Sunday
Morning Bible Study
February
8, 2015
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved? Regular: 2900 words Communion:
2500 words
Israel Trip
Luke was a doctor and a travelling companion of the apostle Paul.
He wrote this book while Paul was in prison.
Some have suggested that Luke might have written this as part of the testimony
at Paul’s trial before Caesar.
(hinted at by Robertson)
Whether Luke meant
the Acts to be used in the trial in Rome, which may or may not have come to
pass, is not the point.[1]
In writing his book, Paul made use of other older documents like the Gospel
of Mark, as well as extensive eyewitness accounts.
You see this in some of the
elaborate detail we’ve been given at the birth of John the Baptist.
Today we get the hint that Mary herself was one of Luke’s sources.
Last week we saw the angel Gabriel telling old Zacharias that he and
Elisabeth were going to have a baby – John the Baptist.
1:26-38 Gabriel and Mary
:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of
Galilee named Nazareth,
:27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of
David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
:26 in the sixth month
Elizabeth is five months along in her pregnancy (Lk 1:24).
Last week we talked about Elizabeth
becoming pregnant with John the Baptist, and she was five months along in her
pregnancy. (Lk 1:24)
(Luke 1:24 NKJV) —24 Now after
those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months,
saying,
This is now the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy.
(Luke 1:36 NKJV) —36 Now
indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and
this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
:26 the angel Gabriel
This was the angel that had visited
Zacharias the priest six months earlier in Jerusalem and told him that he and
his wife Elizabeth would have a child.
:26 a city of Galilee named Nazareth
Video: Nazareth map clip
When the Jews returned from Babylon 500 years earlier, they had mainly
settled in the south around Jerusalem.
At the time of Jesus’ birth, settlers were just beginning migrate into the
region around the Sea of Galilee.
The area of Galilee was considered the “backwoods”, settled by backward,
uneducated pioneers.
Recent excavations in Nazareth have shown that the city in Jesus’ day was
very small, perhaps 100 people or so living there.
Today it’s a fairly large city,
mainly populated by Arabs, not Jews.
Mary and Joseph were from Nazareth,
eventually travelled to Bethlehem for the birth, went to Egypt for a brief
time, and wound up back in Nazareth.
:27 (he appeared to…) a virgin betrothed to a man
virgin – parthenos – a virgin; a marriageable maiden; a woman who has never had sexual
intercourse with a man
Lesson
Virgin Mary
Some churches teach that it’s okay if you don’t believe that Mary was a
virgin. How important is it? There are two things that are impacted by this
truth.
Biblical reliability
An Old Testament prophecy even talks about a virgin getting pregnant.
(Isaiah
7:14 NKJV) Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin
shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Immanuel means “God with us”
Was the Bible
wrong here?
The New Testament is pretty consistent that Mary was pregnant before she
got married, and she was a virgin.
Did the Biblical writers get it right? Can we trust God’s Word?
People knew that
Mary was pregnant out of wedlock.
This was
apparently common knowledge.
Either she was a
loose young woman, sleeping around before getting married, or her story was
correct and God was the Father of her child.
Even after Jesus
was grown, the question about His parentage was called into question.
When Jesus taught in
the Temple, He had a discussion with the Jews about fathers.
Jesus claimed that
God was His Father. (John 8:18
(John 8:18 NKJV) —18 I
am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of
Me.”
The Jews claimed
that Abraham was their father. (John 8:39)
(John 8:39 NKJV) —39 They
answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do
the works of Abraham.
The Jews hinted
that his mother was not married when she got pregnant.
(John 8:41b NKJV) …Then
they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”
Jesus replied that
their father was the devil (John 8:44)
(John 8:44 NKJV) —44 You
are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to
do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from
his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
The Biblical
authors all maintained that Mary was actually a virgin when she became
pregnant.
Is the Bible
reliable?
Perfect sacrifice
We are sinners for two reasons – we are born with a sin nature, and we commit
sin.
For Jesus to be an acceptable sacrifice for our sins, He needed to be completely
without sin, or without “blemish”
The Old Testament
sacrificial system consistently painted the picture that an acceptable
sacrifice had to be perfect.
(Exodus
12:5a NKJV) Your lamb shall be without blemish
Jesus did not commit any sin.
(2
Corinthians 5:21 NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we
might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Jesus did not even have a sin nature.
(1
John 3:5 NKJV) And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in
Him there is no sin.
We think the sin nature is passed from the father to the
child. If God was Jesus’ father, He did not inherit our sin nature.
Jesus was the perfect sacrifice.
He was without blemish. When He died, He could pay for our
sin.
Is the virgin birth important? Absolutely.
:27 betrothed to …Joseph
Joseph and Mary are engaged, but they
have not had sex yet.
betrothed – mnesteuo – to woo her and ask her in marriage; to be promised in marriage, be
betrothed
There were
three phases to getting married in Jesus’ day.
