Advent Week 2, 2021… Mary's Anticipation
By Mark Rater
The announcement to Mary that she would give birth to the savior, Jesus Christ…
Luke 1:26-38 (NASB)
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
God had a plan all along. Sin did not catch God by surprise. God did not have to hurry and think of a plan to atone for the sin of man after the fall. No, God had predetermined and ordained that Christ would bear the sin of man (Acts 2:23) . When the fullness of time came, the foreordained plan was executed. (Galatians 4:4) Christ came and was offered as the propitiation (satisfaction, 1 John 2:2) for sin and the only way of salvation (John 14:6).
Not only did God have a plan, but God revealed it to man before it happened. God promised, in a veiled but increasingly revealed way, that a savior would come and would bear man’s guilt for sin. (See Advent 2021,week 1)
God promised a Messiah. A deliverer. And the faithful waited. Yes, many ignored God and His promise. The heathen continued to mock or ignore and went about sinning. The self righteous and religious continued to work their way to God. The faithful waited. Anticipated.
Prophets and angels were eager to know who Messiah was and when he would come (1 Peter 1:11-12). Devout men like Simeon (Luke 2:25) and devout women like Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:36-38) set their hope upon and waited for the coming Messiah. Zecharaiah and Elizabeth anticipated Christ’s coming as they were to be the parents of the forerunning prophet John the baptist, who would come and prepare the people for the Lord (Luke 1:39-45, 67-79). John the baptist himself preached about the mighty savior that was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:7-8). Joseph and Mary…Joseph, who would raise Jesus with Mary, the woman he was about to be married to and the woman who was a virgin and would soon give birth to this Messiah…they anticipated and waited while obeying (Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:46-56).
Much, much more could be said…but let’s take a look at what this anticipation looked like in the heart of Mary.
Luke 1:46-56 (NASB)
46 And Mary said:
“My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 “AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
51 “He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
53 “HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.”
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
Mary, upon hearing that she had been chosen to give birth to the savior, proclaimed herself a servant of the Lord and expressed her faith in the fact that it would be done as the Lord had said (Luke 1:38). She goes on in verses 46-56 to respond to this message in many ways. Throughout this passage, she…
praises and exalts God
rejoices in God
Proclaims God as her savior
Recognizes her lowly position before God
Recognizes that God had regarded her and blessed her in her lowly position and elevated her from it
Proclaims His might
Proclaims his holiness
Proclaims his mercy to those who fear him
Recognizes that he brings the proud down low while he exalts the lowly
Recognizes that he fills the hungry with good things
Proclaims that God remembers the promises he made to Israel-the ones that he spoke beforehand
Mary sees her low and needy position before God. She sees God change that for her. She knows her need for mercy. She knows her need of a savior. She acknowledges that God is that savior. That she will give birth to that savior, Jesus Christ. She praises Him for that, ascribes Glory to him, proclaims his holiness and his mercy and his faithfulness to his promises.
How often do we do that? Now that Christ has come to earth to take the cross for us…Living on this side of history, do we see our low position before God as sinners in need of a savior? Do we exalt his name for what he’s done for us? Do we proclaim his holiness, his mercy, his faithfulness to our own hearts and to others? Do we anticipate his promised return? Do we wait in faith for Christ to come back and reward the faithful and judge the unfaithful once for all? Do we await his coming earthly kingdom? Do we anxiously anticipate his making all things new?
Thank you, Lord! Thank you that you are merciful to sinners! Thank you that Christ satisfied your wrath against sin for us. Thank you that all we must do is trust in Christ for that salvation. Thank you that Christ is coming back! Help us to eagerly await that day, remembering all that you’ve done for us and all that you’ve promised is yet to come. Help us to live our lives in light of this and to tell others about Christ!
What is the gospel? How can I be saved?
Comments
Post a Comment