By now, I’m sure most of you are confused over who is actually preaching this series of sermons! Therefore, let me introduce myself: my name is “Luke” and I am a physician. I never met the Lord Jesus during his time on earth. Instead, I was introduced to Jesus by the apostle Paul. The book of Acts indicates that, on his second missionary journey, I joined Paul is one of his helpers. [1] I am the only non-Jewish writer of the New Testament. I’m pretty proud of this.

Some people think that I grew up in the city of Antioch and became acquainted with Paul when he ministered in that city. No one really knows, and I cannot remember. I was a medical doctor (Colossians 4:14), and many interpreters of your Bible have noticed that I have a great interest in medical matters. In addition, it’s been noted that I have a great interest in the miracles of Jesus, in his concern for the poor, and in his ministry and interest in Gentiles. My gospel, Luke, is filled with illustrations of my interest. [2]

At the beginning of my gospel, I indicate that, although many other people wrote Gospels, I decided to make a careful investigation of the life of Jesus and the birth of the church and to record this for a gentleman named “Theophilus,” which in Greek means “lover of God.” My gospel is for every person who loves God (Acts 1:1-5). In my gospel, I also indicate that I was relying upon eyewitness testimony (Acts 1:2). I don’t remember exactly whom I interviewed in writing my book. It may have been Mary, Zechariah, or Elizabeth, or all three, although many people believe that I interviewed Mary.

The Visitation.

Once again, because in your church it’s customary to read Scripture before a sermon, I want to read you just a little bit from my book beginning with chapter 1:26:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, 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 went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 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 Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The 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. Even 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. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her (Luke 1:26-38).

Prayer: God Who Speaks in His Word and Mighty Deeds: we come to you today asking that you would be with us by the power of your Holy Spirit that we might be filled with your spirit as was Mary in be the source of blessings for others.

Mary of Nazareth.

As I said a few minutes ago, I was a medical doctor, so naturally I was  interested in the stories that passed around among early Christians concerning the circumstances of Jesus’s birth. I have delivered a lot of babies in my day and knew a good bit about what you call gynecology, so I wanted to understand the way in which Jesus ws conceived and was born.

Many of you know that Paul was, for a time, imprisoned in Caesarea by the sea. Your pastor had a chance to visit Caesarea this summer. It is still a beautiful place. In my day, however, it was even more beautiful than it is today. Herod the Great, who you have heard many bad things about, was a complicated person. One of his good qualities was that he was one of the great builders of the ancient world. He built the last Temple in Jerusalem. Masada, Herodium, and Caesarea were among the most beautiful cities ever built. Caesarea was a seaport because it had a wonderful harbor. In addition, it was the headquarters of the Roman government during the time of Jesus and for many years thereafter. The apostle Paul was imprisoned at Caesarea for a time before he was sent to Rome (Acts 23:23ff).

While Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea, I had a great deal of time to begin work on what would become my gospel, Luke, and my story of the early church, Acts. Caesarea is close to the Galilee, where Nazareth is located. And so during this time I interviewed people who remembered the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. One of those stories, which many people believe I received from Mary herself, is the story of the visitation of the angel Gabriel.

It goes like this: In the spring of year in which Jesus was born, the angel Gabriel went to Nazareth, which was a town in the Galilee to a young woman, a virgin, who was pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, who was himself a descendent of King David. The virgin’s name was Mary. [3]

The angel began by telling her that she was “highly favored” (Luke 1:28). When Mary showed the same signs of trouble and fear that often accompany the coming of an angel, the angel reassured her telling her not to be afraid (v. 29). Then, he gave her amazing news: Mary was to be the mother of a child she was to call “Jesus” (v. 30-31). The name Jesus is the Greek form for Jesus’ name in Hebrew, which was “Joshua.” The name “Joshua” is important in Hebrew. “Joshua” literally means “The God Who Saves.” Joshua was the name of Moses his assistant, who was the greatest military leader of his day and led the Jews in conquering Israel after their wandering in the desert. [4]

Even more amazingly, the angel told Mary that this child would be called, “the Son of the Most High,” which was a Hebrew name for God (v. 32). He was also to receive the throne of his ancestor David and reign over the house of Jacob, or Israel, forever (V. 32-33). Mary’s son was to commence a kingdom that would never end! To any Jew, this would mean that he was to be their long awaited Messiah.

Just as Zechariah had a hard time understanding how he was to be a father, Mary had a hard time understanding how she could be a mother since she was a virgin (v. 34). The angel explained that the power of God was going to overshadow her and she would be with child (v. 35). A short time later, Mary discovered that she was pregnant.

You can imagine that this event was not without its problems. (Next week, Joseph is going to be here to tell you about his problems with the announcement. I was never able to interview Joseph because he was dead by the time I wrote my gospel.) This particular announcement, and the reality of her pregnancy, resulted in a substantial amount of gossip in the little town of Nazareth. Under Jewish law she might even have been stoned. Therefore, after a short while she made arrangements to visit her relative, Elizabeth, whose story you heard last week.

Mary and Elizabeth.

