(Luke 1:26-35), “ And 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 virgin’s 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. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
In just a few weeks we will be celebrating Christmas and over the next few weeks we are going to do a study related to Christmas entitled, “The First Family of Christmas.” In this study we are going to look at the family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, who was the first family of Christmas. The first member of this family we are going to look at is Mary, the mother of Jesus. As the mother of Jesus, Mary is better known than any other woman in world history and has held a place of highest honor since those days of the manger in Bethlehem. But what was her life like? Who was she really? And how can we find our story in hers? Let’s start this morning by considering some things about Mary’s life.
- THE COMMONNESS OF MARY’S LIFE (Luke 1:26)
Apart from the Scriptures telling us that Mary was the cousin of Elizabeth, who was John the Baptist’s mother, and coming through the lineage of King David, we have very little background information about Mary. Bu, t from the facts that are given, there are some things we can learn about her. And what we learn about Mary is that she was just a common, ordinary person just like we are. Her City of Residence teaches us that she was a Common Person; she was from “Nazareth.” The fact that Mary lived in Nazareth tells us that she came from humble beginnings because Nazareth wasn’t known for much. It was just a small, insignificant town on the outskirts of a Roman garrison that boasted a few bars and a red light district that offered a little weekend entertainment to imperial soldiers. Her Civilization among Rome teaches us that she was a Common Person, because she was “Jewish.” As a result of the Romans ruling over them, the Jews were a poor race for the most part. And Mary was poor. Her poverty can be seen in the fact that when she gave birth to Jesus, she wrapped Him in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger. Mary was a common, ordinary person that God chose to us as an instrument to accomplish His work in this world. God uses common ordinary people to accomplish His work in this world. And God wants to use you.
- THE CONSECRATION OF MARY’S LIFE (Luke 1:27-28)
When Gabriel appears to Mary, she is probably about fourteen or fifteen years old. Mary had grown up in a poor but godly home, where life was hard, but good. And Mary was holy before God. Her Purity before God declares that she was holy (she was a virgin). Mary had maintained her sexual purity, as well as her spiritual purity. He Praise by God declares that she was holy (highly favored, Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women). Because of the holy, godly life that Mary lived before the Lord, she drew the attention of God and God praised her. God commends those who live the right kind of life and maintain their walk with Him. And you can live a life and serve God in such a way that God will commend you.
- THE COMMITMENT OF MARY’S LIFE (Luke 1:34-38)
Outside of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the greatest miracle that has ever been done in this world is the virgin birth of Jesus. After announcing to Mary what God is going to be doing in her life, Mary asks the question, “how shall this be, seeing I know not a man.” And the angel Gabriel replied to her, that God was going to make it possible. When the angel Gabriel announces to Mary what God is about to do in her, and through her, Mary does not say, “wait a minute God, I don’t believe it!” Mary doesn’t say, “no one else will believe it.” Nor does Mary say, “God you need to use someone else or come up with a better plan.” But what Mary does say is, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy Word.” What Mary said was, “whatever God wants to do with me, I am ready and willing to allow Him to have His will in my life for His honor and His glory.” And in her doing so, she sets an example of obedience and surrender that every child of God needs to take to heart. You would do well to learn to submit to the will of the Lord in every detail of your life. Let me ask you, “are you willing to let God work in your life as Mary was willing to let God work in her life?
Pastor Allen Jackson