Characters of the Nativity - A Deeper Dive
Mary and Jesus
Scripture: Luke 1:13-32 | Luke 2:1-20
Sorry for the late publication, but we’ve been enjoying a little downtime to celebrate Christmas. This week, we combine the final two messages of our series, Characters of the Nativity, and turn our attention to the two main characters: Mary and Jesus.
Mary’s Role
Mary might be the unlikeliest character in the Nativity. She was a teenager, a virgin, and betrothed. Yet, despite the scandal it would create, God chose Mary to bear his Son, which fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy recorded in the Book of Isaiah:
“14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Like many of the characters we discussed throughout this sermon series, Mary embodied faith and humility. When Gabriel explained that she would carry God’s Son, her response was simple:
“‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.”
But she knew the significance of what was being asked of her. A few verses later, Luke records Mary’s song - her Magnificat - in which we find evidence of the depth of her faith. In verses 46-47, she says, “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” We can be reasonably sure that Mary’s faith was rooted in Jewish tradition and that she had been taught to believe in the God of her ancestors. Further evidence of her faith is found in verses 48-50, where she speaks of God looking on a humble servant with favor. She accepts that God is taking her lowly status and using it to exalt her for generations to come.
There is no written record of what Mary actually felt about her pregnancy. We don’t know for certain if she feared what others would think or how they would treat her. But we have the words of her song that reveal her faith in God. We also have the words of Luke that show her deep humility: “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19 (NIV)
The lessons of Mary’s faith and humility are not just for the Advent season but for all seasons.
What did Mary Know?
There is a popular song played during the Christmas season that causes some scholarly Christians a bit of consternation. First released in 2001, “Mary, Did You Know” has been covered by a number of different singers and bands.
The problem our scholarly friends seem to have with the lyrics is that they feel we’re diminishing Mary’s role in the Nativity. In their minds, she most certainly could understand who Jesus was and how he would change the world. After all, Gabriel told her everything she needed to know:
“31 ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.’”
Her only question of Gabriel in response to this proclamation was how this could be since she was a virgin. Otherwise, we have no idea whether she fully comprehended the magnitude of the moment. Did she know that Jesus would heal the sick and return sight to the blind? Did she know that he would calm storms and walk on water? There is no evidence that any of these things were made known. What we do know is that she had complete faith in God. As we looked at earlier, her response to Gabriel before he left her was simple: “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” Those are the words of unwavering faith
So, with all due respect to those offended by the song, asking if Mary knew seems like a pretty legitimate question. If she were here to answer, perhaps she would simply say, “Yes, I did.” Our focus shouldn’t be on whether Mary had a deep theological understanding rooted in Old Testament prophecy of who Jesus was. Our takeaway should be the unwavering faith in God Mary demonstrated when faced with such a remarkable situation.
Jesus - The Greatest Gift Ever
The circumstances of Jesus’ arrival on the night of his birth say much about who he is and how he works in our lives. The way Jesus came into the world then is similar to how he comes to us now. He is the almighty one. He can peel back the heavens and stop time. He can send thunder to all the ends of the earth. Yet when he arrived, there was no room at the inn. His arrival was essentially ignored. Don’t we sometimes treat him the same way, even now?
Jesus didn’t come to force us to accept him. He doesn’t make threats or beg. Instead, his arrival that night and today comes with a quiet invitation. It is a call to be welcomed in and welcomed home. It’s really no coincidence that the inn was too crowded that night. How ironic that the one who came to bring us back into a relationship with God spent his first night in a barn. He was placed in a filthy trough because no one welcomed him.
The circumstances of Jesus’ birth foreshadowed how people would misunderstand and reject him throughout the ages. Perhaps it’s not as much rejection as simply not making room for him. We live such busy lives, especially during the holidays, and we ignore this gift of Jesus and the great invitation he extends to all of us.
The birth of Jesus gives us joy because he offers salvation. His birth gives us peace by making us right with God. Jesus’ birth offers us love through his coming to earth and ultimately offering himself as a sacrifice on the cross. His birth gives us hope that our lives can change and that we can live with him for all eternity in our place in Heaven. The birth of Jesus changed everything, and it still has the power to change everything for us.
Christmas is an invitation to each of us to value Jesus Christ. It’s about more than the gifts under the tree, our ambitions, our bank accounts, the car parked in the driveway, or our selfish desires. The Bible promises that when we search for Jesus, we will find him. He’s not hard to find. He came to us that first Christmas morning, and he’s with us every day. Our difficulty isn’t finding Jesus; it’s allowing him to lead our lives.
When Luke describes the announcement of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, he writes,
“13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’”
Let’s all give God glory in the way we treat one another. Let’s give him glory in how we sing and praise his name. Let’s give him glory by deciding what is important to us. Let’s give glory to the greatest gift ever given.