He Will Reign Forever

All right, well, two weeks ago, we began a new sermon series in the Gospel of Luke.

And we looked at Luke's introduction to his Gospel account.

We talked about his purpose in writing.

It was so that Theophilus and others might have a well-ordered account of what happened with Jesus.

And it was also so that we might have certainty of the things that we've been taught about Jesus.

In Luke's own words, even though he himself was not from the first an eyewitness,

he later carefully investigated everything from the beginning.

And we heard two weeks ago from Luke about where the first signs of God at work began to take place.

It all started with Zechariah, the priest, at the temple of the Lord.

God sent his angel, Gabriel, to appear to Zechariah in the holy place at the temple in Jerusalem.

And the angel brought good news from God.

Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son.

And they were to name that son John.

And John would be great in the sight of the Lord.

He would be someone to cause great joy for many people.

He would come in the manner of Elijah, the prophet from long ago,

meaning that he would do similar things to what Elijah did,

which was to call people to repent and to turn back to God and to God's ways.

And we heard two weeks ago that Zechariah did not believe the angel's words.

He and his wife were elderly and Elizabeth had been barren and unable to conceive.

And because of his unbelief, Zechariah was given this disciplinary consequence

of becoming mute and unable to speak until the birth of John.

And just as the angel had declared, Zechariah's barren and elderly wife conceived.

She became pregnant.

And this was the first sign, the first indication that God was on the move.

An angelic messenger, a miraculous conception,

and a priest who lost his speech in the hill country of Judea.

Well, the months went by and Elizabeth's baby bump began to grow.

She came to the sixth month of her pregnancy, third trimester about to begin.

And at this time, Luke tells us of another supernatural sign,

another angelic encounter, another message of a coming child.

Let me read it for you from Luke chapter 1, verse 26.

Luke 1:26

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth,

a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph,

a descendant of David.

The virgin's name was Mary.

So the same angel, Gabriel, the same one that said to Zechariah,

I am Gabriel.

I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you

and to tell you this good news.

God sends that same angel now to Nazareth, a town in Galilee.

Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, they lived in the hill country of Judea,

which was in that southern part of Israel, down around the same area as Jerusalem.

The capital city was located.

But Nazareth was way up north in the region of Galilee,

a little south and a little west of the Sea of Galilee,

a very small, inconsequential town in the northern hill country of Galilee.

And Luke tells us that there in Galilee was a virgin

who was pledged to be married to a man named Joseph.

The word for virgin here means more than simply young woman.

This word was often used very specifically to refer to a young woman of marriageable age

who had never been with a man.

And that this is meant is confirmed later by Mary's own words.

We're going to get to that in a minute.

The other detail that Luke highlights here is the family lineage of Joseph,

the man that Mary is pledged to be married to.

Luke says that he was a descendant of David,

that is, King David, who lived a thousand years before this.

And this too we're going to see the significance of in just a moment.

So here's this couple.

They're living in Nazareth.

They're not yet married.

In our word today we might say engaged.

They're engaged.

In the Jewish culture of that day,

engagement was much more than it is in our day and in our culture.

They actually had the legal status of being husband and wife

during that period leading up to the wedding.

And then for them to break off that betrothal was the equivalent of a divorce.

Nevertheless, they had not yet had the wedding.

They had not yet had the consummation.

And they were still living chaste lives apart from one another.

And all this is implied in that word betrothed,

or pledged to be married, as the translation on screen says.

So God sends Gabriel to Mary there in Nazareth.

The angel went to her and said,

Greetings, you who are highly favored.

The Lord is with you.

Mary was greatly troubled at his words

and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

But the angel said to her,

Do not be afraid, Mary.

You have found favor with God.

Can you imagine this?

Can you imagine what it would have been like in those moments for Mary?

An angel appears to her,

seemingly out of nowhere,

and begins to speak.

Luke says that Mary was greatly troubled,

thoroughly startled, shaken.

And it's almost like she's just sort of caught in this moment,

wondering what's happening here,

unsure of what's going on.

Luke says she was wondering

what kind of greeting this might be.

We see in the words of the angel

that she was indeed afraid.

The angel said,

Fear not, or do not be afraid, Mary.

