Luke 1:26-38
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
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. 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. For nothing is impossible with God.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
Character: Moral strength or weakness; foundational for action, emotion, feelings or thinking.
We often refer to one’s character as being bad or good. We might say that character determines what is contained within one’s soul. Character refers to a uniformity of response so that one’s actions, thoughts and speech reflect a sameness whether under stress from the associated environment or not. Your character is a summation of what is inside you despite the nature of your circumstances.
Perhaps when I first began the reading of the announcement of the Angel’s visit to the Virgin Mary, you sensed that I had gotten my seasons mixed up. However, who could be a better representative of motherhood than Mary of Nazareth?
Perhaps it was four years ago when the Reverend George Armbrister asked me to speak for him on Mother’s Day Sunday. He made certain that I knew that this is a special day at Zion. In years gone by congregates wore a red or white flower in honor or remembrance of their own mother. This ritual has slipped quietly and unnoticed into the past. Motherhood is a clear gift from God. This is obviously borne out in the uniqueness of a Mother’s love. It is the nearest thing to the love of God that we encounter in this life. This love is initiated as a choice and not as an obligation. It is self-sacrificing and does not require a reciprocating response.
The Bible tells us little of the role of Mary in the life of her son. It is omitted not because it is unimportant but because it does not directly relate to the Biblical focus. Since Jesus is God’s son, we perhaps fail to give Mary adequate credit for her being the Mother of Jesus. It is imperative to recognize that Jesus must be fully God and fully man to serve as our Savior. His humanity is no less important than his Divinity. It is unrealistic to think that the infant Jesus did not awaken for a 2 am feeding or was eating table food in just a few weeks. He was nursed by his mother and cared for by her as with any child cared for by its mother. The Angel Gabriel left after his announcement and didn’t tarry to provide for child raising. The Temple incident when Jesus was 12 shows the need for parenting. Jesus saw no threat with being in Jerusalem without his parents even though the city may have contained 2 million people at that time. He didn’t comprehend that his parents had any reason to worry. We understand that they had every right to do so. Parents are bigger than their children, at least for awhile. They are so since it is their responsibility to raise the child. The foundation for character is laid in the home. Missteps here in speech, habits, morals and the like may misshapen a child for a lifetime. Proper parenting has few allies other than the church.
Of all the Mary’s in the world 2000 years ago, why did God choose this young teen residing in Nazareth? God could have dispatched the Angel Gabriel to any female teen and brought about the same miracle, so why did He choose this one? God had a covenant arrangement with Abraham and his descendants, the Jews, to bring the Messiah from their people. They were God’s chosen People. Jacob, later known as Israel, indicated on his deathbed that this Messiah would come from his fourth son Judah. Since predicted in the Holy Scriptures (Old Testament) and our awareness of the character of God and His dependability, we anticipate such a fulfillment. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Mary’s ancestry is verifiable back to Judah. God may change His mind but never His character. What has been predicted will be fulfilled.
The great Old Testament prophet Isaiah tells us a great deal about this child of Mary.( Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.) Isaiah uses words to describe Mary’s child as Mighty God, Everlasting Father. Isaiah 7:14 (Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.) assures us that His name will be Immanuel, God with us. With such direct statements, you would assume that the Hebrews would be anticipating a Messiah, born of a virgin, who would be God Incarnate. That is exactly who Jesus is. However, the basic fact is that no one can properly understand Scripture until it is personally revealed by the author. The author in this case is the Holy Spirit of God.
Alas, we did not honor Mary’s Son but crucified Him on a hillside outside of Jerusalem despite His innocence. In fact, however, he was crucified because he was innocent. He was sinless both as God and man. It could be no other way for Him to save us.
Let us not be guilty of either over-estimating or underestimating the role of Mary in the life of Jesus, her son. Mother-love is as close as we can come to the love of God. It is unselfish and often given to the undeserving. Mother-love is a foretaste of the immense and boundless love of God.