Great Expectations

Every year, Christmas tends to rush by. What with all the shopping and events and family commitments and the long lists of to-dos, that frantic pace often leaves us barely catching our breath, doesn’t it?  That’s why Advent is so good for our hearts. If you didn’t grow up celebrating Advent, just to kind of prepare you for it, it’s a time to slow down. It’s a time to focus in, to reflect, to prepare our hearts for the significance of the coming of Jesus. That’s what Advent means: coming. And we take these four weeks leading up to Christmas to slow down, to attend to the meaning and significance, the magnitude of Christmas.

And this Advent, what we’re going to do is walk through four vignettes from the Gospel of Luke that surround Jesus’ coming in a series we are entitling, The Greatness of Christmas. We’re going to look today at the angelic announcement to Mary when she finds out she will be the mother of Jesus.

And next week we’ll look at Mary’s visit with Elizabeth who is her relative who is experiencing her very own miraculous pregnancy with what will be John the Baptist. Then we’ll look at the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, and the shepherds that come to visit that night. And then finally we’ll look at the dedication of Jesus at the temple and Simeon and Anna, these two folks who have been waiting all these years for that very day when they see Jesus.

So, four vignettes, four opportunities to pause and let the wonder in and to reflect on the greatness of Christmas.

Now, the first message here we title “Great Expectations,” which is, of course, a nod to Charles Dickens for those of you who are fans. It’s a bit of a pun, of course, because Mary is expecting the greatest child the world has ever known.

So grab your Bibles. We’re going to be in Luke, chapter 1, and we’re going to pick it up in verse 26 down to 38. Luke 1:26–38. You’ll find that reading in the pew Bible on page 855 up and around to page 856. The conversation we’re going to look at this morning is one that changed Mary’s life forever and, of course, changed all of history forever as well. So as we turn to God’s Word now, would you pray with me and let’s ask the Lord to be our teacher.

Heavenly Father, we gather here full of thanksgiving from this past week, and now ready to tune our hearts to what you are doing in this magnificent moment where your Son breaks into history to change and redeem the world. Father, it’s hard to go back and to imagine a world without Jesus, the longing, the unfulfilled promises, the expectations, the darkness waiting for light. And yet, bring us back there. Help us to see this afresh to pause and let the wonder in. We pray this in Jesus’ name and for His sake, Amen. Amen.

Luke 1:26: “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.”

Now, just pause for a moment. Luke timestamps this angelic visit in the sixth month, he says, the sixth month. Now, when you look at the preceding context, we will quickly realize that this is the sixth month, not of the year, but of Mary’s relative, Elizabeth’s pregnancy. The stories are being intertwined here. Elizabeth is entering her third trimester of her own miraculous pregnancy of who will be, one day, John the Baptizer. You can read more of that story in verses 5 to 25 of chapter one, here, and then at the end, verses 57 down to 80. Luke is weaving these stories, these pregnancy stories, together in terms of narration because John the Baptizer is the one who will introduce Jesus to the world. And so these stories are coming together, and so he timestamps Mary’s own conception in the time span of Elizabeth’s own pregnancy here.

So the angel appears to Mary. His name is Gabriel. Now, it’s unfortunate that whenever we hear the word “angel” we tend to think of pudgy, winged babies practicing archery, or harp-playing, robe-wearing, pale-faced creatures which, of course, are nothing like the biblical descriptions of angels. The angels were (are) mighty, heavenly warriors, fearsome agents of light, divine messengers dispatched on elite missions from God. And the most normal response to seeing them is not to make a greeting card out of them. It is fear and trembling.

Gabriel shows up here; his name means “God is my strength.” And he is dispatched by God to the northern part of Israel to the region of Galilee, and to the rural city of Nazareth. (City is kind of a wrong word. It’s more of a village.) The estimated population was about 400 to a thousand, so small town. Some of you grew up in small towns, and you can picture what a small town that must be.

Gabriel is sent to one person in particular, to Mary. Mary is, we’re told here, a virgin, which means she is chaste. She’s betrothed to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David, the ancient great king of the glory days of Israel.

And first–century betrothal was something we’re not really familiar with, but it was something a little bit more serious than our version of engagement. Betrothal took place about a year before the actual wedding ceremony. It was a legally-binding arrangement, and from that moment on, the bride and groom were considered husband and wife, though they lived separately in their parents’ homes. Then after the betrothal period would come the wedding, which would last up to a month, and then the groom would take his bride home and the marriage would be complete.

So, Mary is in this betrothal year, awaiting her wedding day. She’s legally pledged to Joseph but she’s still living at home with her parents, and she is keeping herself pure for Joseph. And on a day that must have been like any other day, she gets up in the morning, eats breakfast, does her hair, goes out, does some chores, saw maybe a few friends, ran some errands, and Gabriel shows up, and everything changes.

Verse 28: “And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.”

The normal Jewish greeting, of course, is “shalom,” peace be with you! But this greeting is a lot more formal, isn’t it? It’s a lot more personal. “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” And so Mary is wondering, what is going on? Who is this guy? Where did he come from? Why is he talking to me? What did I do? Why is he singling me out? Who is it that has found favor with me? And Gabriel senses her trepidation and her questions.

