God's Plan + Miraculous Conception

Luke 1:26-56

Grasping the significance of God’s plan through the miraculous conception

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Good morning, church family! Introduce self + welcome guests

How appropriate that we are studying several birth narratives this month as we celebrate the sanctity of human life! I find it fascinating that our text for today includes content about the baby John leaping for joy within his mother’s womb at 6 months gestation. Pretty amazing how God has designed human life!

Today we are picking back up in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1 with the announcement of Mary’s miraculous conception of Jesus! If you were with us last week, I mentioned then that there are a lot of similarities between John and Jesus’ birth announcements. Luke is making some intentional comparisons and contrasts between these two. If you’ve peeked at the bulletin, you’ll notice that I’ve kept a very similar outline to last week. We are continuing to grasp the significance of God’s plan, but this week it is through the miraculous conception.

We’re going to start by reading verses 26-38. This picks up after the fulfillment of Gabriel’s announcement to Elizabeth – she became pregnant and some time has gone by. Let’s hear what happens next.

Whether that is your first time hearing this or your hundredth, can we just take a moment to pause and prayerfully consider what we’ve read? Please bow your heads as I respond to the Lord in prayer.

This text has given us tremendous reasons to have hope and eager anticipation this morning! Luke continues his orderly account for his friend Theophilus so that he might have certainty in his faith. As we study this passage and verses 39-56 later in the sermon, our aim today is:

This is very similar to last week. We have not moved far in the text nor in Luke’s aim. As we said last week…

When Luke begins his Gospel account, he starts by revealing that God is up to something. In fact, the way Luke writes reveals that he is seeking to show Theophilus that God has been up to something for a LONG time. The recent developments, of which he now writes, are simply the next steps in God’s grand redemption plan. This plan is not NEW, but the developments of it in his lifetime were extraordinary. The things that had been accomplished among them were incredible events that would forever change the course of history. They not only had eternal impact for people like Theophilus in the 1st century, but they also continue to invite a response of faith and provide the hope of salvation down through the ages.

Luke continues to write in a way that connects what God has done in their lifetime to the work God began long ago. The covenant-keeping God had not forgotten his people.

So today, from Luke’s writing, we see that:

And like last week, before we talk about the purpose, let’s look at the evidence that God chose Mary. Did you notice how this section began in verse 26? “…the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city… to a virgin…”

Who did the sending? God did. And who was sent? The angel Gabriel. The same angel who was sent by God to Zechariah and who was sent to Daniel in the Old Testament. We heard last week that Gabriel stands in the presence of God! He is one of the archangels in God’s throne room and he has the privilege of bearing news from God to these people whom God has chosen.

Now what did Gabriel say when he came to Mary? Look at verse 28. “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” O favored one means one who is blessed or who has received gracious kindness. God has taken notice of Mary, not because of anything she has done, but solely because of his grace! This is elaborated upon in verse 30 as Mary is trying to figure out what to make of the angel’s greeting: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” The word translated as favor is the word also translated as grace. Grace is often defined as God’s unmerited favor. Mary was the recipient of God’s gracious kindness.

God’s grace is emphasized in this interaction! Whereas last week Zechariah and Elizabeth’s righteous character was highlighted, there is no such emphasis about Mary. Now, I am not implying that she was not righteous but rather highlighting that God’s graciousness is what is in view here. The Creator God looked down and upon this lowly virgin woman from a town of no reputation and showed grace or favor towards her. Mary becomes an example of God’s pattern of working through the lowly and those who are nothing in the eyes of the world! She will even sing a song that highlights this very theme in the next section of the Scripture.

Notice also that God chose Mary for an incredible and miraculous honor. She, a virgin who had never known a man, would conceive and bear a son! This was unheard of. This declaration required faith that God would do a new thing. And that is exactly how Mary responded – in faith. Her question in verse 34 – “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” - is not a question of doubt but clarification. She is understandably confused and wants to know how this is going to come about.

As we heard, Gabriel explains that God the Holy Spirit will come upon her and overshadow her. This is going to be a miracle of God! He will create a baby in her womb outside of the normal biological means. This child will be called holy and the Son of God. He will not inherit a sin nature from a human father but will inherit a holy nature from God.

This is an incredible revelation we are reading this morning! May we not take it for granted. Make it your aim to cultivate awe at the plan of God as it is revealed before us in Luke!

