[0:00] what is revealed in the text today. I was amazed at how many themes. We're going to talk about Jesus, the one being born of Mary, will be a king.
[0:13] And we sang, O worship the king. We see that Jesus is the one who sets us free, and we see that, we will see that.
[0:23] I'll show you that in this text as well. What text is that, Bill? Well, look, take out your Bibles and turn to Luke chapter 1 in your Bibles. Zach already told you what the page number is.
[0:35] If you don't have your own Bible and you need to use Pew Bible, 800 something, I don't know. Luke chapter 1, it's after, you got Matthew, Mark, Luke.
[0:47] Luke. We are going to be looking at the second birth announcement in Luke 1.
[0:58] The first one was in chapter 1, verses 5 through 25, the announcement of the birth of John, who would become known as John the Baptist, born of a priestly family.
[1:14] And John's father, who was not just old but advanced in age, received this revelation while he was in the holy place offering the incense.
[1:27] Very significant moment, which I think pointed, as John does, to Jesus. Now we come now to the second birth announcement in verse 26 to 38.
[1:39] The same angel comes now to Mary, not an old man in the temple, but an unknown gal, young girl, really, in a no-name, insignificant place called Nazareth.
[1:59] And his announcement to her is even more glorious than the announcement to Zechariah. Whereas Zechariah is great and will be a prophet of the Most High, Mary's son will be great and the son of the Most High.
[2:20] So we're stepping it up. I want to read both texts because Luke has intended for us to see comparisons between John the Baptist and Jesus.
[2:35] And even the way he structures the announcement to Zechariah about John, he follows that same structure as he announces to Mary the birth of Jesus.
[2:49] So John intends for us to make comparisons between these two. So I want to read them both, but we'll focus on the second one. So if you have your Bibles out, Luke chapter 1, beginning of verse 5, I'm going to read from 5 through 38.
[3:06] So if you're able, please stand as I read. Luke 1, 5. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abiyah, and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
[3:27] They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord, but they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
[3:45] Now while he was serving as priest before God, when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
[3:58] And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
[4:13] And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John, and you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord, and he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb.
[4:50] And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready for the Lord a people who have been prepared.
[5:15] And Zechariah said to the angel, How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. And the angel answered him, I am Gabriel.
[5:30] I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.
[5:55] And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.
[6:08] And when his time of service was ended, he went home. After these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived. And for five months, she kept herself hidden, saying, Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me to take away my reproach among people.
[6:32] In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David.
[6:49] 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.
[7:07] 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.
[7:26] 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.
[7:43] And of his kingdom, there will be no end. And Mary said to the angel, How will this be, since I am a virgin?
[7:55] Literally, she said, I have not known a man. And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
[8:10] 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.
[8:25] And this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.
[8:39] And Mary said, Behold, I am the bond slave of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.
[8:52] And the angel departed from her. So it reads, let us pray. Father, cause your name to be holy and set apart.
[9:06] Cause your kingdom to come to us through this text. Cause your will to be done here as it is done in heaven.
[9:17] Feed us today. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[9:33] We pray in the name of Jesus, our Lord. Amen. Please be seated. Mary. Mary.
[9:48] Mary. What do you think about Mary? Is Mary the mother of God? Her son is the mother of God.
[10:01] I mean, her son is the son of God. does that make her the mother of God? That's what the Roman Catholic Church says.
[10:18] Hail Mary, full of grace. Right? That comes from this text. Now our translation, which is based on the Greek, says, hail Mary, favored one.
[10:34] But the Latin Vulgate, upon which the church, the Roman Catholic Church, bases their rosary, interprets the Latin as hail Mary, full of grace.
[10:49] Was Mary full of grace already when the angel came? Or was the angel bestowing grace upon her? How will you look at it?
[10:59] Roman Catholic Church made several papal, papal, as in pope, decrees about Mary.
[11:13] In 1854, they made an official, an official decree that Mary was born sinless. Therefore, she did not pass sin on to her son.
[11:25] Reading the text, I think they got that one backwards. In 1950, they decreed that Mary never died. Took a while to figure that one out, I guess.
[11:38] I don't know. It had already been that thought, but they made it a formal decree. And in 1954, they decreed that she is queen of heaven. So, what does the text say?
[11:54] I don't care what the Roman Catholic Church says. What does the Bible say? I've got Luther in trouble as well. Is Mary, is this the Mary of Scripture?
[12:08] Was Mary sinless? Or was Jesus sinless? Is Mary queen of heaven? Or is Jesus the ruling king in heaven?
