Trustful Obedience

Demonstrating Trustful Obedience (Luke 1:26-28, 46-49) Why was Mary selected to be the mother of Jesus? She was a descendant of David. Luke's genealogy of Jesus, in chapter 3, shows Mary to be a direct descendant of King David through his son Nathan. She was a virgin. She had to be a virgin because the prophets said she would be. Isaiah the prophet said: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isa. 7:14) She was genuinely humble: She recognized that God was choosing her in spite of her low estate, including her personal need for salvation (Luke 1:48) Epibiblpo (Grk.): Looked upon, given attention to, regarded, respected God uses the humble to accomplish great things (Matt. 5:5, 1 Cor. 1:26-29) God gives grace unto the humble (James 4:6) Perhaps what you choose to build your life around determines the gift(s) you will be given? She was a willing bond servant of God. She referred to herself as the "Handmaid” or “Slave-Girl" of the Lord. (Luke 1:38) A bond servant is one who gives himself up to another’s will and is devoted to that other to the disregard of their own interests. Paul was a bond servant- Ro.1:1 James was a bond servant—Jas.1:1 Peter was a bond servant –2Pe.1:1 Luke and Silas were called bond servant in Acts 16:17 In Phil.2:7 Jesus was called a bond servant (see also Matt. 6:10) She demonstrated trustful obedience (Luke 1:38, John 2:5) We can’t always control our circumstances, but we can control our response to those circumstances (2 Cor. 12:7-10) Every obstacle is an opportunity to rejoice and be rewarded for following God’s lead Praising God in challenging circumstances is a sincere expression of faith. She did not doubt God’s power. Mary asked how with respect to means not possibility (contrast Zechariah 1:18)

God has great things to do in us. The question is never, “Can He do it?” but “Will we submit to Him?” Mary provides the model Christian response. She recognized that God was doing a great thing through her (Luke 1:49) Megaleios (Grk.): Magnificent, excellent, wonderful works Her soul magnified the Lord (Luke 1:46) Megaluno (Grk.): Magnify, esteem, laud, praise, celebrate, declare great. Mary chose not to focus on what others might think but on what God thought and what she knew of Him. Instead, her Spirit rejoiced in the Lord (Luke 1:47) Agallio (Grk.): Exult, rejoice exceedingly As a result of this, she was highly favored (Luke 1:28 & 42) Charitoo (Grk.): Highly favored, blessed, honored, extended great grace (undeserved kindness), touched by God, the Lord is with (see also Phil.4:13) Gabriel’s Credentials The scriptures teach us that angels are heavenly beings charged by God with a mission. They bring instruction and encouragement to God’s chosen people (Heb. 1:14) Gabriel described himself in his conversation with Zechariah saying, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. In Jewish tradition (1 Enoch 40), Gabriel is considered one of the top four in rank, perhaps second only to Michael. In intertestamental Jewish literature, Gabriel is one of the archangels, the ‘angels of the presence’ who stand before God’s throne praising him and interceding for men (Tobit 12:15; Jubilees 2:2; 1QH 6:13; 1QSb 4; Testament of Levi 3:5, 7; cf. Luke. 1:19; Rev. 8:2). The other four archangels mentioned by name in either the pseudopigraphal intertestimental writings or Holy Scripture are Michael, Sariel (or Uriel) and Raphael. The only two angels whose names are mentioned in the canonized scriptures are those of Michael and Gabriel. Gabriel’s name means “strength or prevailer of God”. God gave Gabriel the perfect name to announce the coming of the Messiah.