Sermon Tone Analysis

Luke 1:26–38 (ESV)

I. UNEXPECTED ANNOUNCEMENTS

Luke 1:26–38 (ESV) — 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.

And the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Luke 1:13–17 (ESV) — 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord.

And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

II.

FAITH ENCOURAGED

Luke 1:34–36 (ESV) 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 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.

36 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.

In this instance, however, he appears to a young Jewish girl with no stature in Israel.

And she lives in place that is not esteemed, the small village of Nazareth, which is not in Judea but in the northern region of Galilee.

Nathaniel’s quip about whether anything good could come from Nazareth represents what most people would think about the village (John 1:46).[1]

Luke 1:31–33 (ESV) 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

It is here the angel encourages her faith with two declarations.

Luke 1:36, he says, “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”.

Luke 1:37, “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Luke 1:38 (ESV) 38 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.

2 Samuel 7:11–16 (ESV) — 11 … Moreover, the Lord declares to you (David) that the Lord will make you a house.

12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.

When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.

Your throne shall be established forever.’

”

[1] Schreiner, T. R. (2021).

Luke.

In I. M. Duguid, J. M. Hamilton Jr., & J. Sklar (Eds.),

Matthew–Luke: Vol.

VIII (p.

734).

Crossway.