Advent24 - Day 4
Wednesday – December 4
Read: 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 1:26-38)
Reflect
Advent Exists Because Worship Doesn’t
by Dieudonné Tamfu
Advent exists because adoration doesn’t. Christmas exists because worship doesn’t. The first Christmas existed because worship didn’t. Every Christmas celebration must remind us to worship, and to seek worshipers for Christ.
The scene is set in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy (Luke 1:26). John the Baptist is six months old in the womb. God sends the same angel, Gabriel, from the previous prediction into Galilee to an engaged virgin by the name of Mary (Luke 1:27). The angel comes and declares to Mary, “Rejoice, O favored one.” The passive “favored” shows Mary is a recipient of grace. Mary is a model believer, joyfully receiving grace from God.
The apex of favor is to have God’s presence with you (Luke 1:28). The phrase “the Lord is with you” recalls Isaiah 7:14, where Isaiah prophesied “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The Hebrew Immanuel means “God is with us” (see Isaiah 8:8, 10).
Do Not Fear
Mary, like Zechariah (Luke 1:12), trembled (Luke 1:29), wondering what kind of greeting it was she just received. The angel tells Mary, “Do not fear,” and states a reason: “For you have found grace before God” (see Luke 1:30), which is an explanation of the greeting “favored one.” Unsought favor was shown Mary, which is true of how God graces us.
In Luke 1:31–33, the angel explains this favor; namely, that Mary will have a messianic Son whose reign will know no end. Mary will conceive, she will bear a Son, and she must call his name Jesus (the Hebrew for Joshua, meaning Savior), fulfilling Isaiah 7:14. God is about to come into the world — the Advent — to finally awaken worship and inspire adoration.
The next two verses describe Jesus (Luke 1:32–33), with five majestic depictions: (1) He will be great, (2) He will be called the Son of the Most High, (3) He will be given the throne of David his father — he is both the Son of the Most High and the Son of David, (4) He will reign over Israel forever, and (5) His kingdom will never end.
Putting Science in Its Place
Mary rightly asks, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (see Luke 1:34). The angel strengthens Mary’s faith by highlighting the power of the Holy Spirit and Elizabeth’s conception.
First, the power of the Holy Spirit: The angel affirms the announcement, stating that sexual intimacy is not necessary for this birth; God is putting science where it belongs, under God’s sovereignty. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you” is explained by “the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35).
Second, Elizabeth’s six-month pregnancy becomes a faith-strengthening work of God (Luke 1:36). If Elizabeth’s dead womb can come alive and conceive, then “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Mary responds to the angel, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). She trusts that the God who once spoke creation into existence from nothing can speak into a womb marked my nothingness and bring a King from it.
Come, Let Us Adore Him
Elizabeth and her unborn son acknowledge the lordship of Mary’s Son, who is Lord even from within the womb. Elizabeth confesses his lordship while her son leaps in the womb for joy. Both the old and the unborn recognize the presence of the unborn Lord of history, submit to him (Luke 1:42–43), and find joy in him (Luke 1:44) — the long-awaited advent of true adoration and worship.
Mary, filled with the Holy Spirit, breaks into praise to God for his kindness, power, and faithfulness to fulfill the promises of old.
Two Extraordinary Sons
In Luke 1:26 — “In the sixth month . . . ” — the prediction of the birth of Christ is set in context not of Herod’s kingship, but of John the Baptist’s conception. Luke intends for his readers to see close parallels between the prediction of John’s birth and that of Jesus’s. He uses phrases and repeated themes to show this.
1. Both births are predicted, which is not common in Scripture.
2. In both predictions God uses the angel Gabriel to announce to people who would be considered righteous.
3. Both recipients express fear and are told “Do not be afraid”.
4. Both recipients are given the specific name of the son to be born.
5. Both sons will be great.
6. The Holy Spirit is intimately involved in both predictions.
Two Very Different Sons
The two predictions also contain many dissimilarities that are significant for our understanding about what Luke aims to tell us about the Jewish Messiah, Jesus.
First, the prediction of Jesus’s birth is given to Mary directly and not to her soon-to-be-husband. This indicates that she is indeed a virgin who is not yet under the legal and covenantal authority of Joseph.
Second, the angel goes to a city, Galilee, not the temple, to give the prediction of the birth of Jesus. God can be encountered in history-changing ways outside of the temple.
Third, the major distinction between the two predictions is on the description of the sons to be born.
1. Whereas John the Baptist “will be great before the Lord” — “called the prophet of the Most High” — Mary’s boy “will be great” and, beyond John, he “will be called the Son of the Most High”. God himself is Jesus’s Father.
2. Whereas John will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb, Jesus will be conceived of the Holy Spirit, not only filled by the Holy Spirit, and he will have authority to baptize his people with the Holy Spirit. He will give the Spirit, an act of God alone.