[12:19] I find no verse that says Mary sits beside Jesus. So, why does it even matter?
[12:30] I mean, why does it matter? What is, what is our text presenting to us that matters? our text presents to us a king who is reigning and whose rule is eternal.
[12:52] Does that have implications for us today? Who, who can fix our world? Can Mary fix our world?
[13:03] Can Trump fix our world? How about Uncle Joe? How about someone else, some young buck that comes up that's got passion and values and really sounds good to us Christians?
[13:22] How about somebody like that? What do we need to fix our world and our culture? What concerns do you have about our world?
[13:33] We have lots of concerns, do we not? Are you concerned about the economy? About your retirements fading away? Are you concerned about jobs?
[13:46] Values? Are you concerned about families? Children? Going to have a discussion next week, right? About family and mother?
[14:00] Yeah. Good. That's a big concern. So, in Luke 1, Luke gives us two birth announcements, first John the Baptist and then Jesus Christ.
[14:19] He presents Jesus as one who can fix our world. See, whoever can fix our world must be someone who cares about us.
[14:29] we don't just want somebody in power that doesn't care and does what they want. We want someone that cares about us, right? We need somebody that knows what they're doing and we need somebody that actually has the authority to do something.
[14:45] Because we can have a good person in control who only cares about their thing. We can have a good person in control that cares about us but has absolutely no power to do anything.
[14:57] We need a king. who actually does care, who does know what he's doing and has all the power to do what is right. That's what this text presents to us.
[15:10] Someone who can fix our world. But what is his agenda? Is his agenda a political agenda?
[15:24] Is his agenda for America? Does he care about America, the country, the nation? Certainly he has some care.
[15:35] Obviously he's been involved. But is that first of his agenda? No. His agenda is much bigger than that and much more profound than that.
[15:51] I want you to see on your outline I put even the kind of the parallel chiasms that are there in Luke 1.
[16:05] The parallel of John and Jesus on the left side in your outline you have John's structure for how the birth announcement came to Elizabeth.
[16:16] It begins in 1, 5 to 7. the angel comes to Elizabeth and she's described as barren and old. That story ends in 1, 24 as Elizabeth conceiving.
[16:30] In the middle you see people waiting while Zechariah is troubled by the greeting. And then later you see the people waiting at the end and Zechariah has now been silenced.
[16:43] In the middle you see the angel's word, the first angel word comes to John that you will have a son, your wife will bear a son, and you will call his name John.
[16:53] He will be great. He will be a prophet of the Most High, a great man. He will turn people. In the middle you see Zechariah's question.
[17:06] Too late. I'm too old. It ain't happening. And we know his question is unbelief because then the angel Gabriel announces, dude, who are you talking to here?
[17:24] And you shall now be silent. Not just that you won't be able to speak, but you won't be able to hear. In other words, you're going to live in silence and be unable to speak.
[17:36] We know that later because later when they want to name John, they have to make signs to him because he doesn't hear them.
[17:49] So the angel has completely silenced him. You won't speak before the one who stands before God. Don't talk back to an angel.
[18:01] So in other words, he's given a sign. The sign is silence. Then we see, now look at the parallel. So now as he presents Jesus' birth, again, it starts with an angel sent to a person.
[18:13] Not an old person who's barren, but a young person who's a virgin. We see the greeting and then secondly, Mary is troubled by the angel's word.
[18:26] Then we see in the middle the angel's first word to Mary, you will have a son and you will conceive in your womb. You will have a son. He will call his name Jesus.
[18:36] Just like it was said to Zechariah, your wife will bear a son. You'll call his name John. Now, instead of like to Zechariah, he says your son will be great and he'll be a prophet of the most high.
[18:48] Now, this son of Mary will also be great, but he will be the son of the most high. He's not just a prophet. He's a king and a son of God.
[19:02] In the middle, you had Zechariah's question, I'm too old. You have Mary's question, I'm a virgin. Now, Mary's question isn't an unbelief. She says what? How will this happen?
[19:13] So she believes it will happen. It just don't make any sense. It's not like just an old person who was barren and now conceives. That's improbable, but it can happen.
[19:25] Whereas a virgin giving birth, no, it can't happen. No, not even in the realm of probability. So she believes.
[19:35] How will it happen since I have not even known a man? And so we have the angel's answer.
[19:47] Just like Zechariah got an answer, Mary gets an answer. And she's told how and why. And then she's giving a confirming sign.
