The Royal Baby Shower - Luke 1:39-45

Good morning to each of you and welcome to Faith Bible Church, and we pray that our worship together today might be a blessing to each of you. So we look forward to a blessing from the Lord. Want to remind you that we have a prayer time tonight at six o 'clock as normal.

It's always a sweet time of prayer. We also have a Christmas Eve program the night before Christmas here at the church from five o 'clock to six o 'clock in general. So if you have something going on with your family, you can go home after that.

And in our house, it's potato soup. So all the family comes together for potato soup. Also, we want to remind you, being the holidays, Christmas and New Year's both fall on a Saturday, correct? We've been having Bible study at three thirty each Saturday.

So Christmas Day and New Year's Day, there will be no men's Bible study. So keep that in mind. I was thinking about all the families going through grieving, and sometimes there are people going through the holidays that find it hard to go through the holidays because they aren't near family.

And I think we need to think about that and pray for the people in our congregation who are doing that. There is a verse that came to mind talking about God, first of all, casting all your cares upon him for he.

What's the next word? Cares. Do you realize that he cares for you? He cares for me. I was reminded this week by my daughter in law of a song that I think I've learned as a kid in Bible school. Cheer up, you saints of God, there's nothing to worry about, nothing to make you feel afraid, nothing to make you doubt.

Remember, Jesus never fails. So why not trust him and shout? You'll be sorry you worried at all tomorrow morning. If you're going through a hard time, you sing, cheer up, you saints of God. My dad used to sing it around the house all the time.

So it's a good one to remember in the holidays if you're feeling sad. OK, so join me in a word of prayers. We open the service today. Heavenly Father, we come before you today and we realize that even among our own church family, we have a lot of people that are grieving concerning the loss of family, a lot of planning going on.

And we would ask, Heavenly Father, you would be near and to each one of these individuals and that you would guide and direct them through this time, encourage their heart, Lord, in you. And we would thank you for that.

We would pray for our pastor as he brings your word today. We look forward to a blessing from you. And we think of our service even on Christmas Eve. Lord, as we think about the reason for this season is the fact that God sent his son and he had a plan for us.

And his plan was for salvation and for us to live for you. We pray, Heavenly Father, that we might remember that even among all of the gift giving. We may remember that the greatest gift was Christ paying the price for our sin.

And we will thank you for that, Lord, and pray in Jesus name.

Amen.

Let's stand and sing to our Lord. Joy to the world. Angels from the realms of glory and silent night.

The Messiah in Isaiah 9 and the Bridge Between Testaments

OK, for this morning's scripture reading, if you'd like to take your Bibles and turn to Isaiah chapter nine. Isaiah chapter nine. This is one of well over 300 prophecies that spoke of the coming of the Messiah.

And clearly Christ is the bridge between the Old and the New Testament. And to separate the Old and the New Testaments is truly heresy. So they are one. So Isaiah chapter nine, I'm going to read verses one through seven.

Nevertheless, the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed. As when at first he lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

For you have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle and garments rolled in blood will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end.

Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. May God bless the hearing of his word.

Amen.

Let's stand again and sing to our Lord.

The Royal Baby Shower in Luke 1:39-45

Please turn with me to the gospel according to Luke chapter 1 verses 39 through 45. The gospel according to Luke chapter 1 verses 39 through 45. This will be a small two-part series where I will be preaching from 39 through 45 today and 46 through 55 on Christmas Eve.

So please do not miss the second part. Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste to a city of Judah and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary that the babe lived in her womb.

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. But why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.

This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we come before you during this time of joy and celebration of the birth of your son. Father, we admit that there is sorrow and difficulty and pain and mourning during this time because the effects of sin still linger.

That there is pain and death and diseases. And Father, we pray that you would comfort us during this time as we have. Many of us may experience Christmas without their loved ones. And it is a painful reminder of what loving relationship they had before.

Father, during this time we pray that this church would be a family to them. And that you would be a great loving father to them. And that we would find our hope and love in Christ. And as we celebrate the coming of the Lord, that we would also look forward to the second coming of the Lord.

When the effects of sin would be done away. In Jesus name. Amen. Who is invited to the baby shower says a lot about the baby. Whether it is a baby of a Hollywood star. And you have Oscar winners. Famous movie stars all around celebrating.

Or a baby of a politician. And you have senators, judges, presidents showing up. Who is at the baby shower says a lot about the baby. When the royal family expects a baby, the media will surround them.

They will swarm outside at the steps of the palace. For any news, for any hint of who the baby is. Their name, gender, anything will do. Movie stars and politicians will flock around the royal family.

Congratulating, celebrating the baby before the baby is even born. Today, Luke depicts a different royal baby shower. For the most important royal baby ever. This baby didn't get any media attention. This baby did not get a letter from the king, Herod.

