Issue 1302 – The Announcements – December 1, 2023

Luke’s first letter to Theophilus (also known as the Gospel of  Luke) makes for excellent Advent reading. At 24 chapters, reading a chapter a day, you can get a marvellous overview of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Christ by Christmas Eve. That’s my devotional reading plan for this Advent.

I’m not going to give a blow-by-blow, day-by-day commentary of Luke, but it may pop up in places as it strikes me over the next 24 days.

Luke 1 is a bit intimidating as it is the longest chapter in the New Testament (in 80 verses.) If you can get over that hurdle, the balance of the book is much shorter and more straightforward. It is well worth a read (or reread)

It is a densely packed chapter, covering a massive swath of important stuff. The chapter headings reveal a lot.

Dedication to Theophilus

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

Birth of Jesus Foretold

Mary Visits Elizabeth

Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

The Birth of John the Baptist

Zechariah’s Prophecy

Each could fill an entire sermon or several chapters of a book independently. Some of the topics would require a mini-sermon series.

The foretelling of the birth of Jesus is powerful. Christians usually have one of two responses to this passage. 

We have heard the story so many times that we lose the wonder and grow complacent about the fact of Jesus coming via the womb of a Middle Eastern peasant girl. We miss the beauty and humanity of the incarnation of the Christ.

Alternatively, we can elevate Mary to a goddess like status and make her the primary character in the drama. The event happens to Mary, but the story isn’t primarily about her.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And 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 call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:26-39

There is so much happening in this portion of Luke 1 that I cannot talk about it all in this short space, so I will pull out one point. Mary’s reaction to the good news (after her initial shock) is astounding. She says, “”Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Wow! What faith! What trust! Mary models for us the trust and obedience we are all called to.

Of course, we will never be at that level all the time. We will have moments of doubt and rebellion, but it gives us a benchmark to aim towards. We can rejoice that when we miss it because Jesus came, we can turn to him in repentance and receive His mercy and forgiveness.

It seems trite to say it, but He is the reason for the season. God took on flesh that we might be redeemed and restored. He would come to suffer and die for us so that we might be free.

That’s the Christmas miracle. May we never forget it.

May our hearts be like that of Mary in that moment. “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Be blessed

Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word

Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)

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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2023 KF “Kevin” Corbin Gleanings From The Word.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV). 

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