Luke 1

We're carrying on looking at the opening chapters of Luke this morning. Last week we looked at Zechariah didn't we?

And as we look at Mary this morning, like with Zechariah last Sunday, we see another one of Luke's sort of diversions off of the events and the happenings into a personal story of faith.

Of people dealing with extraordinary announcements of God doing extraordinary things, of miracles, of pregnancy and old age for Zechariah and his wife, and now a virgin birth and pregnancy.

And Luke places Mary's story next to Zechariah, who we saw earlier, because they are two very, very similar stories, but they are not the same.

And the slight difference between them is the point that Luke wants to make this morning.

And they are similar, Zechariah and Mary, because both of them seem to have shades of doubt in what the angels announced, don't they?

They both ask questions. Do you remember? Zechariah asks the question back in verse 18, how shall I know this?

And Mary asks a similar question in verse 34, how shall this be since I am a virgin?

So they are similar, and they both have questions and doubts, I guess, but they are not the same.

Because last Sunday morning we saw that Gabriel rebuked Zechariah for his question, but Mary doesn't get rebuked for her, does she?

Her question, she receives honour. Elizabeth says, verse 45, blessed is she who believed what was spoken to her would be fulfilled.

Mary, by contrast, is held up as a model to us of how to respond to God.

She's a model of faith.

Both of them have their doubts and their questions, but between them there are different kinds of doubts.

There are different ways of questioning God.

Doubt is nuanced by Luke.

It's not a black and white thing.

There is one way of doubting God that he disapproves of,

and another that he is gentle and patient and kind and honours.

We all have doubts, don't we?

We all have questions.

But the question is, which sort of doubts do we have?

Luke wants us to question our questions this morning.

So let's dive in and see the subtle contrast between these two characters.

And think to yourself, which one am I most like?

Think, I need to question my questions.

What makes Mary's questions different?

Well, three moments in her story.

First of all, see her simple acceptance.

See her simple acceptance.

If you look closely at the questions that Zechariah and Mary ask,

there is a subtle difference between them.

Back in verse 18, look very closely at his question.

How shall I know this?

Your barren wife is going to have a child.

How shall I know this?

Zechariah asks for a proof of what has been promised.

He wants a confirmation.

He wants a sign that this miracle is going to happen at all.

At what sign will you give me?

How will I know that this is going to happen, he says.

What evidence are you going to give me?

There is a sense, isn't there, that his doubt is in the event itself actually happening.

He questions the credibility of God's words, of the miracle.

Whereas Mary asks something subtly different, verse 34.

How will this be?

Since I'm a virgin.

Zechariah, how will I know it?

Mary, how will it happen?

See, Mary wonders at the mystery of the mechanics, of the how.

But not that the miracle will actually happen.

She's not married.

She's never been with a man.

So, how will I get pregnant?

But in the question, there is this underlying sense of acceptance.

She may not understand how.

There are unknowns about how this is going to happen.

But she is willing to accept that it will happen.

And she doesn't ask for a proof that it will happen.

Even if she hasn't got the foggiest clue how.

She says, I am the servant of the Lord.

Let it be according to your word.

She does want an explanation how though.

And the angel is willing to give it.

The miracle is not inexplicable.

There is an answer to the hard question.

And the angel says, verse 35,

It will be the work and power of the Holy Spirit coming on you.

Let's break that down a little bit.

What is the angel saying?

Well, one of Mary's eggs will be fertilised.

And there will be a real human conception.

But there will be no male sperm.

The egg will be miraculously fertilised.

How?

By the power of the Holy Spirit.

Mary's half of DNA and chromosomes will be used in the usual way.

An enormous kind of conception from her point of view.

And this baby will be conceived in her womb.

But somehow the rest will be done by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And the angel says, nothing will be impossible with God.

It will be the power of the Holy Spirit.

And that is the explanation the angel gives.

The angel allows the question and gives an answer.

The Holy Spirit.

Is that crystal clear, Mary?

Any questions?

The problem with that answer, or for some people,

is that it could just raise more questions, couldn't it?

