Christmas is Coming!
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TEXT: Luke 1:26-38
TOPIC: Christmas is Coming!
Pastor Bobby Earls, Northgate Baptist Church, Florence, SC
December 18, 2022
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him,she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 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. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:26-38, NKJV
I. The Messenger Who Proclaimed Christmas is Coming, Luke 1:26-28
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one,the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.” Matthew 2:23
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14
II. The Message that Prophesied Christmas is Coming, Luke 1:29-33
29 But when she saw him,she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:14
III. The Mystery Personified in Christmas, Luke 1:34
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
The Incarnation Event – The Mystery that God became a man!
John 1:1 (NKJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He took humanity into His deity: that is the whole meaning of the incarnation. That is precisely what happened at Bethlehem.
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones
John 1:10–12 (NKJV) 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
A little boy was upset that his family was going to church on Christmas Day and complaining to his mother. She said to her young son, “but it’s Jesus’ birthday and we really need to go to church to celebrate His birthday, at which her son said, “but we don’t even know Him!”
John 1:14 (NKJV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Philippians 2:7 (NKJV) but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
IV. The Method Producing Christmas, Luke 1:35
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20
The Miraculous Conception of Jesus
“overshadow” - “to throw a shadow upon,” metaphorically of the power of “the Most High” upon the Virgin Mary. Recall that even the Apostle Peter’s shadow when it touched the sick in the streets of Jerusalem had the power to heal the sick, Acts 5:15.[1]
V. The Miracle Preceding Christmas, Luke 1:36-37
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. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
[1]W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 454.