UNABRIDGED ENGLISH FOLLOWS THE JAPANESE
エデンの園で、神はイエスが蛇を征服するために来られると約束された。旧約聖書の預言者たちも、イエスが生まれる700年以上も前に、その到来を予告していた。神はご自分の民を贖うために、ご自分の主権に基づく計画を忠実に実行された。聖書では、預言者の代わりに、神が天使を遣わして特定の人々にメッセージを伝えることもあった。ルカによる福音書の序章では、イエスの地上の親族と両親は、イエスの誕生を告げるために天使の特別な訪問を受けた。今朝は、イエスの誕生にまつわる3つの宣言を見てみよう。
I. 長い間待ち望まれていた前触れの誕生が、疑心暗鬼に陥っていた祭司ゼカリヤに告げられた（ルカ1：11-20）。
11 すると、 主 の 使い が 彼 に 現れ て、 香 の 祭壇 の 右 に 立っ た。 12 これ を 見 た ザカリヤ は 取り乱し、 恐怖 に 襲わ れ た。 13 御 使い は 彼 に 言っ た。「 恐れる こと は あり ませ ん、 ザカリヤ。 あなた の 願い が 聞き入れ られ た の です。 あなた の 妻 エリサベツ は、 あなた に 男の子 を 産み ます。 その 名 を ヨハネ と つけ なさい。 14 その 子 は あなた にとって、 あふれる ばかりの 喜び となり、 多く の 人 も その 誕生 を 喜び ます。 15 その 子 は 主 の 御前 に 大いなる 者 と なる から です。 彼 は ぶどう酒 や 強い 酒 を 決して 飲ま ず、 まだ 母 の 胎 に いる とき から 聖霊 に 満たさ れ、 16 イスラエル の 子 ら の 多く を、 彼ら の 神 で ある 主 に 立ち返ら せ ます。 17 彼 は エリヤ の 霊 と 力 で、 主 に 先立っ て 歩み ます。 父 たち の 心 を 子ども たち に 向け させ、 不 従順 な 者 たち を 義人 の 思い に 立ち返ら せ て、 主 の ため に、 整え られ た 民 を 用意 し ます。」 18 ザカリヤ は 御 使い に 言っ た。「 私 は その よう な こと を、 何 によって 知る こと が できる でしょ う か。 この 私 は 年寄り です し、 妻 も もう 年 を とっ て い ます。」 19 御 使い は 彼 に 答え た。「 この 私 は 神 の 前 に 立つ ガブリエル です。 あなた に 話 を し、 この 良い 知らせ を 伝える ため に 遣わさ れ た の です。 20 見 なさい。 これら の こと が 起こる 日 まで、 あなた は 口 が きけ なく なり、 話せ なく なり ます。 その 時 が 来れ ば 実現 する 私 の ことば を、 あなた が 信じ なかっ た から です。」
ルカによる福音書は、イエスの前触れである洗礼者ヨハネの誕生の告知から始まる。ルカは、ヨハネの両親である正しいイスラエル人エリサベツとゼカリヤの物語を書いた。エリザベトは不妊であり、彼女自身はそれを恥と呼んだ(25)。ゼカリヤは当時約18,000人の祭司の一人として主に仕えていた。二人とも高齢であった。ゼカリヤは毎年2週間仕えていた。今回、彼は一生に一度の出来事である神殿の中に選ばれた。神殿で、天使が彼に現れた。天使は通常、神の代理人としてメッセージを伝えたり、罪深い人間に神の裁きを実行したりする。神殿で天使がゼカリヤに現れたとき、ゼカリヤは恐れた。天使は彼に、彼の妻にヨハネという息子が生まれると告げた。神がその子に名前をつけ、酒を飲むことを許されなかったので、その子は特別な宗教的目的のために定められたことになる。ヨハネは生まれたときから聖霊に満たされる。ヨハネは神によって、イスラエルをイエスのために準備し、イエスについてのメッセージを宣べ伝え、多くのイスラエル人をイエスに導く力を与えられた。それは素晴らしい知らせだったが、ゼカリヤは天使を信じなかった。その代わりにゼカリヤは、メッセージを確認するために奇跡を求めた。彼は神の言葉を信じるのではなく、自分の不名誉という視点からしか自分の状況を見なかったのだ。ゼカリヤは天使からのメッセージを信じなかったので、奇跡が与えられた。ゼカリヤは突然、約束の時まで話すことができなくなったのだ。これによってゼカリヤは、天使からの言葉が真実であり、神がその計画を成し遂げられることを証明した。
今日、ゼカリヤやエリサベツのように不妊に悩むことはないかもしれないが、恥をもたらす状況はまだたくさんある。愛する人を予期せぬ死で失ったり、健康上の問題を抱えたり、職を失ったり、経済的な損失を経験したり、自分の子供や配偶者が恥ずべきことをしたりすることはよくあることだ。神は、人生に不名誉がないとは決して保証していない。エリサベツとゼカリヤの物語は、彼らを義人と呼ぶところから始まっていることを思い出してほしい。私たちは、彼らの不名誉が彼らの罪とは無関係であることを知る必要がある。ゼカリヤとエリサベツにとっての中心的な問題は、自分たちがなぜ不名誉な生活をしているのかを知ることではなかった。彼らにとっての問題は、不名誉の中で神の御言葉を聞いてどう反応するかということだった。もし彼らが不名誉を恨むなら、怒り、憎しみ、苛立ちという実を結び、近くにいる人々に悪影響を及ぼすだろう。しかし、神の御言葉を信じるなら、主への感謝と賛美が生まれ、周囲の人々から喜びの反応が返ってくるだろう。人は自分の置かれた状況を不名誉としか認識していないことがあるが、不名誉は神が意図的に許されたもの、定められたものなのだ。だからこそ、たとえ恥ずべき境遇であっても、神の言葉に従うことができる。だからこそ、不名誉から逃れることよりも、神に栄光を帰すことの方が優先されるのである。神がその不名誉を背景にして、イスラエルの多くの子供たちが悔い改めてイエスに立ち返る準備を整えるために介入されたのだ。その結果、神の介入はより鮮明に際立ち、神の贖いの計画は私たちが望むものよりもずっと賢明であることを証明した。神に従うことは、恥を避けることよりも優れている。
