The True Story of God's King: Luke 1v26-38

Open it up to us.

So Luke chapter 1, starting at verse 26.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

26 is actually on 1026.

In the sixth month, 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.

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.

You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name 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 the house of Jacob forever.

His kingdom will never end.

How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin?

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.

Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age,

and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.

For nothing is impossible with God.

I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered.

May it be to me as you have said.

Then the angel left her.

Thanks, Charlie.

Thanks very much, Connor.

There's notes being handed out.

If you'd like to follow along,

it's a way of just helping to process and think through

what we're looking at this morning.

And if you've got questions,

please feel free to ask after.

So we're going to look at a section of what we might traditionally call

the Christmas story.

And it's a story not only to hear,

it's a story to tell.

And with that in mind,

let me just encourage you

and remind us all that on Wednesday,

we'll be giving out calendars.

And through the calendars each month,

there's verses from the Bible,

and throughout the calendar,

there's readings,

which tell people the story,

the true story of Christ coming into the world.

And then next Sunday,

just to remind you again,

that at five o'clock is our carol service.

And again,

it's a way of telling the story to people,

inviting people to come.

So these little invites that I'm holding up here at the table,

please avail of them

and do invite people to come along.

Well, let's pray.

Let's pray.

Our Father God,

we thank you for your word.

We thank you for this account of the coming of Christ into the world.

We thank you that just as Luke has written,

that we can now read it

and hear your truth being spoken to us.

And we pray that it will be a truth that changes us,

a truth that sets our hearts on fire,

that reveals to us afresh

the wonder of God the King

coming into this world.

we pray, Father,

that not one of us will leave

without you doing a work in our lives

and showing us Christ more fully

so that we may delight in him,

love him,

and serve him more and more.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, do you really believe this story,

the story that was just read to us?

Don't you think it's a little bit far-fetched,

all this talk of angels appearing

and virgins conceiving?

No one really believes this stuff anymore.

It's a nice story,

but it's not really a true story,

is it?

Richard Dawkins,

formerly Oxford University's professor

for the public understanding of science,

so a very well-respected man in these fields,

says what many people believe.

He says this,

it's supernatural nonsense

to believe in the virgin birth.

You cannot be an intellectual,

scientific thinker

and still hold religious beliefs.

It seems that for many,

unless something can be explained scientifically,

it simply can't be true.

Science, we are told,

has proved that there's no such thing

as the miraculous.

Angels do not appear

and virgins do not conceive.

Well, before we write this story off

as a simple fairy tale

or as just a legend,

let's consider this.

If God is going to say something,

and if God is going to do something,

why should we be surprised

if it does not fit

the normal boundaries of science?

What kind of God would he be

if he were confined

to the natural laws of science?

God is not constrained

to the tests and formula

of a laboratory.

If God created these laws,

is he not free to act outside

these laws?

So when God says something,

when God does something,

we should not be surprised

if it doesn't fit

our everyday experience.

You see, God speaks

and God acts

in an extraordinary way

to get our attention.

First,

God speaks

to announce his grace.

Look at verse 26.

In the sixth month,

God sent the angel Gabriel

to Nazareth.

When God sends an angel,

something big

is about to happen.

You see, angels appearing

is not an everyday experience.

When Mary saw

and heard the angel,

she doesn't say,

oh, it's Gabriel again.

How are you?

No, Mary's in complete

and utter shock.

Look at verse 29.

Mary was greatly troubled

at the words

and wondered.

The wonder is not

in kind of awe

and amazement,

but am I seeing things?

Is this really an angel?

Verse 30.

But the angel said to her,

do not be afraid, Mary.

Mary is terrified.

She's scared.

The visit of an angel

is not a normal experience.

So when God sends an angel,

it demands our attention.

God has something important to say.

When we were growing up,

we didn't have a TV in the home,

but my father had a wireless radio.

And at the dinner table,

it would always be on

in the background

and with all the noise

and all the talk,

no one could ever hear it.

But then just before six o'clock,

you would hear this

beep,

beep,

beep,

beep

from the wireless.

It was the cue

that the news

was just about to come on

and we all had to shut up

so Dad could listen.

Now the sending

of an angel

is God's way

of interrupting

the normal run of life.

It's God's megaphone

into the noise

of this world.

God's way of saying,

shut up and listen.

I have some news

and I want you to hear it.

Because what the angel

has to say

is what God

has to say.

So what is it

that God

has to say?

Well,

he speaks in grace.

Verse 28.

The angel

went to Mary

and said,

greetings,

you who are

highly favoured.

the Lord

is with you.

Mary

is favoured.

Literally,

it means

grace

has come

to you

or grace

has come

upon you.

Not because

Mary was

special

or sinless,

but simply

because of

God's

amazing grace.

God could have

chosen

anyone.

