THE MAIDSERVANT OF THE LORD

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on August 14, 2019 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: August 14, 2019 from Luke 1:26-38

Theme: Mary’s submission to God’s call is an example to us of faith in God’s provision through Christ.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

The Gospel of Luke begins by telling us the story of the promise of our Savior’s forerunner—John the Baptist. And now, Luke tells us the story of the promise of the birth of our Savior Himself. And it’s a promise that has its roots all the way back to the very beginning of the Bible.

When the serpent tempted Eve in the garden, and the fall of mankind occurred, God then promised that a Redeemer would come. He told the serpent;

“And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).

This promised Redeemer would come as the ‘Seed’ of the woman. This same promise was affirmed again in Isaiah 7; where God—in a prophecy—said, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

It was God’s intention—from the very beginning—to keep this promise literally. And for long centuries, the world waited and longed for the promised Redeemer—the Seed of the woman; who would bruise the head of the serpent. When the time was right in history, God fulfilled that promise. As it says in Galatians 4;

… when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5).

In Luke 1:26-38, we’re told how that promise was going to be kept. And in it, we should give special attention to the one through whom it was kept—that is, the humble virgin Mary. God chose her to be the woman who would bear the Christ. She willingly submitted to this call—even though it might have caused scandal in the eyes of this world. It was as she willingly submitted that the Son of God became incarnate—one of us in full humanity—and thus was able to redeem us from the curse.

Mary’s submission is an example to us of faith in God’s promise of redemption through Christ.

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Notice first what Luke tells us about …

1. THE WOMAN THROUGH WHOM THE PROMISE WAS KEPT (vv. 26-28).

He begins by reporting to us, “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth …” (v. 26). We had just been told, back in verse 25, that Elizabeth had conceived a child in her womb through her elderly husband Zacharias. This was a miracle—announced to Zacharias by the angel Gabriel. And now, she was six months along in bearing the unborn child John. At that time—at just the right time of history in God’s eternal plan for our salvation—the same angel Gabriel was sent to Galilee to make an even greater announcement to Mary.

Mary lived in Nazareth of Galilee. The Bible suggests to us that people did not have much regard for Galileans. They were viewed as having a fully way of talking (Mark 14:70); perhaps in a way that was not cultured or learned (Acts 2:7). They were considered a lower class of people. And as for the Galilean town of Nazareth, the man Nathanael might have spoken for the attitude of many when he once asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). But God chose to answer this great, ages-long promise through a humble woman of Galilee—and from, of all places, Nazareth!

We’re told that Gabriel went “to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary” (v. 27). We’re told much about Joseph’s side of this story in Matthew 1:18-24; and in that passage, we’re told—just as here—that he was a man of royal blood. He was a descendant of King David of Israel through the particular lineage of King Solomon. And what’s more, we find—as we read on in Luke’s Gospel—that Mary also had royal blood. She herself was a descendant of King David through the particular lineage of David’s son Nathan (see Luke 3:31).

God did not choose randomly when He sent Gabriel to Mary. She was of royal blood—a virgin betrothed to a man of royal blood. Any son who would have been born of her would have been of royal blood; and would have inherited the rights to royal honor through Joseph. And yet, they were both in humble circumstances. It was particularly meaningful—and not just a matter of mere sentiment—when we read, “And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” (v. 28).

The phrase, “blessed are you among women” does not appear in the best ancient Greek copies of Luke’s Gospel. But even if it is not an authentic part of the text, it nevertheless represents something very true. It was something that Elizabeth would declare later (see verse 42). It may have been taken from Daniel 11:37; where reference is made to “the desire of women”. It may have been a way of expressing how every young Jewish girl might have looked back to the promise God had made about ‘the Seed of the woman’; and secretly longed that she might marry a man of David’s royal lineage, and be that most favored mother who would bear the Messiah.

Mary was that favored one! How truly blessed she was!

Next, then, notice …

2. THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE PROMISE WOULD BE KEPT THROUGH HER (vv. 29-31).

We’re told that this greeting was startling to her—not the least because it came from an angel of God. Zacharias—the seasoned old priest—was himself afraid when he saw Gabriel (see v. 12). We can understand, then, how it would be that Mary was startled too. But it wasn’t the appearance of Gabriel that we’re told most disturbed her. Rather it was the nature of his greeting to her. Luke says, “But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was” (v. 29).

But the angel spoke words of comfort to the startled young woman. Luke says, “Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus’” (vv. 30-31). That was the same name that an angel (perhaps Gabriel) told Joseph, in a dream, that he would call the Child (Matthew 1:21). It’s a name that means, “Yahweh Saves”; and we’re told that He would be given this name because “He will save His people from their sins”.

