Christmas According to Luke: Jesus’ Birth Prophesied
Preached on 12.6.09 by Dustin Neeley
Sermon Notes
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city ofGalilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, ofthe house ofDavid. 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 ofgreeting 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 ofthe Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 3 3 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 3 5 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. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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. Luke 1:26-38 ESV
“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.”
Angel: ‘messenger from God.’
Nazareth: a ‘nowhere’ town. The least likely place for this to have happened.
Virgin: A young woman who had never had sexual relations with a man. This does actually matter. If this is untrue or inaccurate, the Bible can’t be trusted.
Joseph of the house of David: Significant to fulfill the prophecies of the OT.
P: God uses nobodies from nowhere to play a part in the most important thing He has ever done in history.
Application : We may feel like ‘nobodies from nowhere,’ but God wants to use us in a significant way like He used Mary and Joseph. Will you let Him?
“And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
Word means ‘grace’ which means that she has been shown grace by God, not that she has extra grace to extend to others (as Roman Catholics teach).
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”
This would have been frightening to Mary for several reasons: 1. An angel has showed up at night in her nowhere living room. 2. At this time in history, young girls were not to be alone with older men for obvious reasons. 3. There was some anecdotal folklore about angels raping women. She was understandably frightened.
P: It is o.k. to be caught off guard when God intervenes in our lives, but we can’t stay there. How will we respond?
“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Your son will be JESUS! The Great, God Himself, Eternal King whose Kingdom will know no end…King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
“And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” These are questions of awe and wonder, not unbelief.
P: It is ok to have spiritual questions as long as they come from the right heart and move us in the right direction.
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.
Jesus will be sinless and perfect. This allows Him to pay for our sins.
“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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” God has already given her another proof He can do this. She just didn’t know it yet.
P: Nothing is impossible with God!
Application: The same is still true in our lives. Do we believe it? Does it make a difference?
“And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant ofthe Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
And the angel departed from her. This would have meant unbelievable risk & sacrifice.
P: When God calls us to do something, our response should be like
that of Mary.
Application: Too often, our response is to make excuses. Our excuses reveal our idolatry. What is God calling you to today? What is your response?
The Gospel is our only hope for moving from selfishness to selflessness
Works Consulted: Message by Mark Driscoll, Expositor’s Commentary, MacArthur Study Bible, ESV Study Bible, NIV Application Commentary