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| Rev. George Sinclair |
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(Podcast of CFRA broadcast on Sunday, November 25th,
2012)
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Broadcast Notes:
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(Abridged
notes of a short Sermon on LUKE 1:26 –38)
‘The
Reality of the Virgin Birth’
Luke 1:26-38 (ESVUK)
Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent
from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed[a] to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O
favoured one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But
she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of
greeting this might be. 30 And the
angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour 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 of the Most High. And the Lord God
will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and
he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, 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?”
35 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 does not
tell a story based on true events or inspired by true events. He claims to tell
the true story of Jesus. Luke is a former pagan who has become a Christian, He
is writing to a pagan.
There are two
different ways to listen to the story of Jesus. Will we listen like Zechariah
(and not believe) or will we listen like Mary. Today we learn how Mary listens.
READ Luke 1:26-34
26 In the sixth month the angel (A)Gabriel
was sent from God to a city of Galilee named (B)Nazareth, 27 (C)to
a virgin betrothed[a] to a man
whose name was Joseph, (D)of
the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And
he came to her and said, “Greetings, (E)O
favoured one, (F)the
Lord is with you!”[b] 29 But (G)she
was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting
this might be. 30 And the angel said to
her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for (H)you
have found favour with God. 31 And
behold, (I)you
will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and (J)you
shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will
be great and will be called the Son of (K)the
Most High. And the Lord God (L)will
give to him the throne of (M)his
father David, 33 and he will reign over
the house of Jacob (N)for
ever, 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?”[c]
Footnotes:
a.
Luke 1:27 That
is, legally pledged to be married
b.
Luke 1:28 Some
manuscripts add Blessed are you among women!
c.
Luke 1:34 Greek since
I do not know a man
Cross references:
B.
Luke 1:26 : See Matt. 2:23
C.
Luke 1:27 : Matt. 1:16, 18
F.
Luke 1:28 : Judg. 6:12
G.
Luke 1:29 : See ver. 12
L.
Luke 1:32 : ver. 69; 2 Sam. 7:11-13, 16; Ps. 89:4; 132:11; Isa. 9:6,
7; 16:5; Acts 2:30; [Rev. 3:7]
M. Luke 1:32 : See Matt. 1:1
Many things kill
curiosity in us. But God does not kill our curiosity. He wants us to remain
curious.
Mary remains a virgin while God works a
miracle to create a new life within her womb. God works a miracle of creation
within the womb of Mary.
Science
increases the wow factor when God performs a miracle.
That miracle of
creation in the womb of Mary is the person of Jesus.
Read verse 31-38.
Who is Jesus?
Luke 1:31-38
31 And behold, (A)you
will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and (B)you
shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of (C)the
Most High. And the Lord God (D)will
give to him the throne of (E)his
father David, 33 and he will reign over
the house of Jacob (F)for
ever, 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?”[a]
35 And the angel answered her, (G)“The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of (H)the
Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[b] will be
called (I)holy—(J)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 (K)who
was called barren. 37 For (L)nothing
will be impossible with God.” 38 And
Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant[c] of the
Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And (M)the
angel departed from her.
Footnotes:
a.
Luke 1:34 Greek since
I do not know a man
b.
Luke 1:35 Some
manuscripts add of you
c.
Luke 1:38 Greek bondservant;
also verse 48
Cross references:
D.
Luke 1:32 : ver. 69; 2 Sam. 7:11-13, 16; Ps. 89:4; 132:11; Isa. 9:6,
7; 16:5; Acts 2:30; [Rev. 3:7]
E.
Luke 1:32 : See Matt. 1:1
G.
Luke 1:35 : Matt. 1:18, 20
J.
Luke 1:35 : See Matt. 14:33
Luke tells us
the end of the story at the beginning.
Jesus’ death upon the cross will be the
grace filled means to His reigning over a forever Kingdom.
We enter into Jesus’ grace filled reign
and His grace filled reign enters into us by repentance and faith. He wants us
to respond like Mary, “I am your servant, let it be to me according to Your
will.”
Let’s pray:
Father, Thank
you for Mary, for her willingness to suffer shame and embarrassment and public
scorn by allowing you to work a miracle within her womb, so that Jesus was
born, even though she had never known a man, sexually.
Thank you
Father for this; but most of all, Father, we thank you for Jesus. We thank you
that He came to our earth in a rescue mission, to die upon the Cross, to take
my place so that I might be reconciled to you.
Father, help
me to more and more and more: say to you, and to your description of Jesus, “I
am your servant”.
Let it be to
me according to your word. I am yours, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Rev. George
Sinclair
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