Mary Did You Know? - [Luke 1:26-38]

I'm sitting in the chapel of my high school, all -boys school, private school,

Catholic school. I'm sitting there with all my friends in my class because it's time for confession.

The funny thing is that the priest we are confessing to also happens to be the principal of the school.

And not only that, he happens to be the teacher of our religion class. So as my friends are nervous, hands sweating, palms sweating, before they go into the confessional booth, to not only the priest but the principal of the school and their teacher, they go in and they confess, maybe,

I cheated on your last exam. Sure enough, as a priest,

Father Reap would absolve them if they said, how many, maybe, ten Hail Marys. Yet they would still fail the exam and maybe be expelled as a principal.

Ten Hail Marys and I don't know how many Our Fathers. There was a song written a number of years ago called,

Mary, Did You Know? Pastor Steve alluded to it this morning that he thought I might sing a solo of that song.

But rather than doing that, I thought he and I would work on a duet together and we would do special music on a

Sunday morning. What do you think of that? But the

Catholic version, there's a Catholic version to Mary, Did You Know? Mary, did you know that you would one day be worshipped more than Jesus?

But I want us to answer that question from the biblical text and ask and answer the question,

Mary, did you know that you would one day be chosen by the

Most High God? Mary, did you know that you would one day bear the

Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? So if you would turn with me to the

Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, verses 26 to 38. Luke, chapter 1, verses 26 to 38.

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'm 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 is in her old age. In her old age has also conceived a son.

And this is the sixth month with her who was called Baron. 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. This is

Dr. Luke's account of the narrative of the incarnation. And of course, here he's looking at the vantage point from Mary.

But as in anything else in the Bible, Old and or New Testament, everything points to the one central figure of none other than Jesus Christ.

And though Luke includes a lot more details than some of the other writers of the Gospels in terms of the incarnation story.

And here he talks about Mary. Mary, if you will, is simply a role player. The central figure is still the

Lord Jesus Christ. But to understand what's going on here and what Luke writes about in terms of Mary and her role in the wonder of the incarnation.

Let's look a little bit here in the book of Luke and understand Mary a little bit. She was betrothed,

Luke says here, to a man whose name was Joseph. In those days, it was much more significant than just a engagement.

And they were betrothed at a very young age. She was a very young girl. But we'll see here as Luke highlights that she was a

Jew who knew the Torah and she followed the law. Look with me, if you will, in the same chapter in verses 54 and 55 of Luke chapter one.

Where Mary says he has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

So Mary in her marvelous song, the Magnificat, talks about Abraham and the forefathers of God's servant

Israel. She is familiar with that. If you turn to chapter two of Luke, verses 22 to 24.

And when the time came for their purification, according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the

Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the

Lord and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord.

A pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. Here are Joseph and Mary in obedience, according to the law of Moses, bringing before the

Lord Jesus Christ. And also later in chapter two, verses 41 and 42.

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the

Passover. And when he was 12 years old, they went up according to custom.

Every year, Joseph and Mary went for the feast of the

Passover. In remembrance of what God had done to the nation of Israel, that those who had spread the blood on their doorposts, the angel of death would pass over and would not kill the firstborn.

So she was familiar with the law of Moses. She was familiar with God's servant Israel and with Abraham and the forefathers and with the

Passover. This is the Mary that the angel came to. But to help us walk through this passage from verse 26 on,

I want to give you six keywords that will help us understand the flow of what's going on here.

First of all, we see selection. The first keyword is selection.

We see here God's selection of Mary, this young girl who was betrothed.

Notice in verse 26 with me where we just read. In the sixth month, the angel

Gabriel was sent from whom? From God. Verse 28, the angel says,

Greetings, O favored one. The Lord is with you. And in verse 30,

Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

God sends the angel because he has sovereignly chosen

Mary to bear the Lord Jesus Christ. Angels were, of course, sent by God.

As we see here, the angel Gabriel was sent by God. They were messengers from God to deliver a message.

