith. Availability that she's willing to serve. And faith that God can & will do what He says. Availability & faith. That's all she has. And Mary offers her availability & her faith willingly. What can we learn from Mary? What do we really have to offer the Lord? Do we have possessions that He needs? No. Do we have gifts that he didn't give us? That He couldn't just as easily give to someone else? No. What do we really have? Nothing. Nothing but availability & faith. Offering the Lord our availability & faith isn't beyond our reach. Look what God did with Mary's availability & faith! He saved us all! What do you think God will do with ours if we offer Him our availability & faith? Will you join me in reading Mary's response in Lk 1:38 as our closing prayer? I'm the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you've said. Mary - Luke 1:26-35, 38 Page 1 of 1