Verse 30: “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 bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”

“Mary, you have nothing to fear. It is God Himself who has found favor with you. He delights in you. And He has chosen you specifically, especially. Mary, you’re about to become pregnant.”

Now just pause for a moment. Forget your over-familiarity with this text, okay? This is nuts, what’s happening here? Who goes up to someone almost at random and says, “Hey, I want to let you know you’re about to become pregnant”? This is awkward on so many levels, isn’t it? “And by the way, you can forget about the gender reveal party. It’s going to be a boy. And don’t even bother getting a baby name book. You’re going to call him Jesus. Mary, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to become the mother to a very special child, a child like none other.”

And then he gives us three clues here of who this child will be. First, the first one is in the name itself. The name Jesus comes from the Hebrew word, Yeshua, which means “God saves” or “savior.” It was the name given to Joshua. Remember Joshua who came after Moses in the Old Testament, Joshua, the one who led God’s people with courage, who delivered them from their enemies, who ushered them safely into the land of promise? That Joshua. Now the same name, Yeshua, is given to Jesus now in the New Testament. He is the Savior of the world, the Savior of the world.

Jesus will be the true and greater Joshua. He will lead God’s people with even greater courage. He will teach us to walk in His ways with final authority and total authenticity. He will deliver us from even greater enemies—sin, death, and Satan. He will usher us to safety in the true and greater Promised Land where we will be finally at home in our Father’s house forever.

Friends, Jesus is the Savior of the world. He will lay down His life on the cross. He will die in our place and for our sake. He will bear all of our sin and shame, and in exchange He will give us His perfect righteousness so that we might be right with God. He will fill us with His Spirit and, one day, He will take us home to glory. Jesus is the Savior of the world. That’s why “You shall call His name Jesus.” Jesus!

But that’s not all. He goes on. Verse 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

“He will be great,” Gabriel says. He will be excellent, prominent among men. He will be called the Son of the Most High. Not just Jesus, Savior, but Son of the Most High. This is regal language, divine language. He is the royal son with the rights to rule on the throne forever. “And the Lord God,” Gabriel says, “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.” Mary, your son will restore the throne, the ancient throne of David himself. He will reign over the house of Jacob, Jacob who is the father of the twelves tribes of Israel, and His kingdom will never end. His rule will endure.

And here we have the second clue as to the identity of this child. He is the King of Israel, the King of Israel. He is the Messiah. He is the one who will inherit the promises, the covenants that were made with the house of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the twelve tribes of Israel. He is the one who will fill the covenant and promises made with Israel’s greatest king, David himself.

Remember in Second Samuel 7, verses 12 and 16, the covenant that God made with David. It says, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom....And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your kingdom shall be established forever.”

“David,” God says, “after you die, one of your descendants will be king forever. Your dynasty will endure always.” And of course, at first, people thought maybe one of David’s immediate heirs would fulfill this promise. But then the kingdom was divided. And eventually the line of kings was broken. Foreign overlords took control. Hopes crumbled. Dreams were shattered, and the return of the king seemed lost. But Gabriel arrives now at the turning of the tide.

There is no mistaking this announcement. “Mary, your son will be...Will be the return of the King. He is the Messiah. He is the anointed one. He is the Son of Promise. He is the King foretold. And He will take up His rightful throne, and this time His reign will be unending. This time His rule will endure. This time His kingdom will be established forever, for Jesus is the King of Israel.” Amen?

Now, Gabriel is on quite a roll here. You could see it. He’s bursting about greatness, and kingdom, and throne, and dominion. And Mary is stuck on one of his first statements. She stopped listening at “Behold you will conceive.” She was like “Woah, wait!” But she’s polite, so she doesn’t interrupt. She waits till there’s a pause, and then she asks.

Verse 34: “And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’” (chuckles) I’ve got a little question here. She may be inexperienced, but she’s not uninformed. She knows that it’s impossible, given her commitment to purity. How will this be?

Verse 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. 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.’”

“Mary, you want to know how this will take place? God will create life in your womb miraculously outside of all of the normal processes.” The imagery here is of the Holy Spirit coming upon her, the power of God overshadowing her. It’s reminiscent of Genesis, chapter 1, isn’t it? When God’s Spirit is hovering over the face of the waters, the deep face of the waters from which all of creation comes. In Genesis, God brings life out of nothing, circumventing all the normal processes of reproduction. He speaks, “Let there be,” and there was. And once again God speaks. The Spirit hovers and the incarnate Son is born. He will be called holy. He will be uniquely set apart as the divine Son of God. For nothing, nothing is impossible with God. “If God can override Elizabeth’s barren, aged womb, and she’s in her third trimester right now, He can speak life into your virgin womb. This is no big deal for the Creator of the universe.”

But did you catch the third clue buried in here? Not only will this child be the Savior of the world and the King of Israel, He is the Son of God, the Son of God. He will be called holy. He will be uniquely set apart from all other children and every other birth. He will be the Son of God Himself, God incarnate, God come to dwell amongst us! Emmanuel, God with us!

