All Things are Possible with God-Luke 1:26-45

Luke 1:26-45

Key Verse 1:37

I Mary Receives Special Message from God 1:26-30

Look at verse 26 “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth a town in Galilee…This was the sixth month since Angel Gabriel had had announced to Zachariah that his wife – Elizabeth was going to have a baby and the name of the baby was to be called John.  (John means Yahweh is gracious) This same Angel Gabriel was sent to a young woman called Mary  in Nazareth with a very special message that she was going to have a baby.

Mary was young probable sixteen or seventeen years old. She was a virgin. She had been betrothed or pledged to be married to a young man called Joseph a descendant of King David. Not only was Mary young but she was poor, a female, and from a town of no great repute called Nazareth. With this kind of background, to the people of that time, she was not a candidate for any usable and/or noticeable task by God. However, God chose Mary for the most important act of obedience God ever demanded of anyone. There were thousands of young women in Israel and around the world whom God could have chosen. However, Luke tells us verse 26 “And having come in the Angel said to her (Mary) Rejoice, highly favored one the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.”

Don’t ever let your ability or lack thereof, experience or education make you feel you are unlikely candidate for God’s service. Trust God at all times, He is able to choose you, equip you, and use you mightily for his glory and in the meantime you will enjoy his exceeding blessings.

Look at verse 30-31. God’s favor does not always translate into instant success or fame. God’s blessing on Mary, the honor of being the mother of Messiah was indeed great; but Mary endured a great deal of pain, her peers ridiculed her, her fiancé almost left her, we don’t know anything about her parents maybe they were not receptive right away and that is why Mary had to go looking for relative Elizabeth. And later of course her son would be ridiculed, disrespected, rejected by the whole nation with and finally murdered after having done a great deal of good at the age of 33 years old.

In spite of all of these because nothing is impossible with God, Mary’s son turned out to be the only hope for the whole world and all humanity of all ages who would trust him for salvation from their sin. And hence this is the reason why Mary has been praised and revered by countless generations as the young girl who “found favor with God”.

If you find life is getting tough everyday and sorrow weighs heavy at your heart and you cry out to sleep thinking everyone else is succeeding but you; please look to Mary as a good role model. She submitted herself to God’s will and waited patiently for His perfect plan to be accomplished in her life. And there has never been a woman greater than Mary.

II HE WILL BE GREAT 1:31-33

The Angel predicted four things about Mary’s son.

A. v. 31 And behold You Will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call hisname Jesus.

a) Jesus is a Greek from of the Hebrew name Joshua which means “The Lord saves”. In the Old Testament Moses’ right hand man Joshua succeeded him and led the children of Israel into the Promised Land.  (See Joshua 1:1-2) Joshua Is a type of Jesus who saves his people from their sins and leads them to eternal life.

Therefore the symbolism of Jesus’ name was not lost on the people of his day. They took names seriously and saw them as a source of power. In Jesus’ name, people were healed, many were filled with the Holy Spirit, demons were banished, and sins were forgiven for those who trusted Him. What a powerful name. With God all things are possible.

B. Look at verse 32 and 33

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of His Father David. The Septuagint used the term “Most High” (Hypsitou) to translate Hebrew Elyon cf v.76)

Mary could not have missed the significance of this terminology. Her baby, who was called Son of the most high, pointed to his equality with Yahweh. In semetic thought, a son was a carbon copy of his father. He possessed his father’s qualities, e.g. Heb. Translated “Son of wickedness in Psalm 89:22 means a wicked person.

Remember Jesus as the Son of God while addressing the Jews in chapter 10 of John said “I and my father are one” John 10:30 and the Jews took up stones to stone him saying he made himself equal with God.

C. He will be given the throne of his father David.Jesus as David’s descendant will sit on David’s throne when he reigns in millennium (2 Samuel 7:16, Psalm 89:3-4, 28-29)

D. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever (making him greater than Jacob and David)Jesus’ reign over the house of Jacob will being in millennium and continue to Eternal State. (You may disagree with me on this one, Susan does all the time. I am pre-tribulation, pre millennial, and she is probably a millennial or post millennial. I also believe in rapture.) I tell Susan I will remind her in the millennium that she was wrong and I was right.

E. His Kingdom will never End

These promises must have reminded Mary of the promises Yahweh made to David esp. 2 Samuel 13-16 and David understood (v.19) not only to be fulfilled in Solomon who would build the temple but in the future son. Those close to Yahweh during Christ’s earthly ministry understood them to mean the Promised Messiah. Nothing is impossible with God.

III For with God nothing will be Impossible 1:34-38

Then Mary said to the Angel, How can this be? Mary did not seem to be surprised at the Angels message but rather she was surprised that one she would be His mother and two she was a virgin. (Lit. “since I do not know a man”)The Angel did not rebuke Mary as he did Zachariah (v.20) This indicate Mary did not doubt but simply wanted to know how this was going to come about.

The angel told her that the Holy Spirit would creatively bring about the physical conception of Jesus (v.35)This miraculous conception and virgin birth of Jesus was a must because of his deity and preexistence. (cf Isaiah 7:14, 9:6)Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law; to redeem those who were under the law that he might receive the adoption as sons.” In the gospel of John the word sent is used 39 times in ref. to Christ’s coming to earth. V.34 The birth of Jesus to a virgin is a miracle that many people believe hard to believe (when confronted ask them if there is anything too hard for God.)

However three facts can aid us (i) Luke was a medical doctor; he knew how babies are made. Yet he believed perfectly well in the virgin birth. (ii) He was a painstaking researcher and based his gospel on eyewitnesses. (iii) Tradition has it that he interviewed Mary about these things and others. This is Mary’s story not a fiction. Nothing is impossible with God. Even coming to the earth he created and to the girl he created and being born.

Look at v. 38 Mary affirmed her part in her son’s subsequent birth by accepting God’s purpose and plan for her life. She said in affirmative “Yes” that is “May it be to me as you have said,” Mary here shows as she was fearless, courageous, devoted to God, and did not give a thought as to how this might impact her life negatively or otherwise. God is looking for more Mary’s, not to bear his son, but to carry his son’s gospel to the rest of humanity would you be that person.

IV Mary visits Elizabeth 1:39-49

Mary needed. Someone who could appreciate her new role and help her with counsel and she found that in abundance in Elizabeth a relative who too received God’s mighty blessing.

Look at 1:39-45. She left Nazareth with haste and headed to the hilly country of Judea –area around Jerusalem to the house of Zachariah and Elizabeth. The sign had been given to these two old couples—they were going to bear a son. Elizabeth at this time was six months pregnant and the six month old baby in the Liz’s womb leaped for joy!! WOW

Nothing is IMPOSSIBLE with God.