3. Whereas John simply prepares the way, “the Lord God will give to [Jesus] the throne of his father David”. He will rule on David’s throne as the Son of David par excellence according to the covenant Yahweh made with David (1 Chronicles 17:11–14). How can he be “the Son of the Most High” and “the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David”? Will he have two fathers? Science and biology do not support that, but God is challenging science at every turn so far, why would he not here? Jesus will have two fathers — Son of David according to the flesh (Romans 1:3) and Son of the Most High according to the Holy Spirit conception (Romans 1:4).
4. Whereas John will simply prepare a people ready for the Lord, Jesus “will reign over the house of Jacob forever” — over God’s people.
5. Whereas John’s ministry will end, as he will simply prepare a people for one who will come after him, Jesus will reign forever, “and of his kingdom there will be no end”. The story of his reign has no conclusion because it continues forever — the only story in the universe without a conclusion.
Good News of Great Joy
What do these parallels mean? Luke wants us to see that the miraculous conception of John the Baptist simply sets the stage for the ultimate miracle of a virgin conceiving a child. The pattern of miraculous conceptions in the Old Testament — Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Samson’s mother, Hannah — which is repeated with Elizabeth, escalates with the conception and birth of Christ. As great as those conceptions in the Old Testament were, they simply set the stage and serve as shadows of a great miracle to come.
The climax of this pattern shows that the child to be born will be a new and better Isaac — the beloved offspring of Abraham, the substitute offering for sinners. A new and better Joseph — betrayed by his own, but who becomes the means of their salvation. A new and better Samson — who gains victory over the chief enemy of God’s people, sin and Satan. A new and better Samuel — the greatest and last of the prophetic line Samuel instituted, and the anointer of the king of Israel — only this time he anoints himself as the King of Israel.
The announcement of Christmas results in praise because that is why Christmas exists. Christmas exists because God is making worshipers of God by the power of the Holy Spirit under the reign of the new David, the Son of the Most High.
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/advent-exists-because-worship-doesnt
Respond
“Christmas exists because God is making worshipers of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Set aside time today and each day this advent season to worship God for Who He is and what He’s done in coming to save and restore you to Himself.
Rejoice
What Child Is This
What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary's lap, is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While the good shepherds watch are keeping?
Chorus:
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud
The Babe, the Son of Mary
So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh
Come peasant, king to own Him
The King of kings salvation brings
Let loving hearts enthrone Him
Raise, raise, the song on high
His mother sings her lullaby
Joy, joy, for Christ is born
The Babe, the Son of Mary
Read: 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 1:26-38)
Reflect
Advent Exists Because Worship Doesn’t
by Dieudonné Tamfu
Advent exists because adoration doesn’t. Christmas exists because worship doesn’t. The first Christmas existed because worship didn’t. Every Christmas celebration must remind us to worship, and to seek worshipers for Christ.
The scene is set in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy (Luke 1:26). John the Baptist is six months old in the womb. God sends the same angel, Gabriel, from the previous prediction into Galilee to an engaged virgin by the name of Mary (Luke 1:27). The angel comes and declares to Mary, “Rejoice, O favored one.” The passive “favored” shows Mary is a recipient of grace. Mary is a model believer, joyfully receiving grace from God.
The apex of favor is to have God’s presence with you (Luke 1:28). The phrase “the Lord is with you” recalls Isaiah 7:14, where Isaiah prophesied “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The Hebrew Immanuel means “God is with us” (see Isaiah 8:8, 10).
Do Not Fear
Mary, like Zechariah (Luke 1:12), trembled (Luke 1:29), wondering what kind of greeting it was she just received. The angel tells Mary, “Do not fear,” and states a reason: “For you have found grace before God” (see Luke 1:30), which is an explanation of the greeting “favored one.” Unsought favor was shown Mary, which is true of how God graces us.
In Luke 1:31–33, the angel explains this favor; namely, that Mary will have a messianic Son whose reign will know no end. Mary will conceive, she will bear a Son, and she must call his name Jesus (the Hebrew for Joshua, meaning Savior), fulfilling Isaiah 7:14. God is about to come into the world — the Advent — to finally awaken worship and inspire adoration.
The next two verses describe Jesus (Luke 1:32–33), with five majestic depictions: (1) He will be great, (2) He will be called the Son of the Most High, (3) He will be given the throne of David his father — he is both the Son of the Most High and the Son of David, (4) He will reign over Israel forever, and (5) His kingdom will never end.
Putting Science in Its Place
Mary rightly asks, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (see Luke 1:34). The angel strengthens Mary’s faith by highlighting the power of the Holy Spirit and Elizabeth’s conception.
First, the power of the Holy Spirit: The angel affirms the announcement, stating that sexual intimacy is not necessary for this birth; God is putting science where it belongs, under God’s sovereignty. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you” is explained by “the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35).
