Morning Message: The Announcer

Bobservations' Column
Titled - "The Announcer"
Written by: Pastor Bob Lawrenz

Like the Prophets of old, God uses individuals for His specific purposes. The Apostle Peter was no different. He was like the unofficial head of the Apostles, probably based on his age. (See John 20: 3, 4, "Another younger Apostle out-ran Peter on Resurrection Sunday, as they ran to the empty tomb.") Both were filled with the Spirit, both wrote short Epistles, but Peter wrote this about Scripture in 2 Peter 1:21: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

They were anointed by God to share God’s words with His children, to whosoever would listen and hear. Most Epistles were written to professing Believers in their respective churches. A few Epistles were written to the general Body of Christ. Peter’s Epistles were of this kind, written to the entire body of Believers. God gave them understanding of what they heard and read through the same Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) who literally authored the words, as scribes penned them on paper, or papyrus.

So too, with specific Angels, such as the Archangels, like Michael, a warrior Angel, and Gabriel, who God used several times to make important announcements to those who love God, and are called to His purpose (Romans 8:28), and Raphael, whose name coincides with Jehovah-Rapha (Exodus 15:26), a name for God, who heals us: “Rapha-El,” meaning healer from, or of, Jehovah.

Today, with Christmas approaching fast, we look to Gabri-El who was given important messages to give to Holy men and a women: to Daniel, to Zacharias, and to Mary. He had spoken to Daniel of world history and events leading up to End Times. He spoke to Zacharias about his son John being a fore-runner to Jesus, and he spoke to Mary about being the chosen Virgin, who was to bring the Savior into the World, Immanu-El, which is interpreted, God with us (Isaiah 7:14)!

We take note of these names: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Immanuel, and even Israel, all ending in “-el,” which is a shortened form of one of the names of God, “Elohiym.”  In the Hebrew Bible, it occurs 2,600 times in 2,246 verses.

Bobservations' Column: Audio Version

Sunday Morning Message:

Luke 1:26 - 2:20 - "The Announcer"

Summary/Additional Commentary & Definitions:

This morning we're going to find ourselves in Luke chapter 1 beginning at verse 26. Before we actually read the text, a little bit of background.

The most widely shared commemoration across the world, involving more people and more nations than any other holiday celebration is Christmas. It transcends national history, and it goes everywhere where Christianity has ever been. Though it is the most widely celebrated around the world, in many ways it is the least understood. All the holidays and all the celebrations and all the commemorations of people and events across the globe take note of human events, human beings. Christmas commemorates a divine person and a divine event.

We're not remembering what a man has done or what men have done, but what God has done. This is not a celebration of human history. This is not a recognition of human achievement. It is a recognition of a marvelous, miraculous, divine accomplishment. Christmas celebrates the most monumental event and the most monumental person in the history of the world. Christmas is all about the eternal, sovereign creator God of the universe coming to earth, coming into the earth of His creation as a human being to live among His creation as one of them.

The child of Christmas was God in human form, born as a baby, living as a man. The story begins in verse 26.

Luke 1:26-2:20 narrates the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus, starting with Angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary in Nazareth (that she'd bear the Son of God) and her visit to Elizabeth (where John the Baptist leaped in her womb). It covers the census leading Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, Jesus's humble birth in a manger, and the angelic message to shepherds, who then found the baby and spread the news, praising God for the Savior's arrival.

Sunday Morning Audio Message:

Key Words and Definitions with Reference:

Nazareth (1:26) - An obscure town seventy miles north of Jerusalem, was a place of lowly reputation.

A Virgin (1:27) - The importance of the Virgin Birth cannot be overstated.  A right view of the Incarnation hinges on the truth that Jesus was virgin-born.  Both Luke and Matthew expressly state that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was conceived.  The Holy Spirit wrought the conception through supernatural means.  The nature of Christ conception testifies of both His deity and His sinlessness.

Highly Favored (1:28) - Literally "full of grace" - a term used of all believers in Ephesians 1:6, where it is translated "accepted."  This portrays Mary as a recipient, ot a dispenser, of divine grace.

Jesus (1:31) - The Hebrews Jeshua means "the Lord is Salvation." The Name actually means "Savior". 

He Shall Be Great (1:32) - The same promise was made of John the Baptist.  However, the subsequent title is what set Jesus apart.

Son of the Highest (1:32) - John the Baptist is called "the prophet of the Highest."  The Greek term Luke uses for "Highest" is the one employed in the LXX to translate the Hebrews, "The Most High God."  Since a son bears his father's qualities, calling a person someone else's "son" was a way of signifying equality.  Here the angel was telling Mary that her Son would be equal to the Most High God.

His Father David (1:32) - Jesus was David's physical descendant through Mary's line.  David's "throne" was emblematic of the messianic kingdom (cf. 2 Samuel 7:13-16; Psalm 89:26-29). 

Over the House of Jacob Forever (1:33) - This emphasis both the Jewish character of the millennial kingdom and the eternal permanence of Christ's rule overall.

The Holy Ghost Shall Come Upon You (1:35) - This was a creative act of the Holy Spirit, not the sort of divine-human cohabitation sometimes seen in pagan mythology.

The Mother of My Lord (1:43) - This expression is not in praise of Mary, but in praise of the child whom she bore.  It was a profound expression of Elizabeth's confidence that Mary's child would be the long-hoped for Messiah - the One whom even David called "Lord."  

Babe Leaped in My Womb for Joy (1:44) - The infant, like his mother, was Spirit-filled.  His response, like that of Elizabeth, was supernaturally prompted by the Spirit of God.