God chose Mary… for this purpose. But what is the purpose? It is revealed in verses 31-33. To bear and raise up a son whose name is Jesus. A son who will be called the Son of the Most High, the Son of God. A son who will be great and who will be given the throne of David and will reign over the house of Jacob (the Israelites) forever in an eternal kingdom.

Can you imagine?! What a purpose! This was the Messiah child the nation had been waiting for! Gabriel’s words invoked the covenant promises of God given long ago to their ancestors. Promises like we hear in 2 Samuel 7 to King David. Listen to the promises of God:

Some components of this covenant were more immediately fulfilled by David’s son, Solomon, but the covenant’s ultimate fulfillment was in David’s future descendant, Jesus. He was the descendant of David who would reign forever, as revealed from God by the angel Gabriel.

Consider also promises made by God through the prophet Isaiah:

While John was the forerunner, Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s plan. In him the covenant promises of old are fulfilled. He is the Davidic king who will reign forever! These promises and themes will continue to be developed throughout Luke’s writing. For today, in order to grasp the significance of God’s plan you need to understand…

Mary had the privilege of carrying in her womb and subsequently parenting the long-awaited Messiah! God would work through her to fulfill his covenant promises to the nation of Israel. We’ve already heard of his covenant with David to establish his kingdom and a king over it forever. Soon we will also come to see that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant to be a blessing to all the nations of earth, and he is the inaugurator of the New Covenant which had been foretold by the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah.

If you’re not quite sure why that is so significant, then allow me to explain. Abraham existed thousands of years before Jesus. David lived roughly 1000 years before Jesus. Isaiah was ~700 years before Jesus. Jeremiah/Ezekiel were ~600 years before Jesus. Yet the promises God had given to them or through them to the nation of Israel are now coming to fruition in Jesus. As I said earlier and last week, the covenant-keeping God had not forgotten his people. What he said he will do! He will deliver his people, and he will provide a way of salvation and new life through the Messiah, through Jesus!

Though Luke is still developing the identity of Jesus in his writing, we have the benefit of being able to look ahead and know the fuller details. Before we look too far forward, let’s begin with the next section of Luke 1.

After having received the angelic news with humble faith, Mary races to visit her relative, Elizabeth, who she now knows is also miraculously pregnant! As Gabriel so eloquently stated, “nothing will be impossible with God.”

And when these ladies finally meet, God divinely inspires more revelation about who Jesus is through Elizabeth and John’s reactions! Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, declares that Mary is the mother of her Lord. This title is used extensively for God throughout these chapters, but here it is applied to Jesus! Elizabeth has been entrusted by God to share a great revelation about Jesus – he is divine.

This great revelation would be theirs privately to rejoice in for that visit, but by the time Jesus was born, it would be declared publicly to a group of shepherds near the town of Bethlehem:

Jesus’ identity as Savior and Lord is becoming increasingly public!

And then, roughly 40 days later, when Jesus was brought to the temple, the prophet Simeon met him and declared:

Jesus is the salvation of God for many! God will do a great work through him.

In that same visit the prophetess Anna also publicly declared the wonders of God through Jesus:

Jesus is the Redeemer sent by God!

These revelations about Jesus’ identity would continue throughout his life and ministry. My point in rehearsing these matters is to help you understand who Jesus is so that you will understand how he advances God’s redemption plan. Luke is helping Theophilus and us see that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior of the world, God in human form. He is the one who truly brings redemption to Israel and to the nations. When he begins his public ministry, he will preach the good news of the kingdom of God, which requires sinners like us to confess our sin and turn to him in faith. (aka to repent and believe)

Let’s zoom out for a moment to look at the bigger picture… The grand redemption plan of God is to create a people for himself and to be in relationship with those people! This is what is consistently revealed from Old to New Testament, including Luke’s writings in his gospel and the book of Acts. In fact, the book of Acts tracks the development of the New Covenant people of God – the church – which is comprised of both believing Jews and believing Gentiles (non-Jews).

Are you tracking with what has been laid out so far this morning? God has a grand plan of redemption that he has been working out since the beginning of creation. He is not surprised by humanity’s sinfulness nor is our brokenness too much for him to overcome. Far from it, as we have seen today, his plan has always been to send his Son through miraculous means – a virgin conception – to make a way of salvation. As I shared earlier from the angel in Luke 2 – this is good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born… a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

But there is an appropriate and necessary response to this good news. It is modeled for us by Mary in the final section of our text for today. Let’s read now in Luke 1:46-56.