II. 長い間待ち望まれていた王の誕生が、卑しい処女マリアに告げられた（ルカ1：26-38）
26 さて、 その 六 か月 目 に、 御 使い ガブリエル が 神 から 遣わさ れ て、 ガリラヤ の ナザレ という 町 の 一人 の 処女 の ところ に 来 た。 27 この 処女 は、 ダビデ の 家系 の ヨセフ という 人 の いいなずけ で、 名 を マリア といった。 28 御 使い は 入っ て 来る と、 マリア に 言っ た。「 おめでとう、 恵まれ た 方。 主 が あなた とともに おら れ ます。」 29 しかし、 マリア は この ことば に ひどく 戸惑っ て、 これ は いったい 何 の あいさつ かと 考え込ん だ。 30 すると、 御 使い は 彼女 に 言っ た。「 恐れる こと は あり ませ ん、 マリア。 あなた は 神 から 恵み を 受け た の です。 31 見 なさい。 あなた は 身ごもっ て、 男の子 を 産み ます。 その 名 を イエス と つけ なさい。 32 その 子 は 大いなる 者 となり、 いと 高き 方 の 子 と 呼ば れ ます。 また 神 で ある 主 は、 彼 に その 父 ダビデ の 王位 を お 与え になり ます。 33 彼 は とこしえ に ヤコブ の 家 を 治め、 その 支配 に 終わり は あり ませ ん。」 34 マリア は 御 使い に 言っ た。「 どうして その よう な こと が 起こる の でしょ う。 私 は 男 の 人 を 知り ませ ん のに。」 35 御 使い は 彼女 に 答え た。「 聖霊 が あなた の 上 に 臨み、 いと 高き 方 の 力 が あなた を おおい ます。 それ ゆえ、 生まれる 子 は 聖なる 者、 神 の 子 と 呼ば れ ます。 36 見 なさい。 あなた の 親類 の エリサベツ、 あの 人 も あの 年 に なっ て 男の子 を 宿し て い ます。 不妊 と 言わ れ て い た 人 なのに、 今 は もう 六 か月 です。 37 神 にとって 不可能 な こと は 何 も あり ませ ん。」 38 マリア は 言っ た。「 ご覧 ください。 私 は 主 の はし ため です。 どうぞ、 あなた の お ことば どおり、 この 身 になり ます よう に。」 する と、 御 使い は 彼女 から 去っ て 行っ た。
次の大きな発表は、イエスの誕生に関するものだった。これらの誕生の告知には多くの共通点があるが、いくつかの相違点もある。ゼカリヤへのお告げは、首都に仕える、年配で尊敬されている男性祭司へのものでした。しかし、マリアへのお告げは、ガリラヤの田舎の村に住む、10代の処女に過ぎない少女へのものだった。マリアの置かれた状況は、王の誕生を祝うには文化的にふさわしくなかった。そして、ゼカリヤとは異なり、謙遜な処女マリアは、完全には理解していなかったかもしれないが、天使の言葉に従った。このような反応は、私たちがすべてのクリスチャンに望んでいる、神の言葉を聞いたときの反応と同じである。私たちは、”主が、私が行って彼女に許しを請わなければならないと言われるなら、そうすればいい “とか、”神が私に従順な妻であることを求めておられるので、その方法を学びたい “と言ってほしいのです。同じような応答は、神の恵みが働いていることを示している。
マリアは処女であり、ダビデ王の王統に連なるヨセフとの結婚を法的に誓約されていた。マリアもまたダビデの王家の血筋にあったが、この記述ではそのことは語られていない。マリアは、ヤハウェが彼女と共におられることを告げられた。処女であったにもかかわらず、イエスという名の男の子を産もうとしていたのだ。ヨハネは「神の目には偉大な者」と呼ばれたが、イエスも偉大な者になるはずだった。ヨハネは「いと高き神の預言者」と呼ばれたが、イエスは「いと高き神の子」と呼ばれるようになる。その約束とは、ヤハウェがイエスにダビデの王位を与え、永遠にヤコブの家を治め、その王国は終わることがないというものだった。イエスのダビデの王座からの統治は、イエスの死、復活、昇天によって確立された（使徒2:30-35）。 しかし、イエスの子であることは、単にダビデとの関係においてだけではなく、イエスは子である神でもあった。イエスが子なる神であるということは、イエス自身が神であり、三位一体の神の三位格の一つであるということです。神ご自身がマリアと共におられたのです。マリアは神の注意を引くために何かをしたのではありません。むしろ、マリアはイエスの地上の母として神に選ばれたのです。結婚もせずに処女のまま妊娠することは、簡単なことではありませんでした。神の言葉に身を委ねることで、彼女は離婚され、家族から疎まれ、貧困に陥る危険を冒した。神が栄光を受けるために、マリアは不名誉になる危険を冒した。それができたのは、ヤハウェが彼女とともにおられることを知っていたからである。
