The Whole Christmas Story
“The Son of Mary – The Son of God”
Luke 1:26-56
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
The Angel Gabriel told Joseph that the holy child in Mary’s womb would save his people from their sins. Therefore, Jesus was both the Son of Mary and the Son of God.
- Having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was Deity, He was holy, He was the very Son of God.
- Having been birthed through the womb of Mary, Jesus was human, He was flesh, He was the very Son of Mary.
- This is the dual nature of Christ – fully God and fully man at His birth, with the ability to act through both natures at the same time without diminishing the other.
- As the Son of Mary, Jesus grew from a baby to a man. He grew physically, mentally, and emotionally.
- As the Son of God, Jesus never ceased to be equal to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
- As the Son of Man, Jesus experienced the wonders and weakness of human life, and He suffered the pains of a physical death.
- As the Son of God, Jesus conqured sin, death, and the grave, and returned to sit at the right hand of God the Father, from where He will soon return to earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
A review of five women who played a major role in Jesus’ lineage.
- Tamar – a woman of hope. Tamar was a Gentile widow who seduced her father-in-law into a sexual union from which Perez was born. Tamar shows us that no pain is too deep for God’s grace, for out of that incestuous relationship came:
- Rahab – a woman of faith. Rahab was a Canaanite harlot who hid the spies Joshua sent on reconnaissance into Jericho. She later married Salmon. Rahab shows us that no past is too bad for God’s grace, for out of that relationship came Boaz, who married:
- Ruth – a woman of love. Ruth was a Moabite widow who risked her life to remain with her mother-in-law in Israel. Ruth shows us that no problem is too big for God’s grace, for while there, God arranged for her to marry Boaz, and out of that relationship came Obed, the grand-father of David, who had an adulterous affair with:
- Bathsheba – a woman of unlimited grace. Bathsheba was a faithful wife who caught King David’s eye and either could not or did not resist his sexual advances. Bathsheba shows us that no stain of sin is too deep for God’s grace, for as a result of that affair, Bathsheba lost her husband and her first child with David. After their repentance, God blessed them with Solomon, who continued the seed-line of the Messiah down to Joseph, the husband of:
- Mary- the woman of obedience. Mary’s actions revealed that no task is too great for God’s grace. Of all the extraordinary women in Scripture, Mary stands out above all others as the most blessed of God, for she was the mother of Jesus.
- Mary was no more than 14 years of age at the time of Jesus’ birth, which would make her around 13 years old when the Angel Gabriel told her that, out of all the women in the world, God had sovereignly chose her to give birth to the Savior of the world.
1. Gabriel’s Announcement to Mary – Luke 1:26-37 – Vss. 30-31 “Mary, you have found favor with God, and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.”
- The Greek word “favor” means to “be graced.” Since GRACE is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense, to be graced is to receive God’s unearned blessings.
- Some religions give Mary attributes that belong to God; making her the object or the channel through which God is worshipped.
- In 1 Timothy 2:5, the Apostle Paul said, “There is only one God and one mediator between God and man; the man Christ Jesus.”
- Rather than a dispenser of God’s grace, Mary was a receipent.
- 35 – “ The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be callled the Son of God.”
- Jesus would be both the Son of Mary and the Son of God, which would require the Lord’s immaculate conception, (the virgin birth), which is an essential doctrine of the Christian faith.
2. Mary’s Response to Gabriel – Luke 1:38-45 – Vs. 38 – “Behold the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your”
- The Angel Gabriel told Mary that her aunt Elizabeth was six months pregnant, which was another miracle since Elizabeth was beyond the normal childbearing age.
- Mary walked from Galilee to the Judean hills – a journey of 100 miles that would have taken her a minimum of five days.
- Before Mary entered the door of her home, Elizabeth shouted, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why has it been granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me.”
- Elizabeth’s child would be known as John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. Mary’s child would be known as Joshua, Jeshua, Jehoshua, or Jesus, the Savior they had been expecting from God.
3. Mary’s Response to God – Luke 1:46-56
- Once Elizabeth had convinced her that God had chosen her to be the mother of the Messiah, Mary burst forth into praise and wrote the first Christmas Carol, “The Magnificat,” which, in Latin, means “to magnify!” But rather than Mary, this song magnifies God.
- The First Stanza – Vss. 46-50 – “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.”
- Verse 48 is the key verse because it refers to Mary’s humble position – her age, her lineage, her low social standing in the city of Nazareth.
- Every Jewish woman would have been delighted to have been chosen to be the birth mother of Jesus, but Mary never considered it, because she did not feel worthy to be so chosen.
- Since girls did not receive formal education, Mary learned about God, and her relationship with God from the instruction she received in her home and from her family.
- Yet, she was so steeped in the Scriptures, especially the Psalms, that the words of Scripture flowed freely from her mouth.
- While Mary should be the most highly-favored woman on earth, and she should be honored for her full submission to God’s call, she should never be worshipped as God or even as a channel through which God is worshipped.
- The Second Stanza – Vss. 51-55 – “He has shown strength with His arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.”
- In the first stanza, Mary magnified what God had done for her. In the second stanza, Mary magnified what God was doing for Israel, by sending His Son through them.
- Mary described three revolutionary changes that would happen on earth because of the birth of Christ. Even though none of these things had happened, Mary wrote them as if they had happened and they will happen when Jesus returns.
- A Moral revolution – Vs. 51 – “He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.”
- A Social revolution – Vs. 52 – “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.”
- An Economic revolution – Vs. 53 – “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.”
- Mary said Jesus would bring a revival to the nation of Israel – Vss. 54-55 – “He has helped His servant, Israel, in remembrance of His mercy. As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.”
- Mary quoted the very Scriptures where God made a covenant with Abraham.
- Mary confirmed that covenant in her song, stating that the child in her womb was the evidence that God would keep His promise to His people, Israel.
- From her knowledge of the Scriptures, Mary knew what was happening to her and what would have to happen to Her Son in due time, to make God’s Son, and Her Son, our Savior.
