To retrace the steps we have taken so far…..the Messiah, the King of kings, will come through the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse and David. He will have someone who comes before Him to prepare the way.
We now come to the miracle that has never been, nor ever will be repeated again. And what a miracle it was!!! It was to be a sign….the Messiah would be born of a virgin. There would be no human father, because God would be His Father.
This prophecy was foretold hundreds of years before the Messiah was born.
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a Son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14
Just as scripture foretold, Jesus would be born of a virgin, a young girl by the name of Mary from Nazareth.
And now it was time....time for Mary to find out what God had in store for her....
Luke 1:26-33
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. "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; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."
We could all learn something from this remarkable young woman. Her confidence and faith in God were incredible. At no time during Gabriel's visit did she say she didn't want to do what she was being asked to. Nor did she question how she would keep her life because of the threat her pregnancy would bring. By law, she could be stoned to death because she was not married when she became pregnant.
Her only question was a very practical one....
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. "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. "For nothing will be impossible with God."
Mary understood the impossibility of what Gabriel was telling her. This young girl with such faith, she was the one chosen for the most incredible job a human being had ever had...to raise the Son of God....to love Him and care for Him in a way no other human being would....as His mother. What an incredible, awesome responsibility, but she answered the call with such beautiful obedience:
Luke 1:38 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.
Mary's response speaks to her complete faith, trust, and obedience in the Lord.
May we, when we are called to do something the Lord has requested of us, be it big or small, also respond with complete faith, trust, and obedience in our Lord....the Creator of heaven and earth.
What a beautiful gift God has given us in the foretelling of His Son's birth. We can read prophecies given in scripture hundreds of years before, and we can then read the fulfillment of those same prophecies with the birth of Jesus. What confidence we can have in a God Who wants us to know He is God Almighty knowing the end from the beginning.
Merry Christmas!!
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