Mary: A Call to Provide
Luke 1:26-38
Just
last week I got a telephone call from my grandson Sam. We had our usual
conversation “Hello?”
“(awkward
pause) Is gramma there?”
“Yep
here you go.” And with that I pass it over to Ruth.
Normally
Sam’s conversations are 5 minutes long, but this time it went on and on and
on. When Ruth eventually hung up I said “So
… what was that call all about?”
“Oh,”
she said “He was just calling in what he wanted for Christmas.”
I am
sure that every one of you are going to either make one of those calls or
receive one of those calls yourselves this year. Maybe you’ll do both. But let
me tell you this God has call for you this Christmas. That call might be
different for each and every one of us here but God will be calling you this
Christmas. Indeed He has been calling to people since the very first one.
God’s
first call was to a priest, a very holy man, in the city of Jerusalem, God’s
Holy City, who was working in the Temple, the place the called the House of
God. If we were to think about who or where God was going to call to someone we
are certainly not surprised He called to a holy man, in the Holy City, working
in the holy temple. But that is not the only place God calls.
“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. 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. And 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. 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.”
And
Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
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.” 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
This
message from the angel was unbelievable news from the lips of Gabriel to the
ears of Mary was a call to provide. Every Jewish girl prayed and dreamed of the
privilege being the Madonna … the mother of the Messiah of God’s people. The
thought of being chosen to be a part of the plan that would provide the rescuer,
redeemer, and savior for Israel was a hope and a future any young Jewish lady
would be honored to experience. And it’s just like God to extend the Call of
Christmas to come forth from the place, person, and circumstances that we see
in the story.
Verse
26 sets the stage for us.
“In
the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named
Nazareth,” Luke 1:26
The
city of Nazareth is quite a contrast to the city of Jerusalem that is the
staging ground for the earlier section in chapter 1. If a city was to provide a
carrier for the Messiah, it seems like Jerusalem would be much more of a
natural option. Jerusalem was the center of the Jewish world. Nazareth was off
the beaten path. It was accessible to trade routes, but one had to want to go
to Nazareth to get there. Jerusalem was seen as significant; Nazareth seemed
insignificant. John 1:46 records the contemporary Judean opinion of Nazareth.
“Can
anything good come out of Nazareth?” John 1:46
And
the region of Galilee was such a contrast to the region of Judea. The former
was out in the country; the latter had a wilderness but was known for the big
city. Galilee was rough around the
edges
and anything but Kosher in their kitchens. Judea was much more polished, prim
and proper and followed all the religious rules. But at the end of the day, God
sends an angel both to Jerusalem to give a message to a priest in the temple
just as quickly as He seeks out a quaint town on the outskirts of the country
hills in Nazareth for a visitation. All real estate on the earth is an equal opportunity
for God to do something great and place a call to provide for the next part of
His plan.
No matter
if you live in the big city or the big country, on the right side of the tracks
or the wrong side, in the high tax bracket neighborhoods or below the poverty
line, God knows where you are and how to send a message your way. He is calling
you this Christmas!
Wherever
you are this Christmas, God can use you to be a part of His plan and to do His
will. You never are off the grid when it comes to God and his location
services. He is aware of your whereabouts and has plans for you regardless of
where you come from or where you live. Verse 27 goes on to tell us about the
one with the womb who would be called upon to provide the savior would be a
most unlikely candidate in the eyes of the world. God sent Gabriel
“to
a virgin betrothed to a man who name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the
virgin’s name was Mary.” Luke 1:27
The
fact that it states Mary was “betrothed” to Joseph meant they were not merely
engaged. A Jewish engagement resulted in a marital status which, though
unconsummated, was as sacred as marriage itself. The consummation would come
later, but the commitment and covenant were just as strong beforehand in the
eyes of that culture and time. The fact that she is signified as a virgin harkens
back to the prophecy of the Messiah from Isaiah that all Jews would be aware of
in that day.
“Therefore
the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and
bear a
son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14
Luke
is writing details that tie back to Old Testament prophecy in such a way as if
to say to all his readers: “Here’s your sign!”
Luke
goes on to unfurl what God’s messenger, Gabriel, said to Mary upon his arrival
in verse 28.
“And
he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” Luke
1:28
The
more things change, the more things stay the same. While this salutation from
the angel looks unique at first glance, it is very similar to the way the angel
of the Lord greeted another unsuspecting individual with a mighty call to
provide for the people of God. In the book of Judges, we see God call a man
named Gideon to a great task that would save his people from the oppressive
Midianites. In chapter 6:12 the scene is recorded.
