Annunciation: God on Display

Well, good morning.

In light of the announcement that Nick just made, it's not easy to get up here.

It's the Christmas season, characterized by joy, peace, festivities, and celebrations.

And yet, we gather this morning also to mourn the loss of Noah and to grieve with his family.

It didn't seem right for me to begin my sermon with the lighthearted introduction that I had written,

one that began with a man who ate an airplane,

or to talk about our cultural predisposition to make God small

and limit what we think he can do in light of our understanding of science.

That's actually what I wrote, what I had prepared, and what I'm not going to talk about.

But it does seem right to turn our hearts and our minds to God.

As we grieve with the Hodgkins and we remember Noah and the way that he was a blessing to his family

and to our church and to the world,

we want to do so in a way that turns our hearts to God,

even in the face of unexpected tragedy like this.

For it is God that we need most at this time.

We need God to be our help, our comfort, our hope, and our stay.

And we need not just the idea of God,

but we need his person, his character, his nature.

And we need to know with confidence how he interacts with this world and with us.

And with that, we turn to our text this morning,

which is in Luke chapter 1.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

It's page 803 in your pew Bible.

It is a part of the Christmas story that is well known, the Annunciation.

A story central to our faith.

One that is so well known that we are in danger of it becoming overly familiar.

It comes on the heels of a passage that Nick preached on last week

about God who came to an ordinary woman, Elizabeth,

and opened her womb when she was barren so that she might bear a child

who would proclaim the coming redemption and deliverance of God's people.

And in this passage, in the Annunciation,

what I want to do this morning is to look at it

to see what it has to say to us about God.

So that's what we're going to do.

Let's read it together, and then we'll pray,

and then we'll spend a few minutes meditating on this together.

Luke 1, verse 26.

Luke 1:26

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.

Let's pray together.

Lord, as we come to this passage this morning,

we ask for your help.

Lord, your help to open our eyes to you

in light of this well-known passage

for us to see you afresh this morning.

To know your character,

to know your purpose.

Lord, to see you, Lord, clearly.

And that you might, Lord,

work in our hearts so graciously

that we would respond to you in faith.

That we would believe what we see

about who you are in this passage.

And that in believing, Lord,

we would find hope and life in you.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

I love the narratives of Scripture.

And this is a great narrative story.

It begins with a setting.

The angel Gabriel came

in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy

to a woman named Mary

who lived in Nowheresville.

If Mary was an ordinary person,

Mary was a nobody.

And God chose to come to her

and make an amazing proclamation to her

about what he was going to do.

And if you look through this

through the lens of a narrative story,

the story builds with tension.

What kind of greeting is this?

Don't be afraid.

Here's what I'm going to do.

And it climaxes.

It reaches its high point of tension

in verse 34

where Mary says,

how can this be?

For I am a virgin.

And in the answer to that,

we begin to see the character of God

on display.

And the other thing we see

as we read through this narrative

is that there are times

when in the middle of narrative stories,

there are speeches

or announcements

or proclamations.

And in this one,

verses 31 through 34

give us a very particular proclamation

about who this baby would be

and how this baby would expose

and show and display

the character of God to us.

And so that's what we're going to look at

this morning.

Those two questions.

One, how could this be?

And two, who is this child?

So first,

let's look at this first question.

How can a virgin give birth to a child?

Now, we brush over this so easily

because this has been something

that the church has affirmed

for 2,000 years.

But stop and think.

This is a miracle

that God would bring to a woman

who had never had intercourse,

had never known a man,

would impregnate her,

would make her,

make inside of her a child.

And this was amazing back then.

They knew even then

it took a man and a woman

to create a baby.

This announcement

was against the science

even back then

and even more so now

that we need this,

that this is the way it is.

And so for the last 2,000 years,

people have asked this question,

how could this be?

Now look,

we need to think through

some of the questions

that are behind that.

Some people,

if we hold to

the world being a closed system,

if we hold to

a naturalistic scientific worldview

that excludes the possibility

of supernatural activity,

then we have a priori

denied God's existence

and eliminated this possibility.

But if there is a God,

then we need to be open

to the fact that God

could do something miraculous

like this.

There are some people

who think,

well isn't this story

just a myth?

Just like the other myths

in the ancient world

about how God

would come down

and have intercourse

with a human woman

and produce.

And yet what you see here

is a unique story

because never was there

a virgin birth

in those stories.

Some people wonder,

if this is so important,

why is it that the rest

of the New Testament

ignores it

and doesn't say anything about it?

