Chapter 6

 

The Greatness of Our Savior

 

ÒAnd in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virginÕs name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.Ó (Luke 1:26-33)

 

The verses before us contain the most sublime things ever revealed to men. May God the Holy Spirit fill our hearts with wonder, faith, love, and praise as we now behold the wonders of GodÕs grace here set before us.

 

ChristÕs Humiliation

 

Everything connected with our SaviorÕs incarnation displays his great humiliation as our Mediator. Gabriel was sent to an obscure town in Galilee called Nazareth. All of Galilee was looked upon by the Jews with contempt; and the most contemptible village in the region was Nazareth. It was a common thought among them that nothing good could come out of Nazareth (John 1:46). Mary, the woman chosen to be the mother of our LordÕs human body and nature, was a very poor woman from a very poor area. There was nothing about her that the world would consider enviable or great.

 

Everything involved in the incarnation of our Savior was arranged and brought to pass by GodÕs wise and good providence. He who orders all things in heaven, earth and hell according to his own sovereign will chose a poor, despised woman in a poor despised village to be the vessel by which he would send our Savior into this world.

 

What a great stoop the God of glory made when he stooped to save us from our sins! — ÒFor ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be richÓ (2 Corinthians 8:9). Our SaviorÕs great love for us, that love that constrained him to take our nature into union with himself that he might live and die as our Substitute, ought to constrain us to love him and live not for ourselves, but for him who loved us and gave himself for us. Let us in all things have the mind of Christ and follow his example. ÒSeekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not!Ó

 

ÒLet this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.Ó (Philippians 2:5-8) — ÒFor I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.Ó (John 13:15) —

ÒBe of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.Ó (Romans 12:16)

 

Let us seek grace form our God to live continually in the spirit of Christ, with the mind of Christ, for the benefit of GodÕs elect. As our Lord Jesus identified himself with our poverty, both spiritually and materially, let us never despise poverty in others, or be ashamed of it in ourselves, if the Lord brings us into such a condition. Riches make no one honorable; and poverty makes no one dishonorable. Men groveling for riches and honor remind me of a dog digging for moles. The filthy rodent just isnÕt worth the dig.

 

Saving Grace

 

GodÕs choice of Mary stands in Holy Scripture as a beautiful picture of his sovereign, saving grace to needy sinners.

 

ÒTo a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virginÕs name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with GodÓ (vv. 27-30).

 

Romanism places Mary on the highest pedestal imaginable, making her a mediatrix, or a co-mediator with Christ, ascribing to her an immaculate nature and divine power. When the previous pope was shot, he ascribed his recovery from the assassinÕs bullet not to God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit, but to Mary. Such veneration of Mary is utterly contemptible idolatry. It must never be honored as an acceptable thing. Such idolatry is not Christian, but pagan.

 

Mary is never presented as an immaculate, sinless woman, but as a sinner saved by grace, just like you and me. This she gladly acknowledged. We read in Luke 1:46-47, ÒAnd Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour

 

It is true, she is called Òa virginbut she is never referred to as Òthe virgin.Ó Her virginity is mentioned repeatedly in the Scriptures, not so much to honor her[1] as it is to declare the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world as the womanÕs Seed, by miraculous, divine intervention. The body of our Savior, that holy thing prepared in MaryÕs virgin womb, was specifically prepared by God the Holy Spirit to be a suitable body for our Savior to make him a sacrifice for our souls. — ÒWherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared meÓ (Hebrews 10:5).

 

MaryÕs name indicates what she was and what we all are by nature. ÒMaryÓ means Òbitter rebel.Ó It is the same as the name of MosesÕ sister, Miriam, and the name Naomi applied to herself, Mara. Yet, Mary was the object of GodÕs sovereign, distinguishing grace.

 

The Lord God chose Mary for salvation and chose her for the high honor of being the mother of our SaviorÕs humanity. Mary was not the mother of God! The words, Òhighly favoredÓ (v. 28), would be better translated, Ògraciously acceptedÓ. Mary was graciously accepted of God in Christ by an act of sovereign grace, just like we are (Ephesians 1:6).[2] The Lord was with her, just as he is with us: to protect her, provide for her, save her and to bless her.

