Mary: Pondering the Promise | Luke 1:26-55; 2:1-7 | Mothers of Jesus
Christmas often brings out our sentimental side. We find ourselves reminiscing about candlelight services, children in pajamas, and the warmth of family traditions . But the first Christmas was characterized by more than just "good feels"—it was a moment of revolutionary upheaval.
Throughout this Advent season, we have traced the "Mothers of Jesus"—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba—seeing how God used the broken, the outsider, and the scandalous to keep His covenant promise . In the story of Mary, we see the final proof of that faithfulness.
📖 Click to Show the Transcript of this Sermon
Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon from First Reformed Church in Edgerton, Minnesota. Each week we dig into God's Word, trusting that the Holy Spirit will continue the good work of sanctification in us.
I think that one of the most amazing things about Christmas is that it is something that even the most cynical among us get a little bit sentimental about. Some of the most curmudgeonly folks you know probably are guilty of getting a little bit sappy at Christmas time. In fact, that is probably the plot of about 75% of all the Christmas movies, right? That even the grumpy guy gets a little tear running down his cheek when everything comes together at the end. I'm personally not the most sentimental person in the world by any stretch of the imagination, and even I get a little bit sappy about Christmas. Just the other day we were reminiscing about the candlelight Christmas Eve service at the church I worked at in Ohio. They had an 11 p.m. service, and we knew that Anna was really little at the time and there was no way she was going to make it through, so we dressed her in her pajamas. She was small enough that we didn't wake her up to walk home; I would just carry her across the driveway home. Even I get a little misty-eyed thinking about those nights carrying her home in her pajamas, knowing she was going to wake up to Christmas Day. I'm guessing you have a Christmas memory that hits you square in the feels as well, because we default to nostalgia at Christmas time; it is just baked really deep down into us.
Because of that, when we imagine the Christmas story, I think we imagine the pondering of Mary to be sentimental, kind of like our experience of Christmas. Well, what we see in the story today is that Mary has more than just good feelings. She has amazing understandings about what she has seen, heard, and experienced. She understands that the baby in the manger isn't just a sweet addition to her family; she knows Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise made all the way back in the garden. The song of Mary is more than just quiet, reminiscing thoughts; in Luke 1, Mary sings a revolutionary song.
As we come to the conclusion of our Mothers of Jesus series, we are taking a look at the actual mother of Jesus this morning. During Advent, we looked at the four women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. Three of those four women are part of stories laden with controversy and scandal. Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute to deceive her father-in-law. Rahab was the harlot of Jericho. Ruth was the one scandal-free week, but still, she was an unclean Gentile on the fringes of society. Finally, we delved into the story of Bathsheba and the sin of David, who used his power as king to have his way with her and take the life of her husband. At each step, we saw that in the line to the Messiah, God kept the covenant promise using broken people in the midst of terrible circumstances.
As we come to the story of the birth of the promised seed of the woman, we might assume it isn't so scandalous. Mary is a virgin, after all, but to her neighbors, she looked like just another scandal; in their culture, to be with child without being married was a punishable offense. Looking at this story on the surface, the world would have assumed shame and embarrassment. But Mary believed the word of God and trusted He was sovereignly at work, realizing the child growing within her was the fulfillment of centuries of covenant faithfulness.
In the first century, the Hebrew people had a hotbed of messianic expectation. They knew the prophecies of Daniel and had done the math; they knew they were living in the general time period when the promised one would arrive. It is in that climate that Gabriel comes to Mary, who is betrothed to Joseph. Betrothal was so formal and binding it required a divorce to dissolve the union. When Gabriel calls her "favored one," it doesn't guarantee an easy life. The heroes of faith had the favor of God but didn't have an easy coast through life. Mary was more likely to fly around the room on her own power than to be pregnant as a virgin; this was not how she had planned her life to go.
She is told to name him Jesus, which means "Yahweh saves". He is called Son of the Most High, and God will give Him the throne of His father David to reign forever. This is the opening of the curtain on the final act of the promise that began in Genesis 3. All the stories, types, and shadows of the Old Covenant build to this moment where God intervenes to keep the promise despite barrenness or violence. Mary knows the story of Sarah, who was past the age of childbearing, yet she understands there is nothing more barren than the womb of a virgin. When she asks how this will be, Gabriel explains the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her. This imagery is the same as the glory of the Lord filling the tabernacle; Mary is like the new Ark of the Covenant, carrying the presence of God into the world so that He might walk among His people again as He did in the garden.
Mary responds with astounding faith: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word". She doesn't understand how it will play out, but her words say, "Thy will be done". To find confirmation, she visits her relative Elizabeth. When she arrives, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps, and Elizabeth proclaims Mary as the mother of her Lord. This testimony erases Mary's doubt and causes her to break out in song.
Her song, the Magnificat, isn't a ballad or a lullaby; it is a revolutionary song about God's mercy and reign. He has a habit of coming to those in the margins and using them for His glory. We see this in the four women: Tamar was cast aside, Rahab was an outsider, Ruth was a widow, and Bathsheba survived an abuse of power, yet God brought the Savior through them. Mary's song also speaks of a "great reversal": He scatters the proud, brings down the mighty, and fills the hungry with good things. This connects to the Beatitudes—the Kingdom of God is a reversal of the world's power.
This amazing theology meets the reality of the Roman Empire in Luke 2. Mary sang about thrones being cast down, but she has to submit to a census; she sang about the rich being sent away empty, but the Messiah is born in a stable because there is no room. Yet she treasured these things and pondered them in her heart with faith and hope. The story of Christmas is about you and everyone who needs to be saved from sin. Jesus came to suffer the wrath of God for dead sinners that they might have life.
God does the impossible by keeping His promises in unlikely ways. The King of all creation didn't come in a palace, but in a stable for the sake of sinners. As you go to your traditions, don't just ponder the "feels" of the season; ponder the fact that the King of the universe became a baby to reach into our brokenness and bring us into the eternal family of God. This is the promise. Christ is King. Merry Christmas.
Great and merciful God, we thank You for the testimony of Your Word and this great story of how You save Your people. May we be filled with joy and proclaim this message to a world that needs to hear it, that it might bring life to dead sinners. It is in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon. For more information, head to our Facebook page or website, edgertonfrc.org.
Explore More From This Series Did you miss one of the stories of the women in Jesus' lineage? You can find the full "Mothers of Jesus" series and other past messages in our digital library.
