Advent #2, 2023
Introduction
I heard a story once about a pastor who worked tirelessly to have the most biblical church possible. He spent years teaching them all the doctrine and biblical knowledge he could. And one Sunday, it finally arrived. But it didn’t last long. The next Sunday all these new people showed up who were invited by this biblical church. Our definition of “peace” usually means “ease, convenience, and quiet.” But God’s definition of peace usually involves at least a little inconvenience.
The Passage
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 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 name Him Jesus. “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; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 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. “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. “For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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. Luke 1:26–38
A Summary of the Passage
I’ve noticed with preaching that sometimes a passage can be taught so many times that we lose sight of the simplest meaning. Everyone has heard a different sermon on John 3:16, but even then, they all end up sounding the same. A similar problem can happen with the stories in Luke 1-2. We hear them every year. There’s pressure to be creative and find a “new take” to keep people interested in the Christmas story. Today, the main thing I want us to notice about this passage is how Mary’s life radically changed in just a few moments. The day before she met Gabriel, she was an honorable young woman who was engaged to a stand-up man, Joseph. Both Mary and Joseph had plans, wishes, expectations for how their life would look. It’s obvious from scripture that moth Mary and Joseph sought to follow God’s will before the angel told them about Jesus (Luke 1:28; Matt 1:19). But their faith was put to the test when the unexpected came into their life.
Reprehensible Peace
With the birth of John, his birth was unexpected and therefore caused an uproar. With the birth of Jesus, his birth would cause questions and therefore cause an uproar. “Where did this baby come from?” This was not a very nice thing to do to respectable Mary. God desired for the mother of His son to be thought an adulterer (John 8:41). God specifically chose Mary because she was a virgin. But because He chose her, all of Mary’s friends and family would no longer believe she was a virgin. This shows us that even though God wants us to have good reputations (1 Tim 3:7), but not so that the world will like us. Better to be reprehensible in the eyes of the world, but chosen and precious in the sight of God (Eph 1:4-5). Remember the great irony of how God works. He sent His son Jesus into the world to reveal Him and speak true things about Him (John 1:18). But Jesus was sentenced to die on a blasphemy charge. The prince of peace died stricken by men and God. But that death also secured peace for everyone. When God invites difficulty and hardship into your life because of your faithfulness, don’t be discouraged. God calls you blessed (Matt 5:3-12).
Redeeming Peace
Imagine building a table from one of the trees in your back yard. But halfway through the project you realize that the wood is inferior and not able to do what you want it to do. Most of us would start from scratch and find better wood. God, when our sinful natures prove we are unable to complete His mission for us, He doesn’t throw us away. Instead, God goes to great lengths to save and redeem us. In order for God to do this, He had to become one of us (John 1:14).
The power of the Holy Spirit will overshadow Mary like how the Holy Spirit hovered over the waters at creation (Gen 1:2). The birth of Jesus is a new Genesis, but not to replace humanity but to redeem it. God isn’t erasing us but fixing us. The word “overshadow” is only used in the OT to describe how the glory cloud overshadowed the tabernacle (Ex 40:35) or the cherubim overshadowing the ark (2 Chron 5:8). This indicates a non-sexual interaction. The Holy Spirit formed the body of Christ supernaturally, in that Jesus was conceived in a way that was not natural for any other person before or after. But the Holy Spirit also formed the body of Christ naturally so that Christ would be normally human (Heb 2:14). We needed Jesus to be human because we needed a kinsman redeemer. In the Law, a close relative could buy your debt from you and give it back. Whoever did that was called a kinsman redeemer. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid for the debt of our sin. But Jesus became our kinsman when the Holy Spirit formed Him in Mary’s womb.
Reconciling Peace
When Christians celebrate Christmas, we celebrate the birth of our savior and Lord. Jesus defeated death, hell, and sin on our behalf. However, we must also acknowledge that if Jesus did not die for our sins, then Christmas would actually condemn us. Jesus being fully God and fully man allows Him to complete God’s mission on His own if He so desired. The fact that Jesus died for our sins, rose from the dead, and sent His spirit proves that He is sharing what only He could achieve—union with God.
Only true joy can be found in God (Ps 17:15). But our sin alienates us from God (Eph 2:1). So, the only way for us to find joy is if God finds us and brings us back to Him, which is exactly what Jesus does in the gospel (Col 1:22). We are now those with the greatest joy (Jude 24).
Conclusion
No doubt Mary prayed for the coming Messiah like most Jews during that day. But she didn’t know what she was praying for. The coming of the price of peace would begin with inconvenience, scandal, and some heart ache. But in the end, it will all be worth it.