James Barnett Mary the Mother of Jesus
Series: CHRISTMAS 2014
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 20th December 2014
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Now this might sound strange, but I wish I was more like a teenage girl.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:14 No, I don't wish I was more in love with Justin Bieber or spent all my money on my hair and
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 clothes or whatever teenage girls spend their money on.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:22 But I wish I was more like a teenage girl and you should too.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:28 This week as we consider how to be prepared for Christmas, after last week we're going
00:00:28 --> 00:00:31 to be considering a particular teenage girl.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:38 Not just any teenage girls or teenage girls in general, but one in particular, Mary the
00:00:38 --> 00:00:39 mother of Jesus.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:47 Last week we looked at the start of this chapter of Luke and we saw what God had in store for
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 an old couple, Elizabeth and Zechariah.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:54 They were going to have a baby John and he would prepare the way for Jesus.
00:00:54 --> 00:01:02 And in this first chapter, there's a deliberate comparison between Zechariah who doubts and
00:01:02 --> 00:01:03 Mary who believes.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:10 And this comparison is going to show us this morning that Mary is someone worth modelling,
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 even if she is an unlikely prospect.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:20 So please open your Bibles, keep them open at Luke chapter 1 verse 26 with me.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:29 From verse 26.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:38 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin
00:01:38 --> 00:01:42 pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 The virgin's name was Mary.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:51 God sends his messenger from a priest, from Zechariah in the temple, the very heart of
00:01:51 --> 00:01:57 Israel, to speak to Mary, a humble girl from Nazareth.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:05 Nazareth is a know-nothing backwater hick town, not even mentioned in the entire Old Testament.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:07 It's nothing.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 It's this town we know not much about.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:19 Later on, Nathaniel, one of Jesus' straight-talking disciples, he questions Jesus' origins and says,
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 can anything good come out of Nazareth?
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 This is all about all we know of Nazareth.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:27 It's not a great place.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:32 But it's here that God sends his angel next.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:41 And he sends him to speak to Mary, likely to be very young, probably between the age of 12 and 16.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 Girls like her were unlikely to have any education.
00:02:47 --> 00:02:57 They would marry humbly, give birth to poor children, not travel far from their home, and die like many others before them in a nothing town.
00:02:57 --> 00:03:04 But it is this girl that was chosen by God to carry his son.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:13 The greatest news ever in human history that God was going to come as a man came first to this girl in the middle of nowhere.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 Later in the song that she sings in praise of God, she says,
00:03:18 --> 00:03:39 God's message of hope and salvation came to this needy and humble girl, not to the powerful and rich, not to the center of the city.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:45 And this angel that has come approaches her and speaks to her in verse 28.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:46 Have a look.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:50 Greetings, you who are highly favored.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:52 The Lord is with you.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:59 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 It's a peculiar greeting, isn't it?
00:04:03 --> 00:04:08 One which has baffled many, not just Mary, but many scholars as well.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:22 An over-translation from the Latin led some people to think that the comment, you who are highly favored, was instead a comment you may have heard before, hail Mary full of grace.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 These are from the same verse.
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 One is an over-translation.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:37 And so some who believe in this line, hail Mary full of grace, they think it's saying that Mary, well, she's actually something more than human.
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 She's actually full of grace.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 She can actually dispense grace like Jesus.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:48 And that's why we should pray to her, because she has grace herself.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:55 It's totally inaccurate and inappropriate in keeping with the rest of the Bible.
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 But that does not mean that we should lower Mary.
00:04:59 --> 00:04:59 Hey, mate.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:08 Just because some people have considered Mary to be greater than she was doesn't mean that we should reduce her.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:12 The angel described her as highly favored.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 And in her song, she said that all nations would call her blessed.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 Is it right to call Mary blessed?
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 Well, I think it is.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:26 She is the only woman in human history to ever carry God's son.
00:05:27 --> 00:05:35 She's the only one who ever nursed him, fed him, changed him, the only one who was ever called mother by Jesus.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:39 She is indeed a woman blessed.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:45 And Mary responds to this peculiar greeting by the angel.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 And it shows how we should act.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:53 She was troubled and she wondered at his words.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:59 When Zechariah, that we saw last week, when he was confronted by the angel, he was gripped with fear.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:04 He doubted the words of the angel and he asked for a sign.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:09 Mary did not respond like a flighty young girl would.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 But she reflected on his words.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 And she kept pondering the meaning of this greeting.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:22 What is our response to the message of the birth of the Savior?
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 Is it to consider it briefly?
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 Or do we weigh the words?
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 Do we plumb the depth of this message?
00:06:30 --> 00:06:34 Are we so used to information being disposable?
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 Short articles in newspapers.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:38 Tabloid journalism.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 Twitter, which has so few characters.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:48 Are we used to news and television that is just exciting and short to catch our attention?
