Pastor's Pondering

 

Read Lead Pastor Duane Mabee's weekly Pastor's Ponderings here!

 

Mary's Child

by Duane Mabee on December 7, 2017
When the angel Gabriel stepped into Mary’s room to announce that she was going to have a baby (Luke 1:26-38), he said some amazing things about what the Child would be like.  Mary’s head must have been spinning. 
 
The Child’s Name would be “Jesus”.  That was a very common name in Mary’s day, but its significance for this Child would be off the charts.  It means “Yahweh saves” and that is exactly what would happen.  During His lifetime, Jesus would save people from disease and deformity.  Many would be healed by His touch or His word.  He would also save people from demon possession.  When He spoke, demons would flee.  They became fearful any time Jesus drew near.  Jesus would set people free from their sins, too.  He told more than one person to “Go in peace.  Your sins are forgiven.”  
 
 Gabriel also said that the Child would be called “holy”.  He would be holy in the sense of being unique and set apart, for God had selected this Child to perform a function no one else would ever be able to.  Jesus is unique in that He is the only One Who will ever be able rightfully to claim that He is 100% God and 100% man.  But, Jesus would also be holy in the sense that He would be completely without sin right up to the very end of His life.  He would never have any sin of His Own, but moments before He died, Jesus would take all the sin of the world – all your sin and all mine – upon Himself and carry it to the cross.  There, He would pay the penalty for it all so that we could be forgiven if we will trust Him and receive His offer of salvation.  Through His death and resurrection, Jesus – Yahweh saves – would save His people from their sins.  He would provide salvation for everyone who will believe in Him, receive His offer of forgiveness, and make Him their Lord.  Does that include you?

 Mary’s Child would also be called “The Son of the Most High” and “The Son of God”.  It is doubtful that she fully comprehended that.  We don’t.  Somehow, God intended to create within her womb a Child that would be 100% human and 100% God.  This Child would literally be God’s Son.  He would serve as a mediator between us and God in ways no one else could, (1 Tim. 2:5).  He would be able to sympathize fully with us (Heb. 4:15), but also relate fully with God.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer once asked, “If Jesus Christ were not true God, how could he help us?  If he is not true man, how could he help us?”  Mary’s Child would be – is – both.
 
The Child would also fulfill God’s promises to the patriarch David.  God had promised to give King David an heir that would rule over Israel forever, (2 Sam. 7:16).  Mary’s Child was to be that forever ruler.  Gabriel seemed to want to emphasize that message, because he said it twice.  “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.”
 
back