The Magnificat (1:46-55) - Mary's Magnificat is filled with Old Testament allusions and quotations.  It reveals that Mary's heart and mind were saturated with the Word of God.  It contains repeated echoes of Hannah's prayers (1 Samuel 1:11; 2:1-10.  These verses also contain numerous allusions to the law, the psalms, and the prophets.  The entire passage is a point-by-point reciting of the covenant promises of God. 

My Savior (1:47) - Mary referred to God as "Savior," indicating both that she recognized her own need of a Savior, and that she knew the true God as her Savior. Nothing here or anywhere else in Scripture indicates Mary thought of herself as "immaculate" (free from the taint of original sin).  Quite the opposite is true; she employed language typical of someone whose only hope for salvation is divine grace.  Nothing in this passage lends support to the notion that Mary herself ought to be an object of adoration.

Horn of Salvation (1:69) - A common expression in the Old Testamen (2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 18:2).  The horn is a symbol of strengthe (Deuteronomy 33:17).  These words were clearly not meant to exalt John the Baptist.  Since both Zacharias and Elizabeth were Levites, the One raise up "in the house of . . . David" could not be John, but spoke of someone greater than he (John 1:26, 27).  Verse 76-79 spoke of John's role.

His Holy Covenant (11:72) - The Abrahamic Covenant, with its promise of salvation by grace.

Remission of Their Sins (1:77) - Forgiveness of sins is the heart of salvation.  God saves sinners from separation from Him and from eternal hell only by atoning for and forgiving their sins.

Caesar Augustus (2:1) - Caius Octavius, grand-nephew, adopted son, and primary heir to Julius Ceasar.  Before and after Julius's death in 44 B.C., the Roman government was constantly torn by power struggles.  Octavius ascended to undisputed supremacy in 31 B.C. by defeating his last remaining rival, Antony, in a military battle at Actium.  In 29 B.C., the Roman senate declared Octavius Rome's first emperor.  Two years later they honored him with the title "Augustus" ("exalted one" - term signifying religious veneration).  Rome's republican government was effectively abolished, and Augustus was given supreme military power.  He reigned until his death in A.D. 14.  Under his rule, the Roman Empire dominated the Mediterranean region, ushering in a period of great prosperity and relative peace.  He ordered "all the world" (the Roman Empire) to be "registered." This was not merely a one-time census; the decree actually established a cycle of enrollments that were to occur every fourteen years.  Palestine had previously been excluded from the Romans census, because Jews were exempt from serving in the Roman army, and the census was designed primarily to register young men for military service, as well as account for all Roman citizens.  this new, universal census was ostensibly to number each nation by family and tribe (hence Joseph, a Judean, had to return to his ancestral home to register.  Property and income values were not recorded in this registration.  But soon the names and population statistics gathered in this census were used for the levying of poll taxes, and the Jews came to regard the census itself as a distasteful symbol of Roman oppression.

Cyrenius (also known as Quirinius) was Governing Syria (2:2) - Publius Sulpicius Quirinius (Cyrenius) is known to have governed Syria during A.D. 6-9.  A well-known census was taken in Palestine in A.D. 6.  Josephus records that it sparked a violent Jewish revolt (mentioned by Luke, quoting Gamaliel in Acts 5:37).  Quirinius was responsible for administering that census, and he also play a major role in quelling the subsequent rebellion.  However, that cannot be the census Luke has in mind here, because it occurred about a decade after the death of Herod - much too late to fit Luke's chronology.  In light of Luke's meticulous care as a historian, it would be unreasonable to charge him with such an obvious anachronism.  Indeed, archaeology has vindicated Luke.  A fragment of stone discovered at Tivoli (near Rome) in A.D. 1764 contains an inscription in honor of a Roman official who, it states, was twice governor of Syria and Phoenicia during the reign of Augustus.  The name of the official is not on the fragment but among his accomplishments are listed details that, as far as is known, can fit no one other than Quirinius.  

Nazareth...Bethlehem (2:4) - Both Joseph and Mary were descendants of David and therefore went to their tribal home in Judea to be registered.  This was a difficult trek of more than seventy miles through mountainous terrain - a particularly grueling journey for Mary, on the verge of deliver.  Perhaps she and Joseph were conscious that a birth in Bethlehem would fulfill the prophecy in Micah 5:2.

First born (2:7) - Mary had other children subsequent to this.

Manger (2:7) - A feeding trough for animals.  This is the source of the notion that Christ was born in a stable, something nowhere stated in Scripture.  Ancient tradition held that He was born in a cave (possibly one used as s shelter for animals).  But no actual description of the location is given.

City of David (2:11) - Bethlehem, the town where David was born - not the City of David, which was on the southern slope of Mt. Zion (cf. 2 Samuel 5:7-9). 

A Savior (2:11) - This is one of only two places in the Gospels where Christ is referred to as "Savior" - the other being John 4:42, where the men of Sychar confessed Him as "Savior of the world."

Christ (2:11) - is the Greek equivalent of "Messiah".

Lord (2:11) - The Greek word can mean "master" - but it is also the word used to translate the covenant name of God.  Here (and in most of its New Testament occurrences), it is used in the latter sense, as a title of deity.

The Highest (2:14) - Heaven.

Peace (2:14) - not a universal declaration toward all humanity.  Rather, peace with God is a corollary of justification.

Goodwill Toward Men (2:14) - God's sovereign good pleasure.  God's peace is not a reward for those who have good will, but a gracious gift to those who are the objects of His good will.