“And
the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, O
mighty
man
of valor.” Judges 6:12
The
message from the angel for both Gideon and Mary includes the reminder that “The
Lord is with you.” And the name stated in Isaiah’s prophecy we just
noted from 7:14 for the coming Messiah was Immanuel. The meaning: God with us.
The Lord is with you. The Call of Christmas is a reminder that the Lord is with
you. The call of Mary is a call to provide. Only a favored one in the eyes of
God would be given the privilege and the call to provide the Christ-child who
soon would be with us in the form of a baby from her womb. The fact that she
was a virgin would mean God would have to be the one to create inside of her
this one she was being called to provide for the salvation of the world.
Such
a call to motherhood in this fashion would be frightening to consider. But the
appearance and speaking from an angelic visitor would cause one to be full of
fear as well. Verse 29 and following confirms such an emotion.
“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. 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.’” Luke 1:29-33
Names
are indicative of parental hopes, and this name certainly would stir the hopes
of God’s people. The name, ‘Jesus,’ means “the Lord is salvation.” She was
being called to provide the womb and nurturing motherhood for the salvation
that would be put in her provided place from the Lord. She was not the one who
was the source of such grace as some have supposed. It was God who chose to put
His favor on her and create the salvation source in her that would be provided
through her because of the goodness and favor from God.
The
theological truth being: Mary by herself could not produce a son, but God could
give her one
whose
name, Jesus, means “God saves.” This, in essence, is the gospel: humans cannot
produce their own salvation, but God can and has chosen to accomplish it for
all of humanity. He just desired for the Call of Christmas to come through the
womb of a virgin from a remote country village. Mary’s call was a call to
provide what God had decided. She provided herself, and God would do the rest.
As
Mary is processing the message from the angel she did so by asking a logical
question. She knew that she had not been with Joseph yet, or any man in that regard,
that possibly could have led to such a conception in her womb.
“And
Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’”
Luke 1:34
This
was not a statement of unbelief. Rather, it was a question of trying to
understand. God never
gets
tired or frustrated with our honest questions. He invites us to stay curious as
we seek to
understand
who He is and what He wants us to do and become in our lives.
Mary
was going to have to trust God with the details. A promise was being made to
Mary that only could come true to fulfillment if God provided the details. Mary
was being called into the promise; her part was to provide the womb that would
lead to a legacy of salvation from sin, death, Satan and hell. God provided the
details. Mary provided her life as real estate to be claimed, developed and turned
into a home base for the fulfillment of the promise to take place. It was a
call to provide. And only God had the power to do it and make the promise come
true. Mary had the opportunity to join God in the call of Christmas.
Gabriel
explained God’s plan to Mary’s question of ‘how?’
“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.’” Luke 1:35
As
Luke writes of this conversation, he mentions the Holy Spirit just as he did
earlier in verse 15 and as he does six more times in his first two chapters:
(1:41, 67, 80, 2:25, 26, 27). The reason this is so important is that Luke does
not want his readers to forget that the Call of Christmas is wrapped in the
activity and working of the Holy Spirit. Verse 35 references that not only will
the Holy Spirit come upon Mary with this incredible detail of how this promise
is going to come to fruition, Luke also notes that God’s power is going to
“overshadow” Mary in the process.
The word
for ‘overshadow’ in the original language is episkiazo and carries the sense of
the holy, powerful presence of God. The same meaning from this word is how the
cloud that covered and overshadowed the tabernacle when the tent was filled
with the glory of God from the Old Testament story in Exodus 40:34-35.
“Then
the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the
tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the
cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”
Exodus 40-34-35
The
same imagery and feel from how the presence of God is described in the Old
Testament reference above is the same imagery and feel with the word
“overshadowed” here in the details of Gabriel’s message to Mary. God’s presence
through his Holy Spirit is going to be thick and at work in such a way that it
is clear something holy is happening in our midst.
There
are places on the earth where the moment you walk into it there is a sense that
you are standing on holy ground. The great Cathedrals of Europe that cause a
person to look up and feel small as the massive arches ascend towards the
heavens can have this effect. When a choir fills the cavernous space with
angelic voices that reverberate throughout, a person can have a feeling of being
overshadowed, episkiazo, by the presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
The
word episkiazo is used again in all three accounts of the Transfiguration to
describe the overshadowing of the cloud in Matthew 17:5 cf., Mark 9:7 and Luke
9:34.
“He
was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice
from the
cloud
said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
Matthew 17:5
In
each account the voice comes out of the cloud identifying Jesus as God’s Son, a
striking reminder of what Luke states in 1:35 where the life that results from
the enveloping cloud is identified as the Son of God.
