Quote from the bulletin on May 13, 2012:
“Let us wonder at the amazing condescension of the Son of God. The heir of all things not only took our nature on himself but took it in the most humble way. It would have been great condescension to come to earth as a king and reign. It was a miracle of mercy beyond our understanding to come to earth as a poor man, to be despised and suffer and die."
- JC Ryle
Sermon Text: Luke 1:26-38
Sermon Title: The Miraculous Conception
Scripture Reading: John 1:1-18
Review
Last week: The “Problem” with Grace:
- The implications of Elizabeth’s barren womb
- Isaiah 54 “Sing O Barren Woman”
- Both Mary and Elizabeth faced temptation of internal shame and external societal oppression
- The Gospel made Mary sing. We can never live simultaneous joyful and obedient lives unless our hearts are made to sing by the Gospel. Our hearts are only made to sing when we understand the voluntary and vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
- What could make a barren woman sing? “For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name” (Isaiah 54:5a). There is a beauty, worth, value, joy, and satisfaction apart from children – this can only be created by the Gospel.
Again, notice the parallelism: Both accounts began by introducing the parents (1:5-6, 26-27). Second, both accounts stated the obstacles to childbearing (Elizabeth’s barrenness and Mary’s virginity and betrothal). Third, Gabriel arrived (1:11, 26), and his appearing frightened the one to whom he appeared (1:12, 29). Fourth, Gabriel reassured the one to whom he appeared (1:13, 30). Fifth, Gabriel promised a son (1:13, 31). Sixth, Gabriel gave the son’s name (1:13, 31), and described his greatness (1:15-17, 32-33). Seventh, there was an objection (Zechariah’s unbelief and Mary’s lack of understanding. Finally, Gabriel gave a sign that what he had spoken would come true (1:19-20, 35-36).[2]
However, notice a distinction within the similarity: The announcement of John the Baptist’s birth came to an elderly priest at a monumental time in a most familiar and prominent place. The announcement of Jesus’ birth came to a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl in a very obscure insignificant place.
Nazareth was so obscure and insignificant that it is not even mentioned in the Old Testament. Nazareth was not on any of the major trade routes; all the important roads bypassed it.[2]
The birth of Jesus Christ was miraculous but not immaculate.
The Doctrine of Immaculate Conception from the Roman Catholic Church:
Immaculate Conception
The doctrine:
In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin."
"The Blessed Virgin Mary..."
The subject of this immunity from original sin is the person of Mary at the moment of the creation of her soul and its infusion into her body.
"...in the first instance of her conception..."
The term conception does not mean the active or generative conception by her parents. Her body was formed in the womb of the mother, and the father had the usual share in its formation. The question does not concern the immaculateness of the generative activity of her parents. Neither does it concern the passive conception absolutely and simply (conceptio seminis carnis, inchoata), which, according to the order of nature, precedes the infusion of the rational soul. The person is truly conceived when the soul is created and infused into the body. Mary was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin at the first moment of her animation, and sanctifying grace was given to her before sin could have taken effect in her soul.
"...was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin..."
The formal active essence of original sin was not removed from her soul, as it is removed from others by baptism; it was excluded, it never was in her soul. Simultaneously with the exclusion of sin. The state of original sanctity, innocence, and justice, as opposed to original sin, was conferred upon her, by which gift every stain and fault, all depraved emotions, passions, and debilities, essentially pertaining to original sin, were excluded. But she was not made exempt from the temporal penalties of Adam — from sorrow, bodily infirmities, and death.
"...by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race."
The immunity from original sin was given to Mary by a singular exemption from a universal law through the same merits of Christ, by which other men are cleansed from sin by baptism. Mary needed the redeeming Saviour to obtain this exemption, and to be delivered from the universal necessity and debt (debitum) of being subject to original sin. The person of Mary, in consequence of her origin from Adam, should have been subject to sin, but, being the new Eve who was to be the mother of the new Adam, she was, by the eternal counsel of God and by the merits of Christ, withdrawn from the general law of original sin. Her redemption was the very masterpiece of Christ's redeeming wisdom. He is a greater redeemer who pays the debt that it may not be incurred than he who pays after it has fallen on the debtor.
Such is the meaning of the term "Immaculate Conception."
Source of the above definition: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm
The difference between a miraculous conception and an immaculate conception is the difference between orthodoxy and heresy.
Mary was never sinless. If she had no sin of any kind, why would she have brought a sin offering to the temple (Luke 2:22-24) and why would she need a Savior (Luke 1:46)? Jesus was without sin and did not have a sin nature, not because Mary was without sin, but because God can do what He pleases and He made it happen as He pleased.
Scripture does not teach that Jesus’ deity was contingent upon the virgin birth. Scripture does not teach that our sin nature is passed only through the male line. Women are as depraved as men. Mary should be a great encouragement and example of faith, but never the object of faith.
Jesus’ sinlessness was not contingent upon Mary. Jesus was God before He became a man. Mary was no different than any other believer.