Well,

it's fascinating to think

about the fact that Matthew,

the Jewish writer,

writing to the Jews

to convince them

that Jesus is the Messiah,

and Luke,

the Greek writer,

writing to a diaspora

trying to give the evidence

for why he believes

Jesus is the Savior

with two very different audiences,

yet they both record this.

And some have argued

that in fact

this has not been talked about

as much in the later letters

because in fact

it was so easily accepted

as true

because those who were there

could testify to it

during the early church.

And so for the church

up until the 1800s,

this was rarely questioned.

And finally,

some people ask questions

about the virgin birth

because they wonder,

doesn't this somehow

make it impossible

for Jesus to be fully human?

If he was conceived

in a way that was not natural

but was supernatural,

could he actually have

the proper DNA?

But do we not think

that God

who created the world

and who created

the whole process

to begin with

could miraculously interact

with Mary

in such a way,

not sexually

but creatively,

to make a life

inside the womb

of a woman

who had never known a man?

So this is what it says

in response to Mary's question

in verses 35 and 36.

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.

That is set apart.

Something distinct

from everything else

you've ever seen.

God will come

like he came in the temple.

The word for overshadow

is the same word

that talks about

when the presence of God

enters the tabernacle

in Exodus 40.

God will come over you, Mary,

and fill you with his presence

in a special way

that will create a child in you.

How do we see God

on display in this passage?

First, we see

God's creative power.

He comes to Mary

and he makes life.

There are echoes

of the Spirit

hovering over

the chaos of the world

and then bringing life

and order to it.

And friends,

if we are honest,

every human conception,

every human being

created in God's image

in the womb

or even in an in vitro

is made in God's image

and is a work

of God's grace,

it is cool

that we know

far more about that process

than we ever did before

and yet it is still

an astounding mystery

and a wonder

that life is created

in these ways.

And so, friends,

let us stop

and simply sit in awe

that the virgin birth

tells us

that God is powerful

than that He is doing

something uniquely powerful

in this gracious creation

of this one child.

We don't know

the mechanics,

but we know

the outcome

of fully God

and fully man

Savior

who's come

to rescue us.

And this is the second thing

that we see about God

in the virgin birth

is God's initiative.

It wasn't like Mary

was going around saying,

I wonder if God would

give me a virgin conception

in my womb.

What a great idea.

Why don't I do that?

Far from Mary's mind,

far from the minds

of anyone in Israel,

God broke into this world.

God initiated with Mary

to create this child.

We often conceive

of our religious life

as us seeking God,

but here we see God

seeking us,

initiating to do

the very thing

that we need

so that we might know Him.

Friends,

I wonder this morning,

as we think about

God's power

and God's initiative,

how do you respond to that?

Are there places

in your life

that feel dead

and barren?

Are there ways

where you need

Jesus to bring

renewing life

to you?

Maybe you're here

this morning

and you're exploring Christ

and you haven't experienced

His life-giving power

through faith in Him.

The God of the Bible

is one

who makes new creations

out of all of us

who are dead in our sin.

The God of the Bible

promises

a renewal

of all things

where creation

will be made new.

And if you think

that God has forgotten you,

if you feel overlooked

or ignored

or abandoned

by Him,

this story

reminds us

that God

is a God

who takes initiative

towards us.

He is seeking us

and calling us

to Himself.

He is seeking out,

He is doing,

going ahead of us

to do the things

that we need

so that we can know Him

and respond to Him.

And this is the doctrine

of the virgin birth

applied to us.

But this story

tells us more

about God

than simply

His initiative

and His power.

It also tells us

through the identity

of this child

God's purpose

and intention.

So let's look again

at verses 31 through 34

as Mary is

trying to figure out

what do you,

God,

what do you mean?

What are you doing?

Gabriel says this,

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.

In this little speech

in the middle

of the narrative

the angel says

this is the point.

This is the thing

I want you to focus on

of all the things

you could see here.

This is what

I want you to know.

I want you to know

what God is up to

by the way

that this child

is described.

I want you to see

God's purpose

and I want you to see

God's intention.

God's purpose

is by naming

this son Jesus

and we know

what Jesus means

we can look over

in Matthew

and know that

Jesus means

Jehovah saves

the God

that God saves

and that He

and He

in Matthew

Joseph is explicitly

told you will

call His name Jesus

for He will save

His people

from their sins

and this is the kind

of God that we see

a God who has come

to rescue sinners

like Mary and Joseph

like you and me.