This baby did not get a visit from the high priest. But, who is at the baby shower tells us a lot about the baby. This text helps us to explore what kind of people celebrated the coming of the king Jesus.

The baby Jesus. When the humble king first came to save, only the outcasts celebrated him. When the humble king came to save, only the outcasts celebrated him. The first person we see is a young maiden who finds her hope in God's promised Davidic king.

A young maiden who finds her hope in God's promised Davidic king. Verse 39 starts with Mary who arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste to a city of Judah. This section starts rather abruptly.

After the visitation from the angel, Gabriel, an angel of the Lord, Mary immediately rushes to Judah. Why would she do that? Well, when we take a look at verses 30 through 33, which contains the message of the angel, the angel promised the virgin Mary that she will give birth to a king.

The promised Davidic king. If true, this would have been a turning point for Israel. Consider, for most of history, Israel has been oppressed by one empire to the next. It's been flanked by Egypt in the south and some giant empire in the north.

It had a cycle of getting conquered over and over again. Syria, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greek. At this point, Israel was conquered by the Roman Empire, a brutal military force, unbending like iron.

Hence, a message that a king who will deliver his people from all oppression will be born to Mary, an unmarried virgin from an unknown family, was almost too good to be true. Who is Mary that God would fulfill his promise of establishing the Davidic king through her?

This is why she had to confirm God's promised deliverance. She had to follow what the angel said. Her barren relative, who's really old, is now pregnant. That will be the sign to her that what will happen to Mary will come to pass.

It will be the evidence that God is bringing truly the Davidic king to Mary. And there are three things to note about this king according to the angel's message from verses 30 through 33. First, this Davidic king is not just any king, but the son of the highest.

The son of the highest God. The one and only son of the most high God. The son of the highest points to the fact that this king will represent the Lord God. The king will fully embody who God is. And this was a rather common mindset in ancient days.

Even a hundred years ago, this would have made sense to us. Right. The son would do and be what the father did and was. For example, the son would become a baker if the father is a baker. If one's father was king, then the son would become king.

In a similar sense, the son of God would signify that he, like his father, is divine. He, like his father, reigns supremely, higher than any other. And this is why the son of God title angered the Pharisees.

When Jesus called himself the son of God, the Pharisees wanted to stone him to death. Why? Because he, being a man, called himself God. That's the first point that excited Mary to rush to Judah. Second, the coming of this king has been promised since the Old Testament.

And we see it repeated in the second half of verse 32 of Luke 1. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. Now, when did God promise this? We see this in 2 Samuel 7. When David wanted to build God a house, a temple.

After all, the Ark of the Covenant, where God dwelt, was still dwelling in a tent, like a nomad. David figured it would be a mighty good deed to build a temple for the Lord, since he himself, right, is no longer a nomad.

He's not running away from his enemies anymore. He just conquered Jerusalem. He has a palace. There was stability in David's life for once. And he thought, oh, maybe I could build God a temple. However, God refuses David's offer.

Because God is not driven nor dependent on humans' effort to establish the redemptive history. He will do what he will do. So instead, God offers David a house. A tremendously beautiful wordplay is here.

King David desires to build God a house. But God says, no. Instead, I will build you a house. A dynasty. A royal dynasty. This would have been a great news for David, who just witnessed the downfall of the first king of Israel, Saul.

Where is the guarantee that it wouldn't happen to him as well? But God graciously offers David a house, a dynasty. And God will set up an offspring after David, who will build a temple for God. Furthermore, this offspring will have a father-to-son relationship with God.

2 Samuel 7, 14 says, I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and the blows of the sons of men. Now, in the immediate sense, this is talking about Solomon, who did build a temple after David for God.

And he was chastened for his iniquity. After all, Jesus never had to be chastened for his iniquity because he never sinned. However, the ultimate promise is fulfilled by Christ. And that leads to my third point.

Third, there is no end to this king's reign. Verse 16, and your house, your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever. This is God talking about David's kingdom.

The promise of the Davidic king was not fulfilled by Solomon because Solomon's reign ended after his death. He died. However, the coming of Davidic king's kingdom will rule forever. That's the promise.

How could this be? Well, there are two ways in which a kingdom is forever. A kingdom lasts forever. First, there are endless generations of kings. The king has a successor, and that successor has a successor.

It's an infinite loop. For Israel, the possibility of the first option is gone. Since there has not been a Judean king since their Babylonian exile. 500 years before Christ was even born. Then it leads to the second option and the only option.

A kingdom lasts forever when there is a king who is seated on the throne for all eternity. A king who never dies. A king who never loses his throne. This point makes sense if we view the Davidic king as the son of God.