イエス王は非常に謙遜で、しかも奇跡的な方法で紹介された。このことは、イエス王の物語は普通の物語ではなく、イエスについて読み、イエスが語ることを読むとき、私たちは予期せぬことを期待しなければならないことを教えている。イエスの誕生が他の貧しい人々の誕生と同じであったという事実は、神がこの世で最も小さい人々と同一視するために、大変な苦労をされたことを示している。神は宇宙の神であるが、エリート主義者ではない。意外に思われるかもしれないが、神はその誕生によって身を低くし、私たちの一人となられたのである。
III. 処女マリアは、ふさわしくない者を祝福する神を賛美した（ルカ1:46-55）。
46 マリア は 言っ た。 「 私 の たま しい は 主 を あがめ、 47 私 の 霊 は 私 の 救い主 で ある 神 を たたえ ます。 48 この 卑しい は し ため に 目 を 留め て くださっ た から です。 ご覧 ください。 今 から 後、 どの 時代 の 人々 も 私 を 幸い な 者 と 呼ぶ でしょ う。 49 力 ある 方 が、 私 に 大きな こと を し て くださっ た から です。 その 御名 は 聖なる もの、 50 主 の あわれみ は、 代々 にわたって 主 を 恐れる 者 に 及び ます。 51 主 は その 御 腕 で 力強い わざ を 行い、 心 の 思い の 高ぶる 者 を 追い散らさ れ まし た。 52 権力 の ある 者 を 王位 から 引き降ろし、 低い 者 を 高く 引き上げ られ まし た。 53 飢え た 者 を 良い もの で 満ち 足ら せ、 富む 者 を 何 も 持た せ ず に 追い返さ れ まし た。 54 主 は あわれみ を 忘れ ず に、 その しも べ イスラエル を 助け て ください まし た。 55 私 たち の 父祖 たち に 語ら れ た とおり、 アブラハム と その 子孫 に 対する あわれみ を いつ までも 忘れ ず に。」
天使ガブリエルによるマリアへの告知は、赤ん坊のイエスが子なる神であり、長い間待ち望まれていた救い主であり、イスラエルの永遠の王であるという最初の証拠であった。その後、マリアはいとこのエリゼベトを訪ねた。エリゼベトは天使がマリアに告げたことを知るはずもなかったが、エリゼベトは自分の胎内にいるヤハウェを認めた。エリゼベトの話を聞いたマリアは、サムエル記上2章にあるハンナの歌の一部と詩篇の一部を混ぜて新しい賛美歌を歌い、彼女と彼女の民の救い主としてのヤハウェを賛美した（詩篇34篇、69篇、9篇、25篇、44篇、89篇、111篇、25篇）。マリアは神に喜びの賛美を捧げるために二つの個人的な理由を挙げている。第一に、救い主である神が彼女のことを思い、彼女の謙遜な境遇にもかかわらず、彼女に好意を与えてくださったこと。そして第二に、神が彼女のために偉大なことをしてくださったからです。神はご自分の民をあわれみ、敵に神の裁きを下すことを忠実になさるからです。神は憐れみを与えようと選ばれた人に憐れみを与え、その人たちはイエスへの信仰を持ち始める。その中には、身分の低い者も含まれる。神は時に、社会的に恥ずべき人々に憐れみを示すことを選ばれる。彼らの不名誉が神の憐れみにつながるわけではない。新約聖書では、神は多くの人々に憐れみと恵みを与えている。貧しい者と富める者、虐げられた者と権力者、平和な者と軍司令官、奴隷と奴隷所有者、妻と夫、親と子、異教徒とユダヤ人。マリアの歌では、”神は富める者を虚しさのうちに追い払われる “と言っている。金持ちとは、物質的に豊かでありながら、悔い改めと信仰をもって神に向かって豊かでない人々を意味する（ルカ12:21）。これは金持ちに対する歌ではなく、宗教的な功徳のために貧しくなることを勧める歌でもなく（禁欲主義は誤った教義である）、イエスを通して人類に知らされた神の救いの恵みと憐れみについての歌である。エリサベツは自分の胎内にいる赤ん坊を主、ヤハウェと呼んだばかりであったから、この歌は究極的には自分の赤ん坊についての歌であったことになる。マリアは、人類に遣わされた力ある神ご自身である胎内の赤ん坊を賛美していたのである。
キリスト者として、私たちはマリアの歌を理解し、同調することができる。なぜなら、キリストにあって、私たちは世から拒絶され、神の前に立ち、自分が不相応であることを悟り、神を必要としていることを知るからだ。イエスは人間とともに住まわれる神であるから、神のご性質は私たちに知らされた。私たちはイエスを通して神がどのようなお方であるかを理解することができ、イエスを通して神を礼拝し、自分の評判を危険にさらしてでも神に従うことができる。神とその恵みを知る者は、マリアの歌を歌い、同じ喜びをもって神に仕えることができる。私たちも同様に、それに値することを何もしていないにもかかわらず、神が私たちの人生に積極的に関わってくださることを光栄に思い、その結果、私たちに対する神の栄光ある恵みに対する賛美と感謝が生まれるのである（エペソ1-2章）。