[19:59] Zechariah was given a sign. His sign was silence. How are you going to know this is going to happen? You're going to live in silence. That's how you're going to know. Mary, how are you going to know this is going to happen? I'll give you a confirming sign.
[20:10] Go visit your relative Elizabeth. I know what happened to her. Might boost your faith in this a little bit. So the story begins, the announcement begins, it's to a virgin and the story, the announcement ends with Mary accepting this, that she will conceive and of course she does.
[20:36] somebody has to tell Joseph, by the way, I mean, you know, Lord's sitting in heaven, did we think about telling him? No, no. Because he finds, remember Matthew begins, he finds out before he's told by the angel.
[20:53] He planned to divorce her, quietly, but he did find out. As will everyone else in Nazareth and Galilee and Bethlehem, this unmarried woman is pregnant.
[21:14] Okay. Luke intends for this comparison, so we see this comparison. What we see is a lot of similarities, but we also see some very, very important differences.
[21:27] And the comparison reveals that Jesus is preeminent, that Jesus is greater. John is great, and Jesus even says of John later, there's no one born of woman greater than John.
[21:40] I mean, that dude was righteous. But the angel says, this one will be on a whole other level.
[21:53] So who is this Jesus? What does he do, and how does he give certainty? Again, remember Luke's purpose in this gospel is that you may be certain, that you may have certainty about the things that you've been taught.
[22:07] So John gives us details. He gives us so many details in this announcement that we would not have known any other way other than he talked to Mary herself.
[22:20] Who would have known what Mary was thinking? Who would have known about this virgin birth? We know from the gospel of Matthew that Mary was a virgin and it fulfilled scripture that she would have a baby.
[22:36] But we have no idea about Mary asked the question we all ask. How? And so we have the answer about how a virgin has a birth and why. Why was the virgin birth even important?
[22:48] It's actually quite important according to Gabriel. So we're going to find out two things because there's two parts where the angels speak. Two revelations given to Mary through the angel.
[23:03] One in verses 26 to 33 that he is a king who rules an eternal kingdom so that he has the authority to make a difference in the world and in our lives.
[23:18] And then after Mary's question in verses 34 to 38 the angel answers her question by saying how can this be? He reveals that this son that she will have will be a holy child.
[23:35] In fact the purpose of the virgin birth is that the child born will be holy the son of God protected from any sin nature.
[23:51] He will be fully man. He will inherit Mary's flesh and blood but not her sin nature.
[24:03] He will be like a second Adam. Flesh and bone total free will. So that's the two things.
[24:16] So first of all he's revealed as God's son on David's throne a king of eternal kingdom. That's the jest of the first the angel's first revelation of Mary.
[24:28] She will bear God's son. Be her son but he will be God's son. He will be David's son. He will sit on his father David's throne.
[24:41] So you see Jesus is the son of Mary. He's the son of David and he's the son of God. So he's God's son essentially on David's throne a king of an eternal! King!
[24:52] So first of all we see in verse 26 interesting now just like when the angel appears to Zechariah who's Zechariah? He's a nobody. He is a priest but nobody is significant.
[25:06] Elizabeth also not very significant. And now he's appearing to some gal by the name of Mary who's a virgin and that's emphasized because it's repeated twice.
[25:18] But notice in verse 26 the first thing it says is in the sixth month obviously the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth.
