Luke 1:26-38 * December 18, 2005 * Advent 4 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

Any adult who has ever presided over a child in church or at a concert or some other kind of sit-down-and-be-still service has probably at some time been whispered a question like, “How much longer is this going to take?” or “Is this almost over?”

The first response is usually to quietly “shush” the child. But a little later on when the adult is confident that things are indeed winding down, he or she may whisper back something like, “It won’t be much longer now.” And hopefully that satisfactorily reassures the child that they will not all grow old together in their present setting.

Our text for this morning is the account of what took place just before the greatest event in the history of the world. It is called the “Annunciation” and revolves around the angel Gabriel informing the Virgin Mary of the part she will soon play in birth of the long promised Savior. It is the culmination of centuries of prophecies. And with this announcement, we might say that God was telling a waiting world:

IT WON’T BE MUCH LONGER NOW

What we’d like to do on this final Sunday in Advent is simply work through our text verse by verse, pausing to reflect and marvel at some of the words and phrases. For seasoned Christians for whom this is not “new material,” perhaps this word of caution is in order: Do not let the familiarity of this story stand in the way of its meaning and mystery and majesty. As you listen, try to see things through Mary’s eyes.

Let us begin by setting this promise in its context. It is really the last in a series of prophecies that stretched back to the Garden of Eden. Remember what happened there? In laymen’s terms, man messed up, sin happened, and death – both eternal and temporal – entered the world. Sin (meaning disobedience to God) was and is such a powerful force that no amount of human effort could ever counteract it.

So mankind found itself in this situation. If we are to be freed from the damning consequences of sin, we need help. We need a Savior. And the good news is that right from the get-go, God promised one.

The ink was hardly dry on the sad life Adam and Eve had rewritten for themselves when God stepped in. He gave them the promise of a Savior, referring to Him as the “Seed of the woman.” The fulfillment of that promise, repeated and expanded upon throughout the years of that period of time we call the Old Testament, was now about to unfold…

²⁶ In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Elizabeth was an older relative of Mary and, miraculously, a soon to be mother. She was six months along in her pregnancy.

Gabriel was the same messenger of God who had earlier announced to her aged husband, a priest by the name of Zechariah, that they would become parents of John the Baptist. That had taken place in Jerusalem in Judea. Now Gabriel makes his way to a small, non-descript town north of there, in Galilee, where he appears to Mary…

…specifically referred to as a virgin. The Greek word here is parthenos. Perhaps you have heard of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. It is an ancient temple built in honor of the Greek goddess Athena, who in mythology was a virgin. The word means just what it says: an unmarried girl who, in today’s terms, had never been “sexually active.”

This chaste young woman was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, who is mentioned as being a descendant of King David. It should be mentioned that Mary also was a descendent of King David. This lineage was not an accident. It was the fulfillment of yet another Old Testament prophecy about the coming Savior and the explanation why in the New Testament Jesus is often called “the Son of David.”

²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was not “highly favored” in the sense that she did something to deserve this honor. Like every good thing God gives His children, Mary’s being chosen was a gift of God’s grace.

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. I believe we can understand this. This was not an everyday visitor. No doubt Mary was mindful of her low social standing and was perplexed at being addressed in such lofty terms. Mary was also a devout believer. Although this is not stated, we can surmise she would have been very much aware of her own sinfulness now that she was in the presence of a sinless being. Put all these things together and Mary is in need of soothing, which is exactly what Gabriel does:

³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. This is an expansion on the words previously spoken, that God in His grace had chosen Mary to be the mother of God-made-flesh. Gabriel now explains the content of this high favor:

³¹ You [a virgin] will be with child and give birth to a son, [here we see the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy as well as the promise that the Savior would be the seed of the woman] and you are to give him the name Jesus [a name which means “Savior”]. The Gospel of Mathew adds: “For he will save his people from their sins.” Furthermore,

³² He will be great [great in who He is and what He does] and will be called the Son of the Most High. “Most High” is a frequently used title for God in both the Old and New Testament. The clear message, then, is that Jesus is the Son of God. But there is more.

The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever…

“Jacob” is another term for “Israel,” and “Israel” is a term which is defined in the New Testament as God’s people not according to race, but according to faith. Which makes Christ our King. And his kingdom will never end.” Nor will it end for those who trust in Him as Savior. The fourth verse of the hymn “Amazing Grace” puts it well: When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.