Fully divine as the Bible does. Because Jesus is God, there is no end to his kingdom. Spatially or temporally. He rules all, over all. Because Jesus is God, his throne will never be opposed. It will never be usurped.

There will be opposition, but they will not be successful. And to a faithful Israelite woman like Mary, the coming of this king was the best news ever. The coming of this king meant deliverance for his people forever.

The coming of this king meant God has not forsaken his people. After all, there was no king in Judah anymore. After all, they were under the Roman rule. And after all, there hasn't been a prophet for centuries.

God hasn't spoken to them. This Davidic king would come from God, not man. This Davidic king will be born to a virgin. Because again, God will not depend on human to deliver his own people. It was precisely for this reason that Mary made haste to the hill country of Judah.

To check what the angel proclaimed in verse 36. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age. And this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. The sign of a barren woman conceiving would show that God is indeed fulfilling his promise of a Davidic king through Mary.

If God can bring a life out of a dead womb, you can trust that God can bring a king from a virgin womb. That's who God is. And on that day, the hope of God's people laid on his promise and Mary ran to confirm it.

She had to. If this were just an after effect of a bad lunch, it was nothing. She had to confirm it. That it had to be true. It's too good to be true, so she had to confirm it herself as the angel recommended.

Right?

Any good news, we would confirm it. With different sources. If you win the lottery, you will confirm the number.

Right?

You will check over and over again. Well, Mary just heard the best news and she had to confirm it. And 2 ,000 years later, our situation remains similar. Just as Mary sought God's promise in the baby of her womb, we too hope in the baby who was born of a virgin.

Just as Mary hoped to be freed from the oppression of the world through the Davidic king, we too look forward to the coming of this Davidic king who will deliver us from the greatest oppression, sin. Our greatest enemy, once and for all.

Although Mary did not know at this point what would take this king to shelter his people under his wings, we know that Jesus, what Jesus did for us, how he freed us from the oppression of sin and death.

Jesus is the only king who died so that he could save his own. Jesus is the only king who resurrected and conquered sin and death so that his people could live as co-heirs of his kingdom. He's the only king who shed his blood to bring his people into his kingdom.

Earthly kings shed blood of his people to further his kingdom. Not so this king. And during this difficult time where we still do experience the remnants of sin and death, our hope remains the same as Mary's.

It is fully on the newborn king through whom God delivers us from darkness of sin and death once and for all. Now, what is the emotional response to this king? And we see this in the second guest to this royal baby shower.

An unborn baby in the womb joyfully leaves at the coming of his king. An unborn baby in the womb joyfully leaves at the coming of his king. After Mary greets Elizabeth in verse 40, we witness a miraculous sign.

It's not that just that Elizabeth is now pregnant. That's a sign in itself. A barren woman is pregnant now. But the sign is greater and it's physical. And it happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb.

At this point, Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist, who is filled with the Holy Spirit to prepare the way of the Lord Jesus. And at the sound of Mary, the mother of Jesus, John the Baptist joyfully leaps inside his mother's tummy.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit to confirm the climax of God's redemptive history. When the Lord himself came down, even an unborn baby could not stay still. The word leaping is used in Malachi 4 to describe this eschatological joy that God's people will experience when God comes down to make all things right.

But for you who fear my name, the son of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. There's going to be restoration. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. In the end days, when God makes all things right, God's people will joyfully leap like calves in the stall.

This is significant because the coming of the Lord marks the beginning of the end of all tyranny. The coming of Jesus is the start of God's redemptive plan for the world from sin and death once and for all.

The one who recognizes this crucial moment in redemptive history is not the priest, but an unborn baby in the womb. When the Lord has come, one of the first people who is excited and leaps with joy is an unborn baby in the womb.

Sadly, no illustration needs to be made about how society views an unborn baby in the womb. Because more so than ever in history, we live in a culture that dehumanizes unborn babies in the womb. More so than ever in history, we live in a country that views an unborn baby as a burden, as insignificant.

However, here the text shows us God's view of an unborn baby in the womb. When God came into the world, one of his first audiences was an unborn baby in the womb. When God came to save the world, one of the first to rejoice was an unborn baby in the womb.

While the religious leaders and politicians whom the world finds values and worth completely missed the chance of meeting this king, an unborn baby was prepared and thrilled as he leapt in his mommy's tummy.

In another sense, when God came down to the world he has created, he chose an unborn baby to be part of his small welcoming party. When God came down to save the rebellious world, an unborn baby was present at his inauguration.

This is the kind of God we worship. God who values those whom the world rejects. God who notices those whom the world ignores. God who remembers the weakest and the most vulnerable. In another word, when this God came down, the weakest and the most vulnerable had a reason to rejoice.