[25:32] Now he's got to say it's a city in Galilee called Nazareth because otherwise nobody would know if he just said Nazareth nobody would know what he's talking about. Nazareth what's Nazareth where's Nazareth what's in Galilee what is it oh it's a city oh okay weird I don't know remember how when Nathaniel met Jesus who said can anything good come out of not a good reputation it's a tiny tiny little village it probably can't even call it city or town it's a little village when I visited there back in 1995 it had a well that's it it's kind like why did we come here to see the well that's where Jesus must have drank from that well okay great I mean nothing it's just there's nothing to see that's from the time of Jesus except a well so okay there was a town there okay not significant interesting so he comes to an obscure village he comes to an insignificant unknown girl who who were told is a girl by the name of
[26:41] Mary and that she has betrothed to a man named Joseph who's of the house of David whatever that is I don't know is that significant house of David interesting but she's betrothed what's that mean that's different than engaged it is engaged but it's a whole other level of engagement it's a legal contract and money's already been paid Joseph has already given the dowry and signed the contract to marry this woman and the only way to break that contract since it's a legal contract is by divorce so it's not just an engagement that he can break off see in Matthew when he finds out that she's pregnant he intends to divorce her quietly he is a righteous man so he doesn't want to make a display of her he doesn't want to hurt her any more than he has to but he does as a righteous man he must divorce her because she's obviously gotten pregnant by some other man so that's what betrothed she's betrothed it's usually a one year period where they make the contract okay we're going to get you guys married but you're not going to live together and you're going to be apart for a year by the way
[27:56] Joseph this is how you pick son-in-laws by the way Joseph you're going to marry my girl okay you're going to pay a price first and see that you got some money also I want you to build her a house you got a year to build her a house I want to know she lives under a secure roof this is how you pick a son-in-law he's got to be working he's got to have some money he's got to build a house I don't know I was just thinking it's just interesting it's not how we do it is it so she's betrothed so verse 27 introduces her as a virgin verse 28 where am I 28 he comes to her and says greetings oh favored one the Lord is with you and she's greatly troubled at the saying interesting so Zechariah was troubled by the appearance of the angel and he was overwhelmed with fear
[28:57] Mary's what she's also troubled but by what by what the angel said she's not troubled so much by the appearance of the angel that's troubling enough but what concerns her is what he said greetings oh favored one she is so humble that she's thinking why me how could I how could I be favored and I got the I have the impression that Mary's a very thinking kind of person remember later Luke tells us how she treasured everything and she pondered all these things she's a thinking person so right off the bat she's thinking what kind of greeting is this that's what troubled her what kind of greeting is this favored me who am
[30:01] I and she tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be so apparently there's a little lag time she's she's you know grieving hell favored one and she's just I don't know she's now how does Luke know that how does Luke know what she felt how does he know what she was thinking he talked to her remember he talked about witnesses these are details that Luke is giving us that we might have more certainty because we're not just kind of given this rote story we're getting the feelings and we're getting the thoughts of the people involved how it impacted them see it becomes real these are eyewitness accounts so she's told in verse 30 here's how you're favored how am
[31:01] I favored how is it the Lord's with me the angel said to her in verse 30 do not be afraid Mary for you have found favor with God how well you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you should call his name Jesus and he will be great you're going to have a son Mary kids yet I don't know a Jewish woman she probably is thinking about kids big family you will be the mother of Jesus you will be the mother of Jesus who happens to be the son of God you're not the mother of God you're the mother of Jesus the man Jesus also is the son of another one we see in verse 32 he will be great he will be called the son of the most high he's also so he's not only the son of Mary he's the son of the most high he will be called the son of the most high that's interesting so in other words he'll be called that because he'll be recognized as the one who's the son of the most high who!
[32:12] recognized him that way who called him that I got curious who called him the son of the most high well John the Baptist did then Peter did Martha did all the disciples did eventually but many did most high what's that mean it's the superlative of high so in other words you're the son of the highest you're the son of the supreme authority the one above all you're the son of the one who's over everything that's who he will be called that son in fact in verse 35 when the angel is explaining to Mary how is it that she will bear a son as a virgin he talks about the power of the most high will overshadow you it's that kind of power that creates life in your womb the power of the most high the one with the most authority the most power boy that could be a king that could get some stuff done that could be a king that has some ability to do something don't you think if he's the son of the most high so then he mentions he's also the son of
[33:48] David he's the son of Mary he's the son of the most high and and then says the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David he has a father David how does he have a father David does he have well that that's that's a Bible way of saying or it's a traditional biblical way of saying he will be in the lineage the royal lineage of David the king he will be the son the heir of David the king and Luke is going to emphasize this he's going to talk about David all over the place he mentioned it back in verse 27 right she's Mary's betrothed to a guy by the name of Joseph who's of the house of David so there's a connection to David he's going to rule on the throne of David down in verse 2 chapter 2 4 when they go to
[34:54] Bethlehem he has to Bethlehem why because Joseph went up from Galilee from the town of Naz to Judea to the city of David which is called Bethlehem why because Joseph is of the house and lineage of David and then at the end of chapter 3 of Luke he's going to give us the lineage how Jesus through actually not Joseph but through Mary is connected to David Luke gives us the lineage of Mary to David Matthew gives us the lineage of Joseph to David so Jesus is connected to David by both parents one physically through Mary and one legally through Joseph see because because Mary's already betrothed to Joseph they're legally married okay because they're already betrothed there's already a contract there's already an agreement that a divorce only a divorce can sever they're already married therefore any son born to
[36:08] Mary is Joseph's son so Joseph is his father and Joseph's lineage gives Jesus the right to the throne Mary's lineage gives Jesus the bloodline to David because through Joseph he comes David through Solomon Mary comes from David through his other son Nathan Solomon is the king line right so David David remember David when we looked at how do we make sense of the Old Testament we looked at the different stages we talked about creation and redemption right in the wilderness right in the promised land and after the promised land there's a period of time and then all of a sudden there comes this character by the name of
[37:08] David who's faithful and trusting of the Lord and who rises to the throne and unites all of Israel and all the promises remember to Abraham seem to be on the verge of being fulfilled!