天の父なる神様、あなたの恵みと約束を守る誠実さに感謝します。私たちがどのような状況においてもあなたを信頼し、あなたの主権的な計画とあなたの完全なタイミングを信頼することができるように助けてください。待望の王、イエスの賜物を賛美します。私たちの救いとなるために、へりくだってお生まれになったことを感謝します。マリアの歌に思いを馳せながら、私たちがあなたの栄光のために生き、あなたの栄光のために生きることに伴う危険にもかかわらず、イエスの御名を讃える人生を生きることができるようにしてください。
People had been expecting the coming of Jesus for a very long time. Back in the Garden of Eden, God had even hinted that Jesus would come to conquer the serpent. The prophets in the Old Testament foretold of his coming more than seven hundred years before his birth. God faithfully worked out his sovereign plan to bring his people back to himself. In the Bible, sometimes God sent Angels to communicate his message to people. In Luke’s gospel, in the introduction, the earthly relatives and parents of Jesus received a special visit from an angel to announce his coming. This morning we will look at three proclamations surrounding the birth of Jesus.
I. The long-expected herald’s birth was announced to the doubting priest Zechariah (Luke 1:11-25)
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
The gospel of Luke tells the story of Jesus’s life and ministry. It begins with the announcement of a man who came before Jesus, named John the Baptist. John the Baptist was not a Baptist by religious affiliation, he is called a Baptist because he baptized people. We can also call him John the Baptizer. John was an important part of Jesus’s story, as he was the forerunner of Jesus, a herald who went before king Jesus announcing his imminent coming. The story about John heightens our anticipation of the story about Jesus’s birth. Luke tells the miraculous story of John’s parents, righteous Israelites named Elizabeth and Zechariah. Elizabeth was barren which she herself called a disgrace (25), and Zechariah served the Lord as one of about 18,000 priests at that time. Both were very old. When Zechariah was serving at the temple during his yearly two-week scheduled time, he was selected to be the one serving in the temple, which was a once-in-a-lifetime event. While he was serving inside at the altar of incense, an Angel appeared to him. Unlike modern artistic portrayals, Angels are not cute babies with wings, nor are they women with halos. Angels are fearsome, everlasting, righteous, powerful spirit beings that serve God in his presence, and in the New Testament they