And then this statement,

You have found favor with God.

Two times the angel refers to this, or says this.

At the beginning, he says,

You are highly favored.

Greetings, you who are highly favored.

And then at the end,

You have found favor with God.

This phrase,

found favor,

others have noted that this was a Hebrew figure of speech

that was often used in the Old Testament.

It may refer here to how Mary is a person of true faith.

It may refer to,

or imply that up till now,

she has lived well in the sight of God.

And so as a result of that,

has God's favor or pleasure.

But more likely,

the main emphasis here

is not so much on how Mary has lived up until now.

More likely, the main emphasis is about

what God is about to give her

and do with her in the present

and in the immediate future.

She is highly favored

because she has been chosen by God

for something exceedingly special.

That word translated favor

is often translated elsewhere as grace.

It's actually the same word.

And it has mainly to do with the giving of a gift.

Not because the recipient is so deserving,

but because the giver is truly gracious.

And generous

and kind.

In fact, we often define that word grace

as unmerited favor.

That's most likely what is meant here.

You have found favor with God.

I don't think it means that God is so pleased

with Mary's faith and performance

that he's about to give her a reward.

I think it means that she's about to know

and experience

the deep and rich generosity

of the Lord who gives.

In a very abundant way

because of what God is about to do with her.

What does the angel say next

to explain this favor or grace

that is coming her way?

Verse 31.

Mary,

you will conceive

and give birth to a son

and you are to call him

Jesus.

He will be great

and will be called the son of the most high.

The Lord God will give him the throne

of his father, David.

And he will reign

over Jacob's descendants

forever.

His kingdom

will never end.

So Mary,

this is the favor

or grace of God

that you were about to receive

and know

you're going to have a baby boy.

You're going to conceive

and give birth to a son

and the name of your son,

you shall call him

Jesus.

Jesus is the Greek equivalent

of that Hebrew,

Yeshua

or Joshua

which means

Yahweh saves.

The Lord saves.

And then the angel

goes on to tell Mary

about who her son

will be

and what he will do.

And

this must have

utterly

blown

Mary's

mind

and heart

away.

your son

Mary

will be

great

and will be

called

the son

of the most

high.

The most

high

is one of the names

of God himself.

It was one of the ways

that God was referred to

in ancient times

as far back

as the days

of Abraham.

Maybe you remember

the story of

when Melchizedek

the priest

of God

most

high

came

and blessed

Abraham.

He was referred to

there as

the creator

of heaven

and earth.

And now

here is Gabriel

telling Mary

that her

son

will be

called

the son

of the

most

high.

Imagine what

Mary must have

been thinking

in this

moment.

Like are you

saying that

my child

will be

the son

of

God?

But before

we even have

time to think

about what

that means

Gabriel

goes on

to say

more.

The Lord

will give

him the

son that

you will

bear.

The Lord

will give

him the

throne

of his

father

David

and he

will reign

over Jacob's

descendants

forever.

his kingdom

will never

end.

Probably the

first thing

Mary understood

from these

words

is that the

angel was

telling her

that her

son would

be

the long

awaited

Messiah.

The great

king whom

God had

promised.

That's probably

the first thing

she would have

thought of.

The fulfillment

of all that

God had

promised to

King David

a thousand

years

earlier.

The reestablishment

of David's

kingdom

through one

of his

flesh and

blood

descendants.

Gabriel

saying that

promise of

God made

long ago

all the

promises made

concerning that

kingdom are

going to be

kept through

the son that

you will

bear.

Mary

your son

will be

the son

of David

who sits

on his

throne

and reigns

over that

kingdom.

But then

here's another

mind-blowing

thing.

Your son

the son

you will

conceive

the son

you will

give birth

to Mary

he will

reign

forever.

His

kingdom

will

never

end.

Like just

imagine that

you are

Mary for

a moment

here.

Like it's

one thing

to be the

mother of

a king

that part

we can wrap

our heads

around.

Okay

I'm going

to be the

mother of

the Messiah

the greatest

king to

ever live.

But up

until this

point in

human history

there has

not been

a human

king

who has

reigned

forever.

Every

human king

has eventually

died.

