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"The
People Of The Incarnation" • 12.22.19 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- Every year at this Christmas
season, we are confronted with the incredible doctrine of the Incarnation. The
eternal and omnipresent God of the Universe added humanity to His deity.
- Neither part of His nature was diminished by
the other. Jesus would be God undiluted and human undefiled simultaneously.
- One of my Bible college professors said that
the Incarnation is as simple as saying "Cristo Con Carne!" That may
not say it all, but it is memorable and fairly accurate.
- When I think of the Incarnation, I think
first of a Promise Fulfilled.
God promised a deliverer to Adam and Eve, a Son to Abraham and a King to David.
Who could embody all three?
- Jesus is the One that would crush Satan's
head, the Seed to whom all the inheritance of Abraham belonged and the true
righteous King of Peace who rules sitting on the throne of David!
- The second thing that I think about with
relation to the Incarnation is the Power
Displayed.
- Can you imagine leaving the perfect privilege
of heaven, living a perfect pattern of service, love and humilty to a God
rejecting world and then being raised to preeminent power?
- What type of strength did it take for Jesus
to have to condescend to an infant's body, to accept the authority of sinful
parents and to absorb the hatred of His own people's prejudice?
- That leads me to my third thought and the
subject of our message today, which centers around the People God Employed to serve His Son!
- For one couple in particular, the incarnation
was not a safe doctrine, experienced from the pages of an ancient book. The
Incarnate One would be living right in front of them!
- Joseph and Mary, a happy couple, excited for
their future, are asked to literally accept Jesus into their lives! Let's begin
by taking a look at Mary's journey. Luke
1:26.
Text
• Luke
1:26-28 : "Now in the sixth month the
angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin
betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s
name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly
favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!'"
: The "sixth month" refers to the time that had elapsed in
Elizabeth's pregnancy, a dear relative to Mary.
- Elizabeth was an old woman who had been
barren. She and her husband Zacharias were both well past the years of
childbearing and were now pregnant! Mary is unaware of this at this time.
- That information, hidden by Elizabeth, would
play a very important part in Mary's journey.
- It was at that time that Gabriel the angel
enters the story. He has been sent with the apostolic authority to speak on God's
behalf. One can only imagine what he was used to seeing.
- The ultimate glories of God's throne room can
only be fantasized about. When he was dispatched to Nazareth, you can't
calculate the disparity.
- Nazareth is what nowhere towns call
"Nowhere!" It boasted a native population of only 150 people and was
about as insignificant as you could get!
- Yet, it is here that God chooses to activate
His plan for human redemption! He finds His person there in obscurity. If you
were ever worried about Him finding you, let this be your lesson!
- Gabriel encounters this young woman at an interesting
time of her life. She is a virgin betrothed. You'll see her virginity mentioned
twice in this section for effect.
- Both times, the word "parthenos" is
used, a Greek word which can only signify a woman who has never been sexually
intimate with a man. She is a virgin betrothed.
- For the people of Israel culturally, there
were three stages of married life. The first was the agreement or the
arrangement made between parents, often at a very young age.
- Next came the betrothal, which for all
intents and purposes was the ceremony and the legal bonding of the couple,
though nothing was consummated on this occasion.
- In fact, after the betrothal, the husband
usually went back to his parent's home and would work on an addition to His
Father's house, where he and his bride would eventually come to live.
- The betrothed wife would return to her
Father's home and await the arrival of her husband.
- Generally, his construction work could take
up to a year and then the Father would give the all clear to the son, who would
then come to gather his bride to Himself. "That sounds familiar."
- Mary isn't looking for a miraculous life. She
is waiting for her husband to return so that she might go to be his wife! That
is what is happening when Gabriel broke in to share His message.
- We aren't told of the particulars. Did he
just appear? Was he standing there when Mary suddenly turned to see him? We
aren't told of his manner, but can hear his message!
- "Rejoice!" Be excited!" The
word is related to cheer and joy. How could you not be excited at an angels
visit?
- Gabriel conveys that God was with Mary and
that she was blessed, to be honored among, not above women! She was to
be a highly favored one, considered so by God Himself! Verse 29.
• Luke 1:29-33 : "But
when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of
greeting this was. 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. He will be great, and will be
called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give 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.'" : The idea behind the phrase in
verse 29 is that she had come to understand
what she was seeing. This was not a dream!
- There was an actual angel in her home and he
was addressing her! Despite the overwhelmingly positive tone to
his message, Mary was troubled, greatly disturbed!
- She was unable to discern what this message
could have meant! Remember that she hasn't read the Bible! She didn't
know what was going to become of her.
