“Christmas Joy before Christ’s Birth”
(Luke 1:26-45)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
•I invite you to take your Bibles and join me in Luke’s Gospel, chapter 1 (page 688; YV).
With Christmas just less than two weeks away, I felt led to preach a passage of Scripture that strikes at the very heart of the Christmas message and provides the background of the Christmas miracle of the incarnation, God’s coming to us, taking on flesh in the Person of Christ.
The irony is that much Christmas joy is found in biblical texts that actually precede the birth narrative itself. We often think of Christmas passages in the Bible as only those that describe the setting of that first Christmas with sheep, a manger scene, wise men and so on. Yet the miracle of Christmas is interwoven throughout the entirety of Scripture, God’s overarching plan to redeem mankind from sin.
So I want to look at this passage in Luke’s Gospel, chapter 1 and get right to the message this morning. As you look at chapter 1 there is this brief introduction by Luke. And after the introduction in the first four verses, Luke turns his attention to the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist. Then, after the announcement of John’s birth, Luke reports in verses 26 and following the announcement of Christ’s birth.
•Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
•Pray.
Introduction:
This past week I had time to read through a couple books and one book I am particularly enjoying is written by Paul Copan, a theologian and professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He writes on a popular level and writes that defend the Christian faith.
The particular book I was reading is entitled, When God Goes to Starbucks. Isn’t that a great title?! When God goes to Starbucks. Does God go to Starbucks? Well, in one sense He does and He does through the everyday conversations that Christians may have with unbelievers in popular hangouts like Starbucks. The book is a guide to everyday apologetics, apologetics being the discipline of defending the faith as Christians interact with non-Christians. It’s about evangelizing in the public square.
One of the chapters in Copan’s book is on miracles. And I liked the way he defined a miracle. Secular philosophers define miracles as “violations of natural law.” That is, there is the natural order of things and miracles supposedly violate that natural order.
Yet, Copan points out that there really is no natural law in terms of a law that controls everything or a law that explains why things happen. Natural order or natural law merely explains the how of things, describing how the universe generally operates. Copan defines miracles as “Direct acts of a personal God that can’t be predicted or explained by merely natural causes or processes.”
That’s a good definition and I thought of that definition as I studied this passage this week in preparation for preaching the Word. What we have in Luke’s Gospel are a number of miracles, supernatural acts of a personal God that can’t be explained by merely natural causes or processes. They are supernatural acts. What we have here in our passage this morning are a few of what I call “Supernatural reflections of Christmas Joy.”
So I arranged the passage which begins at verse 26 and goes through verse 45, I arranged these reflections under three main headings. First:
I. A Supernatural Conversation (26-33)
Verses 26 and following describe the supernatural conversation taking place between two people, a conversation between the Angel Gabriel and Mary, the mother of Jesus. A conversation with an angel is a supernatural conversation! And Mary did not seek it out. The whole thing is described by Luke as a surprise meeting. Look again at verse 26 and following:
26 Now in the sixth month (the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. One miracle has already occurred: the miracle of Elizabeth’s conception of John the Baptist. In Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy; verse 26) the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
So Mary is a virgin. She has never had sexual relations with a man because she is not married. She is described in verse 27 as “betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph.” A betrothal was a legally binding engagement that was like marriage and the only way to break off the betrothal was through divorce (cf. Matthew 1:19).
The Bible teaches clearly that all persons are to be virgins until they marry. Virginity is something to celebrate, not something about which to be embarrassed. Our popular culture may teach you otherwise, but the Scripture holds up virginity as not only a noble virtue, but a godly virtue, a biblical virtue, a virtue of which we are not to be ashamed, but of which we are to celebrate. Verse 28:
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
In the Bible the sudden appearance of angels evoke a sense of fear and wonder. Mary is totally caught off guard. Verse 30:
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Mary has found favor with God. And the sense is that she was not looking for this favor. Rather, God graciously bestowed His favor upon her. Mary is the recipient of God’s grace. She is not the giver of grace, but the receiver of God’s grace. Verse 31:
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
Jesus, whose name means, “Savior.” God has come to save His people from their sins. Jesus Christ is literally the Savior who is the anointed One. Gabriel continues in verse 32:
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
The Kingdom of King Jesus is an everlasting Kingdom. Of God’s kingdom there will be no end. And the way into that kingdom is to be born again, supernaturally re-born from above. We must repent from our sin and turn to King Jesus, believing that He lived for us and died for us. In living, Christ fulfilled the righteous demands of the law and in dying, Christ took the punishment we deserved for our sin. He rose the third day as evidence that the Heavenly Father accepted Christ’s life and death as a just and holy sacrifice, a substitute in our place. If we are saved and followers of Christ, then we will enter into that everlasting kingdom, a kingdom of which—Luke says at the end of verse 33—there will be no end.
So our first reflection this morning is a reflection upon this supernatural conversation between the Angel Gabriel and Mary, the highly favored one chosen by God to give birth to this Savior of an everlasting kingdom.