But,

look at verse 30,

the angel

said to her,

do not be afraid,

Mary.

You

have found

favour

or you

have found

grace

with God.

Mary's not even

looking for God.

She's not even

expecting any kind

of visit.

But yet,

God

intervenes

into her life

and that's what

grace is.

God's goodness

and generosity

and kindness

intervening

invading

our lives.

Not because

we've earned

it or deserve

it,

but because

God

loves us.

You see,

we can be so

familiar with

this story

that we can

miss the point

of the story.

Look at how

Luke

begins

his introduction

to this

story in

verse 26.

In the

sixth month,

that is the

sixth month

of Elizabeth's

pregnancy,

that's the

cousin of

Mary,

God sent

the angel

Gabriel to

Nazareth,

a town in

Galilee.

Now,

Galilee was

a region

that was at

the very

edge of

the nation

of Israel,

the northern

edge.

and Nazareth

was at the

very edge

of Galilee.

It's like

talking about

Ballyhillon.

You know

Ballyhillon?

It's at the

very tip of

Midden Head,

at the very

top of

Donegal.

It's kind

of who

goes there

kind of

place.

Nazareth

is not the

centre of

the universe.

It was a

small,

backward

town.

Archaeologists

can tell us

that it

was a

town of

no more

than just

50 houses.

In fact,

one disciple

would later

make the

derogatory

comment,

Nazareth,

can anything

good come

from there?

You never

went to

Nazareth.

You left

there as

quick as

possible.

But that's

where God

chooses to

go and

announce his

message.

And if

that doesn't

seem strange,

look at

who God

chooses to

talk to,

verse 27.

To a

virgin

pledged

to be

married to

a man

named

Joseph,

a descendant

of David,

the virgin's

name was

Mary.

Who's

Mary?

Well,

that's the

point.

Nobody

knows who

Mary is.

She's a

small-time

girl in a

small-time

town.

In fact,

she's probably

not much

older than

15 years

of age

because that's

when marriage

arrangements would

happen.

She's a

nobody.

We don't

have any

background or

any recording

of who she

is or

anything about

her family.

Now,

doesn't all

this strike

you as

odd?

God

chooses an

ordinary

person in

an ordinary

place to

announce

to announce

his grand

message?

Surely God

could do much

better than

that.

Why not

announce it

in Jerusalem,

the capital,

somewhere really

important?

Why not

choose someone

wealthy or

well-known,

someone from

a religious

establishment?

Why does

God deliberately

and intentionally

go to this

back-a-beyond

town and

speak to

an unknown

trembling

teenage

girl?

Because

God

comes

and speaks

in grace.

You see,

what God

has to say,

he has to

say to

people like

you and

me.

God has

come to

ordinary

people in

ordinary

places.

You see,

the point

of this

great story

is that

no one

is off

limits

from God's

grace.

You don't

have to be

important

or wealthy

or well-known.

You don't

have to come

from a certain

address and

have studied

at a certain

college.

You don't

even have to

have it

together.

You just

have to be

undeserving

and that's

what we

are.

God

could have

chosen

anyone

in any

place,

but in

his grace

he chose

Mary

in

Nazareth.

And so

God chooses

to intervene

into our

world and

into our

lives by

his son,

the Lord

Jesus

Christ,

speaking

his truth

through his

word and

calling people

like you

and me,

ordinary

individuals,

nobodies in

this world,

calling us

to come and

serve him,

to love him,

to obey him

because no

one is

off limits

from God's

grace.

But what is

this news?

What is

God announcing?

What is he

going to

do?

Well,

God acts

to establish

his king.

Verse 31.

The angel

said to

Mary,

verse 31,

you will be

with child,

give birth to

a son and

you're going

to give

him the

name Jesus.

Now,

women get

pregnant all

the time.

There's

nothing

extraordinary

about that.

Except in

Mary's case,

it is a

supernatural

act of

God.

Verse 34,

how is

this going

to be?

Mary asked

the angel.

I'm a

virgin.

Mary didn't

doubt that

she could

have a

son.

After all,

she was

soon to

be married

to Joseph

and like

every young

girl,

she dreamed

of being

a mother.

The problem

for Mary

was,

how can

I have

a son

when I

am still

a virgin?

It's

impossible.

This is

nonsense.

Virgins

do not

conceive.

Unless,

of course,

God chooses

to act

in a

supernatural

way.

Verse 35,

the angel

answered,

the Holy

Spirit will

come upon

you,

and the

power of

the Most

High will

overshadow

you.

This is

unique in

the history

of the

world.

No other

child has

been born

in this

way.

Millions of

children have

been born.

Billions have

been born.

children have

been born.

But no child

has been

born this

way.

God, by the

power of

his Holy

Spirit,

caused Mary

to be

pregnant

without the

normal means

of sexual

intercourse.

This is not

ordinary.

This is

extraordinary.