typically either deliver an announcement from God or are sent as God’s agents to execute judgment on sinful men. Even the righteous become fearful in their presence. When the Angel appeared to Zechariah in the temple, Zechariah understandably became afraid. The Angel commanded Zechariah not to be afraid, because God had heard his prayer. The Angel told him that his wife was going to have a son named John. Because God has sent an Angel to Zechariah to tell him the name of his child, this indicates that John was going to have a very important role. He was not permitted to drink alcohol, which is an indication that John is set apart for a very special religious purpose, since most people in that era drank wine, even people who served in religious positions. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit even while he was still inside his mother’s womb. John is the only person in the New Testament that is described as having the Holy Spirit from birth. Being filled with the Holy Spirit simply means that he was empowered by God to proclaim the message about Jesus. Through the proclamation of the message about Jesus, he will turn many Israelites to God, to Jesus, who is Yahweh incarnate. John’s mission will be to make ready a people prepared for the Lord, a people ready for Jesus. This is wonderful news for Zechariah to hear, except Zechariah did not believe the message from the Angel. Instead, Zechariah asked for a sign to confirm whether these things will happen at all. The reason that Zechariah was skeptical was because his wife and him were old, they had never been able to have children, and they were beyond the age where reproduction is possible. The years of hardship of living in disgrace had likely resulted in Zechariah being a jaded and cynical priest. He only viewed his situation through the lens of his hardship, rather than believing God’s word. Because Zechariah did not believe the message from the Angel, he was silenced and was unable to speak until the appointed time. This proved to Zechariah that God was sovereign, the word from the Angel was true, and that God would accomplish his plan. The Angel making Zechariah unable to speak for a time may seem harsh, but it was a form of divine discipline that was necessary to grow Zechariah’s faith in God’s word.