Now, we move from our reflection upon this supernatural conversation to a reflection upon:
II. A Supernatural Conception (34-38)
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
Mary asks, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” Her question has nothing to do with doubt, but everything to do with the manner of it. It was really more a biological question. “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” The word “know” here conveys intimate knowledge. We might translate it this way: “How can I conceive a child when I have never been intimate with a man?” Verse 35:
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
The angel Gabriel says that the Holy Spirit will come upon Mary and that “the power of the Highest” will overshadow her. There is great mystery in that, but in essence, the angel says, “God will make this happen.” It is not an ordinary biological conception. It is an extraordinary supernatural conception. Verse 36:
36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Elizabeth conceived in an extraordinary way also, but Elizabeth’s conception was biological. God’s extraordinary providence was such that while Elizabeth was passed the age of childbearing she nonetheless was able to conceive. Mary’s conception, however, was not just extraordinary, it was supernatural.
Yet whether it’s Elizabeth’s conceiving in her old age, or Mary’s conceiving as a virgin, verse 37 is key, “for with God nothing will be impossible.”
So Mary responds in humble faith there in verse 38:
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary’s reply is instructive. In essence, she says, “I submit to the will of God.” Here is the proper response for every child of God to everything God says to us! “Let it be according to your word.” Whatever God teaches us about serving and obeying Him: sharing our faith with others, being missional, giving, tithing, trusting, waiting, that we would say, “Here is your servant. Let it be according to Your Word.”
A supernatural conversation about a supernatural conception.
This supernatural conception is absolutely critical to the Gospel. The virgin birth is not an option for Christianity. It’s not as though we can say, “Well, I’ll take Christianity but the virgin birth is not something I accept.” The Bible clearly teaches the supernatural miracle of the virgin birth. Why is it critical?
The virgin birth made possible the uniting of full deity and full humanity in one person. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, two natures in one person. He is the God-Man and both natures are necessary given Christ’s work on our behalf. As God He fulfills the righteous demands of the law and as man He dies for us. Two natures in one person.
But even more importantly, the virgin birth makes possible this uniting of two natures without sin. The virgin birth makes possible Christ’s true humanity without inherited sin.
Jesus did not descend from Adam in exactly the same way in which every other human being has descended. We all have descended from Adam in a biological sense. All of our family trees can be traced back to our first father, Adam. We have noted on numerous occasions that when Adam sinned in the garden, we sinned with him. He represented us both as our federal head, the representative of all humanity, and also in the sense that we descend from Adam biologically. We inherit the guilt and corruption of the fall through Adam.
But Christ did not descend from Adam in exactly the same way in which we did. The legal guilt and moral corruption that belongs to all other human beings does not belong to Christ. In this way, Christ is the only Savior, as He is without sin and therefore, as God fulfills the demands of the law, and as man dies in our place. He is free from the stain of Adam’s sin.
2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Hebrews 4:15, He was “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
This is why the virgin birth matters. This is why at Christmas time we move from merely sentimental feelings about a sweet tiny baby in a manger, to an awesome reflection upon the God-Man in the manger. A supernatural conception!
Finally, Christmas joy is found in a:
III. A Supernatural Confirmation (39-45)
In verses 39 and following there is a miracle of recognition. Elizabeth recognizes and confirms this truth about Mary and the child she will bear, the coming Savior. And not only does Elizabeth recognize what’s going on in Mary’s womb, but also Elizabeth’s baby in her own womb recognizes what’s going on. Look at verse 39:
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste (the first Christmas rush!), to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
So Mary cries out something like, “Yoo hoo! Elizabeth!”
41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Note that carefully. When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, Elizabeth’s baby—John the Baptist—Elizabeth’s baby leaped in her womb. Then Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and confirms what the angel, Angel Gabriel, had said to Mary, verse 42:
42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
Remember that Elizabeth is six months pregnant and is carrying John the Baptist. And do you recall what is the role of John the Baptist? His role is to announce the arrival of the Messiah. So John the Baptist, before he is even born, begins his ministry!
Elizabeth says the babe “leaped” in her womb. This is no small, prenatal kick. The same word is used elsewhere to describe the skipping or leaping of sheep in the field. This is a big time kick!
Many of you ladies know what it is like or what it was like when your baby kicked in the womb. This is different. Often babies kick in the womb in response to something going on with the mother. A kick in the womb may be an emotional response or a physiological response. This baby in Elizabeth’s womb did not kick in response to something going on with Elizabeth, but in response to something going on in the womb of Mary. It was a theological kick, a theological kick in the womb as John the Baptist begins his ministry of pointing others to Christ, preparing the way of the Lord!
This is a supernatural confirmation of a supernatural conception, of Christ’s incarnation. In fact, we have here a double confirmation. Both Elizabeth and the baby in her womb recognize that Mary has come bearing the Christ child.
So here is some Christmas joy for you to reflect upon this week as you prepare for Christmas. Turn to this passage again before Christmas to consider this supernatural conversation, supernatural conception, and supernatural confirmation.
Before we pray, note again the question Elizabeth asks in verse 43. She asks, “But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
Note this well: Elizabeth refers to the baby in Mary’s womb as “Lord.” Already, already before Christ is even born in the little town of Bethlehem, already before He begins His earthly ministry, already before His crucifixion, already before His resurrection, and already before His ascension, already He is Lord.
He is Lord. Have you bowed the knee to the Lord and been saved from your sin?
•Stand for prayer.
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