This is

supernatural.

This is

God's way

of getting

the world's

attention and

saying,

I am

going to

do

something

grand and

amazing and

I want

you to

pay attention

to what

I am

going to

do.

So what

is God

going to

do?

Well,

look at

verse 31

again.

You will

have a

child,

you'll give

birth to

a son,

and you're

to name

him

Jesus.

Jesus.

The name

Jesus means

the Lord

saves.

So this

child born

to be

Mary is

God's

means of

saving this

disordered

world and

its broken

people.

At this

stage of

the story,

we're not

told exactly

how it's

all going

to happen,

but simply

that this

child,

Jesus,

is going

to save.

four things

were told

by Luke

at this

point.

First,

he is the

promised

king.

In the

chronicles

of Narnia,

the land

of Narnia

is frozen

in ice

and snow,

ruled by

the wicked

white witch.

But then

as you read

through the

story,

the land

begins to

thaw,

and the

ice begins

to melt,

and the

animals

of the

forest

recognize

the

sign.

Aslan,

the king,

he's

coming.

Now,

the first

readers of

Luke's

gospel,

as they

read this

text,

would have

said the

same.

The king,

he's

come.

You see,

all through

the Old

Testament,

God had

been promised,

the whole

story of

the Old

Testament,

is God's

great promise

that he

would establish

his king.

king.

Listen to

this from

the prophet

Isaiah,

speaking all

those hundreds

of years

before,

700 years

before the

birth of

Christ.

This is

what he

says,

Therefore,

the Lord

himself will

give you a

sign.

The virgin

will be with

child and

give birth to

a son.

So as these

first readers,

as they began

to read Luke's

gospel,

and they come

across Mary,

a virgin,

giving birth,

they would

recognize the

sign and

they would

declare God's

promised king

has come.

God is

ruling all of

history and

all of time

and bringing

to fulfilment

his promise

to bring his

king.

But he's not

just a promised

king, he's

the ruling

king.

Nations

today, like

Britain,

they have

kings, but

they're largely

symbolic.

They don't

have any

real power.

But God's

king is the

one who will

rule with

absolute power

and supreme

authority.

Look at

verse 32.

He will be

great and

will be called

son of the

most high.

God's

king sits

on the

world's

throne.

He rules

over all

people and

all things.

He holds

the reins of

all power.

He decides

what is right

and what is

wrong.

He will

determine the

course of

history and

the decisions

of man.

But he's

more than

that.

He's the

eternal

king.

Some rulers

and kings

reign for a

long time

over a

nation.

king.

We know

of one

recently,

Fidel

Castro.

For years

he ruled

over Cuba.

But eventually

they die

and someone

else comes

and takes

their place.

But not

with God's

king.

Verse 33.

He will

reign over

the house

of Jacob

forever.

His

kingdom will

never end.

this king

is not

going to

be pushed

out or

overthrown

or replaced.

Yes,

he will

die but

he will

rise again.

He will

be king

forever

over all

time and

over all

people and

over all

history.

And he

is God

the king.

Kings in

the past

as rulers

do today

behave as

if they

are a

god.

Dictating,

ruling,

just like

we want

to do

with our

own lives.

We think

we're

God.

But this

child is

God the

king.

Look at

the end

of verse

35.

As the

angel says

to Mary,

so the

holy one

to be

born will

be called

the son

of God.

You see

the virgin

conception

is not

just to

get our

attention.

It's

there to

tell us

that this

child born

to Mary

doesn't have

an earthly

father.

He has

a heavenly

father.

In other

words,

his nature

is divine.

He is

fully God.

He will

be called,

end of

verse 35,

the son

of God,

a title

making him

equal or

one with

God.

God.

So God

acts in

a supernatural

way to

show us

that this

child is

nothing less

than the

eternal God

come in

human form

into our

world to

save.

This is no

ordinary

child.

In fact,

this supernatural

conception

proves to

us his

supernatural

role.

He is

God's

saving

king.

And he's

not voted

in by

popular

demand,

but he

has been

installed

among the

nations of

the world

by God.

His rule

doesn't depend

on the

will of

the people,

whether they

like him

or not,

but he

is there

by the

will of

God.

And that

will will

not be

overturned.

His

kingdom is

built,

not by

our

support.

His

kingdom

is

established

by God

because

he

is

God.

Now,

we might

have trouble

with a

God who

acts and

intervenes

in this

way.

But if

God is

truly

God,

does he

not have

the right

to install

his

king?

and

establish

his

rule

over

all

people

and

over

all

nations?

You see,

this child

born to

Mary is

your

king

and my

king.

He is

the world's

king,

whether we

like it,

whether we

bow to

him or

not.

He is

our

king.

So,

God

announces

speaking

his

grace

into

this

world

and

God

acts

to

establish

his

king.