The major lesson we learn from this passage is that God is faithful to keep his word. Since the promise of the coming seed of the woman in the Garden of Eden, to the promise of blessing for the Israelite who obeys the Old Covenant law, to the promised coming King of David, God was keeping his promise to send Jesus to fulfill all of those promises. And yet on a personal level, Zechariah needed redemption as well because of his doubts. But even though the priest Zechariah doubted, God was still faithful to keep his own word and to give him the sign that God’s promises are sure. Even though Zechariah left the temple and did not give the customary blessing to the people standing outside the temple, God still blessed his people. The failure of the priest Zechariah forms a contrast in the story, because even though the priest doubted and God was still gracious, Elizebeth and Mary both responded righteously, and God would be gracious to them as well. When Elizabeth’s barrenness was cured and she became pregnant, she praised God. She is not portrayed as someone who became bitter at God or her husband because of her difficult circumstance. Instead, she rejoiced because God was gracious to her.
The Angel’s message about the coming of John brought a great anticipation and hope that God was about to fulfill his promise to usher in the redemption of Israel that had long been anticipated. How the people responded to the coming herald and Lord in this passage was part of the larger sovereign plan of God redeem his covenant people, and that was not disconnected from real life people and events. Zechariah and Elizebeth were people living with the disgrace and heartbreak of having lived almost an entire lifetime without being able to have children. You might not be struggling with infertility, but there are still many circumstances that bring shame and disgrace and disappointment in life. People often lose loved ones to unexpected death, have health problems, lose their jobs, experience financial loss, or have a child or spouse that has a serious problem. Those hardships can bring shame and disgrace upon families. God never guarantees that life will be without pain, disappointment, shame, or disgrace. Perhaps that is why the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah starts out by calling them righteous. We need to know that their disgraceful shameful situation had nothing to do with their sins or someone else’s sins. Sometimes we simply never find out why disgraceful situations happen, and we won’t know until eternity. The central issue for Zechariah and Elizabeth was how would they respond to hearing God’s Word as it was given to them in their disgraceful situation. If they were bitter over their situation, it would yield the fruits of anger, hatred, frustration, which would drain the life and joy from everyone nearby. However, if they trusted in God’s Word that the Angel gave, and depended upon the Lord, it would yield thankfulness and praise to the Lord and a joyful response from those around them. Often, people perceive their circumstances as merely being stuck in a shameful situation, but those situations are permitted or ordained by God on purpose, so that we may obey God’s word despite the disgrace, so that glorifying God would be valued as superior to escaping the disgrace. The long-term shameful situation that this couple was suffering through was ordained as part of God’s sovereign plan and they went through the disgrace for their whole lifetime before God used the disgrace as the backdrop by which God sovereignly intervened to prepare many children of Israel to repent and turn to the Lord. God promise to give repentance despite the doubt, disgrace, and shame experienced by Zechariah makes the promise from God stand out more vividly, proving that God’s timing is much wiser than ours.
II. The long-expected King’s birth was announced to the lowly virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38)
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?” 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.
After the announcement of John the Baptist, the herald of Jesus, the second big announcement is regarding the birth of Jesus. There are many things in common between the birth announcement of Jesus and the prior birth announcement about John the Baptist, but there are also some contrasts that we need to take notice of. The announcement to Zechariah was to a male, elderly and respected, a priest, serving in the temple, which was at the center of Israeli national power and culture. However, the announcement to Mary was to a female, a mere teenager, a virgin, in an obscure Galilean village to the north of the capital. The humility of such a young girl and such a location was outside the expectation for someone sent on mission from God, and would not have been considered culturally respectable. And yet the humble virgin Mary submitted to the Angel’s words, when the priest Zechariah doubted.