Second, Elizabeth’s six-month pregnancy becomes a faith-strengthening work of God (Luke 1:36). If Elizabeth’s dead womb can come alive and conceive, then “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Mary responds to the angel, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). She trusts that the God who once spoke creation into existence from nothing can speak into a womb marked my nothingness and bring a King from it.
Come, Let Us Adore Him
Elizabeth and her unborn son acknowledge the lordship of Mary’s Son, who is Lord even from within the womb. Elizabeth confesses his lordship while her son leaps in the womb for joy. Both the old and the unborn recognize the presence of the unborn Lord of history, submit to him (Luke 1:42–43), and find joy in him (Luke 1:44) — the long-awaited advent of true adoration and worship.
Mary, filled with the Holy Spirit, breaks into praise to God for his kindness, power, and faithfulness to fulfill the promises of old.
Two Extraordinary Sons
In Luke 1:26 — “In the sixth month . . . ” — the prediction of the birth of Christ is set in context not of Herod’s kingship, but of John the Baptist’s conception. Luke intends for his readers to see close parallels between the prediction of John’s birth and that of Jesus’s. He uses phrases and repeated themes to show this.
1. Both births are predicted, which is not common in Scripture.
2. In both predictions God uses the angel Gabriel to announce to people who would be considered righteous.
3. Both recipients express fear and are told “Do not be afraid”.
4. Both recipients are given the specific name of the son to be born.
5. Both sons will be great.
6. The Holy Spirit is intimately involved in both predictions.
Two Very Different Sons
The two predictions also contain many dissimilarities that are significant for our understanding about what Luke aims to tell us about the Jewish Messiah, Jesus.
First, the prediction of Jesus’s birth is given to Mary directly and not to her soon-to-be-husband. This indicates that she is indeed a virgin who is not yet under the legal and covenantal authority of Joseph.
Second, the angel goes to a city, Galilee, not the temple, to give the prediction of the birth of Jesus. God can be encountered in history-changing ways outside of the temple.
Third, the major distinction between the two predictions is on the description of the sons to be born.
1. Whereas John the Baptist “will be great before the Lord” — “called the prophet of the Most High” — Mary’s boy “will be great” and, beyond John, he “will be called the Son of the Most High”. God himself is Jesus’s Father.
2. Whereas John will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb, Jesus will be conceived of the Holy Spirit, not only filled by the Holy Spirit, and he will have authority to baptize his people with the Holy Spirit. He will give the Spirit, an act of God alone.
3. Whereas John simply prepares the way, “the Lord God will give to [Jesus] the throne of his father David”. He will rule on David’s throne as the Son of David par excellence according to the covenant Yahweh made with David (1 Chronicles 17:11–14). How can he be “the Son of the Most High” and “the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David”? Will he have two fathers? Science and biology do not support that, but God is challenging science at every turn so far, why would he not here? Jesus will have two fathers — Son of David according to the flesh (Romans 1:3) and Son of the Most High according to the Holy Spirit conception (Romans 1:4).
4. Whereas John will simply prepare a people ready for the Lord, Jesus “will reign over the house of Jacob forever” — over God’s people.
5. Whereas John’s ministry will end, as he will simply prepare a people for one who will come after him, Jesus will reign forever, “and of his kingdom there will be no end”. The story of his reign has no conclusion because it continues forever — the only story in the universe without a conclusion.
Good News of Great Joy
What do these parallels mean? Luke wants us to see that the miraculous conception of John the Baptist simply sets the stage for the ultimate miracle of a virgin conceiving a child. The pattern of miraculous conceptions in the Old Testament — Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Samson’s mother, Hannah — which is repeated with Elizabeth, escalates with the conception and birth of Christ. As great as those conceptions in the Old Testament were, they simply set the stage and serve as shadows of a great miracle to come.
The climax of this pattern shows that the child to be born will be a new and better Isaac — the beloved offspring of Abraham, the substitute offering for sinners. A new and better Joseph — betrayed by his own, but who becomes the means of their salvation. A new and better Samson — who gains victory over the chief enemy of God’s people, sin and Satan. A new and better Samuel — the greatest and last of the prophetic line Samuel instituted, and the anointer of the king of Israel — only this time he anoints himself as the King of Israel.
The announcement of Christmas results in praise because that is why Christmas exists. Christmas exists because God is making worshipers of God by the power of the Holy Spirit under the reign of the new David, the Son of the Most High.
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/advent-exists-because-worship-doesnt
Respond
“Christmas exists because God is making worshipers of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Set aside time today and each day this advent season to worship God for Who He is and what He’s done in coming to save and restore you to Himself.
Rejoice
What Child Is This
What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary's lap, is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While the good shepherds watch are keeping?
Chorus:
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud
The Babe, the Son of Mary
So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh
Come peasant, king to own Him
The King of kings salvation brings
Let loving hearts enthrone Him
Raise, raise, the song on high
His mother sings her lullaby
Joy, joy, for Christ is born
The Babe, the Son of Mary
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