From Nothing Special to Highly Favored
Scripture Focus: Luke 1:26-38
Ever judged a book by its cover? Come on now be honest. We’ve all looked at a person, their appearance, and/or their station in life; and made a judgement about their capabilities.
I am sure most of you have heard the phrase, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” But where did that axiom came from? The short history goes like this: a man named Daniel Defoe wrote a book called The History of the Devil. In this book Defoe tries to trace the thread of the Devil’s work in all of history. The book, though it had volumes of evil working, was bound in the most beautiful leather and paper that could be found. Though beautiful outwardly it held some of the ugliest and evil acts known to humankind. So, when George Elliott wrote The Mill on the Floss, one of the characters, Mr. Tulliver, talks about this book The History of the Devil and says, “Don’t judge the book by its cover.”
The saying means, “Don’t prejudge what something is worth or the value it may contain by just what you see on the outside.”
That is exactly what is happening in Luke 1:26-38. This is the account of Gabriel the Angel coming to Mary and announcing to her that she would be the mother of the Messiah. Let’s dive into this passage…
There is a temptation at this point to kind of tune this story out. We just finished the Christmas season. We’ve all heard it a hundred times or more. Or, we simply think, well why would we talk about this part of the Bible in January instead of December? I am asking you to hear the story again and be reminded of the power of God – not just to create a child in the womb of a virgin – but a God who uses normal everyday people to fulfill His mission – His promise to the world.
Last week we talked about a lady named Elizabeth who could not have children. God performs a miracle and Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah conceive a child. Now, Elizabeth is six months pregnant. Throughout Luke’s gospel he is tracking time. I think this reminds us that these are not some made up stories with people who never existed. Luke, by referencing time, reveals how God moves in time and in the hearts of real people – not JUST in some otherworldly way.
Luke tells us God sends Gabriel to “Nazareth, a town in Galilee…” It’s important for us to understand why God takes the time to have Luke tell us this information. Nazareth was a “highway” town like many small towns found near the interstates of the USA. The Old Testament makes no mention of Nazareth. There are no famous people from Nazareth. It was an insignificant dot on the map of the Middle East. No one expected anything from Nazareth or its citizens.
The only time people talked about Nazareth is when they had something bad to say. You see, because it was located on the “highway” there were always Gentiles and Roman Soldiers passing through. Nazareth was a Jewish town but for those outside of it Nazareth Jews were unclean and disliked. Other Jews felt like they had too much contact with these travelers making them “dirty.” Listen to this conversation found in the book of John:
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked (John 1:45-46).
They are talking about Jesus – who is from Nazareth – and the general feeling is “nothing good or godly could come from there.” But it is in this town that God chooses to begin revealing how He would send the Son of God into the world.
We know Mary is engaged to a guy named Joseph. Joseph comes from the “house of David.” That simply means he was part of the family line of an ancient king of Israel named David. But there is really nothing royal about Joseph. He is poor. He is a carpenter. He is from Nazareth.
But what about Mary. Surely, she was some kind of royalty or well known in the world. Well, in a word, no! She is a poor girl. She calls herself a “handmaid,” a “servant,” and a “handmaiden” (v. 38). This is not a title of honor but meant she was the lowest form of female servant in the world. She had to do the jobs no one else would do. There was nothing special about Mary – NOTHING!
Yet, when Gabriel speaks to Mary he says, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Why? Why would this poor girl from a backwater town be “highly favored?” It seems when we come to Mary it seems people go to two extremes:
They magnify her as to such a place that Jesus becomes secondary (Luke 1:32 says that Jesus is great – not Mary)
Or, they ignore her completely failing to give her the honor she deserves as a servant of God (Luke 1:48 tells us that all generations would call her blessed)
When Gabriel calls her highly favored it has nothing to do with Mary’s goodness but with God’s giving of grace. Luke uses the Greek word charitoō that points to the reality that it is God who makes a person acceptable. This same word is used by Paul when he writes to the Ephesians:
“…to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6 NKJV)
The phrase, “He made us accepted” is the same word Luke uses for “highly favored.” Mary is not some mystical or magical being who is so holy and wonderful that God has no other choice but to use her. No! Mary is favored because of God made her favored. He made her acceptable and worthy to be the mother of our Lord.
