You Have Found Favor

Trying to date the birth of Jesus is hazardous business. The Bible does not give us a date. We celebrate Christmas at a time set by the church back in the 4th century.

Recently I read an article about Zachariah and his priestly order. This article said the Dead Sea Scrolls contained a reference to the ancient rotation of the priests who ministered in the temple. We know that Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, was in the division of Abijah. The claim is that this order ministered in the temple in late September. If John was conceived at that time, then the angel is making this visit to Mary in March of the next year. Jesus would have been born in December.

I have read in several places that the shepherds would not have been in the fields in December. I have been associated with shepherds all my life in a climate very similar to that of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Every year lambs and kid goats are born around Christmas time, and the shepherds are in the fields keeping watch over these newborns.

The traditional date for the Anunciation, which is our text today, is March 25. This is also the traditional date for the crucifixion of Jesus.

Matthew did not identify the angel who appeared to Joseph in his dream as recorded in our text last week. But Luke records that it is Gabriel who visits Mary just as it was Gabriel who visited Zachariah. We assume that Gabriel is the angel who visited Joseph as well.

Mary may be staying at the home of Joseph already. Or her parents may live in Nazareth. Mary and Joseph will make the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in nine months. They will return to Nazareth after their flight to Egypt and this town will become the hometown of Jesus. That is why Christians were sometimes called Nazarenes by the Romans.

The gospel writers are very careful to mention that Joseph is a descendant of David. This was true with Matthew who recorded the angel’s words, “Joseph son of David” (Matthew 1:20). Luke reminds us here of Joseph’s ancestry. His adopted son will sit on the throne of David forever. It’s important.

• A man described a dream to me this week. The dream brought him great comfort. He felt that it was a message from God for him. He related the dream to me, and I think he is right. It was a divine message for him.

Joseph received the angel’s message in a dream. Do not discount the possibility of “dreams and visions” that will come to you from the Father who loves you.

Mary’s encounter seems to be face to face with the angel. He is right there in her house.

I want us to think about four aspects of this annunciation:

The Greeting that Troubles:

“Mary was greatly troubled.” - Luke 1:29

God’s initial word to Mary is troubling to her.

• She knew this was not an ordinary moment. Gabriel was standing there in her home in Nazareth talking to her.

• She knew that the “high favored” description came with some kind of baggage, maybe costly.

• She was experiencing the anxiety and fear of a divine interruption in her life.

God’s initial word to you may also be troubling.

• God may say “your sins have come before me.” Elijah’s honesty and courage prompted him to tell King Ahab the truth, and the king called Elijah the “troubler of Israel” (1 Kings 18:17).

• God may say, “You have a new assignment,” and that assignment will be disruption of your life.

• Joseph said yes when the angel said, “Take Mary home,” but it was only the beginning of his troubles. Now he was ridiculed by his neighbors, family, and friends. Now he is being hunted by the king. Then he is fleeing to Egypt where he remains as a refugee for several years. Finally he returns to his homeland but dies before he sees God’s plan come to fruition in Jesus, his adopted son.

Realize that God’s Command means change.

• We don’t normally like change as humans. We want things to remain familiar. We feel that we are in control when we are in our familiar haunts and comfortable settings.

• But God’s word often calls for new direction, new focus, and new initiatives. And these can be troubling to us as they were to Mary and Joseph. 

The Announcement that Perplexes:

“'How can this be?'” - Luke 1:34

Mary receives the divine message:

• The word of comfort and peace from the angel: “Do not be afraid.” She is visibly upset.

• The big news: "You will conceive and give birth to a son." (Luke 1:31). Mary is being told that she is going to be pregnant. I don’t know how much of the rest of the explanation she really hears. Now she is simply confused.

• The explanation: "'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.'" (Luke 1:32-33). Mary, your son is going to sit on the throne of David and rule over the people of God forever.

The announcement of God to us is sometimes perplexing. God’s ways are not always our ways, and his thoughts are not always our thoughts. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9).

The poet, William Cowper, wrote:

God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform;

He plants His footsteps in the Sea

And rides upon the storm.

Faith is the key to walking with God. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29). We believe this announcement, that Mary’s child will be the king. Even when perplexed we do not reject the word of God.

The Explanation that Satisfies:

“'the most high will overshadow you.'” - Luke 1:35

Mary asked a question: “How?”

• The Most High will cast his shadow over you. This is poetic language that draws from the Old Testament metaphors about the shadow of God. “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,” David wrote (Psalm 17:8). In Psalm 36:7, “People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”

• Psalm 91:1: "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

• The angel describes what is beyond our understanding with a picture that we can understand.

We do not get all the answers we desire. Many things that are perfectly clear to God we see through a glass darkly.

• Mary did not get all her questions answered. She pondered these things in her heart (Luke 2:19).

• We will live with unanswered questions about the ways of God and the events in our lives. 

The Faith that Responds:

“'I am the Lord’s servant.'” - Luke 1:38

Mary’s faith is stellar, admirable, surprising. Her response displays a spiritual maturity that few of us possess when we are young teens. She is growing up quickly not only in her responsibilities and life situation but also in her faith.

• Mary surrenders willingly to the plan of God.

• Mary finds peace for the moment and for the months and years ahead in such obedience.

• Mary finds her difficult circumstances to be, not the judgment of God, but his blessing.

• Mary experiences being chosen for God’s purpose.

Think of the circumstances of your life now, of all that has come upon you both by invitation and without it. Can you say in the middle of your circumstances, “I am the Lord’s servant”? Can you say, “May your word to me be fulfilled”?

• Can you see yourself as chosen by God for a special purpose?

• Can you see your circumstances in the light of God’s favor? Could they be a blessing even though difficult?

• Can you find a place of peace in the storm of your life?