As Paul says in Colossians 1:19, “For in him (Jesus) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”

John 1:14: “And the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:18: “No one has ever seen God; but the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

John 14:9: Jesus says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”

Oh, this child, he will be like Joshua, only a lot greater. He’ll be like David, only a lot greater. And yet, he will be unlike anyone who has ever been born. He will be divine. He will be God’s only Son.

Mary, you have found favor with God. He’s handpicked you for the most precious assignment in all of world history, to bear greatness beyond your wildest imaginations, to have the divine Son of God enter into this broken world through you. This is your mission, should you choose to accept it.

Verse 38: “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.”

I wonder what thoughts ran through Mary’s mind right before she said this. “How am I ever going to explain this to Joseph? How am I going to bring this up with my mom and my dad, my friends? Will they ever believe me? Will Joseph still marry me? And he’s going to think I’ve just fooled around. Is he going to break off the betrothal? Will he quit on me when I need him most? Even if he does marry me, everyone’s going to talk about this. They’re going to just assume the baby is [not] ours. The gossip will run wild. I don’t know if I’ll ever live this down. I’m going to be pregnant at my wedding. The dress is not going to fit. I’m going to be pregnant on my honeymoon. My life is never going to be the same.”

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Such bravery, such humility, such sacrifice, dependency, trust! It’s amazing!

So three quick takeaways as we wrap things up this morning, three questions to help us pause and let the wonder in.

What must God be like that He would choose such confinement? He’s the Son of God, friends! And He chooses confinement, not just to become human, but an infant! Do you know how frustrating it would be to be trapped in your fully grown body in the body of a child? You can’t do anything for yourself.

The Son of God who is infinite in grandeur and power and honor and majesty and authority confines Himself to the frail limitations of human infancy. That’s like an emperor becoming a llama. Some of you will catch that reference. It’s like a dolphin becoming a goldfish, or Alpha Centauri becoming a tea light. It’s like the genie in Aladdin, right? Phenomenal cosmic power, itty bitty living space! Right?

And do you realize, friends, that when God became man, He forever bound Himself to our fate. Jesus took on humanity forever, forever embodied. He binds Himself to human confines forever. He wraps His destiny around the destiny of humanity. This is the point of no return. He’s one of us now and forever. Friends, what must God be like that He would choose such confinement? This is amazing.

Secondly, what must God be like that He would slip in incognito? He’s the King and He shows up in utter obscurity. God picked (This is amazing!), God picked not a queen, not a social influencer, not an upwardly mobile person with social connections. He picks a country girl in the sticks of a one-horse town, who doesn’t have the opportunity of advanced schooling, who is from a blue-collar family most likely and engaged to a construction worker, and God says, “That’s the one! That’s the one!”

And then Jesus shows up without fanfare. Quietly, He slips in unnoticed, unexpected, subtle, discreet, meek. Oh, He reveals just enough of Himself to be found by those who were willing to seek Him, but concealed enough that He’s never in danger of crashing anyone’s party. He’s present, but not pushy. He’s honorable, but humble. He’s majestic and meek.

What God must be like that He would slip in incognito like this? It’s amazing.

Thirdly, what must God be like that He would arrive amidst scandal? He’s the Savior, born with shame and scandal.

I’m sure many people never believe Mary’s story. They never believe it. They probably assumed Mary and Joseph just fooled around. And in a small town, some of you grew up in small towns, you know how people talk in small towns. There are no secrets. The stigma would have been with them forever. In fact, there’s one place in John 8 where the Pharisees look at Jesus, and they’re sneering at Him and they say, “We weren’t born of sexual immorality.” It’s probably a jab at the rumors surrounding His origins. “It’s not our story. It’s yours.”

Why would God allow His Son to bear shame that was not rightfully His, hmm? Why would God allow His Son to be tainted by sins of which He was innocent? You know? Why would God let His Son to be treated like a scapegoat like this?

What must God be like that He would arrive amidst scandal? Don’t you see, friends? He’s the Savior of the world who bears our sin and shame that we might be righteous in Him forever. He’s the King of Israel who lays down His honor that we might share forever in His glory. He’s the Son of God, confined to human form that humanity might break our limits of humanity and be sons and daughters of God.

What must God be like? That all of this, of all stories, is His story. What must God be like? Let’s pause and let the wonder in this Christmas.

Would you bow your heads and pray with me?

For the first time in history, hope is dawning. A Savior has been born. The Messiah is here. The Son of God has taken human flesh. If this were a movie, this would be the moment when we realize it’s going to be okay, because in this moment, hope dawns, the hero is on the horizon, and the victory is almost at hand.

Into the darkness you have spoken light, Father. You have sent your Word into the silence. You have sent hope into all the hopeless corners of this Earth. You have broken in to history, and this moment means it’s going to be okay. Jesus has come. Help us pause this Christmas and let the wonder in, to slow down and attend to what is real, to be struck anew with the glory and the greatness of Christmas for Jesus’ sake, Amen. Amen.