Mary’s response was one of faith and obedience, even though she may not have completely understood. This is the response we want to see of our ellow Christians. When we are teaching our fellow Christians to obey the commands of God, we want to hear them say things like “If the Lord says that I must go and seek forgiveness from her, then so be it,” or “Since God requires me to be a submissive wife and love my husband, I will learn how,” or “I recognize that I have been blame-shifting, and I will begin to take responsibility for my own actions from now on as God requires.” These, and responses of a similar kind, exhibit God’s grace in the Christian’s life.
Also, when compared with the summary of John the Baptist’s ministry, it becomes clear that the ministry of Jesus was going to be much better. Mary was a virgin, and she was legally pledged to marry Joseph, a man in the royal lineage of King David. Mary was also in the royal lineage of David, but we aren’t told that in this account. Mary was told that Yahweh was with her, which was a confusing thing for Mary to hear. But the Angel made it clear that God was being gracious to her through the things that were going to happen to her. Even though she was a virgin, she was going to give birth to a son, and she was told to name him Jesus. Though John was called “great in the sight of God,” Jesus was going to be great all-around. John was called “a prophet of the Most High God,” but Jesus was going to be called “Son of the Most High”. Luke spends the rest of the entire book explaining what it meant that Jesus was both Son of the Most High and the Son of God. The promise was that Yahweh is going to give Jesus the throne of David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom was never going to end. Jesus’s never-ending reign from the throne of David was established by his death, resurrection, and ascension (Acts 2:30-35). But his sonship was not merely in relationship to David, but Jesus was also God the Son, which indicates that he is God himself, one of the three persons of the Triune God. Mary was favored not because of anything she had done to win God’s attention, but simply because she was chosen to be the earthly mother of Jesus. It wasn’t a simple thing for Mary to submit to the words of the Angel because she was being asked to become pregnant as a virgin without being married. By submitting herself under the word of God, she was risking becoming the object of ridicule in society, possibly leading to divorce, being shunned by her own family, leading to poverty. Mary was willing to go through whatever difficult circumstances were necessary for God to receive glory, because she knew that Yahweh was with her.
Most of us, if we were to write the story about the birth of a long-expected king, we would write about a big celebration and party, probably in a palace in the capital city of a country. However, King Jesus was introduced in a very simple and yet miraculous way, which teaches us that the story of King Jesus is not a normal story, and we should expect the unexpected as we read about him and read the things that he says. God’s sovereign plan is not a normal story written by human authors. Instead, the story of redemption through Jesus is history written by God himself, planned before the universe was ever created. The fact that Jesus’s birth was like any other poor person’s birth shows the great lengths that God went through to identify with the least of the people of the world. God is the God of the universe, but he is not an elitist. As surprising as it may seem, he lowered himself and became one of us by being born as a baby.
There are many people today who call themselves Christians, who are not Christians, primarily because they wrongly teach that Jesus was not a human but merely appeared to be a human. We cannot endure such people within Christianity, and they must not be welcomed into Christian congregations. We must also not welcome into our church congregation those who wrongly teach that Jesus was the offspring of Mary and Joseph, or that Jesus was the offspring of Mary and God. The Apostle Paul rightly understood that Jesus was not born of a man and a woman, but “born of a woman” only (Galatians 4:4). But more specifically in the gospels, the story tells us that Jesus was born not just of a young woman, but of a virgin young woman. Jesus was the offspring of the woman that was promised since after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, the one who came to crush the head of the serpent, and he was truly God and human. Only because he was truly God and truly human, he could bear the sins of mankind and atone for our sins by his death on the cross in our stead and still rise from death three days later to prove that God the Father was satisfied with his atoning sacrifice.
