ADVENT
4
December
19-21, 2020
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
Luke 1:26-38 (EHV)
“WHAT GRACE IS
THIS?
1.
In
choosing
2.
In
promise keeping
3.
In
faith giving
Luke 1:26-38 “In
the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named
Nazareth, 27to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man whose name was
Joseph, of the house 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. Blessed are you among women.” 29But she was greatly
troubled by the statement and was wondering what kind of greeting this could
be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you
have found favor with God. 31Listen, you will
conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to name 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. 33He will reign over the
house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How will this be,
since I am a virgin?” 35The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit
will come upon 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. 36Listen,
Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age even though
she was called barren, and this is her sixth month. 37For nothing
will be impossible for God.” 38Then Mary said, “See, I am the Lord’s
servant. May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.”
Like many other well written songs and
hymns that give glory to Jesus “What Grace is This?” has wormed its way into my
heart. It’s a newer hymn for the church year season of Lent. Here are some of
the lyrics:
1 What grace is this! My Lord and King
Has
set his face to suffering.
My
God eternal dies to bring
Eternal
life to me.
3 What grace is this! Though Lord of all,
He
yields to Pontius Pilate’s law
And
lets the Roman hammers draw
A
rush of blood for me.
There
are more of course. Beautifully written lyrics that take us through Jesus’
suffering, death and burial in such a way that you feel you are there and can’t
help but be overwhelmed by God’s grace in all that Jesus willingly went through
for us. It struck me that the beginning of Jesus’ earthly life does the same.
It highlights God’s grace to us. So let’s look at the angel Gabriel’s
announcement to Mary in that light. What grace is this?
What Grace is this in God’s choosing. “In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel
was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin
pledged in marriage to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house 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. Blessed are you
among women.” 29But she was greatly troubled by the statement and
was wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30The angel said
to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God.”
Why me? is a question people often find themselves asking. Most often though
when a dark cloud seems to be over their head and “bad” after “bad” seems to
happen. Rarely is it asked when good things happen. Does that reveal maybe that
we all have a skewed view of ourselves? God says, “No one is righteous, not
even one.” God says even your best actions are like filthy rags. He knows us
too well. “Why me?” should be asked, especially when we get blessed. Why
Gabriel? Why does he, of all the angels, get to be the one to deliver news of
two miraculous births? We are told nothing else about Gabriel. Why Mary? Why is
she chosen to be the mother of Jesus? We don’t know a whole lot about her. We
don’t’ know how old she was, whether she was an easy daughter to raise or a
precocious toddler who became a rebellious teenager. We do know she was a
sinner who needed a Savior. So why is she chosen? God tells us in Gabriel’s
words. “Greetings, you who are highly favored! And “Do not be afraid,
Mary, because you have found favor with God.” In the Greek language those
are both grace words. They highlight the fact that when God chooses it is by
grace. Why me? Why does He send Jesus for me? Why of the some 7 billion people
on the planet right now am I one His chosen? That’s your question too. What
grace is this God shows in choosing people like us?
And what grace is this in promise
keeping. “Listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to
name 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. 33He
will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
Gabriel revealed to Mary the special nature of the son she would bear. Name Him
Jesus. Savior. He is the Son of the Most High, Son of God. He is the
fulfillment of the promise made long ago to King David and Patriarch Jacob. He
is the one was coming who would reign forever. God was keeping the promises He
made. Where is the grace in that? Just that no one God kept these promises to
deserved to have the promises kept. Parents know the feeling. We may promise
something for our kids, go out to eat, go to a waterpark, a special toy, but
then ongoing, continued bad behavior forces your hand. “I can’t reward your bad
behavior,” we say. No Mcdonalds. No waterpark. Think of the ongoing bad
behavior God put up with like Jacob lying and deceiving and playing favorites
or David’s adultery and murder. But the promise of the Savior was not just for
them. It was for us too. Any bad behavior on our part? Any pet sins that
continue despite ongoing warnings from God and promises on our part to stop?
Why does God keep His promises? It’s because He’s so good, not us. What grace
is this, Lord, that you keep your promises to people like us?
What grace is this in giving faith to
believe? “Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The
angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon 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. 36Listen, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a
son in her old age even though she was called barren, and this is her sixth
month. 37For nothing will be impossible for God.” 38Then
Mary said, “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have
said.” Then the angel left her.” You know the Christmas story well enough
to understand how remarkable Mary’s reaction is. She believed. Her question was
not coming from doubt like Zechariah’s but rather to gain understanding of her
part. She knew well the stories of others who had received promises and messed
things up. Abraham and Sarah getting tired of waiting for God to fulfill His
promise to give them a son and “helping” Him out by having Abraham sleep with a
servant girl. Rebekah and Jacob concerned that God was not powerful enough to
thwart Isaac’s plan to bless Esau instead of Jacob and lying to their father so
Jacob had to run away. Moses not waiting for God’s timing and killing the
Egyptian slave master leading to his exile. Not Mary. When the angel explained
she would not have to help God at all, Mary simply believed. And while some
would want to look for something in Mary that made her better than Abraham and
Sarah, or Rebekah and Jacob, we know the real truth. Mary believed because of
the faith God gave her, a gift, a grace.
Same thing is true for us, brothers
and sisters. Do we even want to know how many of our fellow Americans won’t
celebrate Christmas as Jesus’ birth and the gift of a Savior? How many don’t
care? Why me? Why do I believe? Why do I care? Why will I get heaven while
those who don’t believe will get Hell? What grace is this? From Jesus’ birth to
His death and resurrection, from the gift of faith to the reward of faith in
heaven—it’s all a product of God’s grace.
So I came up with another verse to the
Lenten hymn. Doubt it will make the new hymnal but its words are true for me
and you.
What
grace is this! God chooses me
And
keeps His promise faithfully
And
gives me all the faith I need
Jesus
is born for me.
May
that grace of God fuel your Christmas celebration. Amen.
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