11-20-2022 – “Gabriel Brings Good News From God”
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November 20, 2022 - (full sermon notes)
“Gabriel Brings Good News From God”
Luke 1:26-38
Read Luke 1:26-27…
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
The timing for Gabriel’s visit to Mary, is in the context of
Luke 1:24-25,
24 After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,
25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.”
where we are told of Mary’s aunt Elizabeth’s pregnancy, which had been announced by Gabriel to Zacharias, who was performing his priestly duties at the temple in Jerusalem
(cf. Luke 1:13-23).
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.
14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.
16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.
17 It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”
19 The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
20 And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.
22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept making signs to them, and remained mute.
23 When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.
When we studied that part of Luke 1, back in February-March of this year, I impressed upon you the significance of Gabriel’s visit to Zacharias, for God had not sent an angel or a prophet to Israel in over four hundred years. Only six months after visiting Zacharias, Gabriel goes to Nazareth, in Galilee, 75-80 miles N of Jerusalem, to reveal to Mary, a virgin, who is pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David, that she is going to be the mother of God’s Son.
Mary was, most likely, 12-14 years of age when her engagement to Joseph was legally arranged by her parents; the wedding would take place one year after this contractual agreement was made; but until that time, the couple was considered to be husband and wife and the contract could only be severed by death or divorce.
In the Jewish culture of Christ’s day, when the year of engagement was over there would be a week long wedding feast, after which, the couple would begin their life together with the consummation of their marriage.
Luke 1:27
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
tells us that Joseph, the proposed groom, is of the line of David. There are two genealogies given in the New Testament that record the ancestry of the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Matthew 1; Luke 3).
Matthew 1:1,
“The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
Matthew 1:16,
“ Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.”
Matthew traces Christ’s genealogy through Joseph, His legal father, providing Jesus with legal claim and right to the throne of David; notice again in verse 16, "by whom,” is the feminine singular person, indicating Jesus was born of Mary, not Joseph and Mary, thus proclaiming the virgin birth; which means Mary must also be from David’s line to provide Jesus with the royal bloodline to the throne.
Luke 3:23,
23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,
“When He began His ministry, Jesus was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli” [Mary’s father]. Luke’s genealogy records the ancestry of Christ through Mary, His biological mother, also a descendant of David.
Matthew and Luke declare Jesus has both the legal right (through Joseph) and the blood-ancestry right (through Mary), so that He could be called the Son of David and serve as Israel’s true King.
Read Luke 1:28-30…
28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
Mary was in the house of her parents alone, when Gabriel came inside to speak to her. Mary was probably carrying out the tasks that would be common to a young teenage Jewish girl, when Gabriel gives her a very normal greeting, but then addresses her as, “favored one!” saying, “The Lord is with you.”
Mary is somewhat troubled and/or confused by Gabriel’s greeting, wondering why she should be so favored by the Lord, i.e., what could she have done to merit such favor from God? And of course the answer is, absolutely nothing, because it wasn’t about Mary’s worthiness or deservedness; it was about God’s gracious love for all of humankind to be conceived in her womb.
Read Luke 1:31-33…
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Mary was sovereignly chosen by God to give birth to a son, to be named Jesus [the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua, meaning God saves]; this Son, the Messiah, the Christ child, would come to “seek and to save” all those who would believe in Him, for He is the Savior of His people.
Gabriel tells Mary that her son will be great i.e., extraordinary, magnificent, esteemed above all men. Unlike John the Baptizer who was said to be
(Luke 1:15)
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.
“great in the sight of the Lord,” Jesus Christ would be great in Himself, Son of the Most High God, the very nature, character, and essence of God the Father, as Paul says
(Ephesians 1:21),
“far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”
The title, “Son of the Most High,” affirms what the writer of Hebrews’ says
(Hebrews 1:1-5),
“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”
The sovereign truth of God is that we are all sinners
(Romans 3:23),
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and although (Romans 6:23a),
“the wages of sin is death,”
(Romans 6:23b),
“the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,”
for (Romans 5:8),
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,”
(Romans 8:1),
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus is Immanuel [Lit. God with us], He is God incarnate, the Holy One, the Lamb of God who died as a sinless sacrifice for the sins of all who believe in Him. Jesus Christ is the ruler of the past, the present, and the future when God will make a new heaven and new earth, where all those who belong to Him will live forever.