Mary’s response to all that has been revealed to her is humble faith that leads to joyful worship. Her response becomes our final takeaway in grasping the significance of God’s plan this morning:

Throughout our text today, we have witnessed Mary’s faith on display. Let’s bring it into focus again:

Throughout the interaction with Gabriel, and now with Elizabeth, Mary has demonstrated a humble, submissive faith in God. She recognizes that she is merely his servant and is ready to do as he wills. What an incredible example for us! Is that how you think of yourself? “Lord, I am your servant.” Do you have Mary’s high view of God? “I trust you and I will do what you call me to do.”

How easy it is to think of ourselves in many other ways but as a servant of the Lord! I don’t know about you, but it is oh so easy to enter my day thinking I call the shots. Living as if I am the Lord. “I have a good plan for myself and my day and nobody better get in the way!” If you’ve tried living that way, how does it inevitably turn out? Not good! Typically our plans are interrupted and we become grumpy and even more selfish and sinful in our response. Why does it so often go that way? Because the Lord opposes the proud and he will not let us get away with such selfishness. This is a mercy of God! He frustrates our proud, self-focused plans so that we might turn back to him.

Mary’s faithful life and her words of worship in 46-55 ought to challenge and encourage us. They challenge us if we’re living in proud self-reliance and they encourage us to trust the Lord who has a good plan that he is working out. A plan that is revealed to be quite beautiful in Mary’s song!

What do we see revealed in her worship? Tremendous details about God’s character and actions. Let’s talk through it together.

In verses 46-49 Mary personally praises the Lord. Her words are focused on exalting God. She rejoices in her God, her Savior. She acknowledges her own need for salvation. She praises God for looking upon her in her humiliation or poverty. She was not coming from power or prestige or a city of great reputation. Mary highlights that God takes note of the poor and the humble and he exalts them.

Then, in verses 50-55, Mary rejoices in the corporate salvation that God provides. “His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation…” If her fellow Israelites will fear God, then they too will receive his mercy. If Gentiles like Theophilus or Luke or you and me fear God, then we too can be recipients of his mercy!

There are themes of great reversal in her song. God scatters the proud and humbles the mighty, but he exalts the poor and humble. He fills the hungry but sends the rich, self-sufficient people away empty. Mary’s praise is consistent with Jesus’ own preaching during his ministry:

God takes note of those who are needy and seeking help. He stands ready to save the humble in heart. But he is the just judge of all who are self-sufficient and self-righteous. We would do well to heed the revelations about God’s character and actions from Mary’s song.

If you find hope in all the good work that you have done in your life or the exceptional career or wealth and influence that you’ve built up over the years, then please realize that is a fool’s hope. These things cannot save you when the day of judgment comes. We were never meant to find our identity and hope outside of our relationship with God.

Instead, we must recognize that there is a God who has made all things and he has a plan that he has been working out since creation began. In comparison to his might and the depth of his rich mercies, we are bankrupt and oh so needy! Our appropriate response to this realization is humble faith and obedience. “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” May Mary’s words become our words!

Mary also reveals that God is the covenant-keeping God.

She is calling back to God’s covenant promises to Abraham in Genesis. Put simply, Mary is no theological slouch. She knows her God and his teaching in the Old Testament Scriptures. And these truths inform her praise of him as she experiences his work in her life in the present. Mary’s faith in and worship of God are an extraordinary model for our own lives today. Let’s consider how they challenge us to respond:

One of the startling realizations of God’s plan is that we have the privilege of partnering with him in it. God chooses to use ordinary people like Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, or as we’ll soon see, the twelve disciples, to accomplish his will on earth. And he doesn’t stop partnering with people in the 1st century. Throughout the ages, he has called men and women, young and old, people like you and me, to turn from their sin and worship and serve him. So I ask you:

What a privilege and joy to be used by God to reach the nations with the good news of salvation! We’re going to continue to develop our understanding of that calling and mission as we study the Gospel of Luke.

If you have questions about what you’ve heard today, I’d love to speak with you after the service. Please come talk to me in the back. Or you can email the church, and we can set up a time to grab coffee/meal. But please do not ignore the significance of God’s plan through the miraculous conception!

Let’s pray.