[37:23] God said I will make you a great nation okay got a great nation under David I will make you okay let's see if my memory holds I didn't write this down what else did he promise to David I hope you guys can help me I mean to Abraham I'll make you a great nation!
[37:41] I will bless the nations in your seed right oh and the land I'll give you the land so now they got the land they got the king they got and then through Solomon all the nations start coming so it sounds like oh the whole promise to Abraham is being fulfilled and then of course Solomon messed everything up and everything went downhill from then now we come to Jesus so it's that David that David so what are Jewish people thinking when they think that the Messiah is David's son what kind of Messiah will he be what kind of king will he be he's going to be just like David isn't he he's going to sit on the throne he's going to wipe out every enemy on every side remember that's what David did there were no there was no question that he ruled that's the kind of king we want and he's going to rule from Jerusalem over this little land that's about a 90 miles high and 40 miles wide that nation that'll make the difference in the whole world right nope nope what does he say what's this David he's going to rule over the house of Jacob verse 33 forever and his kingdom will have no end so in other words is it an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem that's forever
[39:14] I mean David went 40 years Solomon went 40 years that was pretty much that's where they topped out forever what kind of guy is that is that an earthly kingdom I don't think so we're talking about forever and never ending we're talking about one man that doesn't die we're talking about one man that rules everything we're not talking about a local physical earthly David rule for a little while we're talking about something much more massive what did Jesus say to Pilate are you a king yeah and by the way if I wanted to take you out I'd have 12 legions you know I mean forget about your
[40:14] Roman soldier people you know I speak a word and 600 fall down so I'm not really worried about my kingdom is not of this world I'm talking about the kingdom of God a kingdom of heaven when Jesus preached about the kingdom he didn't preach about the kingdom of David the kingdom of earth he talked about the kingdom of God the kingdom of heaven a spiritual eternal kingdom much bigger much bigger it's going to include every nation it's going to include every kind of people so this David is a descendant remember we heard way back in Genesis in Genesis 49 when Judah is blessing his 12 sons I mean Jacob Jacob Jacob is blessing his 12 sons remember and he comes to son number four who's Judah and he says the scepter will never depart from
[41:25] Judah the ruler's staff will always be at his feet there he marked the king who was going to come through Judah and then we get the prophecies later that it will come through David in fact Isaiah 9 we read this every Christmas don't we for unto us a child is born to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder boy wouldn't you like the government to be upon Jesus' shoulder and not Uncle Joe or Trump or somebody even way better I'm not making fun of those guys other than they don't compare to the real kind of government we want the government will rest on his shoulder wow his name shall be called wonderful counselor mighty God everlasting father prince of peace of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end on the throne of
[42:35] David and over his kingdom we're talking about a kingdom that is not of this world a much bigger a kingdom that's always increasing a kingdom that's government is resting on the shoulders of Jesus wow David so he keeps mentioning David why is David so significant how is Jesus taking David's throne do you remember the story back when David was done he'd conquered all the enemies right he's got peace on every side he is well established now he wants to do something he's built himself a beautiful house he's built himself a house for his wife right apparently they live in not just separate rooms separate houses we gotta have concubine here I don't know but then he's looking at all this magnificent stuff he's got and he looks at God's dwelling place which is what a tent flapping in the wind upon
[43:38] Jerusalem mouth it's a tent now David's down in the city but he looks up he says man that's not very majestic that doesn't really honor God that's just kind of dolphin skins!
[43:55] and the prophet Nathan goes yeah that sounds like a great idea I'll go check with God Nathan goes check with God and God says he ain't building me a house his hands are dirty but tell David he's not going to build me a house but I'll build him a house I'll build him a house in fact he said it this way 2 Samuel 7 through Nathan!
[44:22] he said! When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers I will raise up your offspring your seed after you who shall come from your body so it's a physical descendant I will establish his kingdom he shall build a house for my name so it's the kind of kingdom that builds a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever!
[44:52] There it is that's what Gabriel was talking about I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son well that's still clicking right with what Gabriel says he's going to be the son of the most high he's going to have David's throne so it's clicking it's all the same thing this is Jesus on the throne the government on his shoulders I like it and then and then the Lord says to David when this son of yours when he commits iniquity I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute I was told in seminary okay that part doesn't apply to Jesus like how do you get to cut and paste that because the next part talks about you know!