But to those who reject Him, Jesus says
(John 8:24),
“I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Acts 2:21 says,
“And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,”
(Acts 4:12),
“there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved”
[only that of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior].
Read Luke 1:34-38…
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary asks how it is possible for her to conceive without having had sexual relations with a man. Gabriel answers her saying, “the power of the Most High, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, will overshadow you. This is speaking of the Shekinah glory of God, like that at the Mount of Transfiguration, when Jesus was with Peter, James, and John, and
(Matthew 17:5),
”a bright cloud overshadowed them.”
That cloud was a visible manifestation of the glory and presence of God; just as He will be present in a supernatural work in the womb of Mary. The Holy Child to be born will be called the Son of God. Jesus did not become the Son of God; He was the Son of God.
Gabriel tells Mary that Elizabeth, her aunt, has also conceived a son in her old age, even though she was barren and well-passed child bearing age. God has done this and He will also do what He has promised to you. With God nothing shall be impossible. God will absolutely do what He has said. Mary responds in genuine faith, “Behold the bondslave [female slave] of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary responds to Gabriel by saying she believes all he its telling her and she humbly responds with an affirmation of faith, “may it be done to me according to your word.” Wow! that should be the response of every believer to God’s Word.
We are then told
Luke 1:38)
38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
that Gabriel left her. And although we don’t know the exact moment that Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary; it may have been when Gabriel spoke to her, or later, but Jesus was miraculously conceived in Mary’s womb, in the womb of a virgin.
Isaiah indicated that this virgin birth would be a sign from the LORD God Himself, to point men to God’s Salvation: Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 7:14,
“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.
Joseph and Mary were pledged to be married at the time of Gabriel’s announcement, and so Joseph, a just man, had a big problem, Mary was pregnant and it wasn’t his child. Jesus is never directly called the son of Joseph, and Joseph is never directly called the father of Jesus.
Read Matthew 1:20-21…
20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
An angel came to Joseph, declaring Mary’s pregnancy to be from God, and the child will be a boy, and that Joseph (although not the biological father) will have the responsibility to give Him the name Jesus [God’s Salvation], for He is the only source of salvation for the whole world, for all of eternity, and Joseph would raise Him as his own son.
Read Matthew 1:22-23…
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”
The virgin birth was predicted in the OT. “All this” refers to specific facts about the birth of Jesus, foretold through Isaiah and Micah (700 B.C.); the greatest sign from God to all men is that Jesus was, “God with us; God in the flesh,” would be the fullness of God in bodily form.
Read Matthew 1:24-25…
24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Joseph was awakened from his sleep and did just as the angel told him. He took Mary home as his wife, and kept her a virgin until after the birth of Jesus.
But Mary did not remain a virgin, as some claim and wrongly teach, for Jesus had other brothers & sisters who were conceived naturally through Joseph
(Matthew 13:54-56),
“He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?”
The supernatural birth of Jesus proclaims His divinity; Christ the Savior was conceived in the womb of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As we approach the celebration of the birth of God’s Son, let us consider Paul’s wondrous words
(1Timothy 3:16),
“By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He [Jesus] who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, and taken up in glory.”
The message from Genesis to Revelation, and the testimony of changed lives throughout history, is very clear: The most important question you must answer in your heart is this: Who do you believe Jesus Christ to be?
Romans 10:9-10,
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Romans 10:13,
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Gabriel’s marvelous message to Mary, Joseph, and all humanity, is that Jesus came to save us! But only one response to that message brings forgiveness for sins and eternal life: Jesus Christ is God’s Son, Creator, Sustainer, Lord, Savior, and Judge over all. He was crucified, buried, and He rose from the grave on the third day. He showed Himself to His followers over a 40 day period, then He ascended back into heaven, to be with the Father.
He is coming again to take all who believe in Him to heaven forever! Don’t leave here today with any doubts, be sure that your salvation is secure in Christ.
1John 5:11-13,
“The testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Pastor Mike