And what's interesting, this angel, Archangel Gabriel, who is delivering this message to Mary from God about the son, the second person of the

Trinity, as an angel, he himself worships the son. Isn't that amazing?

The angel comes as a messenger from God to deliver the message about the second person of the

Trinity in his incarnation, the one whom he worships. And the text here tells us,

Luke says that in verse 29 concerning Mary, but after the angels greeting, she was greatly troubled.

Greatly troubled at the same. It's a very strong Greek word. It literally means to strike one spirit with fear and dread.

Why would Mary be so afraid and filled with dread in her spirit? Could it be the sight of the angel?

We know that he had come to her, verse 28, and later on at the end of our passage, we read in verse 38, that the angel departed from her.

Maybe it was the sight of this heavenly being that brought such dread or fear. Or maybe it was because she was so young, betrothed at a young age.

But that's not what Luke says was the cause of her fear. Notice what the biblical text says in verse 29.

She was greatly troubled. Her spirit filled with fear and dread. Why at the same and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

That's what troubled her. That the angel came and said, Oh, favored one, the

Lord is with you. That's how the angel greeted her as the favored one. He mentions it quite actually in verse 28.

As you notice, Oh, favored one. And later on in verse 30, he says to her and the angel said to her, do not be afraid,

Mary, for you have found favor with whom? With God. Same Greek word for grace.

That term favor. It's used by the apostle Paul in Ephesians one verse six, which says to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us.

Which he has favored upon us, which he has graced upon us in the beloved.

And this is, of course, the verse in verse 28 that Catholics take hail

Mary, full of grace. Right. The Lord is with thee.

Satan, hail Mary's are absolved of the exam, but you will still fail it. Of course, when the angel came to her in that way and said those words to her, he was not saying that Mary was a dispenser of grace.

To others, the angel was not saying to her that she was a source of grace to others.

The angel in saying that to her, oh, favored one, the

Lord is with you, was simply saying that she was a recipient of the grace of God.

She was in no way, shape or form. One who gave grace or who dispense grace to others as the hail

Mary says in the Catholic tradition. Rather, she was a recipient of God's divine grace, sovereign grace.

God had chosen her. She did not choose him for what purpose?

For the purpose of bearing the second member of the Trinity in the incarnation. The IVP New Testament commentary explains this very, very well.

It says, quote, God's choice of Mary to bear this child springs from his grace.

Not from any inherent merit that she possesses. She is the object of God's unmerited, graciously provided goodness.

Her description is one who has found favor with God, makes it clear that God has acted on her behalf and not because of her.

In fact, Mary is totally perplexed by the sudden announcement. She did not ask for or seek this role in God's plans.

God has simply stepped into her life and brought her into his service.

And quote, Mary was totally surprised, troubled, greatly troubled, as Luke says, perplexed in fear.

Because she was not expecting this. God had sovereignly chosen and selected this young girl who was betrothed to Joseph to bear the son.

Second keyword is exposition, exposition. In his first announcement to Mary, the angel gives her the sovereign choice, the selection that God has made of her.

And as he continues in his announcement to her, he gives a little exposition. This is an angelic exposition, if you will.

A few verses, verses 31 to 33. It will probably take no more than one minute to read it.

It's probably the shortest exposition ever. But it's coming from God. The angel sent from God.

And notice how he begins in verse 31. After reiterating to her a second time that she has found favor with God, that God has sovereignly chosen her.

He says to her, verse 31, and behold, behold, Evu. Meaning I have some great news, a big announcement to make to you.

Listen carefully. And Luke continues as he records in verse 31, the angel's words.

You will conceive in your womb and bear a son. That is the announcement that Mary is going to bear a son.

And remember Luke highlighted earlier in verse 27 that she was a virgin. So just hearing that, that you will bear a son, it's an allusion, of course, to the prophet

Isaiah's prophecy. That the Lord will give you a sign. There will be a virgin and she will bear a son.

