Anticipating the Christ

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Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:27-45
May we be looking for the coming of the Christ.

I. Mary's Anticipation

Luke 1:26–45 (NKJV)
What caused this anticipation?

A. An Unexpected Visit

Luke 1:26–27 NASB95
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
Sixth month refers to Elizabeth who was already pregnant
betrothed – perfect tense. Betrothed and still being betrothed. Passive – arranged marriage.
She may have already had fears about marriage, wedding preparation, etc.

B. An Unusual Greeting

Luke 1:28 NASB95
28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
Why was she favored or honored? Was she favored because of what she had done? No. I'm sure Mary was a godly young woman but again this is a passive verb. The favor or honor she was receiving was not something she had earned but was something that was given to her. It is like the angel of the Lord visiting Gideon and saying , “The Lord is with you O valiant warrior.”
Luke 1:29 NASB95
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
This greeting stirred her up. To “consider” means to reason or have a discourse with yourself. What questions would she have asked herself? “Why did God pick me, I'm from Galilee.” Jew from Galilee were looked down upon because they lived too close to gentiles. They were the Jews who lived on the wrong side of the tracks. Maybe she wondered what an angel would want with her. What would you have thought if your were Mary? This whole conversation in her mind probably took only seconds.
Luke 1:30 NASB95
30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
“Mary” – the angel knew her name. God knew her name. God knows your name too.
Your are a favored one also –
Ephesians 1:5–6 NASB95
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

C. An Unbelievable Message

Luke 1:31 NASB95
31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
This shows the humanity of Jesus
Jesus – “Jehovah is Salvation.”
Luke 1:32 NASB95
32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
Great – Mega
ὕψιστος húpsistos; fem. hupsístē, neut. húpsiston, adj., the superlative of húpsos (5311), height. Highest, most elevated, loftiest.[1]
Son of the Highest – shows the divine nature of Jesus.
Luke 1:33 NASB95
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

D. An Understandable Question

Luke 1:34 NASB95
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
“I am not knowing a man.”
Luke 1:35 NASB95
35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
Acts 1:8 NASB95
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Matthew 17:5 NASB95
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”
Here again we have humanity and deity in the same sentence.
Luke 1:36–37 NASB95
36 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Do you believe that?

E. An Unforgettable Response

Luke 1:38 NASB95
38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
I think I would have needed a minute to let that announcement sink in. “Oy, Vay!”
Notice the humility of Mary
What if God calls you to do something humanly impossible? How would you respond? Would you try to weasel out of it like Moses, or fleece it like Gideon? Not Mary. May we answer like her with humility, clarity, and resolve.
What then? How could she contain herself? Every hiccup the baby had, every kick, every flip must have fed that anticipation of the child coming. [feeling Ethan William kick].

II. Joseph's Anticipation

Matthew 1:18–25 (NKJV)

A Difficult Situation

Matthew 1:18 NASB95
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
The angel came to Mary first. Joseph was thrust into a situation that he had not planned for and that he had no control over. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for her first trimester, but when she came home, she couldn't keep it a secret for long. How awkward was the meeting between Joseph and Mary's mom and dad? Did she tell him? If she did, he didn't believe her?
Matthew 1:19 NASB95
19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
A betrothal was as legally binding as a marriage, it took a divorce to end it.

A Definitive Explanation

Matthew 1:20 NASB95
20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
This is what he needed to hear.
Matthew 1:21 NASB95
21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
This is before ultrasounds. You couldn't know the gender of the baby back then but God gave Joseph the results of His ultrasound and told him that he was going to raise a boy! And this was not just any boy, but a very special boy.
Matthew 1:22–23 NASB95
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

A Decisive Action

Matthew 1:24 NASB95
24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
This should always be the response to God's word. Joseph obeyed and extraordinary command, certain you can obey common ones.
Matthew 1:25 NASB95
25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Fathers have all kinds of dreams for their sons. How excited Joseph must have been to see Mary's son become the man that the angel told him He would be, looking for that day when his adopted son would take the throne of his father David and bring salvation to the world.
That is what we are waiting for as well. May we look as excitedly for the return of Jesus as Joseph and Mary did for His birth. Let this Advent celebration remind you of the wonder of the coming of Jesus Christ and cause you to look just as expectantly for his return.
demons every December. One friend said, “Lindsay was never able to find happiness. He became a hard-drinking hell-raiser who went from woman to woman and couldn’t find peace or success.”
Finally at age fifty-one, he angrily watched Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” one last time, then put a gun to his head and a bullet through his brain.
“I hated Christmas because of Pop, and I always will,” he once said. “It brings back the pain and fear I suffered as a child. And if I ever do myself in, it will be at Christmastime. That will show the world what I think of Bing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas.’ ”
Ironically, sadly, he was Bing’s son—Lindsay Crosby.
(That bizarre story is itself a parable of what happens when we gut Christmas of its true glory. If only Lindsay had really understood that Jesus Christ was born on Christmas day so that our sins, though they be as scarlet, shall be as white as snow. “Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool,” Isaiah 1:18).[2]
[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.
[2] Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson's complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (108–109). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
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