I AM THE LORD’S SERVANT
Luke 1:26-38
Key Verse: 1:38
“’I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered.
‘May it be to me as you have said.’ Then the angel left her.”
Last week we learnt that Zechariah and Elizabeth who lived a pure and blameless life before God. God used them preciously to send John the Baptist forerunner of Jesus
Today the angel Gabriel visits another person a young woman. She learns that she is highly favored. We can learn from her response why God singled out Mary to be the mother of his one and only Son. Although it was a great change from her quiet, simple life, and would bring untold struggles and burdens to her, she receives it as God’s greatest gift for her. “I am the Lord’s servant…May it be to me as you have said.” Let’s pray to learn the joy of Mary in receiving God’s blessing with her whole heart.
Part 1, highly favored (26-33).
Let’s read verses 26-27. “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.” The angel Gabriel was sent from God to predict the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus. Zechariah was in the Holy Place of the Jerusalem Temple burning incense on the altar when he was visited by Gabriel. It was a suitable setting. After all, the temple was God’s house, where God’s Spirit dwelt among men. Still Zechariah was startled with fear when Gabriel appeared. But where was Gabriel going now? Nazareth. Nazareth in Jesus’ time was a really small town.
Among the humble people of this nameless town was an unimportant young woman. Her name was Mary. She seemed to be living on her own. Her prediction for a happy life was gone. However, there was something that, to this humble girl, was a sign of God’s great favor and blessing she was pledged to be married. The man’s name was Joseph, and we learn that he was a descendant of David.
Her engagement was a source of joy and hope that lifted her out of her bitter suffering. But there was more to this engagement than her personal happiness.
God’s eye was upon her, and he sent his angel to speak to her in Nazareth. Look at verse 28. “The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” This sight seems so out of place. We know that the angel Gabriel appeared to the righteous, priestly elderly man Zechariah. But Mary was a young girl of little account humanly. She should never be singled out living her quiet life enjoying the usual blessings of marriage and a happy, humble home. But what special mission would God have in mind for a young lady who had been just engaged? The nation Israel was in big trouble politically, economically and spiritually.
Mary was just a young girl in a small town in Galilee. Look at verses 30-33. The angel said to the troubled girl, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” The angel’s words again remind us of Isaiah 7:14, which reads, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” The fact is that Mary would not only bear a son but her son would be someone special. The name “Jesus” is the same as the Hebrew name “Joshua” meaning “Jehovah saves” or “the Lord saves.” Yet, the name “Jesus” was a common name in Israel in those days, like John, James or Joseph. However, this child would be named “Jesus” because he would save his people from their sins. (Mt 1:21)
Mary was greatly troubled when an angel came and visited her, telling her she was highly favored. Verse 30 says, “But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.’” It seems as if God had chosen her on purpose to show her favor because there was nothing favorable in her, except her sincere humbleness. God really liked that, and he was very much worried about her humble situation. He thought her to be great, and he wanted to give her some favor, to show that he cared for her and was mindful of her humbleness.
So/ what was God’s favor for her? God’s favor was to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Verse 31 says, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” This son was to be named Jesus. God’s favor was not easy for Mary. Her simple life would suddenly become very difficult. There were all kinds of issues that would arise from her becoming pregnant. First, there was no telling what would happen to her future life, mainly her engagement. Would this pregnancy spoil all her predictions? Could she ever live a normal life? And second, there was a great expectation put on her to raise up this holy child. How would she be sure she could handle this task? What if she made mistakes?
God’s favor was his absolute grace given to her. We learn about God’s grace from St. Paul in Romans 1:5, “Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship...” God’s absolute grace comes to us as a gift. God knows we don’t deserve grace. But he gives us grace because of his name. It gives God honor and reveals his wonderful character. God gives. His blessings are true and absolute. God’s favor is a free and divine gift. So we humbly receive this gift of grace that he has given to us, with thanks.