[45:43] Was Jesus disciplined for sin? Our sin Peter says he bore our sin in his body on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness he took our place but when he committed iniquity when did he commit iniquity he didn't but our sin was placed on him as if it was his so he will and the way he described I will discipline him with what the rod of men did he was he disciplined with the rod of men was he beaten yes with the stripes of the so was he whipped yes yes by his stripes we are healed but but my steadfast love will not depart from him that reminds me of a verse that everybody knows for
[46:53] God so loved the world that my steadfast love will not depart because my love is on him in fact my love is demonstrated through him my steadfast love will not depart from him as I took it from Saul whom I put away before you and your house David and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me your throne shall be established forever I will build a house he will build a house for my name what was the house David wanted to build for the Lord in Jerusalem he wanted to take the tent and make it a temple so what is the house that Jesus built what temple did Jesus built well his body was a temple right he said three days I'll destroy this temple destroy this temple three days I'll raise it up that's the temple but what's the temple now us he's building us we're the temple right stone upon stone crooked stones jagged stones right and he makes them all darker stones lighter stones he makes them all fit together and it becomes beautiful
[48:13] Mary's son Mary's son will fulfill the promise that was made to Abraham and then to David that a seed an offspring would come who would rule who would be king who would have an eternal kingdom and we sang oh worship the king is he a king that takes care of our lives oh worship the king all glorious above and gratefully sing his wonderful love our shield and defender the ancient of days pavilion and splendor and girded with praise thy bountiful care what tongue can recite it breathes in the air the fact that we have life it shines in the light it streams from the hills it descends to the plain and sweetly distills the dew in the rain do you know his rule do you know his kingly care but note that he's not just a king as as
[49:17] David was told he will be a king that rules forever but when he commits iniquity he will bear the punishment of that iniquity so he's not just a king he's a king who bears punishment for sin but my steadfast love will not depart from him so we see in him the love of God never departing why do we need to know that Jesus is king why do we why is this revelation about this child that Mary will have will be the son of God and he will be this king who rules forever and some people say oh that's future that's not now the new testament says no it's now now now he is putting his enemies one by one under his feet he is ruling now we sing about this why do we need to know it because it's assurance that we have a king and the government truly rests on his shoulders do you believe that do you believe that in spite of all the nations in spite of all the kings and the presidents and the bureaucrats and the terrorists and whoever that all the government of the world rests on his shoulders that nothing is beyond his control things beyond my control here he's bigger do you believe he's the king that can fix your life do you believe he's a king that cares for you do you believe he's a king that knows how to do that best do you believe he's a king that actually has the power to do it transform your heart will he take away all your troubles no he usually brings more because he has a whole other purpose his purpose isn't our best life now his purpose is our worst life now so that we might enjoy and look forward to the greatest life ever but even in this worst life now we have joys and peace beyond understanding and we learn to be conformed to be a little bit more like
[52:00] Jesus himself so he's not just a king but he came to make us right before God he came to make all things right and the things that he's making right first and foremost is his people his house he's making us a holy people like him set apart so the next question so Mary asks a question how can this be how can a virgin have a child in the answer to her question he's also answering how is this king Jesus how is this son of Mary son of David son of God how do we know that his sacrifice truly pays for our debt how do we know that this man born in the first century called
[53:03] Jesus of Nazareth which history outside of the New Testament clarifies over and over and over again this man who died and who was crucified on a cross and was reported to have raised from the dead Josephus speaks of it I forget the others several historians speak about it how do we know that that man that Christians claim in the New Testament claims really has and can bear our sin how can a man pay for everybody else's sins right so that's what Mary's asking another question but he ends up answering a bigger question so second revelation is this he's not just God's son on David's throne king of eternal heaven he's also God's son born of a virgin a holy king who sets sinners free get that he's once again called
[54:04] God's son he is born of a virgin so that he might be holy a holy king who sets sinners free who forgives and transforms the heart why does the virgin birth matter it matters and the only reason we know that the only explanation we have is from Luke Matthew didn't tell us that John didn't tell us John just says the word became flesh didn't really go into details Luke's given us all that background so Mary raises a question in fact there's several questions here Mary raises the obvious question she says it's a question of reason her question is not like Zachariah you know who said according to what I'm too old he didn't believe Mary says how will it be so she's not saying how can she said how will it be
[55:07] I believe it'll happen but I don't get how it happens because it doesn't make any rational sense this is not possible this is outside the law of nature outside of everything that we know I believe in miracles but in Elizabeth getting pregnant whoo I believe in that but this is something never never never done before a virgin you need two right I mean we go back to Adam and Eve that's right right be fruitful and multiply doesn't say you know Eve you're on your own go be fruitful can't do it so Mary's just asking the obvious question how so the answer verse 35 the angel answered well I'll tell you how first the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you okay that's how it's a supernatural power it's the power of the Holy
