Don't Get Side-Tracked by Speculation

2 Timothy 3:12-17 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Faith is what we KNOW about God. Verse 14: "continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed." This is our assurance, our stability, our confidence, as we survive in the devil's world. The more we know about God, the more we love and trust Him, for protection, for provision, for fulfillment of His promises to His people through the ages. Doubting, guessing and what-iffing never advanced anyone's spiritual growth. "Continue in what you have learned." No ifs, ands or buts. The final authority is the Word of God. We learned that from the men who walked with Jesus, and from the writer of this epistle, whose close communion with the risen Christ was the source of much New Testament teaching.

Yes, Mary Knew

And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” Luke 1:46-55 NIV


In her great relief and joy at being with people who loved her and understood what was happening in her, Mary broke into a song of praise. This is often called "the Magnificat" from the Latin translation. It means "magnify" and is translated here, "glorify." This very young virgin knew a great deal about God and how He deals with His people. She knew of the ancient promises and of previous fulfillment throughout the history of Israel. She knew these things because they were recorded in the Old Testament scriptures, and because she had been taught these truths in her home. She knew about the promised savior, from Genesis chapter 3 all through the Old Testament. She knew He was to be born as a human baby, but seemed stunned that the one chosen to bear that precious life was to be herself, of "humble state." The KJV translated this "low estate." This word (olunthos) doesn't seem to mean "poor" or even necessarily self-effacing. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance translates the word used here as "unripe, out-of-season fig" and "out of due time." For this immaculate conception, it is my belief that Mary's youth and having just reached puberty (or had she?) was of major importance. Let me spell it out: there had been no sexual activity in Mary's life, and she knew God was certain of that.

God had always provided for His Own. He had always promised a savior, through the line of David. Mary had been taught these things her whole life. Now, after 400 years of silence from God because of Israel's descent into idolatry, the time had arrived. Under the almost universal peace engineered by Rome throughout the civilized world, The Savior could be born and presented first to His people, and then to the whole world. Mary was young and tender, but she didn't just fall off the ox cart. She knew exactly what was going on here, and what great blessing God had bestowed upon His handmaiden.

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. Luke 1:56

Blessed Among Women

Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. Luke 1:39-45


After the shocking announcement by Gabriel, Mary seemingly needed some privacy and positive reinforcement from her close community of faith. She immediately headed for the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth. We've all seen the exuberance of elderly aunts/cousins with their beloved relatives, especially tender young cousins. Can't you just see and hear Elizabeth's shout as she gathered Mary into her arms? I had aunts and cousins like that. Their enthusiasm is loud and contagious. The Holy Spirit, in His specialized ministry before the Church Age, had filled this woman and the baby in her womb, as prophesied in v.15. The unborn baby reacted with great vigor. There is no natural explanation for this phenomenon, it is the work of God.

Elizabeth was a woman of great faith and she recognized Mary as a woman of great faith, and she knew that their pregnancies were not just routine human procreation. They were both to be instruments in the fulfillment of God's perfect plan of grace. These women understood by miraculous revelation what was being done through them, and were more than willing to be of this service to the Kingdom of God. We know, though, that they could not humanly grasp the profound, all-consuming price they would pay in seeing their sons endure the burdens of their ministries. There are things in our futures as servants of God that we can never foresee, and that is a good thing, for we would be paralyzed with dread. God gently brings us through each phase of our Christian growth, day-by-day, one foot in front of the other, until we arrive at our moment of destiny. The blessings we reap are also incomprehensible, until they appear.

"And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

According to Your Word

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:34-37

The Holy Spirit really wants us to get this six-month thing. It must be important in the interrelationship of Jesus and his cousin John. Also, the issue of Mary's virginity is emphasized. She certainly would have known, wouldn't she? Her question is logical. "How?" She didn't deny the possibility, like Zecharias or laugh, like Sarah. Mary was not only virginal, but was obviously a woman of faith. This is the woman God chose to be the mother of His Only Son's humanity. As we see her response to Gabriel's startling announcement, we begin to understand why she was considered worthy of this mission.

Gabriel honored her by explaining the mechanics involved. How will it happen? Sovereign, omnipotent God will make it happen. What God has promised, He will do. Elizabeth's pregnancy in her old age will be a testimony to Mary that God is preparing the way for His Son.

Luke 1:38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

That is faith, brethren. That is submission to God's will. That is obedience. This young woman is about to devote the rest of her life to being the mother of Jesus' humanity. It could not possibly be easy. She and Joseph are facing humiliation and hardship and hurt that they cannot comprehend, but God has chosen her, and she is willing.

I want that kind of faith.

The Forerunner and the King

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

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. Luke 1:5-7

Luke began his account of the birth of the Savior with the account of the birth of the Savior's forerunner. Both are miraculous conceptions, but only one is an immaculate conception. Both are of great importance, however, to the fulfillment of the promise of God. Verses 5-25 of chapter one cover the announcement to John's father Zechariah, the prophecy of the ministry of John, and "very old" Elizabeth's conception of this miracle baby, who would be the cousin of our Lord Jesus Christ and would play an important role in introducing Him to the world.

Luke 1:16-17:
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.”

God keeps His promises. Even after 400 years. What He has promised, He will do. He has all the details worked out. He knows who you are and where you are and what kind of provision must be made to bring about the fulfillment of your destiny. He has had all that in your grace package from eternity past, waiting for the right time to bestow in whatever way pleases Him. Zechariah and Elizabeth learned this on the fly, but John had evidence of it from before his birth. Gabriel told his dad.


The Virgin

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.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 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. 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 Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:26-33

God keeps a tidy calendar. His timing is perfect. First, the forerunner, then the Christ. So, six months into Elizabeth's pregnancy, the messenger of God appeared to Mary. Everyone knows who Mary was. She was very young. She was a virgin. Descendant of David. Royal Jewish lineage. Matthew names the genealogy, in his gospel. There is nothing hit-or-miss here, and she isn't the only royal in this story. Joseph, her betrothed, is also of the Davidic line. He's not the physical father of this baby, but as head of household, his pedigree makes the royalty of this child legal.

It must be a virgin conception, because this is the direct offspring of God Himself, with no human contamination of Adam's sin. Adam, being the responsible one in the Edenic fall, passed original sin down through the male of the species in procreation. We women inherit sin from our fathers as well, but we don't pass it on. See, you knew there was a special reason for this immaculate conception other than just to perform a miracle, didn't you? He must be God-Man, born without sin. Your precious little newborn bundle was a sinner from the first cry. Mary's firstborn would not have that burden from birth. He was born free. He is the eternal King. He is the only one qualified to redeem all of us from the burden of our fathers' sin. Adam lost the headship title by disobedience to one command. Jesus came to reclaim that title in the Name of His Father, the Sovereign of the Universe.

This baby must be specially prepared.