00:06:48 --> 00:06:54 Because we no longer have attention spans that can process any kind of information.
00:06:56 --> 00:07:02 What would it look like for you to stop and truly process this message?
00:07:02 --> 00:07:10 When Sam read the passage before, it would mean, well, not just flicking your eyes over the passage as he read it.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:12 Actually considering each verse.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 Instead of saying, ah, yes, I've heard this story before.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:16 It's the one with Mary and the angel.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:17 Yep, I know how this goes.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 I'll just tune out and think about the week ahead.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:29 What would it actually look like to sit and reflect and ponder each word and each line?
00:07:30 --> 00:07:34 Let's do that now as we listen to what the angel said in response.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 In verse 31.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:42 You will be with child and give birth to a son.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 And you are to give him the name Jesus.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 Nothing particularly unusual here.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 Jesus is a fairly common name.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:51 It means salvation.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 But then have a look at verse 32.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:58 He will be great and will be called the son of the most high.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:04 The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 His kingdom will never end.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 This is special.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 This is very, very unique.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:17 This child of Mary's will be the expected son of God mentioned in the book of Samuel.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 He will be God's son.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:22 He is going to reign and his kingdom will have no end.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:32 This humble virgin girl who lives in a hick town in the middle of nowhere is going to give birth to the son of God.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 A claim which no one else could ever make.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:45 And to this amazing message from the angel that this small town girl hears, how does she respond?
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 Does she respond like Zechariah with doubt and say, I want proof?
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 Have a look at verse 34.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 How will this be?
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 Mary asked the angel.
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 Since I am a virgin.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 Now this is not a question from doubt.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:07 It's more of a mechanical, biological type of question.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 It's a question, God, how is this going to happen?
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 She's not doubting God.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 She's not saying, God, this is impossible.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:16 I'm a virgin.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:21 No, no, no, it's more of a biological question.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 A believing question.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 God, I believe you can do anything.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 But let me know.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 Just give me a bit more information.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 I'd like to know how you're going to bring about this.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 Questions like this acknowledge that God is all powerful.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:41 But at the same time, God is approachable.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 He is not a God who does not care for our plight.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 What's your attitude towards God?
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 What kind of questions do you ask him?
00:09:52 --> 00:09:57 Do you firmly believe that God works for the good of those who love him?
00:09:58 --> 00:10:02 Do you ask questions of him, believing that he will listen and respond?
00:10:02 --> 00:10:09 This young girl's response to God's message is radical.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:14 She believed that God would do the impossible and shows how we,
00:10:15 --> 00:10:19 we who think we are often mature Christians, still lack faith.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:26 And again, to this question, the angel responds, have a look in verse 35.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:31 The angel answered, the Holy Spirit will come upon you.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 And the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:39 So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:43 Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:47 And she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 For nothing is impossible with God.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:55 Firstly, it's important to note there are no sexual overtones here.
00:10:56 --> 00:11:00 This is not a God mating with a human, like in Greek mythology,
00:11:00 --> 00:11:05 to produce a half human, half divine, you know, some kind of demigod.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 That is not what is on view here.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:13 This is an act of the God who was first characterized in the Bible as a creator.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:21 And here again, he is creating life, this time directly in a womb, by the power of the Spirit.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:26 And the word overshadow here, it's used of the transfiguration.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 When Jesus, with Peter, James and John, climb a mountain,
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 they meet with Moses and Elijah,
00:11:32 --> 00:11:37 and God in his presence comes upon the mountain in a cloud,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 and he overshadows the mountain.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 And he speaks and says,
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 This is my Son whom I love.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:44 Listen to him.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:49 This word overshadow here shows that God is going to be present with Mary
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 as he creates this life.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:55 It truly will be a virginal conception.
00:11:55 --> 00:12:02 When Gabriel came to Zechariah, Zechariah didn't believe,
00:12:02 --> 00:12:05 and he asked for a sign, and he got a negative sign.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 He was cast blind.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 Here, Mary does not disbelieve like Zechariah.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 She does not ask for a sign, but she is given one anyway.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 She can see God's power to do the impossible through Elizabeth.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:24 Gabriel points to Elizabeth's pregnancy that God can do the impossible.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:34 And finally, Mary responds to the angel's explanation of how things would happen.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 Have a look at verse 38.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 May it be to me as you have said.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 Who here could say that they have responded to God in this way?
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 I am the Lord's servant.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 May it be to me as you have said.
