Welcome
• Hi. I’m Brent and this is The Bible Unplugged podcast.
• In this episode we take a look at the story of Mary meeting the angel Gabriel. Her life took an unexpected turn that changed the world. This story is in Luke 1:26-56. You may want to take a few minutes to read the story since I’ll be hitting the highlights.
• We will also look at what this means and share some practical ways to apply these lessons to our lives.
• In each episode we take away the centuries of misinterpretation and glamorization of scripture and focus on what the Bible actually says
• My hope is that you will finish this episode with something to think about.
We find ourselves…
• We can easily find ourselves in situations where we think everything is rocking along ok, then a sudden event changes everything
• It’s easy to doubt ourselves or doubt God when life turns upside down. The story of Mary fits that scenario.
• We can very easily get caught up in the “Christmas card and cute nativity scene” interpretation of this story, but there were some difficult and dark days in story for Mary.
Who was Mary
• Mary’s name was actually
• Maria in Greek
• Miriam in Aramaic
• Name means “Star of the sea” and was a common name in that era
• Miriam in the Old Testament
• Sister of Moses
• A prophetess
• Led the women of Israel in “Song of the sea” [Exodus 15:20-21]
• Was likely around 13 to 15 years old- when most betrothals took place
• Other people would likely say Mary was about average by Nazareth’s standards
Mary’s genealogy?
• In a previous episode I reviewed the ancestral backgrounds of Mary and Joseph
• Matthew and Luke list Jesus’ ancestors
• Matthew covers Joseph’s ancestry- begins with Abraham, through King David, to Jesus
• Traced the legal lineage of Jesus according to Jewish law
• Luke covers Mary’s ancestry- begins with Jesus and goes back through Kind David to Adam.
• Traced the biological lineage of Jesus through Mary
• What we learn
• Both Joseph and Mary were descendants of King David
Mary’s encounter with Gabriel
• In Luke’s account, God sent Gabriel to visit Mary six months after Elizabeth found out she was pregnant with John.
• Zacharias is still unable to talk at this point because his interaction with Gabriel did not go well
• Gabriel “was sent”- angels are always sent by God, they don’t go on their own
• Nazareth
• Northern Israel
• Means “branch”
• The people of the time had a low opinion of the place.
• In fact, Nathaniel is quoted in John 1:46- Can any good thing come from Nazareth? Why
• The Roman armory near there was robbed in 4BC and the Romans retaliated by crucifying 2,000 Jews.
• When Jesus was a child, Judas the Galilean started a tax revolt there ending in more crucifixions
• Mary was a virgin engaged to Joseph
• Other religions including Islam declare that Mary, pronounced Miryam in Arabic, was a virgin
• Pledged to be married
• Mt 1:25- wedding held off until after Jesus’ birth
• Betrothal as legally binding as marriage
• Gabriel doesn’t appear magically, he walked into the room where Mary was
• Zacharias was shocked when Gabriel appeared
• Gabriel called Mary the “highly favored one”- one who receives God’s grace.
• Blessed- eulogeo [G2127]- one who is spoken well of; blessed in the eyes of others
• Mary was “greatly troubled” and wondered what this meant
• Zacharias was greatly troubled but also experienced fear
• Gabirel said to her, "Don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
• Don’t be afraid- hundreds of times in the Bible
• Found favor- grace given after an intentional search
• Genesis 24- Abraham sent his steward, Eliezer, to find a wife for Isaac. When Eliezer found Rebekah, he showered her with gifts
• Luke 1:31- Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name 'Jesus.’
• Jesus- Yeshua [H3442]- salvation, deliverer
• Luke 1:32-33- 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 the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.“
• Gabriel explained that Jesus would be God’s son, reign on David’s throne over the house of Jacob forever
• Throne of his father, David- fulfillment of prophecy. Genealogies show this connection
• At this point Mary asks a question just like Zacharias did, but with a different result.
• She asked, “How can this be since I am a virgin?”
• The nature of the question is different
• Zacharias- how can I believe this is true?
• Mary- okay, but how is this going to work?
• The difference- Mary accepted Gabriel’s message as true, Zacharias didn’t
• Shows Mary’s strength of character- she didn’t panic, she asked relevant and practical questions
• As Gabriel explained the process I can imagined that Mary had a lot more questions and some unsettled feelings.
• How will I explain this to Joseph?
• What are mom and dad going to say?
• Will I even survive this?
• Gabriel gives Mary a lifeline, her relative Elizabeth was pregnant
• Gabriel also gave her a way out of the family turmoil to follow this
• Elizabeth’s role was also to provide support and care for Mary
• Elizabeth was the only person who could truly understand what was happening. Zacharia had a good idea, but he was no help since he couldn’t speak.
• Gabriel’s last comment- For everything spoken by God is possible.
• Do we act like Zacharias, or Mary?
• Luke 1:39- Mary said, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word." The angel departed from her.
• 13 year old unmarried girl, knowing the problems she faced, accepted what God called her to do
• Luke 1:39-41- Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, 40and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41It happened, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, that the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
• In those days- likely less than a week after
• Elizabeth was Mary’s lifeline and protector
• We will talk about this interaction between Mary and Elizabeth in a future episode
• Luke 1:56- Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.
• Jewish law- if a husband dies childless, his brother is obligated to marry the wife. Children would be the dead brother’s descendants
• Law required that the marriage take place at least 3 months after the death- to be sure the wife was not pregnant
• If Joseph accepted Mary, Jewish law would still be honored
What we learn from this
• God has a plan, but that plan may not be easy or comfortable
• We are free to question God- do so with an open mind and heart
• Other people may not understand when we follow God’s leading, but Mary’s strength and courage was a God-given gift. God gives us the characteristics we need to fulfill His plan
• God puts people in our lives who can provide the strength we need
• In every spiritual confrontation or challenge, God gives us a path of grace
What do we do with this
• When you have doubts about God’s direction for you take time to pray but listen for God’s still small voice deep within you instead of giving God a list of things you want to happen. Listening during prayer can reveal a lot to you
• Watch for signs, which are miracles by my definition, that God is speaking. God can reveal his will and purpose in all kinds of ways and through all kinds of people
• I’m sure there were lots of friends and neighbors that condemned Mary for being pregnant, but they didn’t know the whole story. The lesson here is don’t be judgmental toward those whose lifestyle is different than your own. Show God’s love and compassion in a way that compels others to want to know God.
• Be ready and willing when God gives you a big assignment.
The conclusion
• Well, the music in the background means my time is up for this episode.
• I hope this has been helpful. If so, give this podcast a high rating and share it with others.
• Join in for future episodes when we:
• We talk about Joseph and how he responded to the news that Mary was pregnant.
• My prayer for you is that you will see how God is calling you to fulfill his will for your life and receive the blessings that following his will brings
• Have a blessed week
The disclaimers
• Just to let you know
• All opinions are my own. If you agree, keep listening. If you don’t… keep listening, you may learn something
• All Bible quotations come from the World English Bible which is a public domain work
• Our show theme song is “Awesome Call” by Kevin MacLeod and is available under a Creative Commons license
• The content of this podcast is copyrighted 2024 by J. Brent Eaton
• This has been a Power Love and Miracles production
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