Engaged
Parents would
arrange marriages for their children when they were as young at two years old.
Betrothed
A year or so
before the actual marriage, the couple was considered “betrothed”. Though they had
not yet had sex, they were considered by custom to be as if they were married
(cf. Gen. 29:21; Deut. 22:23-30).
The only way
to break the “betrothal” was to get a divorce.
Mary and
Joseph were seriously engaged, but have not had sex yet.
Married
The marriage
was finalized with the wedding.
:27 of the house of David
Joseph was of the lineage of King
David.
So was Mary.
:27 Mary – Maria or Miriam = “rebellion”
:28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one,
the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
:28 blessed are you among
women
We believe Mary if a fairly young
woman at this time.
:29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and
considered what manner of greeting this was.
:29 she was troubled at his
saying
She was bothered by what Gabriel
said, not at his actual presence. I
wonder if Gabriel had sort of toned down his appearance so as not to scare her.
I find it amazing that she is more bothered by the saying than actually
being in the presence of an archangel.
:30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found
favor with God.
:30 favor – charis
– good will, loving-kindness, favor
:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and
shall call His name Jesus.
:31 conceive – sullambano
– to seize, take: one as prisoner; to conceive, of a woman
:31 call His name Jesus
His name has meaning. It means
“Yahweh is salvation”
Our name “Jesus” is based on the
Greek form of His name, Iesous.
The actual Hebrew form of the name
is Ya-shua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh is salvation”
:32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the
Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
:32 Highest – hupsistos
– highest, most high
:32 the throne of His father
David
Jesus will be the Messiah, the
promised descendant of David who will save the nation.
:33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom
there will be no end.”
:33 of His kingdom there will be no end
Jesus’ first coming was about saving us from our sins.
His second coming will be about literally establishing His kingdom on this
earth.
700 years earlier, Isaiah wrote,
(Isaiah 9:6–7 NKJV)
—6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name
will be called Wonderful,
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His
government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it
and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
:34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a
man?”
As Mary sees it, there is just one
little problem. After all, she is a virgin. Virgins don’t get pregnant.
:35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will
come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore,
also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
:35 power – dunamis
– power, strength, ability
:35 overshadow – episkiadzo
(“upon” + “shadow”) – to throw a shadow upon, to envelop in a shadow, to
overshadow
In the Old Testament, the presence
and power of God were seen when the children of Israel were being led through
the wilderness by the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.
One of the benefits of the cloud by
day was that it would cast a shadow to protect the people from the bright
desert sun.
The word here is used to describe
something that took place when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain and Moses
and Elijah showed up. Peter mumbled some
words …
(Matthew 17:5 NKJV) While he
was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a
voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased. Hear Him!”
Mary would be surrounded by the
presence and power of God.
:36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old
age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
:36 Elizabeth your relative
We think that Mary and Elizabeth
were something like cousins, even though Elizabeth was quite a bit older.
Even though because of their
father’s lineage, Mary was of the tribe of Judah, and Elizabeth was of the
tribe of Levi, it’s not impossible for there to have been a marriage somewhere
along the lines that connected them.
:36 has also conceived a son
Just like Yoda told us …
Video: Star Wars – There is another…
It seems that Gabriel is sharing this to encourage Mary that there is
another experiencing a miraculous pregnancy.
This is going to drive Mary to make a visit to her cousin.
:36 this is now the sixth month
Our passage started with reminding
us this was the “sixth month” (vs. 1:26)
:37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
:37 with God nothing will be impossible
impossible – adunateo
– impossible; not to have strength, power, or ability, to be weak; cannot
be done, to be impossible
There are a few things missing in the translation from the actual Greek
text.
and one of them is …
word – rhema
– that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing
It’s a specific word (like this
promise of a Son), not the “word” in general (like the whole Bible)
The Greek text actually reads something more like this:
“Because every word from God will not be impossible”
(Luke 1:37 NIV) For no word from God
will ever fail.”
Lesson
Mission Impossible
Some things in life seem just impossible.
With God, nothing is impossible.
It has to be something that God declares, a “word” from Him, something He
has decided, but if God has declared it, it is possible.
Some of you may be tempted to think, “But that was then, this is now. Does God still do impossible things?”
Let me be clear – its only when God
declares something that it is possible – just because you want something
doesn’t mean that God does.
No amount of faith on your part is
going to change that.
I wonder if some of us haven’t settled for thinking, “With God, some things
are impossible”
I wonder if I would have prayed what that mother prayed in the Emergency
Room.
I wonder if there aren’t times I need to step out a little more in faith.
Be careful that you aren’t so focused on your problems, that you let them obscure
your view of God.