Now we come to Mary’s reaction to this pronouncement: ³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” This was not the response of doubt or unbelief; rather, Mary was mystified. Not “I don’t believe it,” but “how can this be?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “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. Gabriel makes it clear that her conception will come about by divine intervention. The result: Mary will give birth not to the son of Joseph, but the Son of God. She is not required to understand this, but only to believe it. Gabriel now points her to a somewhat similar situation involving her relative Elizabeth.

³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. As mentioned before, Elizabeth was at that very moment pregnant with John the Baptist. Earlier in this chapter the whole account is given. It is sufficient to say that the ability for her to conceive in her old age was evidence enough that the Hand of God was upon her.

Then, in regard to Elizabeth’s news as well as the annunciation to Mary, Gabriel brings his end of the conversation to a close with this thought: ³⁷ For nothing is impossible with God.” Mary closes with an expression of faith and willingness to be used by God for His purposes: ³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Let’s make just a few brief observations and applications from this Word of God.

First, let us marvel at God’s wisdom and planning. For our eternal salvation it was necessary that the Savior be 1) true man, to act as our substitute, 2) sinless, in order to perfectly obey God’s demands upon mankind, and therefore, 3) true God. In Jesus Christ, who is true man and true God, we find our perfect Savior.

What comfort it is to know that the same all wise God is in control not only of our eternal life, but of our every day life as well. Like Mary, we may not know all the details of how He works things out. Like Mary, we may even be mystified at times. But we trust Him. And we know He rules both the universe and each of our individual lives in the best interest of His church and His children.

A second observation has to do with how loving God is. Remember, God didn’t have to do all this. After all, He didn’t need a Savior. Consequently, Mary is not the only one who is “highly favored.” All mankind has been favored by God in the sending of His Son. We who believe are especially favored because our knowledge and acceptance of Christ translates into our being a part of His everlasting kingdom. “What wondrous love is this, o my soul?” asks the hymnist. So do we.

A final observation relates to the reverence displayed by Mary over all this information. Immediately following our text we are told that she hurried to the home of Elizabeth. There the two of them discussed what was happening in their lives. After this, Mary broke into a song of devotion and praise called “The Magnificat.” We could say that she got all caught up in message of Christmas.

And therein is perhaps the most pertinent and timely lesson for us. In this final week of Advent preparation, let’s beware of getting caught up in the wrong things. To that end, we conclude with a story that will help us keep things in perspective this week…

It comes from the pen of Saint Jerome, the Church Father who translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin (the Vulgate version). He lived in the Fourth Century after Christ. When he was an old man he made his home in Bethlehem where he composed an imaginary conversation between himself and the baby Jesus. It summarizes in a beautiful way the true meaning of the event we’ll be celebrating exactly one week from today:

Whenever I view this place my heart holds a sweet conversation with the Child Jesus. I say, “O Lord Jesus, how you tremble, how hard is the little bed on which you are lying for my salvation!”

Then, it seems, I hear the Child answer, “I desire nothing, dear Jerome, but that you sing, ‘Glory be to God on high.’ Just be glad about it. I will become still poorer in Gethsemane and on the holy cross.”

I continue, “Dear little Jesus, I must give you something. I will give you all my money.”

The Child answers, “Heaven and earth are mine. I do not need your money. Give it to the poor. That I will count as given to me.”

I continue, “I will do it gladly. But I must give something also to you for your own person, else I shall die for sorrow.”

The Child answers, “Since you are so generous I shall tell you what I want you to give me. Give me your sin, your evil conscience, and your damnation.”

I say, “What will you do with that?”

The Child Jesus says, “I will take it upon my shoulders. That shall be my way of ruling and my glorious deed, as Isaiah foretold long ago that I would bear your sin and carry it away.”

Then I began to weep bitterly and I said, “Little child, dear little child, how you have touched my heart! I thought you desired something good, but you want all that is evil in me. Take what is mine! Give me what is thine! Then I shall be free from sin and certain of eternal life.”

To be “certain of eternal life” is what Christmas is all about.

We are fast approaching the greatest event in history. The stage has been set. Soon the fulfillment of the ages will be here. It won’t be much longer now. May God bless our final week of watching and waiting. Amen.