 

Mary was a woman blessed of God. — ÒBlessed art thou among women!Ó The word ÒblessedÓ is exactly the same word used to describe the blessedness of all GodÕs elect in Christ, the distinguishing blessedness of grace. Mary was, like all who are saved by GodÕs free grace in Christ, blessed of God in and with Christ. Like us, she was blessed of God from eternity with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, according as she was chosen in eternal, electing love. She was blessed with redemption and the free forgiveness of all her sins, as the object of GodÕs covenant grace, in Christ her Mediator.

 

In a word, Mary found favor with God! --ÓThou hast found favor with God!Ó Mary did not bless God. God blessed her. God did not find favor in MaryÕs eyes. Mary found favor in GodÕs eyes. The phrase in verse 30 is exactly the same as that in verse 28. It simply means that Mary was a sinner chosen from among women as the object of GodÕs mercy, love and grace, and blessed by him with all grace.

 

We must never exalt Mary above this level to a position of idolatrous envy, because believers, all believers, have a far nearer relationship to Christ than Mary enjoyed as his earthly mother. Her relationship, the relationship given to her in providence, was a purely carnal, physical, temporary relationship. Ours is a permanent, spiritual relationship. We are truly the SaviorÕs family (Mark 3:15). MaryÕs great blessedness was not in her physical relationship to Christ, but in her spiritual relationship. Our Master himself tells us that it is more blessed to believe on him than to have carried him in the womb (Luke 11:27-28).

 

ChristÕs Greatness

 

The primary thing revealed in this passage of Scripture is the glorious greatness of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. GabrielÕs announcement was no ordinary birth announcement. It was not the announcement of the birth of a mere man, but the announcement of the incarnation of God! Gabriel was sent to proclaim that God the Son was about to take humanity into union with himself, and enter into this sin cursed world to save his people from their sins. Look at what we are told in verses 31-33.

 

ÒAnd, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.Ó

 

The child born from MaryÕs virgin womb was and is God the Son given in human flesh (Isaiah 9:6). — ÒGod was manifest in the fleshÓ (1 Timothy 3:16). Our Savior is Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature. None but the incarnate God could save us. And this great, incarnate God came into this world as our Mediator and covenant Surety on a specific mission: – to save his people from their sins. His name was called, ÒJesus,Ó because he was sent here to Òsave his people from their sinsÓ (Matthew 1:21). And that which he was sent to do, that which he came to do, he has done.

 

As Joshua did for Israel what Moses never could, so the Lord Jesus Christ, our Joshua, did what the law could never do. –He brought us to God!

 

ÒThere is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.Ó

(Romans 8:1-4)

 

In Luke 1:32-33 we are given a fivefold declaration of our SaviorÕs greatness.

1.    ÒHe shall be great.Ó — Great in all his offices. – Greater than all who went before him. — And greater than all who come after him.

2.    He Òshall be called the Son of the Highest.Ó — Our Lord Jesus Christ is God the Son.

3.    ÒThe Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.Ó – Our Savior has won the right to rule the universe as our God-man Mediator (Psalm 2:8; John 17:2; Romans 14:9).

4.    ÒAnd he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever.Ó — He is the Head of his body, the Church and her King as well.

5.    ÒAnd of his kingdom there shall be no end.Ó — The Lord Jesus did not come here to rule as a King over that little piece of land called ÒIsraelÓ for a few hundred years. He rules as King in Zion forever!

 

All the kingdoms of this world have been and are designed of God only for the building of the kingdom of our God and his Christ. The kingdoms of this world are only the scaffolding by which our God builds his kingdom. Like Nineveh, Babylon, Egypt, Tyre, Carthage, Rome and the Soviet Union, all the nations and empires of this world shall perish and all men shall be made to bow before this great and glorious King, who alone shall reign forever (Philippians 2:9-11; Daniel 7:14, 27).

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

Listen to sermons at FreeGraceRadio.com

 

 



[1] Virginity is truly an honorable thing among women. Chastity ought always to be cherished and protected; but it does not make one honorable before God.

[2] Mary was full of grace in exactly the same way every saved sinner is, by the bounty of GodÕs grace in Christ. She was the object of grace; but she was not made the giver of grace!