What a clear indication that this Child was the keeping of God’s promise long ago in the garden! He would be the Redeemer!

The angel then went on to explain to Mary …

3. THE NATURE OF THE PROMISED CHILD THAT SHE WOULD BEAR (vv. 32-33).

He said, “He will be great …” (v. 32a). This was also said of John the Baptist (v. 15); but this speaks of a different kind of greatness than that of John. John’s greatness would be because he was preparing the way for Another who was greater. And so, the angel went on to say of Jesus, “and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David” (v. 32b). That He would be called ‘the Son of the Highest’ speaks of His deity; and that He would be given ‘the throne of His father David’ speaks of His royal humanity. He will be God in human flesh—the King of the Jews.

When Mary heard this, her mind—no doubt—would have gone back to the scriptures that she had been taught as a little girl. She would have remembered that God had once told her great ancestor King David;

“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13).

And in thinking of this, Mary would have realized that the angel was telling her that it would be through her that this great promise to David was to be kept. But he had also told her that—more than mere man—this promised Child would be called “the Son of the Highest”. That would be why the angel could then tell her; “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

And so, finally—after many long centuries of waiting—the promised King of kings would come! It’s no wonder the angels of heaven sang at His birth!

Now; Mary was an astute young woman. She had a question about all this. In verse 34, we read, “Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” There have been some skeptics of the Bible who have been so silly as to suggested a ‘virgin birth myth’ had developed because people—back in those ancient times—weren’t very intelligent; that ancient peoples didn’t really understand where babies came from. But Mary’s question to the angel ought to be enough to put that idea to rest.

And it’s interesting that the angel did not rebuke her for the question. Gabriel had rebuked a similar question when it came from the lips of Zecharias; because his question came from doubt. He should have known how God would perform the miracle that had been promised to him; because God had, in times past, already performed a similar miracle to others. But the miracle being promised to Mary was something new—something that had never occurred before—something that was truly “impossible” in any human sense.

And so, in answer to her good and just question, the angel then went on to explain …

4. THE MIRACLE BY WHICH THE PROMISE WILL BE FULFILLED (vv. 34-37).

In verse 35, we read;

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (v. 35).

There is a veil of mystery over this that keeps it beyond our human ability to understand. We should not demand to know the works of God that are beyond our understanding. It’s enough for us to know only what the angel had told Mary.

This miracle, however—though a great mystery—would have been subject to testing. Those who had cared for Mary during her pregnancy would have been able to confirm that she was indeed a virgin—even as she bore a child. That Child would have been clearly conceived in the womb of a virgin. The Child would grow in the womb of a virgin—being made from the real substance of her body. He would have been fully human. And yet, because He had been conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit—without the aid of man—He would be fully divine. He would be fully God and fully man, with two natures in one Person—unmixed and unmingled forever. What a Savior!

There is a particular mercy that God showed to Mary in all of this. He let her know that there had been another miracle that had preceded hers—and that this other miracle would help to confirm her faith in the one that was being promised to her. Verse 36 says that the angel told her, “Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.” As we read on later in this chapter, Luke will tell us how Mary went out immediately to visit Elizabeth—perhaps to see for herself; and as soon as Mary came to her, Elizabeth would greet her in almost the very words that the angel had spoken to her!

Mary would have had this promise—and the miracle by which it would be brought about—wonderfully confirmed to her. As the angel said to her, “For with God nothing will be impossible”—or, as those words can be literally translated, “Because not impossible with God is every utterance.” If God says that He will do a thing, He is able to do what He says. The seemingly human or physiological impossibilities do not even apply.

Now; with all of this in mind, consider Mary herself. What a thing this was that God was calling her to do! She would be pregnant before having been married to Joseph. We should understand that this would cause a few raised eyebrows and not a little talk. It, at first, even caused Joseph himself to lay awake and try to think of how he might put her away from himself privately—so as not to expose her to shame.

And yet, knowing this, notice finally …

5. THE SUBMISSION TO THE CALL OF GOD FOR OUR SALVATION (v. 38).

We’re told in verse 38, “Then Mary said, ‘Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.” Mary humbly submitted herself to the will of God—no matter what else it might mean to her. And because she did, our Savior was born into the world. And we are saved.

* * * * * * * * * *

Mary was an example to us of faith in the promise of God concerning our salvation. As Elizabeth her relative would later tell her,

“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord” (v. 45.)

Though Mary’s call from God was unique, may her example of humble submission by faith be one that we also follow. When it comes to the redemption that God has provided through the cross of His Son Jesus, may we too be blessed by believing that there will be a fulfillment of all things that are told to us about Him.

EA