Jeremiah wrote,
(Jeremiah 32:27
NKJV) “Behold, I am the Lord,
the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
(Matthew 17:19–21 NKJV) —19 Then the
disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;
for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say
to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will
be impossible for you. 21 However,
this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
(Mark 9:23–24 NKJV) —23 Jesus said
to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who
believes.” 24 Immediately the father
of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
:38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me
according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
:38 Behold the maidservant of
the Lord!
maidservant – doule
– a female slave, bondmaid, handmaid
It’s simply the female form of the
word for “servant”.
Lesson
Serving Others
I’m not sure I’d say that Jesus
learned this from His mother, but it’s certainly something that she
demonstrated by her life.
Jesus taught a lot about humility
and serving others.
(Mark 9:33–37 NKJV) —33 Then He
came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you
disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they
kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be
the greatest. 35 And He sat
down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he
shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then He
took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him
in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever
receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever
receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
:38 be to me according to your word
Mary chose to believe God’s promise and to yield to it.
Lesson
Yielding to God
What the angel is promising is pretty wild.
Most people are going to think she’s either an immoral girl for getting
pregnant, or she’s crazy for thinking God got her pregnant.
Mary is still willing to yield herself to the Lord.
When you choose to follow Jesus, you’re not going to be faced with the same
challenges…
But people are going to mock you.
Some people will think you’re crazy.
(Matthew
16:24–25 NKJV) —24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after
Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever
desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake
will find it.
Are you ready to take up your cross and turn your life
over to God?
It will be sometime around this
time that Mary becomes pregnant. We
can’t pinpoint the time in the account, except that by the time we get to
chapter two, Mary is “with child” (2:5)
(Luke 2:5 NKJV) to be registered with
Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
1:39–56 Mary visits Elizabeth
:39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste,
to a city of Judah,
:40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
:39 hill country … of Judah
While Mary was living in the north at Nazareth, Elizabeth was living in the
south, perhaps in one of the cities near Jerusalem.
:40 greeted Elizabeth
Gabriel had told Mary about Elizabeth, and now Mary goes to see for herself
about Elizabeth’s miracle.
:41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the
babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
:41 the babe leaped in her womb
Babies in the womb know more than we realize.
John the Baptist is yet unborn, but he is aware of being in the presence of
something special.
It might be that Mary is already pregnant, and John senses Jesus.
It might be that John recognizes the woman who will give birth to Jesus.
Either way, it’s a serious mistake to think that life doesn’t begin until
after birth. Life begins at conception.
:41 Elizabeth was filled with
the Holy Spirit
Zacharias was told that his baby
would be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in the womb.
(Luke 1:15 NKJV) …He will also be
filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
Perhaps this is happening as well.
As a result, Elizabeth understands
what is about to happen over the next year.
:42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
:43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord
should come to me?
:42 Blessed are you among women
Lesson
Joy or envy
Sometimes we just don’t know how to show “love” appropriately.
Here is an amazing thing.
Elizabeth has had something incredible happening to her.
She is an old lady, past the time to have children, and she is now 6 months
pregnant!
The pregnancy had been accompanied by a miraculous appearance of an angel
to her husband while he served in the temple.
They are even aware that their baby boy will be someone incredibly
important to God, even foretold in the Bible!
I guess if I were in Elizabeth’s shoes, and Mary showed up, since I’m a boy
I’d throw a rock at her.
But instead, she puts her story on the backburner, and is caught
up in joy for what has happened to Mary.
You see this attitude reflected in the life of Elizabeth’s son, John.
When the crowds of people began to follow Jesus instead of him, John was
glad, and said,
(John
3:30 NKJV) He must increase, but I must decrease.
JFB: “What beautiful superiority to envy have we here! High as was the
distinction conferred upon herself, Elisabeth loses sight of it altogether, in
presence of one more honored still”
How do you react when others receive a
blessing, but you would rather that everyone hear about you first?
The Bible says,
(Romans 12:15 NKJV)
Rejoice
with those who rejoice…
:42 Blessed are you among women
Lesson
What about Mary
When it comes to Mary, people tend to either make too much of her, or too
little.
Some folks will worship Mary, pray
to Mary, and call her the “co-redemptrix”, meaning she has a part in our
salvation.
Others will react
to these ideas and don’t give Mary the respect she deserves.
Mary was a very special gal.
She was chosen by God to give birth to His Son.
The angel Gabriel showed her great
respect,
(Luke 1:28 NKJV) And having
come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is
with you; blessed are you among women!”
highly favored – charitoo
– to make graceful; to examine with grace, circle with favor
This is a word used
to describe us as well…
(Ephesians 1:6 NKJV) to
the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the
Beloved.
Mary was also just an ordinary woman.
She had her own flaws.
We’ll see in a minute she too was just a sinner needing to be saved.
At times it seems that Jesus even got a little exasperated at her.