Biblical
scholar William Hendriksen notes that the overshadowing or covering which Luke
speaks of here in verse 35 is not static but active. It is creative and
productive. It causes Mary to conceive a child. Such activity by the Spirit of
God moves back to the creation account in Genesis 1:2 where the Spirit of God
is stated as being present and hovering.
“The
earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
Genesis 1:2
Life
soon abounds where the active Spirit of God was at work. The same connection is
seen in other places throughout the Bible such as Psalm 104:30.
“When
you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the
ground.” Psalm 104:30
The
overshadowing Spirit, therefore, not only protects but also creates. It brings
about conception in Mary’s womb that she provides. The Call of Christmas for
Mary is a Call to Provide. N.T. Wright goes on to suggest, “The Holy Spirit
will come upon Mary, enabling her (as the Spirit always does) to do and be more
than she could by herself. But at the same time, the ‘power of the Most High’
will overshadow her. This is something different: God Himself, the Creator,
will surround her completely with his sovereign power.”
God’s
power from outside, and the indwelling Spirit within, together result in things
being done which would have been unthinkable any other way. At the same time,
God supernaturally is providing the details of how the Messiah will be born by
Mary, notice the kindness of God in how He provides someone to walk alongside
Mary during this unique time of her calling.
“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.” Luke 1:36-37
Experts
of that time and culture suggest Mary likely suffered embarrassment and
loneliness as a result of being the person picked by God to be the mother of
God’s Chosen One. The angel not only delivers God’s message with a sign to her
regarding her immaculate conception while still a virgin, but also suggests a
confidant with whom she may share her strange and wonderful experience in her relative
Elizabeth. It always is better to walk through unique and challenging seasons
of life when we have someone by our side to help experience the journey. God
knew this. And God provided for even the smallest details and every emotional
need that Mary would experience along the way.
Robert
Dean notes many interesting parallels between the angelic announcements to
Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah, and Mary found in Luke 1. In each case the
angel Gabriel appeared and announced the birth of a son who was to play a
crucial role in God’s plan; a son who was named by the angel and who was to be
born under unusual circumstances. However, in spite of the parallels, there are
at least three significant differences.
First:
Messenger and Messiah. John was to be the prophetic Messenger, and Jesus was to
be the Messiah.
Second:
Old Age and Virgin Birth. John was born to an old couple beyond normal
childbearing years. Jesus was born of a virgin. The language of Luke 1:35 is
that of Genesis 1, where the Spirit of God was active in creation. John’s
conception has Old Testament parallels in Isaac, the child of promise born to
Abraham and Sarah in their old age from Genesis 21; but the conception of Jesus
has its parallel in the miracle of the divine creation. Jesus was born to a
virgin, but he was born.
Third:
The Priest of God and the Servant of the Lord. Different responses to Gabriel
came forth from Zechariah and Mary upon receiving their respective messages and
calls to Christmas. Each initially was troubled, afraid and questioned how such
a thing could be. However, there the similarities end.
Zechariah
was struck dumb by his unbelief. Mary, by contrast, believed. The angel told
Mary of Elizabeth’s conception in her old age in verse 36 and used words
reminiscent of God’s words to Abraham and Sarah; “With God, nothing will be
impossible.” (cf. v.37 and Genesis 18:14 “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”)
Mary
responded with trust and submission to God’s will in verse 38 because she
believed what the angel reminded her of in verse 37.
“For
nothing will be impossible with God.” 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 1:37-38
The
fact that nothing is impossible with God is one of the most hopeful statements
of reality found in the entire Bible.
So I
ask you, what is your “impossible” this Christmas that the Lord wants to remind
you is not impossible with Him?
Is
your “impossible” a situation at work, at school, with your finances, your
marriage, a strained relationship with your kids that seems all but lost? Is
your “impossible” a slate of responsibilities that feels crippling and
consuming? Is your “impossible” a never ending debt payment that soaks up all
you make and leaves you with little to live on without taking on more debt?
What
if your Call of Christmas is a reminder that nothing is impossible when the
Savior is on the
scene?
What
if your call is like Mary’s: a call to provide God space to take up residence
within your life and begin to work?
What
if God wants you to provide space in your life that can be overshadowed by Him
as His Holy Spirit goes to work on you, in you and through your life
circumstances? The process may be painful but necessary for something new to be
created. It may require counseling. It may include a total budget rework. It
may be cause for confession and a request for forgiveness. But whatever God may
lead you to do in your “impossible”, know that you will not be asked to walk
alone. He is with you. He is Immanuel. He is Jesus. The Lord is salvation.
All
you need to do is provide the Spirit of God space in your life to take up
residence and being a new work in you. Mary did. And her call of Christmas was
a call to provide her whole self to grow the Son of God inside her womb.
What
might you ask God to produce in you and your life as you answer His call this
Christmas?