But Gabriel also tells Mary, “The Lord is with you.” Gabriel is saying, “Hey this news I am about to tell you is going to pretty awesome and maybe a little unsettling – but remember – THE LORD IS WITH YOU!
Remember “You can’t judge a book by its cover?” No one expected the “mother of the Messiah” to come from Nazareth. No one expected that some unknown peasant girl who was planning her wedding to be the one who would fulfill the prophetic word of Isaiah who said,
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).
If all the religious scholars of the time set out to choose a woman who would give birth to Immanuel, they would have never gone to Nazareth. They would have never considered that God’s grace would be given to a “handmaiden” who does the dirty work of the house – who is constantly in a state of uncleanness.
No, they would have been looking for someone with royal ties. Someone who the world considered “worthy.” Someone who was rich and famous. Someone who had political power and influence. NONE OF THESE THINGS WOULD DESCRIBE MARY – BUT SHE IS CHOSEN BY GOD – SHE IS GRACED BY GOD – SHE IS GOD’S VESSEL THROUGH WHOM THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD WOULD COME INTO THIS WORLD!
In the book of Judges (Chapter 6) there is a story about a guy named Gideon. Gideon is just an ordinary guy working to get the harvest in and get it processed. But he was living in a time of great turmoil. Israel had done “evil” in God’s sight; because of this, God sends the Midianites against Israel and they conquer them. Israel has been under the rule of Midian for 7 years.
Israelite’s were so afraid they were hiding in caves and dens and strongholds up in the mountains. The enemy had stolen their crops and their livestock. Israel was “impoverished” and living in fear. Finally, we are told that Israel “cried out to the Lord for help.”
God hears. God sends a prophet to assure them He has heard and will answer. So, the people are sort of expecting this powerful military leader to rise up and put down the enemy. Instead, God sends Gabriel to a Gideon who is hiding in the wine press threshing wheat because he is afraid of the Midianites.
But when Gabriel appears to Gideon listen to how he greets him – “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!” WHAT!? Gideon has no military experience. He questions Gabriel’s message. He questions his own ability. He questions everything. He will not believe that God has spoken until God gives him a sign (as if Gabriel is not enough). God answers Gideon with the signs he requests and Gideon leads Israel into battle and into victory.
Here me! You may be from a backwater town. You may not have more than a middle-school education. You may not be recognized as a leader anywhere. You may feel like your life has been just an ordinary – run of the mill – life. BUT GOD SPECIALIZES IN TAKING THOSE WHO THE WORLD COUNTS OUT AND MAKING THEM A TROPHY OF HIS GRACE AND GLORY!
Can I remind you that God’s favor on your life IS ABOUT GOD’S ABILITY and NOT YOURS!? You may not believe you are the strongest or smartest or prettiest – but GOD IS LOOKING AT THE HEART! God is looking for those who will say YES and then go and do what He has asked. The success of God’s call is not based on my ability to make it happen – it’s based on God’s ability to NEVER LIE and to NEVER BE SLACK CONCERNING HIS PROMISES.
God do not look at Mary or Gideon and wonder how they could ever do what He was asking them. God didn’t look at them AS THEY WERE CURRENTLY – GOD KNOWS THE END FROM THE BEGINNING – GOD WAS LOOKING AT THEM AS THEY WOULD BE WITH HIS GRACE ON THEM!
God doesn’t look out into the world and say, “Well, let me find someone good enough or rich enough or talented enough.” God looks into the world and says, “Let me find someone willing!” God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, can make you HIGHLY FAVORED or MIGHTY MAN OF VALOR.
Can I state the obvious? “Just because you are where you are doesn’t mean you have remain where you are!” God is in the business of taking the impossible and making it possible. God is in the business of taking those who the world counts and makes them someone HE COUNTS ON. God calls into existence those things that do not exist!
Are you hearing what I am saying? The power that God is working in you to do His will is the greatest power known to humankind. The best thing you could do is to be like Mary and just say, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true! (NLT)
What are those areas in your life where you need to believe that with God nothing is impossible? Is it a financial situation? A family situation? A job situation?