III. The virgin Mary praised God for blessing the undeserving (Luke 1:46-55)
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
The Angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary was the first evidence that the baby Jesus is God the Son, the long-expected Savior, and the eternal King of Israel. After that, Mary went to visit with her cousin Elizebeth. The things that Elizabeth said even though she had no knowledge of the Angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary gave further proof that the child in Mary’s womb was God, Yahweh himself. Mary replied to Elizabeth with a wonderful new hymn of praise, in which she mixed parts of Hannah’s song from 1 Samuel chapter 2, and the Psalms to praise Yahweh as her Savior, the savior of the poor and humble Israel, the covenant people of God (Psalms 34; 69; 9; 25; 44; 89; 111; 25). Whenever the author Luke wrote about Jesus as Savior, what was he talking about? In Luke’s perspective, when he said that Jesus was the savior of Israel, he meant that Jesus was the Davidic King, Israel’s leader who would save her from her enemies, to give Israel the knowledge of salvation, repentance, and forgiveness of sins, through faith, to fulfill the Old testament promises given to Israel (Luke 1:47, 69, 71, 77; 19:9; Acts 5:31; 13:23). Mary gives two personal reasons to make joyful praise to God. First, God her savior has thought about her, giving her favor despite her humble condition. And second, because God, the Mighty One, has done great things for her. But Mary also gives a reason for all who revere the holy and sovereign God to praise him, because He is faithful his own promises to be merciful to His people and he brings divine judgment upon his enemies. This does not mean that because people become poor or humble themselves, that it earns them God’s favor. That is a false doctrine called asceticism, which is not compatible with the gospel of Christianity. Instead, God is merciful to whom he chooses to give mercy, which includes even those whose estate is lowly. God sometimes chooses to show his mercy to those who are the disgraced in society, because it highlights his gracious character. Their disgrace does not result in God’s mercy towards them. Instead, God chooses to show mercy to whom he wants to show mercy. In the New Testament, God is merciful to the poor and the rich, the oppressed and the powerful, the peaceful and the war-hardened military commander, the slave and the slave-owner, the wife and the husband, the parent and the child, the Pagan and the Jew. In Mary’s song, she says that God sends the rich away empty. The rich mean those who are materially rich and yet not rich towards God with repentance and faith (Luke 12:21). That is how Luke addresses the rich elsewhere in his writings. This is not a song against the rich, or a song promoting asceticism, but a song about God’s saving grace and mercy made known to humanity through Jesus. Because Elizabeth whom Mary was with had just previously called the baby Jesus in her womb the Lord, Yahweh, it meant this song ultimately was about her baby Jesus. Mary was praising the baby in her womb, who was mighty God himself sent to humanity, the very creator of the universe.
As Christians, we can understand and identify with Mary’s song, because we have been united with Jesus and all those that are united to him by faith. We understand what it means to be rejected by the world, to stand before God realizing that we are undeserving to be in his sacred presence, realizing our need for him because we cannot glorify God or enjoy him forever without Jesus and his finished work. Because Jesus is God dwelling with humanity, God’s character has been made known to us. We can understand who God is through Jesus, and we can worship God through Jesus, and even obey him at risk to our reputation, like Mary did. But like Mary, we should realize that it is not the potential risk to her reputation that overwhelmed her when she was pregnant with Jesus even though she wasn’t married. Instead, she chose to believe the truth, that God was being gracious to her, she knew God as a result, and she had been given an opportunity to serve God, which resulted in her joy and the praise of Jesus as she obeyed the word of God. Those who know God and his grace can sing Mary’s song and serve God with that same joy. We likewise are honored to have God actively involved in our lives, despite not having any merit, which results in praise and thankfulness for his glorious graciousness towards us (Ephesians 1-2).
Heavenly Father, thank you for your grace and your faithfulness to keep your promises. Help us to trust you in all circumstances, to trust your sovereign plan, and your perfect timing. We praise you for the gift of Jesus, the long-expected king. We thank you that he was born in humility to be our salvation. As we think on Mary’s song, empower us to glorify you, and to live lives that glorify the name of Jesus despite the risks that come with living for your glory.