- We know she is afraid, because Gabriel has to
calm her fears. While she takes a few deep breaths, Gabriel tells her that she
was not doomed, but that she had found favor with God!
- Think of how many other people have had that
distinction laid upon them? To my knowledge, Noah was the only other person
that found favor with God in this way!
- The favor that he received allowed him and
his family to be the sole survivors of a worldwide extinction level event. The
favor Mary is receiving will have a similar, yet positive effect.
- Mary's womb will be the recipient of a Son,
whose name will be Jesus which is a Greek transliteration of
the name Yeshua or Joshua, which means "God is salvation."
- This was a common name, but this was no
common boy. She was Mama to the heir David's throne! Gabriel
said, "You are going to have the child who will one day be the King for
all of eternity!"
- From the very beginning of His life, Mary
knew the end of the story! He would be the King of Kings, born through her own
womb! Verse 34.
• Luke 1:34-37 : "Then
Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I do not know a man?' 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. 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. For with God nothing will be impossible.'" :
Oh Mary, details, details! Please note that the Spirit has made mention of
Mary's virginity three times in this passage. Why would He give so much
attention to that detail?
- Modern critics, who are anti-supernatural,
pose the idea that "virgin" means "young maid" because the
Hebrew word "almah" can be translated that way.
- The men that translated the Bible from Hebrew
to Greek though, translated the word with a word that can only mean
"virgin." Mary's comment removes all doubt here!
- Mary is old enough to understand where babies
come from! She has never known a man, a euphemistic way to refer to sexual
relations!
- Her virginity would not be a problem for God.
Her lack of virginity however would have been a catastrophic problem for men!
Why?
- Because the sin nature that you and I have
corrupting our hearts and mind, passes through our Father's genes! (Romans 5:12)
- For Jesus to be born via a young woman and
not a virgin, would only have brought another sinner into this world in need of
a Savior! Christ's virgin conception is an essential Christian doctrine!
- Gabriel explains how God is going to
accomplish this. She won't have to do anything!
- The Angel tells Mary that the Holy Spirit
will come upon her, the same Greek preposition used for the coming upon the
church and with the same gift of dynamic power.
- That power from God would overshadow her,
speaking to the vapor of a cloud standing over Mary, certainly a reference to
God the Father, whose presence overshadowed Israel!
- Notice again this verse: The Holy Spirit will
come upon you, the power of the Highest (The Father) with overshadow you and
the Son of God will be born in you!
- The Trinity, just as in the creation epic,
right here involved in the incarnation! As a confirmation, Mary is told of Elizabeth's
pregnancy, a sign that will prove God's supernatural power!
- Mary didn't doubt, but she genuinely wondered
how God would accompish this. Elizabeth's condition would help to bolster the
faith that she already had.
- God rarely gives a sign to bear faith.
However, when faith is born in us, He often confirms and strengthens the faith
that is already working! Verse 38.
• Luke 1:38 : "Then
Mary said, 'Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to
your word.' And the angel departed from her." : What can Mary say in this
moment? She is bound to get married and being called to travel a difficult road.
- Her reputation is about to take a hit. Can
you imagine the scandal that was about to erupt around her? It's no problem in
our day, but in her day, her pregnancy out of wedlock was!
- Joseph was well within his rights as her
husband legally to expose her to judgment.
- People caught in adultery were brought into the
center of town, placed in knee deep in a manure filled box and stoned until
they died face down! Trees were planted on top of them!
- The Lord is giving Mary a tremendous task and
what is her response? "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! This word is
equivalent to the male term "bondslave."
- If you belong to God, then no matter the
difficulty, being the bondservant or the maidservant means that there is no
choice but to answer "yes!" "Let it be to me according to
your word."
- That response should be ours anytime we are
confronted with instruction from His Word! "Let it be to me according to
your word!" What would uttering such a phrase take emotionally?
- For Mary, it will take real courage,
especially because of the next phrase: "And the angel departed from her! "Wait,
you mean, you're not going to stay around and help me explain this?"
- "You aren't going to vouch for me with
my friends and family?" No, just like you and I, our walk with the Lord
depends upon our singular commitment to walk by faith, though none go with us!
- Having considered the courage of Mary, let's
take a look at Joseph's response and his view of the incarnation. Turn with me
to Matthew 1.
• Matthew 1:18 :
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After
His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was
found with child of the Holy Spirit." : When Mary returned from her
visit to Elizabeth, she had some interesting news for Joseph. It seems that
before she could tell him, a discovery was made.
- The word indicates that an examination took
place. "Mary, have you been eating those bon bons we were saving for our
wedding week!?"
