YouTube video sermon

Luke 1:26-38; 46-56

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Luke 1. A few weeks ago, we started this little sermon series called Why the Nativity? and we’re just looking at this familiar Christmas scene and asking some questions. We started by asking: Why Did Jesus Become a Man? And we just got really honest and said, “What’s the big deal? I mean, why did Jesus even have to be born at all? Why did He have to become a human?” Then, two weeks ago, we asked the question: Why Joseph? Again, trying not to make any assumptions, we just looked at the manger scene we said, “Ok, Jesus was born, but why Joseph? What was it about Joseph that caused God chose Him?” And today, we’re going to follow up with the “Why Mary?” question.

Now, there may be several of you that are listening to this and you’re very reasonable, rational, logical thinkers and you’re saying to yourself, “This is silly. God is sovereign. I can’t possibly know the mind of God. He can do what He wants to do, when He wants to do it, and however He wants to do it, and He chose Joseph and Mary for His own good will and pleasure. Let’s just accept it and move on in faith.”

If that’s you, then let me say, “Welcome to the club; that’s the way that I sometimes look at these questions?” And, in many cases, that’s not a bad approach to take. Nevertheless, God did, indeed, choose to use Mary and Joseph for His own good will and purposes, and perhaps we can learn something about ourselves and about God by looking at the people and circumstances that He used to bring about the salvation of mankind. And that’s why we’re asking the question: Why Mary?

So, let’s look at Mary through the lens of sacred Scripture and see what the Bible has to say about her, and how her example might help us to become more faithful and obedient followers of Jesus Christ. I’m going to start with Luke 1:26-38:

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from 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. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And 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 bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

And now, a few verses down, reading from Luke 1:46-56:

46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, 55 as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His offspring forever.”

56 And Mary remained with [Elizabeth] about three months and returned to her home.

“Speak, O Lord, as we come to You to receive the food of Your Holy Word. Father, would You take Your truth, plant it deep in us; shape and fashion us in Your likeness. Today, especially, O God, cause our faith to rise and our eyes to see Your majestic love and authority. For we ask it in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Why Mary? Well, I want to offer us three possible responses found in these verses, but before I do I need to address something else and I want to be careful and, yet, clear in the way that I do it. Those of us that make up Mountain Hill Community Church come from a wide variety of church traditions and denominations (mostly Protestant), but there are a couple of folks that either grew up in Catholic homes, attending Catholic Mass, or you have friends and family members that are Catholics. And you’ve likely had conversations about Mary or – over the years – you’ve heard bits and pieces from your Catholic friends and family regarding her.

I’m in the latter category. One of my closest friends is a Catholic follower of Christ Jesus. I just want us to understand that when you ask the question Why Mary?, depending on your background and exposure to the Catholic Church, you might be expecting a certain set of answers. For example, in the Catholic Church, there are four (4) Marian dogmas – things that are binding for all Catholics to confess and believe:

1. Her motherhood of God – and by that they don’t simply mean that she was the earthly mother and bearer of Jesus (something that Protestants affirm), but that she played (and still plays) a special role in the salvation of mankind; uniting us to Jesus (that’s something that Protestants, particularly this one, take issue with).
2. Her immaculate conception – and by that they mean that she, herself, was conceived without the stain of original sin, that she, in her own birth from the very beginning was sinless. They’re quick to point out that she still required the grace of Jesus, but that it simply occurred before she was ever conceived. Again, this is something that Protestants take issue with, me included.
3. Her perpetual virginity – and by that they mean two things: one, that she was a virgin when she conceived and gave birth, (something that Protestants affirm) and two, that she remained a virgin throughout her life and that her virginity – as unique and special as it was – is actually something that sanctified her (personally, I disagree with this view, but it doesn’t rise to the same level of concern as the previous two).
4. Her assumption – and by that they are referring to the idea that upon the completion of her life she was assumed in body and soul to heaven. They’re quick to acknowledge this is not a resurrection – resurrections are a sign of divine power – but that she was elevated and assumed into heaven by the power and grace of God (again, I disagree with this, but it’s not on the same level as the first two).

