- Mary had the little Lamb, who lived before His birth; self-existent Son of God, from Heaven He came to Earth. (Micah 5:2)
- Mary had the little Lamb; see Him in yonder stall, virgin-born Son of God, to save man from the Fall. (Isaiah 7:14)
- Mary had the little Lamb, obedient Son of God; everywhere the Father led, His feet were sure to trod. (John 6:38)
- Mary had the little Lamb, crucified on the tree the rejected Son of God, He died to set men free. (1 Peter 1:18)
- Mary had the little Lamb, men placed Him in the grave, thinking they were done with Him; to death He was no slave! (Matthew 28:6)
- Mary had the little Lamb, ascended now is He; All work on Earth is ended, our Advocate to be. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
- Mary had the little Lamb, mystery to behold! From the Lamb of Calvary, a Lion will unfold. (Revelation 5:5-6)
- When the Day Star comes again, of this be very sure: it won’t be Lamb-like silence, but with the Lion’s roar. (Psalm 2:12; Revelation 19:11-16)
She was a young Jewish teenager, living in the then-obscure village of Nazareth, where apparently no good came from (according to some), steeped in the promises of God, she was favored. She, out of everyone available in this world, was chosen by God … to bear the Son of God. She was called to this very special life—this very significant task, a task like no other. And, she decided of her own free will to follow God’s call on her life… Listen:
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. 27 He had a message for a young woman promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Her name was Mary. 28 The angel came to her and said, "Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!" 29 Mary was deeply troubled by the angel’s message, and she wondered what his words meant. 30 The angel said to her, "Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. 31 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, 33 and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end!" 34 Mary said to the angel, "I am a virgin. How, then, can this be?" 35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God’s power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God. 36 Remember your relative Elizabeth. It is said that she cannot have children, but she herself is now six months pregnant, even though she is very old. 37 For there is nothing that God cannot do." 38 "I am the Lord’s servant," said Mary; "may it happen to me as you have said." And the angel left her.” – Luke 1:26-38 (TEV)
Mary came to realize that hers wasn’t going to a normal life at all—not normal in the sense of most of her people. Why? Because she was going to soon come face-to-face with someone named Jesus, the very Son of God! And, you know what? When you and I prepare ourselves during this season to come face-to-face with that same Jesus—making sure that we’re celebrating his birthday at Christmas, we too will know that our lives will never be the same … and God will be able to use us in powerful ways—just as he did Mary, to continue to change this world for his kingdom! Whose birthday is it? Well, it’s not our birthday; that’s for sure… Mary learned that lesson; we can learn it too, as we look to Mary’s life for direction. Just like with Mary…
GOD WANTS TO FAVOR US, TOO. Verses 28 & 30 remind us of the angel’s responses to Mary: “The angel came to her and said, "Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!" & “The angel said to her, "Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to [found favor with] you.”
Maybe you are a person who has had the attitude that … God cannot use me; I’m not worthy … or I’m not anybody special … or I’m not from an important family … or I’m not from an important place… If you have ever had any of these thoughts … YOU ARE PERFECT … and God can use you in mighty ways, too!
Mary felt a bit this way, I’m sure. She came from the town of Nazareth—really a “non-place,” that was frequently occupied by Gentiles and Roman soldiers—a half-way point of trade between the port cities of Tyre and Sidon. She was a young teenager (12-14 years old), who had grown up in a poor family, probably illiterate, hopeful to marry someone so that she could be secure—having some social status, probably destined to give birth to several poor kids, keeping the cycle going…
The difference with Mary’s story was this: God passed up Jerusalem & Judea and went to Nazareth. God passed up many well-to-do persons and chose a peasant girl … with faith. And, as Gabriel has told us, GOD FAVORED HER!
So, what does it mean to ‘find favor with God’ … other than you are a special person? Folks, those favored by God—in the history of this world—do not find a life of unbroken happiness. Remember, Mary was a Jew—one of God’s chosen people, those people who had ‘found favor with God.’ The truth is, for three thousand years those ‘chosen people’ have suffered perhaps as no other people. The Auschwitzes and the Dachaus are only the latest in a whole long line of indignities and obscenities endured by the ‘chosen people.’ At some level, even as young as she was, I have to believe that Mary understood that there is a tremendous price to be paid by those who are highly favored by God.
Mary was wise. I grew up in the 70s, in the shadow of the 60s, where a whole generation of young people came to the conclusion that to find God meant to find perfect peace and being favored by God meant a laid back life of contemplating one’s own navel and thinking great thoughts. But, the Bible discourages us of that notion, doesn’t it?
Folks, the truth is, the highly favored of God should be prepared for a life involving pain and suffering. If you’re favored by God, it will cost you your life. I think that somehow Mary understood that… And, God wants us to understand that, too—that with his help, we too can be ‘highly favored’ and used by God in mighty ways to introduce others to his Son, Jesus. In that way, we can be a part of God’s eternal process of preparing people for eternity, drawing them closer & closer to him. Also, just like with Mary:
GOD’S POWER IS AVAILABLE TO US, TOO. Verse 35a tells us how this is possible: “The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God’s power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God.” This is the very reason that we can be called ‘children of God’ today! Where God’s Spirit is allowed to dwell—to take up residence, there you will find a child of God! Folks, the days that we are living in are post-Pentecost; Mary lived in pre-Pentecost days, the days before the Holy Spirit came to live in this world as he does today (Acts 2). What does this mean? We too, just like Mary—or even more so, have God’s power (The Holy Spirit) available to us … to live the lives God calls us to live—to be used by God in powerful ways … for his Kingdom!
Before I end today, one question still haunts me: Have you ever asked yourself why God chose Mary? I believe Mary was chosen to bear God’s own son because she was a young woman of great faith—one of the faithful remnant in Israel who understood that with God nothing is impossible! She was chosen when the more worthy or high-born or well-positioned were bypassed. Why does God choose certain people for unusual assignments?
For example, why did God choose Billy Graham? God seems to have entrusted Billy Graham with the privileged position of being Protestantism’s number one spokesperson to the 20th century world! Billy himself has said that his gifts are not all that unusual. But, when given a choice, Billy also chose God’s way. “…may it happen to me as you have said (v.38)" was his response, too. God chooses those who God knows will be obedient to him.
Mary had a choice, too. She responded as though she had made a decision: “…may it happen to me as you have said (v.38)." God never forces his love on anyone. And because of that love, God never forces his will on anyone either. It’s implied here that God’s plan would not be carried out without Mary’s consent—her willingness to be used of God. But, on this day, Mary chose—in faith—to be totally obedient. Mary was to suffer the ridicule and contempt of being pregnant and unmarried in a small town full of gossips. Knowing all of that, she still said, “…may it happen to me as you have said (v.38)"—one of the most courageous statements ever recorded…
Folks, the bottom line today is this:
- Mary realized that what God wanted to do through her was much bigger than anything she could even imagine.
- What God wanted to accomplish was something eternal; Mary’s life was temporal at best.
- So, even though she ended up playing a major role in God’s plan of salvation for humanity, it wasn’t really about her; it wasn’t her birthday…
- She was not only the mother of God’s Son; she also ended up becoming a disciple; it wasn’t her birthday…
It’s not ours either… Have we figured that out yet? Has that made a difference in how we are preparing for December 25th? If we can grasp that truth with all of our lives, then we can continue in Mary’s footsteps; God can use us in continuing to change this ol’ world we live in … for his sake—for the sake of his kingdom!