Last week, you heard the story of Elizabeth. As Zachariah told the story, you learned that, when Mary arrived at his home, John the Baptist leapt in the womb of Elizabeth, recognizing the power of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the child Mary was carrying. Then, suddenly, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and shouted out a blessing to Mary. The end of that blessing is important in understanding the character of Mary the mother of Jesus: “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (v.45). Everyone I spoke to in writing my gospel emphasized that Mary’s defining characteristic was her humble faith in the God.

In response to this blessing, Mary spoke the words that Christians call the “Magnificat.” [5] Here is how I recorded it:

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

I am not a Jew, and so I copied this particular passage, exactly as it was given to me. Scholars note that, while it is written in Greek, it bears the signs of having been spoken in Aramaic, the language of Jesus’s day. It is extremely Jewish. [6] The entire passage is designed to show how, through generation and generations of Jews, God was faithful to Abraham and his descendants (v. 55). It speaks of God as a Savior, a reference both to the Jewish notion that God will send a Savior, and to the name, “Yeshua,” the name of Jesus (v. 47). Mary also repeats that God has blessed her in her humiliation (v. 48). She recognizes that God, the Mighty One, does miracles (v. 51). And then she prophesies that the coming of Jesus will bring with it a change in the world. Those who ruled by force of the sword will be cast down. Those who are hungry will be fed. Those who are humble will be lifted up. God is doing a new thing in Jesus (vv. 51-54).

At this point, I’m going to stop my story of Mary and the birth of Jesus. On Christmas Eve, you will hear from one of the shepherds. He will tell you the rest of Mary’s story.

The Life of Mary Was Not Easy.

Many of you know, that in the Gospel of John, Jesus gives “the disciple Jesus loved,” or John, his mother to take care of after he was gone (John 19:25-27). There is a tradition in the Catholic Church that John made good on his promise. Tradition holds that Mary lived in Ephesus while John was the bishop there. There is also a tradition that Mary was buried near the Garden of Gethsemane and the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

Unfortunately, as we all know, Mary’s life was not always easy. All of her life people gossiped about her and about her son and about the circumstances of his birth. We know from the Gospels that she was alive during Jesus’s ministry, and that Jesus’ family did not always understand who he was or what he was doing (Mark 3:31-35). Like us, she had to maintain her faith in the midst of her doubt and the doubt of others.

Mary lived to see both her husband and her son die. To lose a husband is a terrible thing, and to lose her firstborn son worse yet. In addition, her son did not die peaceful death but a terrible, torturous, painful death. Then, at an age when most women want to settle down into the home where they raised their children, surrounded by family, friends, and memories, Mary had to leave her home. Remember, that in Acts we learned that after the new church was formed there was a time of persecution and the church was scattered (Acts 8:1). Perhaps it was at this time that Mary left Israel with John and began her life as a pilgrim. Many people think she did not die in Nazareth surrounded by family and friends, but far away in Ephesus, where John was a bishop.

The Life of Faith.

The story of Mary teaches us a lesson that American Christians, and really all Christians, need to remember: The life of faith is a blessed life—but that does not mean that it’s always an easy life. So often we look at times of stress and discouragement as times when we are not being blessed. Often, that is true; however, sometimes our hard times are the source of blessing for others. Mary’s life was not easy; but it was blessed. Her humble faith blessed her family, her son, her church, and even the entire world. Wouldn’t it be great if we all had that kind of faith? Amen

Copyright 2015, G. Christopher Scruggs, All Rights Reserved

[1] In Acts 16, Paul has a vision while on this missionary trip. Up until Acts 19:10, the narrative is in the third person plural (“his companions”). Then suddenly the narrative shifts to the first person plural (“we”). Most scholars believe this indicates the point at which Luke is relying on his memory and journals for the narrative and not third person accounts. Therefore, it was at this time Luke probably joined Paul.

[2] The major source for the historical information in this sermon comes from William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke” in The Daily Bible Study Series, Rev. Ed. (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1932, 1975), 1-16. See also, Robert H. Stein, “Luke” in the New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992), 35-88.

[3] Jesus birth cannot be exactly determined. Luke states that is was while Augustus was Caesar and Quirinius was Governor of Syria, during a census of that time (Luke 2:1). Though there are problems, somewhere around 6-4 B.C. fits these dates. One tradition is that Jesus was conceived in our March, “The sixth month” of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, which would comport with a December birth. No one knows.

[4] Joshua means “Jehovah Saves” (or YHWH saves). When Moses was near death, he chose Joshua to lead the people of Israel, which he did until his death according to the Book of Joshua in the Old Testament.

[5] In Latin, the first words of the poem are “Magnificat Anima me Dominum” or “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Since St. Ambrose translated Luke from Greek to Latin, the passage has been known by this name. The song is part of the Liturgy of the Hours in the Roman Catholic tradition and is sung and said in Protestant churches as well.

[6] See for an example, John Noland, “Luke 1:9:20” in The Word Bible Commentary Vol. 35A (Waco, TX: Word Press, 1989), 74-77. The terms, “Most High,” “Lord,” “God my Savior,” and the reference to David, as well as the form and the theology of the passage, point to an Aramaic/Jewish basis for the text.