(John 2:3–4 The Message) —3 When they started running low on wine at the wedding banquet,
Jesus’ mother told him, “They’re just about out of wine.” 4 Jesus said, “Is that any of our business, Mother—yours or mine?
This isn’t my time. Don’t push me.”
While the Roman Catholic Church
claims she remained a virgin for the rest of her life, the Bible tells us she
had other kids after Jesus.
(Matthew 13:55–56 NKJV) —55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary?
And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us?
:44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears,
the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
:45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of
those things which were told her from the Lord.”
:45 Blessed is she who
believed
Mary will have great joy
(“blessing”) because she believes. She
takes God at His word.
:45 there will be a fulfillment
It could be that Mary is pregnant,
and this is a promise that she will give birth to a special Son.
:46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
:46 My soul magnifies the Lord
These verses record a song by Mary, often referred to as the “Magnificat”.
One commentator said there are 15 discernible quotations from the Old
Testament in this song.
You get a sense of what kind of home Jesus was raised in when you see how
many references Mary is pulling from the Bible.
For extra credit – read 1Samuel 2 and compare the song that Hannah sang at
the birth of her baby Samuel with Mary’s song.
One place in particular is the song
that Hannah sang after she gave birth to her promised son, the prophet Samuel.
(1 Samuel 2:1–10 NKJV) —1 And Hannah
prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in
the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, Because I
rejoice in Your salvation. 2 “No one is
holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. 3 “Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is
the God of knowledge; And by Him
actions are weighed. 4 “The bows
of the mighty men are broken, And those
who stumbled are girded with strength. 5 Those who
were full have hired themselves out for
bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble. 6 “The Lord kills and
makes alive; He brings down to the
grave and brings up. 7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. 8 He raises
the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He has set the world upon them. 9 He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness. “For by strength no man shall prevail. 10
The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge
the ends of the earth. “He will
give strength to His king, And exalt
the horn of His anointed.”
:47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
:48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth
all generations will call me blessed.
:48 lowly state – tapeinosis – lowness, low estate; spiritual abasement, leading one to perceive and
lament his (moral) littleness and guilt.
Robertson: “The bride of a carpenter and yet to be the mother of the
Messiah.”
:48 call me blessed – makarizo – to pronounce blessed
:49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is
His name.
:49 mighty – dunatos – able, powerful, mighty, strong; to be able (to do something); mighty,
excelling in something; having power for something
:47 God my Savior
The Roman Catholic Church teaches a doctrine called the “Immaculate
Conception”, which says that Mary herself was born of a virgin, and that Mary
never sinned.
If that was the case, why would God be her Savior? Why would she need a Savior?
Mary was a sinner just like you and I.
She needed salvation. God was her
Savior.
She, like us, was saved by believing in her Son.
:50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to
generation.
:50 mercy – eleos – mercy: kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted,
joined with a desire to help them.
(Psalm 103:17 NKJV) —17 But the
mercy of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting On those
who fear Him, And His righteousness
to children’s children,
:51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts.
:51 strength – kratos – force, strength; power, might: mighty with great power
:51 proud – huperephanos – showing one's self above others, overtopping, conspicuous above others,
pre-eminent; with an overweening estimate of one's means or merits, despising
others or even treating them with contempt.
:52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the
lowly.
:52 mighty – dunastes (“dynasty”) – a prince, a potentate; a courtier, high officer,
royal minister of great authority
:52 exalted – hupsoo – to lift up on high, to exalt
:52 lowly – tapeinos – (similar to “low estate” in
vs. 48) not rising far from the ground; as
a condition, lowly, of low degree; lowly in spirit, humble
:53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich
He has sent away empty.
:53 He has filled the
hungry
Lesson
Filling the empty
The Laodiceans were the church that
had everything. Yet look how Jesus felt
about them.
(Revelation 3:17 NKJV) Because
you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not
know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—
They thought they
were awesome. Jesus thought they were
not.
In contrast –
(John 7:37–39 NKJV) —37 On the
last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out,
saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his
heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this
He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for
the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
:54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
:55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
:54 He has helped His servant
Israel
Jesus came first for the nation of
Israel.
:56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her
house.
:56 Mary remained with her about three months
It would seem that Mary will hang out at Elizabeth’s house until the birth
of John the Baptist.
Then Mary will head home to Nazareth where her own unwed pregnancy will
start to become a bit obvious.
:52 And exalted the lowly
Lesson
God helps the humble
One thing is common between Mary and Hannah’s songs.
God does not like those who walk in pride, instead He helps the humble.
(1 Peter 5:5–7
NKJV) —5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your
elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed
with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under
the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all
your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
The word for “care” (vs. 7) speaks of the things that cause you concern and
anxiety.
What do you do with the things you worry about?
Sometimes it takes humility to admit your problems and put
them in God’s hands.
God helps the humble.