Now, I recognize that I might have just offended some people, and I pray that you know me well enough to know that it’s never my stated intention to offend, but I simply want to help us understand that this question: Why Mary? will elicit differing responses based on our church background and our degree of Bible study and theology. It’s my belief that the Catholic Church has erred in its understanding, view, and veneration of Mary.

But before you either wipe your brow and take a sigh of relief that you’re not in that camp, or you decide to throw something at me in disgust, let me go on record and say that I also believe many Protestants, including myself, have also erred when it comes to Mary. As Protestants, in our historical zeal to distance ourselves from the Catholic Church over what we believe are theological errors, I believe we’ve allowed the pendulum to swing to the other extreme – namely, we’ve failed to give Mary much, if any, honor and respect. And this morning, I hope to right that wrong, even if only slightly.

Mary was a godly woman. The mere fact that God the Father chose her to be the mother of His Son, and her humble response to the angel, where she was willing to do what the Lord called her to do, should serve as an example to us all. So, Why Mary?

Mary Teaches Us the Submission of Godliness

In Luke 1:38, we read these words, “Then Mary said, ‘Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to Your Word.’ And the angel departed from her.” From the very beginning of Mary’s relationship with Jesus, it was all about submission.

Think about it. When the angel Gabriel came to Mary with this news, this memo from on high that she was to be the human mother of the Messiah, she had no warning, she had no preparation, no timeline, no precedent to compare this to. The entire dialogue between Mary and the angel took place in what seems to be solitude – meaning there wasn’t anyone else present. No witnesses. No one eavesdropping. Nobody that Mary could turn to for confirmation – just her own personal encounter with the angel. Yet, what was her response? She said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to Your Word.” In other words, “Lord, I don’t understand this. I don’t comprehend it, but whatever You desire, I’ll do it.”

Now . . . that response doesn’t mean that Mary didn’t have questions – only that whatever those questions were, they didn’t keep her from being obedient. I imagine that even responding as courageously as she did, there were still questions – like, “Why me? Why did God choose me to be the mother of Jesus?” To be honest, the Bible doesn’t tell us why. The Bible doesn’t give us any explicit answers to the question: Why Mary? Ultimately, only God knows.

But it’s clear from studying her life, and the little information that we have, that she was no random selection. She was a woman of Scripture, a woman of faith. In her song of praise, in Luke 1:54-55 she speaks of God’s mercy upon Israel and how God spoke to Abraham and others. She was also a virgin. The Bible clearly says that Mary would be a virgin (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23) in order that the glory of God might be miraculously demonstrated. She was from humble means – Nazareth. Remember Nathaniel’s comment in John 1:46, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Prophecies given hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth (Isaiah 53, Zechariah 9:9) declared that the Messiah would be of little reputation. Not something that typically happens when you come from a wealthy and socially prestigious, and affluent city.

Mary was all of these things. She honored and obeyed the will of the Father, providing a home from which the Lord Jesus could emerge to launch the work that would define all of human history. Jesus toddled behind Mary in His infancy; and then, in time, she walked behind Him. In fact, she walked behind Him all the way to the cross and all the way to the tomb.

There comes a moment when God asks each of us to do something that we should obey. And we face the same dilemma that she did. Will we accept it or reject it? When God asks me to do something that may be hard or, certainly, that I don’t understand, my prayer is that I will rise up in obedience with the words of Mary, “Be it unto me according to Your Word. Lord, whatever You want, I am Your servant. I will do what You ask me to do.”

If you’ve been fighting with something God has been asking you to do. Let me ask you to go back and learn the submission of godliness from Mary, and let her words be yours, “Lord God, let it be to me according to Your Word. I will do what You tell me to do.”

Mary Teaches Us the Surprise of Godliness

The adventure of walking with Jesus is the greatest adventure you will ever know on this earth. Heaven will be better, of course, but until then, seeking to walk with the Lord and go where He wants you to go, and do what He wants you to do – to be His hands, to be His feet, to speak for Him, to be engaged in the work of His kingdom – is a wonderful experience.

To know that you are related to the King of kings and the Lord of lords… To know that the Creator of the universe has sent His Son to live in you… To know that you have a direct communication with Almighty God… To know that you can fellowship with Him and that He will direct, guide, strengthen, and be with you – that is truly a great adventure. But it’s also full of surprises.

