November 25, 2002

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Dec. 8

Mary is a model of faith, service & sanctification
___ Luke 1:26­35, 38, 46­49
___By Rick Willis
___First Baptist Church, Roscoe
___A preacher once started his Christmas sermon by reading the beginning of "On Beyond Zebra." The Dr. Seuss book tells about a character who teaches his startled pupil about the world of letters "on beyond Z."
___The gospel writer Luke also takes his readers step by step into God's whole new alphabet of grace. His first readers would be familiar with royalty and messianic expectations. But in Jesus, the old earthbound categories are burst open, and a life "on beyond Zebra" is revealed.
___The first letter of the new alphabet comes to a surprised Jewish peasant girl.
___The heavenly announcement
___The angel addressed Mary, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). This greeting sounds similar to what the young Gideon heard from the angel of the Lord (Judges 6:12). In both cases, God chose an apparently weak and lowly person as his favored instrument for a mighty work. But what God planned for Mary, probably a teenage gi rl at the time, was unlike anything else.
___The angel's description of Jesus as the one who would receive the "throne of his father David" and "his kingdom will never end" was a loud and clear declaration that this child was the promised Messiah (1:32­33). All of God's covenant promises find their "yes" in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20). Mary, a devout Jewish girl, would have easily recognized the significance of the angel's words.
___The big question for Mary, of course, was how this would be possible since, though she was pledged to be married to Joseph, she was not yet married and still a virgin. The angel's reply again echoed an Old Testament story, one of another miraculous conception (Genesis 18:14). This time, however, the miracle was unique.
___The virginal conception of Jesus was a clean break with every other miraculous conception in the Scriptures. It was fitting. The child to be born was one of a kind. "Born of woman," fully human, but conceived by a spontaneous act of creation within Mary without a biological father. Mary's son would be the only one by whose name people are saved--"the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were" (Romans 4:17) assuming the fetal position. The mystery defies description and demands worship.
___The response of faith
___Although God's entry into history through Mary was unique, Mary's plain and simple character invites us to identify with her. Her irresistible curiosity--"How will this be?"--and her praise for God's mindfulness of her "humble estate" help the readers of Luke to see her as one of us (Luke 1:34, 48). After all, the angel's explanation to Mary of what would happen to her is a kind of parallel to what happens when anyone is born again (1:35, compare John 1:12­13).
___The apex of Mary's story is her response to the angel: "I am the Lord's servant. ... May it be to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38). One Christian writer has described Mary's action as presenting God with a blank check. It is the ultimate example of faith and self-denial in the face of God's desire for her life. Her action represents the greatest weapon of Christians for bringing in the kingdom of God: complete surrender to God's will.
___There's a certain poignancy in the last phrase of verse 38. Immediately after Mary's act of submission to God's will, the angel left her alone. Alone to ponder the weight of what God had just revealed to her. Alone, perhaps, to be tested in her faith. Did it really happen? What will people say in a month, six months?
___As with anyone who has encountered God's presence and the life change he brings, Mary's place was with others. She went to find her cousin Elizabeth (1:39­45). Nothing replaces fellowship with other saints as the best way to confirm and reassure Christians in what God is doing in their lives.
___A life surrendered to the Holy Spirit
___Luke 1:46­55 is traditionally called the song of Mary. It has a kinship to the song of Hannah when Samuel was born (1 Samuel 2:1­10). The song of Mary conveys a personal expression of praise to God, formed in Mary's familiarity with the Old Testament songs. One of the great evidences of God's touch on Earth is sacred song.
___Mary was moved with awe that she should be chosen to bear the Savior. At the same time, she expressed praise on behalf of all Israel for the fulfillment of the covenant promises. She also prophesied the upside-down kingdom of Jesus, which reverses the standards of the world and elevates the humblest servant.
___These verses also give witness to Mary's unique place in God's work of salvation. Mary is attributed different roles among Catholics and Protestants, but certainly she is significant for all as a model and an encouragement of faith, service and sanctification.
___Questions for discussion
___ What effect can you imagine the virgin birth had on Mary and Joseph's later relationship with Jesus?
___ What fears would Mary have to overcome as she followed God's will? What rewards did she receive?

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