Luke 1 (part 2)

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 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."

And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:26-34 ESV)

What a great exchange. Gabriel is going on and on about Jesus being a great king and his kingdom will last forever and he's from the house of David and Jacob, when he notices Mary's jaw on the floor.

"Baby?" "Pregnant?"

I'm pretty sure Mary heard nothing after that.  Who was Mary? Some teenage girl who was supposed to be married soon. . .then she would have a baby, just like all the other Jewish women.  But this was devastating news.  What would Joseph think?  What would her parents think?  What would the religious people think?  She could be stoned just like the adulterous woman!  

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." 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 1:35-38 ESV)

What has God done that is impossible?

Why is it so important that God can do the impossible?

Loving sinful humans. God being killed is impossible. Rising from the dead is impossible. Taking away the sins of the world is impossible. If God did not do the impossible, we would be hopeless.

But God loves the impossible. He loves making something out of nothing. He loves making beautiful things out of dust. As Mary prays, God exalts the humble and feeds the hungry. . .his favorite pastime is overturning the natural order of the world.

Who do you think is the most important person in America?

If you we're to talk to God, and ask who the most important person is in America, who would he say? Not president Obama. Maybe the funny looking kid at school. Or the homeless guy at the firehouse shelter.

Think about it, who was the most important person in the world when Jesus came? Caesar - he pretty much conquered Europe and Asia. Herod is ruler over the district if Israel, he's pretty important. But to God, this teenage Jewish girl named Mary is the most important person in the whole world. The salvation of the world will come from her tummy. God loves the impossible.

Slight problem, though, the impossible also means that unmarried Mary is pregnant. Try explaining that to your dad and fiancé!

"So, Dad, I need to tell you something. I'm pregnant. No, not with Joseph, he would never do something like that. Then who is the dad? This is going to sound like I'm lying, but I swear that it's God." (Have Heather Boyle have the conversation with her Dad).

The fiancé was a tricky conversation too, it didn't go so well and an angel had to get involved to keep Joseph from calling off the marriage:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel"
(which means, God with us).
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 ESV)

Joseph was a good guy. He loves Mary, but he didn't buy the story. You can well imagine there were plenty of tears in their argument about why Mary's belly was getting bigger. It's hard to prove that God made you pregnant, and Joseph decided that she could not be telling the truth and he must divorce her. Thankfully he listened to the angel, just as stunned as Mary had been.

Why should Joseph be stunned? The angel just explained the entire New Covenant in two sentences! Under the Old Covenant (which started with Adam and Eve's sin in the garden) animals were sacrificed to release people from their sins. "You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save the people from their sins". Jesus is a greekisized version of the name Joshua (yeshua), which means God is salvation. Jesus =God = salvation. He will save people from their sins through his death on the cross - no more old covenant sacrifices, Jesus is the once an for all sacrifice.

What was the old covenant?
How were sins forgiven?
What does Jesus's name mean?
What is the big deal with Immanuel?
When was God with man under the old covenant?

Moreover, Immanuel means God with us! God is no longer in heaven, speaking from time to time through prophets and occasionally visiting the heroes of the faith. God is on earth, walking among us. Think about it, this is crazy - that God would become man all so he could reveal his great love to us and die for us! Mind blowing if you think about it!

The angel wins the short explanation of the gospel contest, but here is another way of saying it:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11 ESV)

One last thought about heaven. Immanuel means God is with us, and quite literally he is. God has given us the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts a he is always with us. If you are a believer in Jesus, God is always with you just as your spleen or heart is always with you. There is something inside of you, always working for your good, even though you do not see it and you rarely think about it. God is with us. But one day we will be with God. "Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:17 ESV). Salvation is God with us, heaven us us with God, always, always, always. How amazing is that!