We are specially made to live for the glory of God. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” No matter what it may require of us to suffer or give up, God gives his grace. Suffering, as we all know, is a part of life in this world. There are two kinds of suffering: meaningless suffering, and suffering with a point. It is by far greater to suffer for the sake of good. It is life-giving for us to go through sufferings that have absolute meaning and purpose. Philippians 1:29 says “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him...”
God’s favor involves God’s mission to save a lost world. The Bible’s great message is that from the beginning of creation, starting from the fall of man, God had a plan of salvation and restoration. God’s mission was far reaching. God had a plan to restore the fallen world back to himself. Ephesians 3:8 says, “Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given to me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ…” God’s favor to Mary was to take part in his continuing work that has one single goal: to return lost mankind to God’s glorious presence.
Look at verses 32-33. “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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” Of what do the words “throne of David” remind us? Once there had been a King of Israel named David. He was a humble shepherd, the youngest and least of all his brothers. But God lifted him up from his humbleness because he was willing to give his life to honor God and take care of God’s sheep. David was not perfect he was a sinner. But/ God always looked at his heart, and called David a man after his own heart. God gave David an amazing promise: “The Lord declares to you /that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over/ and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” David was just feeling guilty for building a palace while God’s dwelling was in a tent. God was pleased to give David an everlasting kingdom. David’s children would be our eternal king. Now the angel Gabriel announces that Mary would give birth to a son, Jesus. He would be this long-promised king, and God would give him the throne of his father David.
The angel’s message was troubling to the humble young woman, Mary. But it was also full of hope that God’s wonderful promises were about to be fulfilled at last. It’s not easy to take part in God’s work unfolding in history. Still, God gives us his grace. By God’s grace we are given Jesus. May God help us to grasp his great favor given to us through Jesus.
Part 2, The Lord’s Servant (34-38).
Let’s read verse 34. “’How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’” Mary’s question parallels Zechariah’s response in verse 18. He asked, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” Her response is similar, yet completely different in tone. Mary’s words are filled with wonder and a desire to know God’s plan. Zechariah was struggling with his doubts after many years of hopelessness, and seems to ask for a sign to help him. But the end result was that he didn’t accept God’s message through the angel, and needed some spiritual treatment. We can see why God chose Mary, the humble girl from the town of Nazareth, because of her simple faith to receive God’s words, seeking to understand more.
The birth of Jesus is an profound mystery. But the angel told it to Mary in simple terms. “The angel answered, ‘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. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.’" The living form of the Son of God can only be understood by faith. God made the world, and God made us. We see the evidence and we understand that God’s word is the truth. God is God, and when we believe in God, it is clear that nothing is impossible with God. May we open our hearts to understand that nothing is impossible with God.
What is Mary’s response to the angel’s message? Let’s read verse 38a. “’I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it be to me as you have said.’” She understands that she is a servant of the Lord. In the past we’ve thought Mary’s confession of faith here to be a kind-of surrender. That’s because we feel like we are forced to surrender to God’s calling with a kind of acceptance. But let’s see her confession, “I am the Lord’s servant”, freshly. It is a realization of who she truly is before God. In other words, Mary has found herself in God. Serving people or money or our physical desires or anything else that we are not created to serve can only make us miserable. Our lives become dead, and death becomes our reality. But when we can recognize “I am the Lord’s servant”, life takes on eternal importance, and eternal life becomes our reality.
She also said, “May it be to me as you have said.” Mary was pleased to carry out her mission as the mother of God’s Son. She knew that she could offer nothing to this son she was a poor, helpless girl. She had no guarantees of anything in her life. But she was filled with hope to learn from God through the birth of this blessed child. She looked forward to all God was going to give her through her mission. Her heart’s prayer was, “May it be to me as you have said.” May we learn from this humble girl how to receive God’s blessing to us. May we be opened to the truth that we are chosen by grace to be the Lord’s servants. Let ‘s read today key verse 38. “’I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it be to me as you have said.’ Then the angel left her.”
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