29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you,and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God.36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:26-38
Jesus was born in very obscure circumstances.
No one at the time grasped the concept of how lowly is birth woul be.
At the time Bethlehem wasn't even on the map.
Oftentimes God chooses the least, the weak, the ordinary, the unremarkable to do His work.
He chose a young teenage girl who was unmarried. God chooses things peoplee typically don't.
"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." 1 Corinthians 1:27
Favor=graced.
Don't worry what the Word says. God picked her.
God told Mary -- I've got a job for you.
Jesus was a common name (like Jimmy or Bob or Mike now).
Jesus means "Jehovah is salvation."
"For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods." Psalm 97:9
This clicked with Mary (see Luke 1:32)
400 years since there's been a king on the throne. Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah.
We can't make something out of nothing. But God can and He does it all the time!
God doesn't give Mary all the details (He rarely does this with us).
The Greatest Miracle is John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
The biggest miracle is how much God loves us!! There are three responses to this miracle:
1. People can deny it.
2. People can twist it.
3. People can accept it. Mary did this and said, "Your will be done."
Jesus will be reinstalled on the throne!
"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." 1 Thessalonians 4:16
The King is coming!!