Woman of Faith: a CHRISTmas Story
I was asked to give the devotional for my Sunday School Class’ Christmas Party back in 2013. There were no parameters, so I was able to pick what I wanted to talk about. Obviously, it had to do with Jesus’ birth, so I started looking at Jesus’ birth story. As I read the Luke account, I was drawn to Mary and the part she played in this story. Of course we all know she gave birth to Jesus, but her life was so much more than just an incubator and a milk bottle. Rather, as I read and studied her, I realized she is a woman who is to be blessed and praised in her own right – not just because she gave birth to Jesus.
In the Luke account, he starts with the pregnancy of Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth.
“In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God . . . an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth. . . . he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” (Luke 1:5-18 NIV)
I interrupt this Scripture . . .
Let’s pause here to understand this scene: Zechariah was a priest, he was a religious man, a righteous man. He would have studied God’s Words, known all the laws, and certainly would have been familiar with the “Patriarchs”, who are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He would have known how Abraham and his wife Sarai were too old to have children until God came along and told Abraham they would have a child and that he’d be the father of many nations. Zechariah would have known how God honored that promise through the birth of Isaac, despite the impossibility of Sarah’s age. Zechariah and his wife had been praying for a child. Like Abraham and Sarai, Elizabeth and Zechariah were very old. There was a terrible stigma around barren women at that time – there still is today, really.
Wait, What did Zechariah do?
In this scene from Luke, Zechariah was in the midst of worship when the Angel Gabriel appears, tells him that his prayers for a child will finally be answered. What does Zechariah do? The man who knows the story of Abraham asks the angelwho just appeared to him, “How can I be sure of this?” Dude. An angel just appeared and spoke to you and you’re asking how can you be sure Elizabeth will have a child? AND you know the story of Abraham?
The Luke account continues,
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” … But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:26-38 NIV)
Amazing Faith
Here is Mary, an ordinary girl. Most likely never read the Torah or any of the Prophets because girls couldn’t do that back then. She would have heard of them and had portions read to her, but she wouldn’t have had the chance to read or study them herself. So, here’s this young girl who is not allowed to study but whom had such a mighty faith that God chose her. Not only did she have such a faith that would draw God’s attention, but when she was told what was about to happen, her question was how this was to physically happen. It wasn’t a question as to how she was to believe this would happen, contrary to Zechariah’s question, but Mary wanted to know how would it physically happen since she was not yet married and a virgin. She didn’t doubt the Word of God. She showed more faith in God and His word, than did the priest Zechariah who had been serving God his entire life and knew the Word of God better than anyone.
She had faith. She had the kind of faith that didn’t rely on priests, “religion”, or laws. She had the kind of faith that believed in Jesus. It represents the new faith and the new covenant that was coming with the birth of this child. Not only would be she literally giving birth to Jesus, but she was giving birth to this new faith and covenant by her actions and immediate response to the angel, "I am the Lord's servant... May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Conclusion
In conclusion for this week, about Mary and her quote, “I am the Lord’s servant . . . May your word in me be fulfilled.” Read Isaiah 42:1-4 and think on verse 1 as it relates to both Mary and Jesus. These verses in Isaiah are referencing Jesus, but think about verse 1 as to Mary and what Jesus says about her in Luke 11:28.
P.S.
This is the first in a series about Jesus’ birth. Join me as we look at the beginnings of Jesus’ life on earth, learning lessons about Him from the Old and New Testaments.
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