We see that this child

this unique conception

has come for a unique purpose

to save us

and not simply

to rescue us from sin

but to bring us

into a kingdom

that He will reign over

forever and ever

so this is God's intention

if God's purpose

is to save us

God's intention

is to bring us

into a kingdom

and this is where

He layers on

all of these descriptions

this is why

we read the passage

from 2 Samuel

earlier in our

service

because in 2 Samuel

God makes a covenant

with King David

as He's establishing

His people

in the promised land

He's saying

I'm going to make

a covenant with you

because this is

the next step

in the progress

of my redemptive plan

for me to create

a people

who will be

my people

in my creation

to worship me

and to serve me

and to glorify me

under my rule

and reign forever

and we know

that in the Old Testament

Israel never succeeded

in doing that

and we know

that at this point

in the Gospel of Luke

in this time in history

the nation of Israel

was crying out

God show us your plan

it feels like

we've been abandoned

Rome is taken over

and we are lost

and God comes

and He says

I'm going to give you

this child

and He's going to

save you from the sin

but He's also

going to fulfill

all of these

Old Testament promises

that are seen

in the covenant

and if you went back

and you looked

at the passage

you will see

that this son

will be called great

and it will be

a distinct greatness

that will characterize

His reign

a greatness

greater than anyone else

He will be like a son

someone in intimate relationship

with God the Father

He will be a ruler

who will sit on a throne

and who will exert His will

for justice and righteousness

in the world

and He will establish

a kingdom

that will never end

the promises made long ago

to David

are going to be fulfilled

in this special baby

the unique conception

led to this unique individual

who will bring this redemption

what does this mean for us?

how do we apply

God's purpose and intention

to our lives?

friends

it means that in Jesus

there is a kingdom

that will last forever

has there ever been a kingdom

in human history

that has lasted forever?

I studied Chinese history

in college

lots of emperors

and dynasties

thought they were going

to last forever

and they didn't

certainly the Roman emperors

thought that the Roman Empire

would last forever

and it didn't

the British Empire

upon which the sun

never sat

because it spanned the globe

did not last forever

and as Americans

let us be humble enough

to acknowledge

that the American Empire

will not last forever either

no human kingdom

past, present, or future

will last forever

but God has promised

that His kingdom

will come

and it will be

a glorious kingdom

and this one

this baby

will reign over it

forever

a kingdom of peace

where strife

and warfare

have ceased

a kingdom of righteousness

where justice

is established

and evil

is overcome

and done away with

a kingdom of joy

where sadness

and sorrow

will be wiped away

a kingdom of life

where sin and death

are defeated

and a kingdom

that will last forever

so these things

will have no end

but they will simply

abundantly

continue to be

in a glorious

and ever expanding way

friends

isn't this the kingdom

that you long for

in your hearts

it seems impossible

in our fallen world

to imagine

that this could happen

but as

this passage

ends with

we are reminded

that just as God

can bring life

into the womb

of a barren woman

who is too old

to have children

just as God

can bring life

into the womb

of a virgin

who had never

known a man

so we are reminded

that with God

nothing

is impossible

and the most amazing

thing

that this God

has done

is sending

a savior

to rescue people

like you

and like me

this is the most

amazing thing

that God

has ever done

because we don't

deserve it

and if we haven't

grappled with that

yet

it's time to do that

because we don't

deserve it

and yet God

has sent

this child

to come

to rescue us

from our sin

from our rebellion

from all the ways

that we daily

ignore

reject

dishonor

God

he has come

and in his

initiative

he has reached out

towards us

and in his power

he is taking hold

of us

and he is inviting us

to respond to him

the way Mary

responded to God

in response

to God's

revelation

of his power

and his initiative

and his intentions

and his purpose

Mary said

behold I am

the servant

of the Lord

let it be

to me

according

to your word

Mary is not

a sinless person

for us to pray to

but she is a

great example

of humble faith

for us to emulate

and to see

in her

an example

of a godly

response

it is by faith

that we cling

to God

who has come

for us

in Jesus

and as we

this morning

as a church

family

both celebrate

Christmas

and

mourn with the

Hodgkins

this is the God

that we need

more than anything

else

so let's pray

Lord we thank you

this morning

Lord that you

have not left us

alone in our sin

and in our

barrenness

in our sorrow

and our grief

but Lord you have

come for us

in Jesus

and you have done

it in such a distinct

such a unique

such a wonderful

way

Lord to show us

your character

to show us

your nature

Lord I pray

this morning

Lord that we

would

see you

Lord I pray

this morning

that you would

give us

faith

to respond

to you

and trust

and belief

in confidence

and in joy

we pray this

in Jesus name

Amen