Now,

again,

because this

story is

just so

familiar

to us,

we could

write about

it,

we could

tell it

to people.

It can

be so

familiar that

we might

think,

you know,

this was

just easy

for Mary.

Oh,

yeah,

have a

baby,

God's

son,

no problem,

what's

next on

the agenda?

But it

wasn't.

Mary is

deeply

troubled.

She's

terrified.

She's

doubting.

She's

questioning.

An angel

has just

appeared

telling her

that she's

going to

give birth

to God

the king.

How

can this

be?

I'm not

even

married.

What am

I going

to tell

Joseph?

What if

he doesn't

believe me?

I'm just

a young

girl living

in a

small town.

This

can't be

happening.

This is

not

possible.

Well,

listen to

what the

angel said,

verse 37.

For

nothing

is

impossible

with

God.

It's

not saying

that God

will do

anything

and

everything,

but

literally

it's

saying

no

word

of

God

will

fail.

Mary,

everything

God

says

he is

going

to

do,

he

will

do,

and it

will

not

fail.

It

will

come

to

pass.

So

Mary,

what God

has said

is going

to happen

in your

life,

will

happen.

In a

sense,

it's a

call for

Mary

to

obey

God's

word

and

trust

God's

actions.

And

that's

exactly

what

Mary

does.

She

surrenders

to

God

the

King.

Verse

38.

I

am

the

Lord's

servant,

Mary

answered.

May

it be

to me

as

you

have

said.

then

the

angel

left

her.

You

see,

let's

get

ourselves

into

the

feet

of

Mary.

Mary

might

not

like

everything

that

is

asked

of

her,

but

yet

she

obeys

despite

all

her

doubts

and

all

her

questions.

I

am

the

Lord's

servant.

And

Mary

might

not

understand

everything

that is

asked

of

her,

but

she

trusts

despite

all

her

troubles

and

all

her

fears.

May

it

be

to

me

as

you

have

said.

I

don't

understand

everything

that is

going

on.

I

can't

see

how

all

this

is

going

to

work

out,

how

I'm

going

to

tell

people,

how

they're

going

to

respond.

I

just

don't

know

what's

going

on

here,

but

I

will

obey

you.

And I

will

trust

you

because

what

you

say

and what

you

do

and how

you

act

is

always

right.

now

as we

hear

this

true

story

of

God's

King

coming

into

the

world,

intervening,

invading

by his

grace,

the same

response is

required from

you and

from me.

Thinking

and studying

about this

this week

and reading,

I came

across one

writer who

put it

like this.

he asks

two

questions

which I

think get

behind the

response of

Mary.

And here's

the two

questions that

we're going

to settle

on and

reflect on.

Here's the

first one.

As we

think of

God coming

the King

into the

world,

speaking

his grace,

establishing

his King.

Here's the

first question.

are you

willing to

obey anything

God says

in his

word,

the Bible,

whether you

like it

or not?

Are you

willing to

accept the

King's

commands

on how

we should

live?

Mary was

called to.

Are you

willing to

submit to

his word

in regards

to marriage?

not how I

think marriage

should be,

but what

does God

say?

Are you

willing to

submit to

his words

in regards

to church?

Not what I

think about

church,

but what

does God

say?

Am I

willing to

submit to

his every

command and

live under

its authority?

Can we

say, as

Mary said

in verse

38,

I am

the Lord's

servant.

I will

obey.

Here's the

other question.

Are you

willing to

trust God

with how

he acts

in your

life,

whether you

understand

it or

not?

Mary didn't

understand

everything that

was going

on.

Are you

willing to

accept the

things that

God brings

into your

life, the

circumstances

that you

must go

through?

Are you

willing to

surrender to

his gracious

interventions in

your life,

whether that

is a path of

suffering or

a path of

honour?

can we

say, as

Mary said

in verse

38,

may it

be to

me as

you have

said.

I will

trust you.

I can't

actually see

the point of

why I'm

going through

this or

why I have

to go

through this,

but I will

trust you.

you see,

I think we

all want to

be in

control of

our lives.

We all

want to

decide what

is best.

We don't

want God

intervening or

interfering with

what we

should do.

We don't

want people

telling us

how to

live.

But if

God the

King is

King,

does he

not have

the right

to say

to us

what we

should do

and what

should happen

in our

lives?

Who are

we to

speak back

to this

God who

spoke through

the angel,

who establishes

his King?

What right

have I to

say, you

should do

this and

you shouldn't

do that?

my life

and your

life

belongs

to God.

What you

say to me,

Father,

through your

word,

I will

obey.

And what

you do

in and

through my

life,

Father,

I will

trust.

are we

the

Lord's

servant?

Can we

say, may

it be to

me as

you have

said?

This is

God's

King.

He demands

our life.

Obey

him.

Trust

him.

Let's

pray.

adds

him to

him.