Mary, The First Disciple | Luke 1:26-38

January 1, 2014

Book: Luke

INTRODUCTION

There are 7 Marys mentioned in the NT. 3 of them are more prominent: Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the sister of Lazarus and Martha. There are 4 other Marys’. Today we are looking at Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary in the scripture is only painted in a positive light.

26In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37For no word from God will ever fail.”
38“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

We have come to a time when the world celebrates the birth of Jesus.

Timing and balance of power

Jesus comes to inaugurate the kingdom of God in a very humble way. When he comes there are other strong human leaders:
In the days of Herod the king Lk 1:5
Decree from Caesar Augustus (Octavian) 2:1 (27 BC-AD 14)

They are the powerful images within world history. In effect Mary is a favoured woman to carry the pregnancy with the Messiah into a world in need of a Saviour.

Background:
Out of the 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John); Luke seems to have a special emphasis on women. These opening chapters of Luke provide a tryptic (works intended to be held together) of women in these stories: Elizabeth, Mary and Anna. These three women interpret one another and the centrepiece is Mary.

Angel Gabriel’s address to Mary about Jesus

Luke 1:26-38; 46-56
31You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35The angel answered, “So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Who is Jesus? 6 titles
Jesus is Great.
Jesus is given the throne of David.
Jesus is the Holy one.
Jesus is the Son of God.

Jesus told about himself when he stood before the religious authorities just prior to his crucifixion and they observed him, they asked him:

Luke 22:70
They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
He replied, “You say that I am.”

What is the Gospel?

Romans 1:1-5
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus Christ our Lord – The Son of David and the Son of God. Who heard this message first? Mary.

The Gospel Was First Preached to Mary

Luke 1:32
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,

Mary is the first one to hear the Gospel.
Mary becomes the first one to believe the Gospel.
Mary becomes the first one to accept the Gospel, to receive Jesus.

Mary becomes a Disciple of Jesus.

The last we hear about Mary is in the book of Acts.

Acts 1:13-14
13When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Mary continues to be with the church as one of those disciples of Jesus.

Mary is a model disciple of Jesus who brought Jesus into this world. This is our calling in life, to bring Jesus into our world.

Mary, the Blessed One

Luke 1:42, 44, 48
42In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
45Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
48From now on all generations will call me blessed,

Mary, The Highly Favoured One

Luke 1:28
The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary, The Lord’s Servant

Luke 1:38
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary chooses to be a servant, a servant of the Lord.

A servant hears the master’s voice and does the job. Mary heard the call of the Lord and did it.

We are called to be followers of Jesus. We are called to follow Jesus. Jesus said, “Come follow me.” We can choose to follow or not to follow. As we follow Jesus there comes a time where we recognize the call of God and we choose to be a servant.

We do not have a choice. We become servant to someone or something. The Lord Jesus is inviting everyone to become His servant. Once we follow Jesus, we learn that this Lord himself is the servant of the universe. We are called serve, the servant King. So Mary chooses to be the Lord’s servant.

Remember Mary as a servant. She was not anything spectacular. She just had a family and was a disciple of Jesus. Mary’s job was raising a family; Jesus had 4 brothers and at least 2 sisters or more. What was her job? Taking care of her children. She was the first servant of Jesus.

When we do what we are called to do in our home, vocation we are serving Jesus. Before Jesus started his public ministry what was He doing? He was the son of a carpenter. By doing that he was serving God, working with his hands. We are called to serve the Lord all the time.

Mary, a Diligent Student of Scripture

Mary’s Song: This is based on Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel, another supernatural birth. Hannah was infertile and could not have a child. Then God blessed her with Samuel, a great figure in the unfolding of the Biblical history. Hannah sings a song that is very much like this, has a lot of parallels with it. But Mary does not just use that song, she brings in phrases and lines from more than 15 other OT texts.

This scripture just came out of her heart. Mary is praying scripture. A wonderful model for us to pray scripture. She puts it all together in fresh ways and sings the song.

She knows scripture. Jesus at the age of 12 is in the temple asking questions on the scripture because Mary was a student of God’s word and she probably taught Jesus.

Jesus says to us, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Mt. 11:28-30

How do we learn from the scripture? Primarily studying the Bible.

What will happen when we study the scripture?
We will have the right view of God. Mary has a great view of God – see her song.
Scripture will transform us. Romans 12:1-2.
Scripture will make us a blessed person; Ps. 1:2. Meditates on the law of the Lord
Scripture transforms who we are as disciples of Jesus.

Let us be good leaners of Scripture.

Following Jesus is Costly

Mary, a true Disciple, Willing to Pay the Price

Soon after Jesus is born, a few weeks later parents take Jesus to the temple and we have two wonderful people there; Simeon and Anna. Simeon’s announcement: A prophesy.

Luke 2:34-35
34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: (First prophesy is for the baby) “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. (This child is going to have a terrible time in life. He has a prophetic call and prophets are killed. The prophecy is that this child will be killed) (The second prophesy is for Mary. What is it?) And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Mary is going to suffer terribly for this wonderful privilege. A sword in your soul is difficult to bear. See the price Mary paid, the pain continues at various stages:

Escape to Egypt as a refugee. Mary and her family had to be refugees to Egypt because Herod has commanded his soldiers to kill every child under the age of 2.
Loses Jesus at the temple. At the age of 12 Mary loses Jesus at the temple.
Mary is the one who sees Jesus on the cross. There she is watching her son die. What is the cost of that? Suffering, the humiliation, the spitting, the crown of thorns, the mockery, the torture and finally death by crucifixion. She was told that a sword will pierce her heart right at the beginning of this experience.

Following Jesus is Costly.

Following Jesus is costly for a disciple. What does that mean?

In Acts 9 15 when Jesus speaks to Ananias. Saul is met by Jesus at the Damascus road and God speaks to Ananias to pray for Saul. See what Jesus says to Ananias about Saul:

Acts 9:15-16
15But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

We are called to pay a price for following Jesus. There is a price that every disciple will pay Jesus said, “If anyone has to come after me, let them deny themselves, take up the cross daily and follow me.” There is a cost. I have to pay a cost, you too have to pay a cost. There is a cost in following Jesus. We are privileged to pay the price of following Jesus.

Remember when the shepherds came and explained all to Mary and returned. What does it say about Mary?

Luke 2:18; 51
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The same usage is in Daniel.

Daniel 7:28
I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.

So it is not a great experience Mary is going through, she herself is puzzled nevertheless she follows Jesus.

Luke 1:38
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Will you repeat this after me, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me fulfilled.”

Mary responds to this awesome message, by giving her necessary permission. There was no way she could make this happen, have a child by herself. What she does is she believed the Lord.

A Willing Submission

She does not accept all of the annunciation with doubt and fear. Mary rejoices in it. She then sings in her Magnificat.

Luke 1:46-55
46And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

Mary willingly submits to God’s word. She is still holding on in Acts and I believe until the last breath she was a faithful disciple of Jesus.

Life Application Points:

God’s Activity As Surprising And Often Paradoxical, Almost Always Reversing Human Expectations.
Jesus Is The Son Of God.
Following Jesus Is Costly.
We Are Called To Follow Jesus Like Mary

CITY HARVEST

AG CHURCH

Mary, The First Disciple | Luke 1:26-38