And the angel continues. You will bear a son in your womb and bear a son.

You will conceive in your womb and bear a son. And you shall call his name Jesus. This is not just any son.

What is the angel's exposition of this son that Mary is going to bear?

The son, the son of God, the one whom only the Father calls the son.

Well, he highlights in his exposition three things concerning the Lord. As he said here in verse 31, he calls his name

Jesus. Literally, Yahweh saves. God is a saving

God by nature. Yahweh saves. That is why also when the angel came to Joseph, as recorded by Matthew in Matthew 1 .21,

it says, She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. Why? For he will save his people from their sins.

That's why we need salvation. Salvation is from sin. That is the issue.

That is why God the Father sent God the Son, Jesus. We did not need entertainment. We did not need information.

We needed salvation. Jesus, Yahweh saves. But he doesn't stop there.

Verse 32. He will be great and will be called what? The Son of the

Most High. The Son of the Most High. Luke being Greek, he uses the

Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, to refer to one of God's names in the

Old Testament, the Most High God. And he's saying the Son that is to be born to you, the

Son of God, is the Son of the Most High God. Not that at his incarnation,

Jesus became the Son. Jesus was eternally the Son from eternally past.

Here at the incarnation, he is manifested in the world as the Son of the

Most High. And thirdly, what does he say about this Son, the Son of God? Not only that he is to be called

Jesus, not only that he is the Son of the Most High, but notice this, he is also the King. Notice the terminology he uses, continuing in verse 32.

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.

Interesting that God would send the angel to give the announcement of the birth of Jesus, not only to be named

Jesus, not only the Son of the Most High, but also that God, the Lord God, would give him the throne of his father

David, that this Jesus would reign over the house of Jacob forever, and that his kingdom would have no end.

This is a literal kingdom. Many people might want to spiritualize it and allegorize it and symbolize it, but part of the complete message of the angel to Mary, was that Jesus was coming and he was to be named

Jesus, he was the Son of the Most High, and he would have an everlasting kingdom. People typically won't allegorize the first part, because we know the reality of the

Incarnation. Why would God Almighty include this as part of the announcement? The birth of Jesus, the

Son of God, to a virgin was prophesied in the Old Testament, was it not? God wanted to show that in doing so, he was keeping the promises that he had made.

God's word is trustworthy. And he also made promises concerning the Davidic covenant, and that his kingdom would have no end, and somebody would sit on his throne.

And that is why here the angel is making the announcement. Note that in his announcement, his exposition of this

Jesus, what the angel does, he begins from the birth of Christ's Incarnation, which is of course, as we know, not when he began his existence, all the way to the end, to his reign in his eternal kingdom.

And notice also the term will, mentioned no less than six times, because throughout this passage, it's all about the sovereign choice of God.

Mary is just a role player. It was God's sovereign choice for her to bear the Son. And notice his sovereign choice here in this text, from verse 31 on.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name

Jesus. He will be great, and he 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.

There's no maybes, no ifs, no buts. This will happen because God in his eternal decree has purposed it.

Mary receiving this announcement from God, Almighty God, the one who led the Jews out of slavery, was now to invade human history in the flesh.

God, the one who gave the law, the law that she knew about, that she was obedient to, was now going to give the

Son. All the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the Messiah were not to be consummated in the person of the

Lord Jesus Christ. This was his announcement to Mary of God's selection of her and of his exposition of who

Jesus was to be, the Son of the Most High, the reigning King. The third key word we take from verse 34, and it's the word question.

Mary has a question, and I would say it's a legitimate question. Mary said to the angel, how will this be since I am a virgin?

Literally in the Greek it means since I do not know a man. How is this humanly possible?

And we know that this is on the heels of the angel's announcement to Zacharias and his wife. And Zacharias did not believe, he doubted, and he was struck mute.