Hang on a minute, hang on.

Before you go, what do you mean by the power of the Holy Spirit?

How is the Holy Spirit going to do that?

What actually will happen on a microscopic level?

How will the Holy Spirit fertilise my egg?

How will this conception happen?

See, the answer to the first how question

just releases a wave of more how questions, doesn't it?

But Mary doesn't ask those how questions.

There comes a point where Mary stops asking how

and she accepts how.

That is the explanation she gets.

It's the Holy Spirit, Mary.

It's not a gullible acceptance, though.

Don't think that.

We know that Mary actually is a very deep thinker.

She's the kind of person who mulls things over.

She thinks about things a lot.

We read elsewhere in the Gospels

that Mary pondered the words that she heard.

She took them into her heart.

She pondered them.

She thought about them.

Here in verse 29, when the angel first greets her,

she tries to discern what kind of greeting this was.

You could translate that as she examines these words.

She took stock.

She took a step back.

She tried to ponder what this greeting was.

Mary was a thinker.

She wasn't a stupid, gullible, impressionable teenager.

She was the kind of woman who asked,

what on earth is going on here?

Am I seeing things?

Is this real?

She's actually a very rational woman.

But for Mary, the rational, intelligent thinking person,

she knows that her rational thinking has a limit.

And for her, nothing more is necessary

than to just know that nothing with God is impossible

and it will be the power of the Holy Spirit.

She doesn't say to the angel,

oh, I get it now.

I totally understand how this is going to work.

I'm totally convinced that it will all be easy and wonderful

and I get it completely.

Of course not.

She doesn't know everything.

There are lots more how questions to be asked.

But she knows enough.

She would have known about the Spirit of God

as a devout Jew

through the Bible that she had

and his immense power

that he was there in creation

and he created something out of nothing.

That he's worked in the history of God's people.

That he's brought life from the dead.

That this is the kind of power that this Holy Spirit has.

That he has.

So she does know enough.

And so there can be a simple acceptance.

Because as soon as you mention the power of the Holy Spirit

she knows, whoa, I'm out of my depth here.

And although she knows to use a rational mind

and although we should do that too,

being a Christian does not mean throwing your brain in the bin

and just being impressionable

but being a Christian means that we realise

that God is bigger than our brains.

God's work and his miraculous work

is bigger than our thinking can grasp.

And Mary realises that.

And so she just says

I am the servant of the Lord.

Let it be according to your word.

It's basically saying,

Amen, even though I do not get it.

God doesn't expect us to submit our faith to him

without reason and without explanation.

But often God's explanation

will push the limits of our minds, won't it?

And of our reason.

Nothing will be impossible with God.

It will be the power of the Holy Spirit.

And the limits of our mind

mean that she will not be able to understand

all of the hard questions.

The work of the Holy Spirit

who is God

bursting the boundaries

of our human understanding.

And often when we ask God how

the answer just gives us more questions.

Because our minds

and our human limited thinking

can never be enough

to contain the power of the Holy Spirit.

We just can't do that.

And if we could

then he wouldn't be God, would he?

A virgin birth?

How will the Holy Spirit do this?

Let me tell you the answer this morning.

I just haven't got a clue.

None of us have.

It's not that we're stupid.

It's just that God

is infinitely more intelligent than us.

It would be like trying to explain

particle physics to an ant,

wouldn't it?

This is the God of the Bible

who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit

in one God

who can be accepted

and believed by a simple child

and trusted in

by the most simple of the people

and yet the most deeply thinking theologians

are dwarfed

by the profundity of who he is

and what he can do.

And when someone hears the gospel

and asks that question

how can this be

actually you can be sure

you've heard the gospel properly.

There is a sense where

if we don't ask that question at all

we haven't really heard the gospel fully

or we've just forgotten it

or it hasn't been explained fully.

If we find the God of the Bible

just a little bit impossible

or inconceivable

or even ridiculous

of a just God

who forgives wicked people

of a holy God

who comes to dwell

with sinful people

of dead people

coming back to life

of a God

who became a man

to die for wicked people

so that they could know him forever

there is something hugely

mysterious about that.

hugely perplexing

about the whole thing

deeply mysterious.