More often

than not

even the

greatest and

best of

kingdoms has

fallen

and failed

following the

death of a

great king.

Now there

were some

exceptions

some kingdoms

passed on

to the

sun and

some for

many generations

some ancient

dynasties

lasted a good

many generations

but all

of them

have

eventually

faltered

and failed.

Even the

kingdom of

David

by all

outward

appearances

has gone

this way.

The people

of Israel

and Judah

were ripped

out of

their homeland

and taken

into exile

by the

Assyrians

and Babylonians

and since

coming back

the people

of Israel

have scarcely

known their

own sovereignty

like they had

before under

King David

and King

Solomon.

They've been

living in

subservience

to the

powers of

the day

whether it

be the

Greeks

and now

the Romans.

They have a

king now

his name is

Herod

but he's

kind of a

political puppet

of the Roman

Empire.

every human

king till

now has

eventually

died

and every

kingdom

the world

has ever

seen

up until

this point

has eventually

fallen.

But Gabriel

comes from

the presence

of God

and says

to Mary

your son

will sit

on the

throne of

David

and reign

forever.

his kingdom

will never

end.

The only

way that

this could

be true

is if

somehow

Mary's

son becomes

the first

man ever

the first

king ever

to overcome

death

either to

never die

or somehow

after dying

to rise

from the

dead

and then

live

forever.

I'd love

to know

just what

Mary was

thinking as

she heard

this.

The days

and years

that followed

as she

pondered

this.

This would

take great

faith to

believe.

Statistically

the chances

of this

happening

naturally

are zero.

Everybody

dies.

We could

maybe point

to Elijah

the prophet

who was

caught up

to heaven

by a

chariot

of fire

before he

died but

generally

everybody

dies and

yet God

says Mary

your son

will reign

forever

over a

kingdom that

will never

end.

Now imagine

you're Mary

in this

moment.

What's your

first question

for the

angel?

There were

probably so

many questions

that she

could have

asked.

So many

that she

wanted to

ask in

this moment.

And this

is the

question

that Mary

chose to

ask.

How will

this be?

Mary asked

the angel

since I'm

a virgin.

Of all the

things she

could have

asked,

like are you

saying that

my son will

be the

son of

God?

Are you

saying that

my son will

be the

Messiah?

Are you

saying that

my son will

live forever?

forever?

Yet there's

no question

of whether

it will

happen.

This is

not like

Zachariah who

expressed his

disbelief with

his question.

The first

question Mary

asks has to

do with

how.

Not if,

not whether,

but how.

How will I

conceive and

give birth to

this child

since I'm a

virgin?

Actually this

translation on

screen is

kind of giving

us the

dynamic

equivalence.

It's

translating

idea for

idea, but

let's hear the

word for word

translation.

Quite literally

Mary asks,

how will

this be

since I

have not

known a

man?

And that

phrase,

known a

man, is

indeed a

figure of

speech for

what you

think it

is.

So she's

asking the

angel about

the logistics

of this.

Since

presently, by

the natural

way of

things, conceiving

is biologically

impossible.

Like I've

never been

with Joseph

or any

other man.

So like

is this

going to

happen after

Joseph and

I have

the wedding?

Or

what?

The angel

answered,

the Holy

Spirit will

come upon

you and

the power

of the

Most High

will

overshadow

you.

So the

Holy One

to be

born will

be called

the Son

of God.

So the

angel very

clearly

answers

Mary's

question.

The

conception

of this

Son is

not going

to happen

in the

natural

way.

it's

not going

to happen

from you

knowing

a man

Mary.

This is

how it

will happen.

The Holy

Spirit of

God

will come

upon you.

His

power will

overshadow

you,

causing

you

to

conceive.

This is

going to

be a

supernatural,

miraculous

conception

with no

human

father.

God

himself

is going

to make

it happen

in the

womb.

And so

therefore

as a

result

the Holy

One

to be

born

will be

called

rightly

called

the

Son

of God.

God

this

was one

of the

first

things

Gabriel

said to

Mary

just a

moment

before

this

that

he

would

be

called

the

Son

of

the

Most

High.

What

is Mary

thinking?

Like are

you saying

that people

will call

my

child

the

Son

of

God?