But Mary's question is legitimate because she has not been with Joseph. Mary was questioning, verse 31, part

A, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. I'm a virgin, and you're telling me that I will conceive in my womb and bear a son.

She was not questioning, as you notice in her question, any of the rest of the message from the angel.

She was not questioning naming him Jesus. She was not questioning that he would be great or that he would be called the son of the most high.

She was not questioning that the Lord God would give him the throne of his father David, that he would reign over the house of Jacob, and that his kingdom would have no end.

That wasn't the question for her. The question was, how can I, a virgin, conceive humanly?

Is that possible? And the angel answers her in verse 35, which takes us to our fourth word, intervention.

It's only because of divine intervention, the angel says here, that you're able to conceive.

Notice in verse 35, he answers her and he says, the Holy Spirit will come upon you.

That's the divine intervention. That's how the Virgin Mary can conceive. And he continues, the power of the most high will overshadow you.

Interesting, the son who is to be born is the son of the most high God. And the third member of the

Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who will come upon Mary in a supernatural way so that she conceives.

That is the power of the most high. He will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, or literally the

Holy One, the son of God. It's a cause and effect relationship.

The child to be born is because, therefore, of the Holy Spirit coming upon Mary.

Only God could do this. And what is he called? Two things.

Literally the Holy One. This is the thrice holy God that Isaiah the prophet saw.

He's also called the son of God. This is a reference to the deity of Jesus Christ.

To the deity of Jesus Christ. Luke, of course, his primary focus in presenting

Christ from the four gospel writers is the humanity of Christ. In contrast, for example, as we've been studying in the morning, to the gospel of John, whose main emphasis is the deity of Christ.

But that does not mean that is their only emphasis. It means that is his primary emphasis. Luke emphasizes primarily the humanity of Christ, but nonetheless does not neglect that he is

God in the flesh. The son of God is a reference to his deity. And it is so because of the

Holy Spirit coming upon Mary. And notice he continues in verse 36.

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. Mary asked, how can this be?

I'm a virgin. And the angel said, it's because of the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. And you will conceive that way so that the one to be born is holy, sinless, the very son of God deity.

And by the way, your relative Elizabeth is also in her six months. She was said to be barren in her old age.

And he reaches a climax here in his message to her. Verse 37, for nothing will be impossible with God.

What a great verse to take out of context and how many have misused it.

It's impossible for a virgin to conceive and bear. But in this case, because of the power of the

Holy Spirit, the power of the most high, it is not impossible with God.

And it had to be that way. She was a virgin. She had to conceive one who was sinless.

Only God in his infinite wisdom could devise such a perfect plan for redemption.

The Savior had to be sinless. He came by name, Jesus, to save sinners.

Of course, those of you know who are parents because of natural birth, natural means of birth, not supernatural like this, that this is part of who our children are.

You never have to teach a child. Stop sharing with your sister already, will you?

They do that naturally. This is part of sin. But here we have a supernatural birth.

The one who was born was sinless with his deity, the Holy One, the Son of God. A virgin conceiving through supernatural means, the

Son of God, the sinless Savior who would eventually save sinners.

That was God's divine plan. That was his intervention in this incident.

The fifth word is taken from Mary's response, and I call it submission. Submission.

He climactically ends by saying nothing will be impossible with God. What is Mary's response in verse 38?

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.

She questioned at first because it wasn't natural for a virgin to be able to give birth. And when the angel explained to her

God's divine intervention through the Holy Spirit, because nothing is impossible with God, in this instance,

Christ coming to this earth unstained from sin. Mary's response was, behold,

I am literally the slave of the Lord, Kyrios, Master.

She willingly submitted to the angel's message sent from God.

The slave of the Lord. It's interesting that in the New Testament, if you were to scan just the

New Testament, the term slave, thulos, is referenced over 160 times.

If you were to just go to Luke's other writing, the book of Acts, the term

Lord, Kyrios, is mentioned over 90 times in contrast to the term Savior.

