Luke 1:28-38
To ask the impossible of
someone I will not do, and I believe it would be impossible for anyone to grasp
the magnitude of what is happening to this young girl Mary. This we know about her from the Scriptures;
she was of the line of King David, and yet was a poor peasant girl from a small
village and the Scripture does not give us the names of her parents. The years of captivity had removed any luster
of being from the line of David, and yet the prophet Isaiah prophecies these
words hundreds of years earlier; “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin
will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
What you and I would regard as a child, Mary
would have fit that picture, a Jewish girl could be married by age 12 and six
months, so it seems clear that Mary could have been as young as 14 years when
she gave birth to our Lord. Patricia
Chadwick gives us this insight; “Though she was
young, and probably poor, Mary had something priceless inside: she was a woman
of faith who loved God deeply, having an obedient spirit. Have you ever
wondered what kind of woman God would choose to carry His Son? She was chosen
to love and nurture Him as her firstborn and raise Him in the knowledge of God.”
Doctor
Luke, in the book of Acts chapter 13, gives us this information that after God
had removed Saul from being the king, He raised up David to be their king, of
whom He testified and said, “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my
heart, who will do all my will. Of this
man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he
promised.” Both Joseph and
Mary were of the line of David!
So
when you see this greeting from Gabriel it is very special, “Greeting, O
favored one, the Lord is with you!” Now
she was frightened at both the appearance of Gabriel and the message, and I am
amazed at the courage of this young lady.
Picking up the story in verses 30-33, “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.
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, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
We read this at the
Christmas season, we hear it preached many times but the magnitude of the
message to a 12 ½ to 13 year old girl is beyond my grasp, but listen to Mary, “And Mary said to
the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34 ESV) Listen to Gabriel, “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. 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. For nothing will be impossible
with God.”
(Luke 1:35-37 ESV)
Now, if you have not been
impressed with this very young lady, hold on to your seat; “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. (Luke 1:38)
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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