[56:08] Spirit Holy Spirit is the creator of life just like a creation let there be light and then he takes a little bit of dust and he says let there be man however I don't know we got special effects they breathe life right so so God can create from nothing but he's actually not creating from nothing here he's creating in the womb of Mary he's creating a life that will actually be the physical son of Mary because he must have flesh and blood and he must be a physical descendant of David because we read that David would have an offspring that will come from his body so he must be a physical son of
[57:13] Mary he has to be to be from David's body okay so he's not just created from nothing he's created within her womb so here we have that so okay I get the Holy Spirit will come upon you okay Holy Spirit can do whatever he wants Holy Spirit can create life then we have that interesting phrase the power of the most high will overshadow you now watch that the power of the most high will overshadow what you Mary you're the one that needs to be overshadowed holy the power of the most high will overshadow will envelop will encircle will eclipse you huh overshadowed it's a weird strange word it happens in Luke 9 when Luke describes the transfiguration remember Jesus was transformed before them they're up on the mountain and then he talks about a cloud that descended and a cloud that overshadowed them enveloped them they can't it's obscured them from seeing anything else but but
[58:35] Jesus and these apparently Moses and Elijah so what's going on it's a mystery but somehow that has to do with Jesus's birth as being one who is holy because watch he normally says how it's the spirit and this overshadowing but then he adds the reason therefore therefore see he knows he's dealing with Mary who's a logical reason a thinking person so he's going to give her a reason not just the how but the why because I think she wants to know why why this way why couldn't we wait a year till Joe and I are you know why this way why now therefore right therefore the child to be born will be called holy and actually the Greek text the word order is different it says the one to be born holy will be called the son of God so the word order changes to emphasize holiness in other words this whole this whole virgin birth this whole overshadowing is so that the child born through Mary is holy pure unstained innocent separated just like
[60:18] Adam in fact Paul calls him the second Adam first one nah not so good he had all the benefits didn't he not he was created perfect without any sin nature a total free will though he could choose whatever he wanted what'd he choose Eve what you doing okay sounds good Jesus now born without a sin nature how can he bear our sins it's not just that he kept the law and everything it's that he never had any sin in him to begin with was he capable of sin yes he was tempted in all things yet without sin unlike Adam he did not fail the test he remained pure and holy it's a question of holiness and then he reassures her in verse 36 because it's kind of like how can this be possible he gives
[61:40] Mary a confirming sign in verse 36 behold your relative Elizabeth in her old age is also conceived a son and this is the sixth mother with her who was called barren why because verse 37 because nothing's impossible with God we're talking about God here how can this be we're talking about God here how can Elizabeth not just old remember remember how Zechariah like to talk about she's not just old she's advanced in years which means she's over the limit normal 70 good health 80 right the psalm says she's up there way too late I mean it sounds like their situation sounded just like Abraham and Sarah you know Abraham's laughing and then Sarah is laughing remember she's laughing I'm gonna have a child my lord he's kind of toast you know and I'm pretty old and so the angel is saying here's this barren one here's this old one she's having a child she can have a child
[62:55] Mary still might be thinking okay that's probable or that was improbable but still possible because you know they still got two and you know that can happen not very often but it can happen we're talking about somebody who's just one has not known a man and I'm gonna be pregnant well nothing is impossible with God Mary think back to Genesis nothing is impossible with God how about you does your life have some impossibilities there is no sin too dark for God there is no heart too hard is your heart hard to man I can't even I don't even want to repent anymore I'm just I don't know what happened I got so callous I've got so careless I've wandered my heart's too hard maybe
[63:56] God can't change that anymore there's no trial too difficult nothing is impossible with God and this story ends with Mary who says who hears that explanation and then who she's ready behold I am the servant of the Lord literally she says I am the bond slave of the Lord I'm in it let it be to me as you have said let it be I'm in it's another word saying thy will be done let it be and I'm just I'm not just okay okay okay I'll do it I'm the bond slave use my body however you want to use I present my body as a living sacrifice so I will bear this child and by the way I think in her mind since she's a thinker she's not ignorant of what that will mean down the line she's not ignorant of what people will be saying that's before they were married he's illegitimate she's not a good girl good she takes it why is the virgin birth significant why is it necessary where did the problem start here listen to what
[65:48] Job said how can a man be in the right before God how can he who is born of woman be pure in other words sin is passed on Mary is the mother of Jesus as a man but she's not the mother of God and like what the Roman Catholic church says she was not sinless so that her son is sinless that's really getting it backwards she's sinful he's sinless how do we pervert that David said it in Psalm 51 David affirms that his sin nature was something inherited something he's born with these natural desires to sin this is David in Psalm 51 where he's confessing his great sin right with Bathsheba not just that sin but also the murder and the lying and the conspiracy and all the other things that he added up in there but David said behold
[66:49] I was brought forth in in in sin did my mother conceive me I think that's a poor translation of the Hebrew the Hebrew could just as well be translated behold I was brought forth with in in in with sin and with sin my mother conceived!