There should be this sense

where we ask God

how

in everything that he does

there is something healthy

in those kind of questions

to understand the magnitude

of his power

the Holy Spirit

that there must be

those sort of questions from us

doesn't there as creatures?

And yet

we can simply accept

that we can't understand it all

and we can't keep asking

how and ever get to the point

where the questions will stop.

That is why

God is worth knowing

and worshipping

and asking about

that there are always

more depths

to his character

and his work

to dive into

deeper and deeper.

and so we have got

to come to a point

like Mary

where we humbly

just settle down

and accept

that we are not God

and that we are not

as clever as him

and we are not as powerful

as the Holy Spirit

and like Mary

say

oh the power of the Spirit

well that is enough then.

And so this thinking

woman

Mary is the model

in that simple faith

in that simple acceptance.

acceptance.

And secondly though

she has an active obedience.

She has an active obedience.

The thing with Mary

is that she turns

acceptance into action.

I'm the Lord's servant

she says

and she

she arises

with haste

verse 39

and goes to the hill country

and to Zechariah

and Elizabeth's house.

She acts

she does something.

And because it is one thing

to agree with God's word

but it's another

to act upon it.

And Mary shows us

that the root

of belief

is obedience.

This isn't just

some intellectual

assent

to what the angel says.

It is

an entire surrender

to what the angel

has said.

Just think

what that would have

meant for her.

Accepting

and obeying

God's plan.

it will mean

something extremely

difficult for her

actually.

It could mean

a lifetime

of embarrassment

and of stigma

as the woman

who in that

conservative society

had a child

out of wedlock.

She could become

a social outcast

as she brings

this child

into that sort of world.

And think for her

plans of life

with Joseph.

She would have been

like any other

young woman

who was engaged

to be married.

She maybe imagined

setting up the family

home, didn't she?

She had plans

maybe they could

have kids

two, three,

maybe four.

Joseph runs

the family business.

She probably had

it all mapped out.

And now suddenly

all of that

has to change.

And she's plunged

into the unknown

where life feels

like there are

just more questions

than there are

answers.

And it could have

been so hard

for her to believe

because it was

going to be

so hard to obey.

She might not

get it all.

She may not

even like it all.

But she does it.

Whatever comes,

she says to the angel,

I accept it.

And I can put

all of my plans

and all of my hopes

aside since this

is God's will.

And Mary shows

that belief is tied

to obedience.

But on the flip side

she shows us as well

that the problem

with disbelief

is disobedience.

And often people

don't believe

God's word

and the gospel

because they

don't want

to obey

the gospel.

The philosopher

Blaise Pascal

said that in faith

there is enough

light for those

who want to believe

and enough

shadows to blind

those who don't.

As long as you

don't want to

obey God

you'll find

shadows.

You'll find

shadows in all

that goes on

this morning

if you want to.

You'll find

shadows in every

conversation

that you have

with someone

who believes.

shadows.

You'll find

shadows if you

want them to be

there in every

part of the

Bible.

You'll be looking

for shadows

all of the time.

Maybe you've met

people like that.

They major

on the unknowns

as if they are

an excuse

not to act

and obey.

You just keep

saying well

I've just got

more questions.

But our problem

in that is that

we could be

waiting too long

before we obey.

You say

you've got

questions

you've got

doubts

you're just

looking into

it

you're just

investigating

but some of

us have just

been doing

that for far

too long.

But you won't

do anything

and you won't

move anywhere

until you feel

you've been

satisfied with

all your answers

and all of

your doubts

and you want

it all so

you're holding

back from

obeying the

Lord Jesus.

But let me

tell you this

morning having

questions and

doubts does not

set you apart

from anyone else

in this room.

having questions

is no reason

not to believe

and obey.

It is no

excuse.

It wasn't

for Mary.

Your disbelief

actually with

all due

respect

it is because

of disobedience.