Mary knew that the message that was sent by the angel was from God, and therefore she as a slave of her

Lord and master submitted willingly to the word. Didn't she say that?

Let it be to me according to what? According to your word. A slave willingly, not coercedly, but willingly submits to the master and says, let it be according to your word.

Actually, even Elizabeth identified that when she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, her relative Elizabeth, later in verse 45, it says there,

Elizabeth talking to Mary and blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the

Lord. She believed and therefore willingly submitted to the Lord as his slave.

But early on, I gave you a little background as to Mary, as to what she understood of Abraham and the forefathers and the law and every year taken going to the

Feast of the Passover. And I did that for this purpose because of her submission is very amazing for two reasons.

First of all, Matthew records that Joseph, remember, they were betrothed much more serious than an engagement.

When he found out that she was to be with child, Matthew records that Joseph wanted to divorce her quietly.

Why? Because he didn't want to expose her to public shame. This would be a stigma for a virgin who was betrothed to be found to be with a child.

So Joseph didn't want to expose it to public shame. Mary knew that this could happen.

But even a stronger reason why this is so amazing, her submission, is this. If you would turn with me briefly to in the

Old Testament to Deuteronomy chapter 22 to help us understand the impact of her submission to the angel's word.

Deuteronomy chapter 22 and reading verses 20 and 21. But if the thing is true that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones because she has done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father's house.

So you shall purge the evil from your midst. Earlier in that chapter, this begins in verse 20 with the term but, it says that if the man said that there was no evidence of virginity and the one he was betrothed to that they would, and they would find out that she was truly a virgin, that the elders of the city would whip the man and they would ask him to pay a fee to the father.

But here he says that if it turns out that there was no evidence of virginity, that they would stone her to death, the men of her city.

It's no wonder that's why in John chapter 8, verses 3 to 5, you don't have to turn there, it says the scribes and the pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and placing her in the midst, they said to him, to Jesus, teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.

Now in the law of Moses, in the law rather, Moses commanded us to stone such women.

So they knew the law and so did Mary. Mary knew that here as Luke records when she said,

I am the slave of my master, let it be to me according to your word, she willingly submitted despite the fact that she knew there could be public shame and that she could be stoned to death.

She willingly submitted to the Lord. And finally, we finished with the sixth key word and I call it adoration.

And we see here in verses 46 to 49, what's known as Mary's Magnificat, her adoration of the

Lord, verse 46. And Mary said, my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my

Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant slave. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed for he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.

What a great praise and adoration that was. Notice how she addresses the Lord. First of all, as Lord Kyrios, as she said earlier,

I'm the slave of the Lord. My soul magnifies whom? The Lord, the Kyrios, the master. In verse 47, and my spirit rejoices in whom?

In God, my Savior. You mean to tell me Mary needed a

Savior? What happened to all the Hail Marys in Catholic high school? I had a friend in New York who came from a

Catholic background and he was willing with me to start memorizing Scripture. So I knew that I couldn't do what only the

Word of God can do because only that is living and active. So as he was memorizing Scripture, we would review verses together.

So one time I was reviewing with him Romans 3 .23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And I said to him, Hugh, I'm just curious. Does that all refer to Mary at all? Is Mary part of that all have sinned?

Has Mary fallen short of the glory of God? Because according to this even in Luke 1 .47, she acknowledges her need of a

Savior. I said, listen, according to the original Greek, according to the context, according to the authorial intent, that word all means all.

It includes Mary. She says, I rejoice in God, my Savior.

What else does she say about him? Verse 49, he who is mighty has done great things for me.

She realized that she was not the one who chose this for her life. She realized that it was by the sovereign choice of Almighty God.

And she worships him for it, for what he's done for her. And she finishes there in verse 49, fourthly, and holy is his name.

God's name is holy. That's the essence of who he is. Well, what can we take away from this story of the incarnation as Luke painted for us from the vantage point of Mary?

Just ten simple lessons. I'll just read them off for you that we can take away, lessons that we can learn.