And

with this

explanation

Gabriel

is saying

yes

they will

call him

that

and in

reality

that is

what?

That is

who

he will

be.

And at

that moment

I just

sort of

imagine

Mary's

eyes

going

wide.

I

imagine

it

because

of what

the

angel

says

next.

What

the

angel

says

next

seems

to

offer

assurance

that

God

can

in

fact

do

this

thing

that

is

seemingly

impossible.

The

angel

says

even

Elizabeth

your

relative

is going

to have

a

child

in

her

old

age

and

she

who

is

said

to be

unable

to

conceive

is in

her

sixth

month

for

no

word

from

God

will

ever

fail.

So

the

angel

just

kind

of

spells

it

out.

Yes

this

is

seemingly

impossible.

This

is

naturally

impossible

just

like

for

your

relative

Elizabeth

who's

now

six

months

pregnant.

It

was

said

about

her

she

can't

have

children

and

now

she's

elderly

but

just

as

God

said

according

to

his

word

which

came

through

me

Gabriel

she's

in her

sixth

month

now.

What

God

says

he

will

do

however

impossible

it

seems.

Same

goes

for

you

Mary

you

will

conceive

you

will

give

birth

to

a

son

he

will

be

all

these

things

he

will

do

what

I

have

said

and

all

this

will

take

place

apart

from

any

union

with

any

man

because

God

will

be

the

father

of

this

child.

Let's

take

a

moment

just

to

think

about

the

biological

aspect

of

this

miracle.

For

those

of

you

who

have

studied

biology

how

does

a

new

human

life

come

to

be?

Well

there's

one

cell

from

the

man

that

meets

up

with

one

cell

from

the

woman

and

the

two

merge.

Each

one of

those

cells

on

their

own

contains

only

half

the

chromosomes

needed

for

human

life.

And so

these

two

cells

they

merge

at the

moment

of

conception

and

a

new

human

being

comes

into

existence.

Without

that

cell

provided

by

the

man

meeting

up

with

that

cell

from

the

woman

it

is

biologically

impossible

for

a human

life

to

begin.

100%.

It

will

never

happen.

There

cannot

be a

human

being

with

just

23

out

of

46

chromosomes.

They

must

be

paired

with

23

pairs

half

supplied

by

the

mother

half

supplied

by

the

father.

Each

of

those

chromosomes

is

made

up

of

a

single

DNA

molecule

that

contains

many

genes.

That's

the

information

that's

required

to

assemble

you

properly

or to

develop

you

into

a

fully

functioning

human

being.

Think

about

Down

Syndrome

for a

second.

It

occurs

when

there's

an

additional

copy

of

chromosome

21.

Just

one

chromosome.

And

as you

know,

the

implications

of that

one

little

error

in the

process

are

life

altering.

And

so

there

simply

cannot

be

a

human

being

of

any

kind

without

both

the

DNA,

the

genetic

information

supplied

by both

mother

and

father.

It's

biologically

impossible.

And so

with Joseph

out of

this

equation,

what's

required

for Mary

to

conceive

is no

less

than the

miraculous

supernatural

intervention

of God.

God.

I mean,

it's

so

impossible

according

to the

natural

biological

laws

that we

know of

that we

might be

tempted

to ask

whether

God

can

even

do

this.

But

let's

not

forget

who

God

is.

He

is

the

most

high.

He

is

the

creator

of

the

heavens

and

the

earth.

He

is

the

author

of

life.

He

not

only

fashioned

the

first

man

and

woman

out

of

the

dust

of

the

earth

but

breathed

into

them

the

breath

of

life

and

made

them

to

live.

He

didn't

just

form

the

first

man

and

woman

by

his

power

but

he's

the

very

source

of

the

idea

and

design

of

who

they

are.

Who

they

were.

Every

functioning,

every

detail.

And

if

God

can

do

that

and

he

can

he

did

then

by

his

power

he

can

cause

Mary

to

conceive

without

a

human

father.

He

is

all

powerful.

He

is

the

almighty

one.

Is

anything

too

hard

for

him?

Even

our

ability

to

wonder

and

think

about

this

comes

because

he

gave

us

that

ability.

to

think

and

to

reason.