Unlike other gods and rulers, this God loves and cares for the weakest and the most vulnerable. While other pagan gods required baby sacrifices, this God was celebrated by an unborn baby in the womb because this God would utterly protect and care for the weakest and the most vulnerable.

When God came down, even an unborn baby had a part in God's redemptive history. The last audience in the baby shower is an old woman praising the coming of the Lord. An old woman praising the coming of the Lord.

The last person at this royal baby shower is an old woman who used to be barren. In a culture that valued fertility so highly, barren women were viewed as irrelevant in the community. In fact, barren women were thought to be cursed.

They must have done something wrong. Why can't they have the blessing of the baby? They were shamed. They were looked down upon. However, when God came down to the world, He chose precisely a formerly barren woman to be the first person to serenade the mother of Christ.

The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, filled what society would consider a reject to be the first human to herald the fulfillment of God's promise of salvation. Presidents and kings of the world may choose Ivy League graduates and accomplished lawyers to speak on their behalf.

Just check out the press secretaries. Enormously powerful resumes. Or even they would choose notable people to introduce them before a famous speech. If a president's coming to a state, the governor will introduce the president.

Right?

This humble king, however, chose a social reject to announce his coming. This God chose to fill a socially shunned to reveal to the world the inauguration of his David King. First, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit.

And when he when she is filled, she blesses. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of the womb.

Fruit of your womb.

The reason for Mary being the most blessed among women is not because she earned it. Is not because she was born without sin, as some may erroneously believe. No, at the core of the blessing is the son who is inside her.

The fruit of her womb. Elizabeth understands this as she questions even her position in verse 43 to witness this event. But why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Elizabeth knows that it is an unspeakable privilege that the mother of the Davidic King would visit her.

Then Elizabeth recounts what she has witnessed her baby do. For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ear, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. This was not a hyped up experience that a new parent goes through when her baby does anything.

Did you see that? Did you hear that? That sounded like the first word, right? No, John the Baptist leaping with joy in his mom's tummy was an observable spirit led sign. It was not an accidental random kick from the baby, but a purposeful leap of joy at the presence of his Lord.

Lastly, Elizabeth prophesies what Mary will experience from being chosen to carry the son of God. Blessed is she who believed for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Mary is blessed because she in her faithfulness will actually witness and receive the fulfillment of God's promise of the Davidic Messiah who will be born through her. That's the blessing. The blessing ultimately comes from the fulfillment of Jesus being born.

Mary doesn't have a blessed state just because she's Mary. Mary is blessed because of Jesus. That's the important part. When we look at the first three people who recognize the coming of the king, they were not the scribes.

They were not the high priests. They were not the earthly rulers. And the modern day equivalence would be they were not the academics. They were not the Hollywood stars. They were not the elected officials.

The type of people that this king chose to reveal himself is the type of people the world would naturally ignore. The type of people the world would not notice if they were gone one day. However, they're the type of people that this king purposefully chose to reveal himself because they are the very people who recognize the lowly king by faith.

They are the type of people who recognize the humble king because they trusted in God's promise of deliverance through the Davidic king. They're the type of people who celebrated the coming of the Lord before he showed even one single miracle.

Right at this point, Jesus didn't heal anyone. They're the type of people who celebrated the coming of the king because they believed in the faithfulness of their God. Because they held fast to scripture.

Hence, this king was not ashamed to call the very people the world scorns. His own. He is not ashamed to call the rejects his own people. Hence, this king gladly laid down his life to deliver his faithful people from their sin.

God's people do not have to have an impeccable resume. God's people just needs to believe in the king who came to die for them. This king joyfully took their place of judgment so that he could bring his ragged, unimpressive people into his kingdom to lavish them with his utmost grace and love.

God did not need you to earn an invitation to his kingdom. He bought it with his own blood. And the question today is, where do you stand this morning? Have you recognized the beauty of this king? Whom the rejects would celebrate.

Have you believed who Jesus is and what he has done for you? Does your heart race when you remember the birth of King Jesus? Does your heart flood with excitement and joy when you ponder how much he loves you that he died on the cross for you to wash away your sin?

Does your mouth burst into praise at the thought of King Jesus? And today is a great day to receive this king, to fully trust him. The invitation still remains open. Let us pray. Father, we thank you that we worship a God who cares for the rejects, who has compassion on the helpless, and who fulfills and satisfies the needy.

And Father, we admit that's us tonight, this morning. We admit that we are the type of people who need this king. We are the type of people that this king came to die for our sin because we couldn't do it ourselves.

Father, help us to be like that and have that mindset of these three figures in the first royal baby shower. To cherish and treasure this unborn king before he even has done anything. But God, we have so much to cherish Jesus for, for he has done everything already.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Let's stand for our closing song, Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus. Merry Christmas.