Number one is simply God sovereignly chooses whomever he wants to accomplish his eternal purposes.

God chooses whomever he wants to accomplish his eternal purposes. Secondly, the incarnation was as much according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God as the crucifixion.

Did not Peter say on the day of Pentecost, you crucified this

Jesus, but it was according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. What was the crucifixion?

Well, so was the incarnation. It was by God's divine plan. Thirdly, the virgin birth of Christ is one of the non -negotiables of our faith.

It's a non -negotiable to our faith because it testifies to the deity of Jesus Christ.

Fourthly, as we saw here from Mary's example, addressing God as her Savior and submitting to him as her

Lord. We can learn this, that in order to be saved, you cannot divide

Jesus Christ by receiving him as your Savior, yet rejecting him as your Lord.

You must submit to him as your Lord. A .W.

Tozer put it very nicely and almost in a very Spurgeon -esque kind of way. He said, and I quote, to accept

Christ is to form an attachment to the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, altogether unique in human experience.

The attachment is all inclusive in that it joyfully accepts Christ for all that he is.

There is no craven division of offices whereby we may acknowledge his Savior today and withhold decision of his

Lordship till tomorrow. Further, this attachment to Christ is all exclusive.

The Lord becomes to us not one of several rival interests, but the one exclusive attraction forever.

He orbits around Christ as the earth around the sun, held in thrall by the magnetism of his love, drawing all his life and light and warmth from him.

Mary said, I rejoice in God my Savior. I am the slave of my master.

Fifthly, as a Christian, you can learn and remember your true identity is Christ's slave.

Your loyalty, your obedience, your submission, your total allegiance is to Jesus Christ and him alone.

He is your master. Six, we learn about the Trinity. Of course, the

Trinity was involved from eternity past in the covenant of redemption, the Father, the Son, and the

Spirit, and sending the Son who willingly came. But we see here, even from the vantage point of Mary, the

Father chose Mary. She didn't choose to be the bearer of the Son. The Son was conceived in Mary's womb and the

Spirit supernaturally came upon her for the conception. Number seven, the historical reality and miracle of the incarnation.

God becoming man was made possible by the supernatural power of God. It was a supernatural feat that only

God alone could do. Three more. Eighth lesson we can learn.

As surprised as Mary was that God sovereignly chose her to be the bearer of the

Savior because she was not seeking it or initiating it, so we were surprised, were we not?

That God sovereignly chose us, not to bear the Son, but to be saved because we were not seeking it or initiating it, since as dead sinners we were not only unable but also unwilling.

Nine, and this goes back to my days in Catholic high school. Mary is not to be worshipped.

It's simply idolatry. Only Jesus Christ is to be the only object of worship.

Unless Paul somehow was not riding under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when he wrote to Timothy, there is only one mediator between God and man,

Jesus Christ. And finally, as was the case with Mary, your adoration of who

God is and what he has done for you should be the natural overflow of a grateful heart.

Mary adored God her Savior, her Lord, because it was a heart of thanksgiving.

Let's pray. Father, we're so grateful to you for your eternal plan, your decree, and how you have planned and how you planned all the role players in the incarnation, but ultimately to bring the

Son, the one who was eternally God, into this sin -stained world, to be called

Jesus, to be the Savior of sinners. We thank you and praise you for Mary's example, even, of willingly submitting to your announcement and your word as a slave to the

Master. And Father, help us to always have as the only object of our worship and our affections and our allegiance the one who is the

Son of the Most High God, the Lord Jesus Christ. If there's anybody here today who's listening to this who has never truly submitted as Mary did to the

Lord Jesus Christ, that they would understand before a holy God that they have fallen short of the glory of God, that they have sinned, and that God, being a just God, must punish sin.

But you, with the good news of the gospel, sent Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as a substitute for sinners and rose a third day.

And would you grant this person to be able to turn to Jesus Christ in total submission?