- We don't know how this took place, but
eventually, she had to explain what had happened to her. "Joseph, I'm
pregnant and he belongs to the Holy Spirit!" She was with child of the
Holy Spirit!
- Infinite God had been wrapped in a human
cellular wall the size of a pin head and was growing enough to have an impact
of Mary's waist!
- Can you imagine being a man, engaged to a
woman that you are building a house for right at this moment, hearing this news? Mary tells
him the truth, without batting an eye.
- He must have been completely shocked at her,
believing her first to be a liar, and then wondering about her sanity! Was she
covering up for a traumatic event?
- There was a rumor that was spread later in
Christ's life, that Mary had been assaulted by a Roman soldier. It's possible
that Joseph could have entertained such thoughts. Verse 19.
• Matthew 1:19,20 : "Then
Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public
example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these
things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,
'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that
which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." : As you can see, Mary's
explanation didn't settle Joseph's heart.
- Joseph immediately sprang into merciful
action. He was a just man, that is, he wanted to do what was right.
- For a woman to break the contract in what appeared
logically to be an adulterous way, there were stringent consequences.
- He did not want to do that, perhaps thinking
that she had lost her marbles, he was trying to figure out a way to divorce her
quietly and simply walk away. How serious was he?
- It took an angel of the Lord to convince him
otherwise! This angelic being, not named, came to Joseph with a word from God. "Don't be
afraid!" That means that he had been conflicted.
- A part of him wanted to walk away, but the
other part actually considered her to be telling the truth! He wanted to
believe, but how?
- It was a tale too amazing to believe must
less be true! But the angel settled it all for Joseph!
- When it's necessary, God has ways of
convincing His servants of the unbelieveable!
- When I have been confronted with a difficult
thing to consider, my prayer before the Lord has always been, "Lord, let
me do the right thing that you want me to do."
- Joseph, in wanting to do the right thing, was
given what He needed by God in order to do the right thing! The Angel testified
that Mary was indeed pregnant by the Holy Spirit! Verse 21.
• Matthew 1:21-23 : "And
she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save
His people from their sins.' So all this was done that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 'Behold, the virgin
shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,'
which is translated, 'God with us.'" : What a powerful moment! Months
before his wife would give birth, he knows the sex, His name and what He will
do in life!
- Joseph will be charged with caring for and
raising the savior of His people, not from Roman oppression. Not unto political
dominance, but from their sins!
- Jesus came to save His people! Who are His
people? Ethnically, Jesus would be a Jewish man through and through. But the
people that would be saved are His people by faith!
- Matthew inserts this comment, letting us know
that all of this was done to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, which liberals believe refers to a young woman. The
Angel apparently isn't a liberal!
- Mary was a virgin, she would bear a Son, who
would be God in the flesh! God would dwell with them, not in a tabernacle, but
in human skin! Verse 24.
• Matthew 1:24,25a : "Then
Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him
and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her
firstborn Son." : Mary had said, "Let it be to
me." Joseph got up and did what was commanded Him. What a godly couple,
worthy of our emulation!
- People of like faith get up and do what God
has commanded them immediately!
- Mary became Mrs. Joseph immediately and they
maintained a celibate lifestyle until she brought forth Jesus. There could be
no hint of human involvement in Mary's pregnancy.
- Joseph understood that he had the right to
expect sexual contact with his wife, but that would have cast a doubt over the
true lineage of the Son! This earns even greater respect for Joseph.
- But it also explains that Mary was not a
perpetual virgin! She and Joseph had many children after Jesus. Mark 13:55,56 list at least 6 siblings
that were born after the Lord's birth!
- The road was difficult, but Joseph and Mary,
having obeyed the Lord in receiving the call, obeyed to the very end. What sort
of end would it be?
- They were inconveniently brought to Bethlehem
because of the census. With the influx of people, all of the normal
accomodations were taken and relatives seemed unwilling to take them in.
- They could not have believed that it would
have ended the way that it did. Here was this beautiful child of promise, the
Son of God, who would change the world.
- They didn't know how. They didn't know the
full plan, but their obedience to God's plan, no matter the difficulty and the
cost to themselves, brought blessing into the world.
Conclusion
- Joseph and Mary, through their obedience,
brought a world of blessing into the lives of those who lived at that time and
for eternity.
- They brought an incarnate God into the world,
who would show us the power of the incarnation is obedience to His Father's
plan.
- Today, we have the same opportunity before us
to show the greatness of God's plan by embracing it, no matter the cost,
knowing that our humility leads to blessing.
- In that way, we very literally live incarnate
lives, where Jesus lives through us by His Holy Spirit to bless others in ways
that we may never understand or believe.
- May we learn to say collectively, "Let
it be according to your word!"