It's an

unwillingness

to say to

God

I'm your

servant.

And you

don't want

to do that

because you'll

have to let

go of your

control.

But others

of you

you've maybe

got questions

and even

doubts

but you

want to

move forward

and you

want to

obey.

You've got

no idea

how God

is going

to do

the things

that he's

promised

he's going

to do

in your

life.

You don't

know the

hows.

There are

still lots

of questions

but the

alternatives

to the

Lord Jesus

are far

less credible

in the world

and around

the world

and you've

been with

his people

for long

enough to

know that

there is

something

different

about the

Lord Jesus

his people

and so

you're

willing to

go with

it.

Even if

you don't

understand it

all entirely.

What I'm

trying to say

is that in

this room

there is a

whole spectrum

isn't there

of belief

and of

faith.

And what

we realise

here Luke

shows us

that some

can doubt

with an

open mind

and others

can doubt

with a

closed mind.

And Mary

has the

right kind

of doubts

and questions

because even

though she

has questions

she still

obeys

and she's

willing to

let go of

control of

her life.

She doesn't

know everything

but she

knows enough.

It's the

power of the

Holy Spirit

and she's

willing to

act on it.

Some people

doubt asking

questions like

her.

Some people

doubt closing

off the

possibility of

answers.

And you're

always looking

for shadows

but it's

disobedience

really.

C.S.

Lewis in

his book

The Great

Divorce

pictures a

conversation

between a

believer and

a non-believer

and one guy

he's a

disbeliever

says to the

other

for me

there is no

such thing

as a final

answer.

The free

wind of

inquiry must

always continue

to blow

through the

mind must

it not.

Just keep

asking questions.

He says

on the

journey of

faith to

travel is

better than

to arrive.

In other

words it is

better to be

sceptical

forever.

Don't act

don't believe

don't move

forwards

don't trust

just hold

back and keep

asking questions.

that is

better.

And actually

that is

kind of the

modern way

isn't it?

That's the

virtuous way.

The second

replies there

was a time

when you

asked questions

because you

wanted answers

and you

were glad

when you

found them.

It was

when you

were a

child.

So become

that child

again even

now.

The

disbelievers

said ah but

when I became

a man I

put away

childish

things.

asking

questions

because you

wanted

answers.

There is

something

wonderfully

simple about

that isn't

there and

honest and

sincere about

that and

almost childlike

innocence in

that.

And God

honours those

kind of

questions.

But there is

a pride at

work when we

stop that.

And actually

in Christian

faith there

comes a point

and with

Mary we

have got to

know when

the asking

just has to

lead to

acting

finally.

That whatever

God sends

my way it

is best and

I surrender

to him.

And I

don't understand

all of it

I may not

even agree

with it

all but

I will do

it because

he knows

best.

Come what

may in all

the unknowns

and in all

the fearful

things that

God may be

asking me to

walk into

that God

calls us

to maybe

of even

losing

status and

of being

thought of

in the wrong

way just

like Mary

you don't

have to

understand it

all fully

and we're

fools if we

say we can

understand it

all fully.

You don't

even have to

like it all

fully yet.

You just

have to

obey it.

Simple

acceptance

and an

act of

obedience and

then thirdly

and lastly

a wonderful

assurance

a wonderful

assurance

and this is

when Mary

goes to see

Elizabeth

and what

Mary

does is she

acts upon

the angel's

words and

she goes to

the place

where she can

get assurance

of this

news.

If she

goes to

see Elizabeth

she will

get confirmation

won't she

either way

that the

angel is

real and

has told

her the

truth.

So this

visit to

Elizabeth

is a

means of

assurance

for her

assurance

of faith.

Seeing

Elizabeth

will build

up Mary's

faith and

help her

in her

doubts.

So Mary

acts and

she goes

there.

She avails

herself of

the means

of assurance

and Elizabeth

confirms

this faith.

She confirms

what the

angel has

said.

If you look

at verse

42 and

verse 43

Elizabeth

says

blessed

are you

among

women

and

blessed

is the

fruit

of

your

womb.