Okay, so now you ask…Why did Jesus’ mom need to be a virgin?
It is impossible to say whether the virgin birth was the only way Jesus could have come to earth and identified with His people. Although we cannot know if it was the only possible way, we can know it was the wisest and best way or God would have chosen another way. I believe there are three main reasons Jesus was born of a virgin:
- It is appropriate that He should be born in this unusual way, since He was not implicated in sin, like all others since the Fall [1]
- Jesus’ was born from a virgin to fulfill prophecy so the people would recognize Him as the Messiah (Isaiah 7:14)
- In the midst of parallelism, to show Jesus’ superiority to John the Baptist
Mary had as much part in redemption as those who herald the Gospel (Romans 3:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:13-14; Hebrews 9:12).
Nobody hears your prayers but the Triune God.
“There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).
Mary’s question was not similar to Zechariah’s unbelief or doubt. Mary truly desired to know how a virgin could bear a child. The compound Greek verb reflects that Mary was greatly perplexed and deeply curious.[3]
There was NO sexual activity of any kind in the conception of Jesus. That the Holy Spirit would be involved in the birth of Jesus is not surprising. Think about His involvement in creating the world (Genesis 1:2) where the same language is used “hovering over the surface of the waters.”
The verb translated “will overshadow” is used in the accounts of the transfiguration (Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:34) when the glory cloud descended on Peter, James, and John. It means to surround, to encompass, or in a metaphorical sense, “to influence.”[2]
Notice how God encouraged her faith (Luke 1:36-37).
The two things God used to strengthen her faith was evidence of His power and faithfulness in the life of a peer (Elizabeth) and His Word (Genesis 18:12-14). The encouragement Gabriel offered was Elizabeth’s conception of John the Baptist.
- Think of the implications of this in light of 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
"Out here a man settles his own problems."
“Never apologize, mister, it’s a sign of weakness.”
― John Wayne
“Courage is being scared to death-but saddling up anyway.”
― John Wayne
- “Behind this verse (2 Corinthians 1:7) lies Paul’s teaching that all believers, as members of one body of Christ, are joined together so that every dimension of life in Christ is shared among them. The more fully this reality influences the attitudes and actions of believers toward each other, the more fully they experience satisfying fellowship through Christ with one another” (Reformation Study Bible notes on 2 Corinthians 1:7).
- “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Corinthians 12:26).
- George Swinnock, A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 77.
- C.H. Spurgeon, Sermons, 30.597.
- Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 1991, p. 240, Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved. For more information please see the website www.BibicalSpirituality.org.
- Look for relevant evidences of grace in one another’s lives; seek comfort from others with similar experiences; seek to comfort with the comfort you have received. Your suffering is not all about you.
- Where you are here and now is probably recorded about someone in God’s Word. The specific stories in the Scripture were recorded to give you company, comfort, and instruction.
God puts Mary to use in His plan, taking her through a process for which she has had no training or preparation. She brings no outstanding credentials to the task and lives on the edge of the nation. She brings nothing but dependence and willingness.
“I am your slave,” Mary said. She is being asked to bear a child as a virgin without being married. In standing up for God and His power, she will probably become the object of much doubt and ridicule. Her relationship with Joseph will be in great jeopardy and nobody but Elizabeth will understand what God has asked her to do.
A Different Kind of Ear Piercing
In Old Testament days, poverty-stricken Jews would occasionally be forced to sell themselves into service to their fellow Jews. The Law required that all servants were to be treated with justice and that they were to be freed at the end of six years. But in Exodus 21:2-6 , we find an unusual option for a person who was due to be released from servitude.
Such a servant might have developed a strong, positive relationship with his master and might be grateful for the way he had been treated. And so, even though he was under no obligation to stay as a slave, he might want to stay. He might then make a voluntary decision to become his master’s bond slave.
In this case, a servant would not be signing up for another six-year-stint. He would be making a lifetime commitment. He would be surrendering himself and giving up all his rights—permanently—to his master.
The nature of the servant’s new relationship to his master would be no secret. The transaction was to be made in a public ceremony where a sharp instrument would be used to pierce a hole in the servant’s ear, signifying obedience to the voice of his master. Furthermore, this decision would be irreversible. Once the servant had gone through the ear-piercing ceremony, he would always be branded as a bond slave. He would always have a hole in his ear to remind him that he was not his own.
But Mary knows she is God’s servant, so she will allow God to work through her as he wills. He can place her in whatever difficult circumstances he desires, for she knows that God is with her.[4]
Would be also true of us. Whatever situation befalls you this week, would you memorize and reply with Luke 1:38 and mean it by the grace of God from your innermost being?
- Sproul, R.C. The Reformation Study Bible. Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2005.
- MacArthur, John. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Luke 1-5. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009.
- Brock, Darrell. Luke 1:1-9:50. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1994.
- Brock, Darrell. The NIV Application Commentary: Luke. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.
- Ryle, J.C. Luke. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1997.
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