Sermon #5                                                            Luke Sermons

 

          Title:            THE GREATNESS OF OUR SAVIOR

          Text:            Luke 1:26-33

          Subject:       Gabriel’s Announcement of Christ’s Birth

          Date:            Sunday Evening - May 23, 1999

          Tape #         V-28b

          Readings:     Office: Gary Baker Auditorium: James Jordan

          Introduction:

 

Luke 1:26-33  "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 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. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 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: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

 

          My subject tonight is THE GREATNESS OF OUR SAVIOR. It is a subject set forth throughout the Scriptures; but here it is declared in Gabriel’s announcement to Mary of his incarnation and birth. 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 God’s grace here set before us.

 

I.     Everything connected with our Savior’s incarnation displays his great humiliation as our Mediator.

 

          Gabriel was sent to an obscure town in Galilee, called Nazareth. Al 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 (Nathaniel - John 1:46).

 

          The woman chosen to be the mother of our Lord’s 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.

 

          These things came to pass by the direct arrangement of God’s wise 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.

 

          I am sure many reasons might be given for this, but two are obvious.

 

A.  The Lord God would have us ever to admire the amazing condescension of his Son.

 

          What a stoop the God of glory made when he stooped to save s from our sins!

 

2 Corinthians 8:9  "For 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 rich."

 

Philippians 2:5-8  "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

 

          Christ’s great love for us 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. “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not!”

 

John 13:15  "For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you."

 

Romans 12:16  "Be 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."

 

B.  We must 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 isn’t worth the dig.

 

II. GOD’S CHOICE OF MARY STANDS IN HOLY SCRIPTURE AS A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF HIS SOVEREIGN, SAVING GRACE TO NEEDY SINNERS.

 

Luke 1:27-30  "To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 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. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God."

 

          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 present pope was shot, he ascribed his recovery from the assassin’s 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.

 

Luke 1:46-47  "And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."

 

          It is true, she is called “a virgin.” But she is never referred to as “the” virgin.” Her virginity is mentioned repeatedly in the Scriptures, not so much to honor her[1] as it is to declared the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world as the woman’s Seed, by miraculous, divine intervention. The body of our Savior was that holy thing prepared in Mary’s virgin womb was specifically prepared by God the Holy Spirit to be a suitable body and sacrifice for our Savior.

 

Hebrews 10:5  "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:"

 

A.  Mary’s name indicates what she was and what we all are by nature – Mary means “bitter rebel”.

 

          It is the same as the name of Moses’ sister, Miriam, and the name Naomi applied to herself, Mara.

 

B.  Yet, Mary was the object of God’s sovereign, distinguishing grace.

 

1.    The Lord God chose Mary for salvation and chose her for the high honor of being the mother of our Savior’s humanity.

         

a.    Mary was not the mother of God!

b.   The words, “highly favored” (v. 28), would be better translated, “graciously accepted”. Mary was accepted of God in Christ by an act of sovereign grace, just like we are (Eph. 1:6).[2]

 

2.    The Lord was with her, just as he is with us.

 

a.    To Protect Her.

b.   To Provide For Her.

c.    To Save Her.

d.   To Bless Her.

 

3.    Mary was a woman blessed of God. –“Blessed art thou among women!”

 

          The word “blessed” is exactly the same word used to describe the blessedness of all God’s elect in Christ, the distinguishing blessedness of grace. Mary was, like you and I who are now saved by God’s free grace in Christ, blessed of God…

         

·        from eternity.

·        in Christ.

·        with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.

·        according as she was chosen.

·        with redemption.

·        with the free forgiveness of all her sins.

·        as the object of God’s covenant grace in Christ her Mediator.

 

4.    In a word, Mary found favor with God! --“Thou hast found favor with God!”

 

          Mary did not bless God. God blessed her. God did not find favor in Mary’s eyes. Mary found favor in God’s 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 God’s 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…

 

C.  Believers, all believers, have a far nearer relationship to Christ, than Mary enjoyed as his earthly mother.

 

          Her relationship her, the relationship given to her in providence, was a purely carnal, physical, temporary relationship. Ours is a permanent, spiritual relationship. We are truly the Savior’s family (Mk. 3:15).

 

Mark 3:35  "For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother."

 

          Mary’s 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 borne him (Lk. 11:27-28).

 

Luke 11:27-28  "And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. 28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it."

 

III. The Primary Thing Revealed in Our Text is The Glorious Greatness of Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

          Gabriel’s 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.

 

Luke 1:31-33  "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 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: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

 

A.  The child born from Mary’s virgin womb was and is God the Son given in human flesh.

 

Isaiah 9:6  "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

 

·        “God was manifest in the flesh!”

·        Immanuel is God with us!

·        Only the incarnate God could save us.

 

B.  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.

 

          “Thou shalt call his name Jesus.”

 

Matthew 1:21  "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

 

          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!

 

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 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: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

 

C.  In verse 32 and 33, we are given a fivefold declaration of our Savior’s greatness.

 

Luke 1:32-33  "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: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

 

1.    “He shall be great.”(Great In All His Offices – Greater Than All Who Went Before Him And Come After Him).

2.    He “shall be called the Son of the Highest.”

3.    “The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.” –As Our Mediator (John 17:2; Rom. 14:9).

4.    “And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever.”

5.    “And of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

 

          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  "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

 

Daniel 7:14  "And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."

 

Daniel 7:27  "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."

 

Application: If you would be saved, if you would live forever, you must bow to this great King, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

·        Bow to His Righteousness.

·        Bow to His Rule.


[1] Virginity is truly an honorable thing among men. 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 God’s grace in Christ. She was the object of grace; but she was not made the giver of grace!