Why

is this

granted

to me

that the

mother

of my

Lord

should

come

to me?

Now

as far

as we

know

Elizabeth

has not

heard about

this before

Mary gets

there.

And Luke

shows us

in the

timings

there's

been no

gap

of time

that Mary

receives the

announcement

and then

goes to

visit

Elizabeth.

So

independently

by some

God

given

prophetic

knowledge

Elizabeth

tells

Mary

what Mary

has gone

to tell

Elizabeth.

And what

a boost

that was

to Mary's

faith.

That God

has told

the same

thing to

somebody

else.

This

wasn't a

hallucination

it wasn't

a dream

it is

real.

And

Elizabeth's

miraculous

pregnancy

just like

the angel

says

what a

boost

to her

faith.

And she

really

needed

that.

As stupid

and flimsy

and weak

as she

may have

felt to

go to

Elizabeth

and tell

her this

news

she went

to the

right place

where she

could get

confirmation

and she

took a

risk in

a way.

And in

her obedience

even in

the unknown

she receives

a huge

blessing of

assurance.

And if

we're like

Mary

if we're

struggling

with the

unknowns

and with

questions

and even

with doubts

but we

want to

know answers

and we

want assurance

this is how

God deals

with us

isn't it?

When we

are sincerely

seeking

assurance

the Lord

knows the

strains

that his

word has

on our

minds

at times.

this would

have been

a huge

psychological

strain for

Mary to

get her

head around

this.

And the

Lord knows

that our

minds and

our human

thinking can't

understand it

all like

he does.

He knows

that we're

dust.

But when we

come to him

and we go to

the places

that he's

arranged to

assure us

then he

longs to

boost our

faith.

When we

obey him

he assures

us.

Dietrich

Bonhoeffer

says that

only he

who believes

is obedient

but only

he who is

obedient

believes.

It's

interesting

that isn't

it?

The more

we obey

and act

and move

on what

we know

as little

as it

may feel

that we

know

the more

God

assures

and strengthens

our faith.

he who

is obedient

believes

when you

start

acting

he will

start

assuring

more and

more

and when

we step

out into

the unknown

he is

there waiting

to boost

our faith.

There's a

story of a

king who

went into

a village

to see

his subjects

and he

met a

beggar

sitting by

the roadside

and when

the king

came along

he held

out his

bowl

for a

generous

gift

from the

king

but the

beggar

was shocked

when instead

the king

asked the

beggar for

something

so the

beggar

reluctantly

gave the

king

three

grains

of rice

at the

end of

the day

the beggar

looked in

his bowl

to look

at his

takings

and right

at the

bottom

of his

bowl

he noticed

three

grains

of pure

gold

the king

had

marked

his

obedience

with

blessing

the beggar

said to

himself

oh if

only I

had given

him it

all

Mary's

story shows

us that he

is a God

who is gentle

and he is

kind

with our

questions

and he

loves to

bless

and he

loves to

enrich

and assure

us as we

obey him

and as we

give for him

our lives

when we can

let the

asking

lead to

accepting

and acting

at last

he longs

to get

assuring

and you know

the virgin

birth is just

the beginning

isn't it

of Luke's

gospel

there's more

to come

healings

and

resurrections

and miracles

all over

the place

and there

will be

questions

there'll be

even more

questions

if you

read Luke

but the

virgin birth

stands at

the gates

of Christmas

like a

kind of

sentinel

the virgin

birth stands

actually at

the threshold

of Christianity

at the threshold

of God

himself

and it

makes us

question

our questions

and if

the questions

are just

for finding

more and

more shadows

and closing

off answers

from God

then the

virgin birth

bars the

way for us

doesn't it

towards God

but if we

can see the

virgin birth

and we can

be like Mary

we can just

say I don't

understand it

all

and I might

not get it

all

but I want

to accept

it

and I want

to act

upon it

then your

king waits

to assure

you in it

for by the

power of the

Holy Spirit

nothing is

impossible

with God

let's pray