Luke 1:26-38
As we paid nothing for God’s eternal love and
nothing for the Son of His love, and nothing for His
Spirit and our grace and faith, and nothing for our
eternal rest…What an astonishing thought it will be
to think of the unmeasurable difference between
our deservings and our receivings. O, how free was
all this love, and how free is this enjoyed glory…So
then let “Deserved” be written on the floor of hell
but on the door of heaven and life, “The Free Gift”.
Richard Baxter
As we approach the Christmas season, we are going to
take a break from our study of David’s life to talk about
the birth of our Savior. Over the next 4 weeks we will
dive into God’s word and see what it says about the birth
of His son Jesus Christ. This morning we are going to see
how Mary Responds to God’s Grace. Our text is Luke
1:26-38
Before we read God’s word let’s take a moment to thank
Him for sending His Son and to ask Him to speak to us
this morning and reveal Himself to us what He wants us
to understand.
Luke 1:26-29
Gabriel’s Greeting
Gabriel was sent by God to deliver some incredible news
to the virgin Mary.
When Gabriel arrives he gives Mary a twofold greeting.
Greetings O favored one, the Lord is with you!
God’s Favor
Mary is favored because God has chosen her to be the
mother of the savior. The Greek word translated favor
means to pursue with grace.
Grace is a gift we don’t deserve or unmerited favor.
Isn’t it fitting that God pursued Mary and gave her the
gift of being the mother of Jesus? What an incredible
blessing for this young humble girl from Nazareth.
God’s Presence
Gabriel also mentions the presence of the Lord being with
Mary.
God is about to do something that has never been done
before.
He is about to send His only Son to become flesh and be
born of a virgin.
Isaiah 7:14 which is quoted in Matthew 1:23 speaks of
the virgin giving birth to a son who will be called
Immanuel which means God with us.
Mary is going to experience the special presence of God
inside her womb. What an incredible honor.
Isn’t it incredible that God is with us?
God with us is the best Christmas gift we could ever ask
for.
Mary’s Response is one of Humility.
NASB says she kept pondering what kind of salutation
this was.
I imagine she must have been thinking:
Why me?
Why am I favored?
Why is the Lord with me?
Why is this angel telling me all this?
Did you feel that way when you trusted Jesus to save
you?
Why me?
I don’t deserve this because of my sin.
Aren’t you glad that God loved us even when we were
still sinners?
What is our response to Jesus this Christmas season?
Are we pondering the word of the Lord?
Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart
from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day
and night, so that you may be careful to do
according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and
then you will have good success.”
What is our response to Jesus this Christmas season?
Are we pondering the word of the Lord?
Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart
from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day
and night, so that you may be careful to do
according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and
then you will have good success.”
God has preserved His word for us, we should meditate
on it so that we will do what God wants us to.
Luke 1:30-34
Gabriel’s Message
Before Gabriel gets to the good news, he reassures Mary
that she has nothing to fear because she has found favor
with God.
You will become pregnant – you will bear a son
You will call His name Jesus
The name Jesus means Yahweh is salvation
If we look at Matthew 1:21 we see that Mary will bear a
son and she will call him Jesus for He will save His people
from their sins.
As if the shock of being favored by God isn’t enough.
The presence of God that Gabriel mentioned a few verses
back means that Mary is going to birth a child without
ever even knowing a man.
Imagine how shocking this must have been to Mary.
Gabriel doesn’t stop his message there.
He goes on to speak of what Jesus will accomplish.
Jesus will be great
Jesus will be called Son of the Most High
The Lord God will give Him the throne of his father David
Jesus’ reign over the house of Jacob will never end
Mary’s Response is not one of doubt, but one of Seeking
Understanding.
Although she is just a young teenage girl, she is aware of
how babies are made and knows that she has not
consummated the marriage with Joseph yet, so she is
trying to understand how she is going to become
pregnant.
Luke 1:35-38
Gabriel’s Explanation
The Holy Spirit will come upon you.
The Power of the Most High will overshadow you.
God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is going to
cause Mary to become pregnant.
This is a one of a kind birth. There has been none before
or none since. This is the work of God.
Before Gabriel wraps up his explanation he takes a
moment to give Mary some other miraculous news:
your relative Elizabeth who is old and barren is now 6
months pregnant as well.
Because nothing is impossible with God.
Who needs to hear that this morning?
Nothing is impossible with God.
He has all power and knowledge.
He is holy and sovereign.
Even though it might not make sense to Mary, God is in
control and is going to accomplish exactly what He wants
to accomplish.
Mary’s Response is one of Acceptance.
She obediently accepts the uncertainty of this teen
pregnancy with humility and faith.
What can we learn from Mary’s response to God’s grace
this morning?
APPLICATION
Share Grace with Others
If you have received God’s grace then you should
naturally want to share it with others.
I’ve been encouraged by our Wednesday evening
meetings. We have been praying for our lost
friend/family. We have seen several examples of God
moving as we have been faithfully praying. In fact, just a
couple of weeks ago it was reported that one person
accepted Jesus as their Lord and savior.
We can share grace by praying for our lost friends/family.
We can also show them kindness and offer forgiveness
even when it is not deserved.