The Bible tells us that when you walk with the Lord, He doesn’t always give you everything you want to know. It’s sort of like a “need to know” basis. And that’s the way it was with Mary; Mary’s whole relationship with Jesus Christ was a relationship of surprise. When Gabriel made his startling announcement, how did she respond? The Bible says, “When she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was” (Luke 1:29). Mary had no preparation for this assignment: God surprised her. And when the shepherds told Mary and Joseph what the angel had told them about Jesus and His birth, she quietly pondered things. We read, “And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:18-19).

Have you ever had a moment when Almighty God speaks to you, or something happens that you can’t explain? It causes you to pause and ponder what God has said. Like Mary, we often find ourselves surprised in our walk with God. And like Mary, we don’t have a blueprint for our lives or for those of our children. But when we submit to the Lord by faith, we discover He’s always there for us. He hears our prayers. He meets our needs.

Mary teaches us the submission of godliness, and the surprise of godliness. Finally, Mary teaches us the suffering of godliness.

Mary Teaches Us the Suffering of Godliness

It seems contradictory, but in the midst of Christmas we need to pause from the joy and gladness and remember that Christmas is only meaningful in light of the fact that it’s the beginning and not the end. Christmas, by itself, is a beautiful story and nothing more. It’s half of the gospel.  It’s not the full gospel.  It’s like a quarter that had one side successfully struck while in the mint, but the other side malfunctioned and wasn’t struck.  You had that to a cashier and they’re likely to reject it.  Why?  Because it’s not technically a quarter (by banking and monetary standards).  Same holds true with Easter.  If we only preach and teach Calvary without proper appreciation and understanding of Bethlehem, then it’s only a partial gospel.  We need to put Christmas together with Easter; that’s when you realize that the cradle and the grave have a straight line drawn between them.

There’s no reason to celebrate the cradle of Christmas, if there isn’t a cross of Calvary. Jesus was born to die. That’s why He came in the first place. Of the seven statements that Jesus made from the cross, in His dying hour, the third was directed to Mary. Around the cross that day were the onlookers and the bystanders. The critics of our Lord were there – those who had mocked Him with their words. The chief priests, the scribes, the elders of the Jews – those who pointed their fingers at Him and shouted, “If you’re the Christ, save Yourself.” But Mary was also there. She was seeing… She was hearing… She was feeling… She was experiencing the fulfillment of Simeon’s prophecy, way back when Jesus was an infant and was being dedicated in the temple, “and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, [Mary]” (Luke 2:35).

The late James Stalker was a minister in the United Free Church or Scotland, and he wrote a number of wonderful books on the life of Jesus. Listen to how he described this moment in Mary’s life:

“There Jesus hung before her eyes, but she was helpless. His wounds bled, but she dare not touch them. His mouth was parched, but she could not moisten it. The nails pierced her as well as Him. The thorns round His brow were a circle of flame around her heart… The Babe of Bethlehem, the Boy of Nazareth, the brawny Workman of the carpenter’s shop, the gentle Man of Galilee, the Teacher without equal, the mighty Man of merciful miracles, the humble Man of patience and grace, her own Son is now writhing before her own eyes in the throes of agony and death.”

In that moment of Mary’s greatest grief… In that moment of Mary’s darkest nightmare… Jesus turned to John and spoke into her suffering and insured that His beloved disciple would care for His mother until the very end. And the Scripture says that when they left the place of crucifixion, John took Mary to his own home.

Why Mary? In the final analysis, God planned it as such. Mary was the virgin, engaged to Joseph. There were other virgins, I’m sure. But none engaged to Joseph. Their backgrounds would place them in Bethlehem for the census and Jesus’ birth. Mary, best reveals the submission, surprise and suffering of godliness – something we all need to learn. But, as fantastic as it must have been to be chosen by God to bear the Messiah, that same Savior had to be born again in her own heart. And the Savior, whose birth we celebrate during this season, is a Savior who must be born in our hearts as well. So, the final question is: Have you invited the Savior to come into your heart?