[67:14] conception is sinful as if my mother no I was conceived with sin I was brought forth with iniquity I had it from the get go every mother of a toddler knows this I don't have to train him to do that how does he know that little devil so David convinced so David in Psalm 51 goes on to pray have mercy on me wash me cleanse me create in me a clean heart renew the right spirit within me so that I do the right things my spirit is wrong renew the right kind of spirit in me sustain me with the willing spirit because I'm not willing so often I'm not willing so sustain me with a spirit that's willing I need your help I can't do this what set
[68:22] Jesus apart why why can we be certain that he truly has paid our debt that his death was not just a death a tragedy but his death was actually God's purpose so that he might set us free that he might be raised as a king with all the authority who has not only claimed authority but has begun to build a house of people who are holy because he set them free from their unholiness how can we know that well because he was born of a virgin for what and the writer of Hebrews says this speaking of Jesus consequently!
[69:06] He Jesus is able to save to the uttermost not just part way he's able to save to the uttermost who those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them so Jesus in heaven part of his kingship is he's still praying for us he's living to make intercession for us he's asking the father give them faith that will not fail for it was indeed fitting that we should have such a!
[69:49] priest speaking of Jesus holy innocent unstained separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens he has no need like those high priests to offer sacrifices daily first for his own sins and then for those of the other people he didn't have to do that it has no need to offer those sacrifices since he did this once for all when he offered to up himself for the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests but the word of the oath the promise about Jesus which came later than the law appoints a son not just a priest but a son who has been made perfect forever he is a king we're speaking about Jesus this king to Mary is revealed that he will be the king on
[70:50] David's throne who rules forever but he's also born of a virgin so therefore he is a king that sets people free because he's holy he he's a king that lays down his life to conquer the hold that sin has on us to defeat to defeat Satan's dominion over us and to pay our debt so remember when we're forgiven by Christ and the work on the cross it does not just forgive us but it also sets us free we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his beloved son we're set free from evil dominion to loving training so let me ask you how you doing today are you set free from sin are you struggling with that maybe you've been set free but may you've slid back in are you set free from sin are you weighed down by guilt and shame are you held captive to desires of the flesh just captive to it king
[72:30] Jesus sets sinners free all who draw near to him all who seek him in their brokenness who kneel before him in despair all who know the impossibility of fixing themselves find freedom in Jesus who washes them and forgives them and transforms their heart by the power of the spirit who overshadows them we have a true king who is over all kings no matter how the world seems no matter how it looks he is over all kings he is ruling an eternal kingdom by setting us one by one free from our sin that we might serve him do you know him do you walk with him
[73:35] I don't mean have you known him do you know him now because we can in any relationship get apart how you doing do you know him perhaps the trials and tribulations that you're under and not able to endure right now are because you've lost your touch with him your intimate connection to him draw near through him come to me all who are weary come to me let us be those who respond as Mary does behold the bond slave of the
[74:37] Lord let it be to me as you desire let us pray father we thank you for the word we thank you for Luke who so precisely and clearly orderly lays out for us these details but we thank you Lord that he's not just a historian he's a biblical historian who gives us these phrases and links back to the rest of scripture so that we might see that what Luke is describing is your unfolding plan the one that you started in Genesis and continued through David and through the return to Israel and now in this obscure town of Nazareth you're bringing to life the king thank you help us to see its significance and help us to be like
[75:40] Mary in humility and faith this we pray in Christ's name amen amen amen amen!
[75:52] if you would please stand as we close asNINGNING!