Of

course

God

can

do

this.

But

it

will

be

an

amazing

miracle

of

God's

power.

I

love

the

final

statement

of

Gabriel

to

Mary.

For

no

word

from

God

will

ever

fail.

Some

translations

say

for

nothing

will

be

impossible

with

God.

And

both

of

these

translations

are

important.

I

think

each

of

them

captures

something

the

other

misses.

First

of

all,

this

is

about

God

doing

the

impossible.

This

statement

comes

in the

context

of

two

impossible

things

seemingly.

Elizabeth

bearing a

child

in her

old age

and

Mary

conceiving

without

a

human

father.

But

second,

this

is also

about

God's

word.

What

is it

that

shall

not

be

impossible

with

God?

Quite

literally,

every

word

shall

not

be

impossible

with

God.

Some

translations

render it

as

nothing

or

no

thing

shall

be

impossible

with

God.

But

that

word

translated

as

thing

is

actually

the

word

word.

No

word

shall

be

impossible

with

God.

Hence

the

translation

that

you

see

on

the

screen.

I'd

suggest

to you

that

both

of

these

taken

together

point

us

to

what

Gabriel

meant.

Nothing

God

has said

he will

do

is

impossible

for him

to bring

about.

And this

has been

God's

pattern

not just

so far

in Luke

but in

all human

history

right back

to the

beginning.

The whole

Bible is

the story

of God

speaking

and his

word is

powerful.

What he

says

comes

to

pass

comes

about.

Nothing

he says

is empty

or impotent

and so

I think

it's

both

a statement

of God's

all

powerful

nature

as well

as a

statement

of his

faithfulness

to keep

his word

no matter

how

difficult

or impossible

that may

seem.

And I

love

Mary's

very

simple

response

of faith

here in

verse 38

she says

I am

the Lord's

servant

may your

word to

me

be fulfilled

and the

angel left

her.

So Mary

doesn't doubt

or disbelieve

like Zachariah

did.

She says

I'm the

Lord's

servant

quite

literally

I am

the Lord's

slave

slave.

That word

has been

variously

translated

as

servant

bond

servant

maid

servant

hand

maid

bond

slave

and the

reason is

because we

don't have

today in

our culture

slaves like

they had

back then.

The most

recent form

of slavery

that we're

all familiar

with is

that sort

of abusive

dehumanizing

cruelty

towards people

of a

particular

ethnicity

but that's

not the

kind of

slavery that

was the

norm back

then.

People

back then

sometimes

sold

themselves

into

slavery

to deal

with

debts

or to

survive

if they

were unable

to provide

for themselves

and it was

just the way

things were.

People were

considered as

part of a

household

if they

were a

slave and

sometimes

they were

happy

and lived

happy lives

even in

a lower

kind of

situation.

Sometimes

they were

treated very

well by

their masters

but what's

Mary expressing

here by

this?

I am

the

Lord's

slave.

Well the

idea of

ownership

was very

much still

a part

of slavery

even back

then.

It's as if

Mary is

saying

I belong

to the

Lord

my God

he is

my master

it is

my place

my role

to serve

him

to do

what he

asks

or what

he

chooses.

So this

is a

statement

of deep

reverence

and

submission.

We see

an attitude

of humility

here.

I am

not my

own

I belong

to you

Lord

and I'm

willing to

do whatever

you ask

of me

to serve

however you

desire me

to do

as you

have said

with me.

it's almost

like a

verbal

bowing

down to

the ground

as low

as she

can.

I love

this passage.

Luke is

the only

one who

details this

amazing

moment.

It would

be about

30 years

before Jesus

hits the

spotlight

of the

nation

but isn't

it wonderful

that Luke

went back

to the

source

and

carefully

investigated

everything

and quite

probably

tracked down

Mary herself

to hear

the story

of how

it all

began.

There she

was.

She and

Joseph

pledged

to be

married

with a

wedding

on the

horizon

when one

day out

of nowhere

God's

angel

appeared

to her

with this

truly

awesome

news.

You're

going to

have a

baby boy

and he

will be

the very

son

of God.

Joseph

will not

be

the

father

of

this

child

according