00:12:54 --> 00:13:01 Her obedience to the message from God makes her both the mother and a disciple of Jesus.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 She totally submits to God and his will.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 Even though she will probably have a tough time of this.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:13 You know, a virgin betrothed to be married winds up pregnant.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:16 She's going to definitely have to answer some questions.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:21 But Mary here is a model disciple.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 She obeys and submits to the Lord.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 Jesus would later teach his disciples to pray,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
00:13:30 --> 00:13:40 For us, obedience and submission to God should look like Mary's, not only in words, but in attitude.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 It's very easy to get frustrated with God and go,
00:13:43 --> 00:13:47 Fine, God, whatever you want, I'll do things your way.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:52 Or to try a number of options and then to get angry with God and go,
00:13:52 --> 00:13:56 Okay, I'll do it your way, but only because I've tried everything else myself.
00:13:56 --> 00:14:03 But Mary's attitude to obedience is radical.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 It's shocking for such a young woman.
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 What does she say?
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 I am the Lord's servant.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 May it be to me as you have said.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 Will we joyfully exclaim this?
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 I am your servant.
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 Do we believe that God works for the good of those who love him?
00:14:26 --> 00:14:30 Mary obviously wasn't perfect.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:36 She might be a model disciple, but she is still one of the members of Jesus' family,
00:14:36 --> 00:14:41 who in Mark 3 wanted to take charge of him because they thought he was out of his mind.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 She found it hard to believe Jesus when he began his public ministry.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 But she is still a helpful example for us today.
00:14:49 --> 00:14:55 So as we prepare in these last few days before Christmas,
00:14:55 --> 00:14:59 why should we be like a teenage girl?
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 Firstly, Mary had humble beginnings.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 She was not self-sufficient.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:10 She was totally dependent upon God.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 So that when this message was spoken to her,
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 she was ready to listen to it.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 Just like our core values,
00:15:19 --> 00:15:22 we should be valuing humility.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 Imagine with me for a minute
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 what it would look like
00:15:26 --> 00:15:30 if you acted a little bit more like this teenage girl.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 What would it look like if you had her humility?
00:15:37 --> 00:15:44 That you didn't rely on the amount of money you can earn at work to survive for the next couple of weeks?
00:15:46 --> 00:15:50 Your ability to do everything that you want to do today.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:55 What would it look like to not have to rely upon yourself,
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 but instead to humbly rely upon God?
00:15:58 --> 00:16:06 Secondly, Mary reflected on the words from God.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 She turned them over.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 She tried to understand them.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:12 She did not superficially accept them.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:18 Again, our core value of Christ-centered Bible saturation for our church,
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 it doesn't mean that we should just be reading the Bible all the time,
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 but that we would read it deeply
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 and we would know it to our very core,
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 meditating on God's Word day and night.
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 If we were to do this, what would this look like?
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 Would we read the Bible differently?
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 Would we continue to read the Bible just to tick a box,
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 to say I've spent time with God today?
00:16:45 --> 00:16:50 Or would we read each line and each verse,
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 mulling them over, committing them to memory,
00:16:54 --> 00:16:58 singing them to ourselves as we work,
00:16:59 --> 00:17:02 so that at times of trouble or tribulation,
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 they would come back to us
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 and the Lord would speak to us through them?
00:17:09 --> 00:17:12 Thirdly, Mary believed God at His Word.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:18 We must cultivate a heart that believes in the promises of God.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 Again, if we were to do this this week,
00:17:21 --> 00:17:24 if we were to actually believe the promises of God,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 what would this look like?
00:17:27 --> 00:17:31 What would it look like to believe that God will send His Son
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 to take His people home?
00:17:34 --> 00:17:37 What would it look like to believe that there is more to this life
00:17:37 --> 00:17:41 than physical pleasure and the accumulation of stuff?
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 Especially at Christmas.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 Would you act like you believed it?
00:17:50 --> 00:17:54 Lastly, like Mary, we must be obedient and submissive to God.
00:17:55 --> 00:18:00 Imagine what it would look like to obey just one of God's commandments.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:04 To just love your neighbor as yourself.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 Okay, that can get a bit hard.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:12 Imagine what it would look like just to love your family as yourself.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 Maybe that's even harder for some.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 I'm not sure what your family is like.
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 You'll be reminded of them over Christmas.
00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 But imagine, let's just narrow it down further.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:25 What would it look like to love your husband or your wife as yourself?
00:18:25 --> 00:18:31 We must be obedient and submissive to God.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:37 Let's thank God for the model of His mother, for Jesus' mother,
00:18:37 --> 00:18:43 and the encouragement to be shaped by her son like she was even before He was born.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 Let's pray.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:53 Heavenly Father, thank you for the message that Gabriel brought to Mary.
00:18:54 --> 00:18:58 That she would have a son who would be a king,
00:18:58 --> 00:19:02 whose name was Jesus, which is salvation.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:07 Lord, thank you for the model of the disciple that Mary was.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:12 Help us to be like her.
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 That we would obey you.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:17 That we would believe in you.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:25 That we would listen and read your word with such a heart to understand it.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 That you would constantly change us to be more like your son.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 In whose name we pray.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 Amen.