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Review: Last week we looked at how God delivered Israel through the final plague and how the Passover Lamb being offered for us covers our lives in the shed blood of Jesus on our behalf and because of that we want to live-out the sincerity and truth of our new, rescued place of standing in Christ through His redemption.
Title: Delivered from Sin
Text: Luke 1:26-38
Memory verse : Luke 1:32-33, “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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Theme: God sent Jesus to deliver His people from sin.
Introduction: In this week’s lesson as we are in the Christmas season, we pause our study in Exodus to remember the Christmas story. In the Passover Lamb as well as in the Christmas story, the same mission of God is being accomplished, the coming of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus. Genesis 3:15 foretold Him, and God used two faithful—rather obscure—couples to be mightily used of God. In Heaven, I believe there will be a great blessing to see the myriads of faithful, obscure servants of God, singles and couples, who faithfully served God. Do you ever feel like you’re serving week-in-week-out maybe in obscurity? Know this, God is mightily using you, too! Have you ever had someone show up for Christmas unexpectedly? What was it like? Are you the kind of person who likes surprises?
Context: The plan for Zechariah and Elizabeth’s son’s birth—John—precedes Jesus, which is fitting in Luke’s order of things, as John the Baptist would grow up to be the forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus, as his life’s calling, as Isaiah 40:3 says, “A voice cries:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” King Herod ruled on behalf of Rome over Judea, Galilee, and Syria where Jesus would be born (37-4 BC). Zechariah was one of 24 divisions of the 18,000 Jewish priests serving in the temple, waiting the Messiah. The opportunity to minister the incense on the altar was befallen to Zechariah, by no coincidence. He and Elizabeth served God faithfully while enduring the cultural ostracism of being childless and at this point were too old. Gabriel revealed God’s plan to them, and prophesied in Daniel 8-9 that after “seventy weeks” righteousness would reign in Daniel 9:24-27. Gabriel now announced the forerunner to Zechariah and soon would announce the Messiah. A climactic fulfillment of long-awaited prophecy was coming true.
Summary: We see God’s grace and favor on Mary, the announcement of the fulfillment of God’s Messianic plan, and the exemplary faith of Mary in the virgin birth.
Main Points:
- Favor (Luke 1:26-30)
“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’ 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”
- This is sixth months after God revealed through Gabriel the plan for Zechariah and Elizabeth and Zechariah doubted and was rendered temporarily mute. Our Senior Pastor says, “This was one of the biblical ‘time-outs.’”
- Nazareth was a more obscure town in southern Galilee where Gabriel went next to announce the incarnational birth to Mary.
- Mary and Joseph’s engagement was a binding, unbreakable agreement.
- Look at Matthew 1:18-25 to see the care of the carpenter, Joseph toward Mary.
- The greeting of “favor” in verse 28 means grace. Mary—like all of us who have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior—was a recipient in need of grace, definitely not a giver of grace.
- In verse 29 Mary deeply or greatly troubled, meaning agitated, unsettled, confused, and wondering.
- Gabriel comforted her with the words, “do not be afraid.”
Discussion: How can we as believers walk in the grace God has given us?
Application: This time of year can be filled with much stress and feelings of fear, agitation, and being unsettled. Let the promise of Gabriel comfort our hearts that we, too, do not need to be afraid as recipients of God’s grace.
II. Fulfillment (Announcement) (Luke 1:31-33)
“31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’”
- Not by coincidence—as nothing is by coincidence in the Bible as God unfolds His redemptive plan—there are similarities between Hagar in Genesis 16:11, –“And the angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction.”—and Mary as they were both in a distressing situation yet mightily used of God.
- In verse 31 we see the promised fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
- Whereas Zechariah displayed unbelief and was temporarily mute, Mary who displayed faith in the midst of her questions would name the baby Jesus; this is significant in a culture and age where it was the act of the fathers to do the naming.
- V. 32: The statement “he will be great” is a statement of absoluteness and unparalleled-ness, whereas the statement of John the Baptist’s greatness in Luke 1:15 has the caveat, “before the Lord.”
Application: This begs the question for us as we take in this story, “Where am I seeking greatness today?” Greatness isn’t found in people’s opinions this holiday season, whether we reach some new vocational, occupational, financial, familial, or other new level of misplaced estimation in the eyes of others. Our place of significance is in the babe in the manger who is supremely great and showers our lives with His favor and grace. We don’t have to and must not look anywhere else.
- “Son of the Most High” “hupsistos” is connected to the Hebrew “Elyon,” God’s name occurring 54 times in the Bible, specifying God’s uniqueness and supremacy over all earthy powers, over Herod, over Zechariah’s doubts, over Mary’s questions, over ultimately the cross and grave for which this baby in the manger was coming.
Discussion: As a group maybe go around and say out loud a specific situation in your life, concern, fear, question, worry (maybe holiday stress, health diagnosis, a lost friend, a burden you’re facing, etc.) that The Son of the Most High is more powerful/is supreme over: “The Son of the Most High is supreme over my ____________________.”
- It’s noteworthy that this title “Son of God” was used in Scripture for those in royal positions and was used by individuals who were key forerunners of the Messiah:
-Adam (Lk. 3:38)
-Israel (Ex. 4:22-23, Hos. 11:1)
-David (Ps. 89:26-27)
- V. 32 uses the phrase “The throne of his father David” which is a reference to the close association between God’s throne and David, some scholars considering them the same, and David’s throne would be occupied ultimately by King Jesus. To be invested in God’s throne, one needs to affirm this and other promises made to God’s people, Israel, special in God’s eyes, yet broken as we all are, and in need of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
Doctrine: Our key doctrine for this week is the doctrine of God the Son.
Lifeway says, “Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ he was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
Galatians 4:4-5, “4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
- God controls all time and is involved in it while outside of it and not limited by it. He is eternal.
Discussion: Why is it important for believers to understand that God’s kingdom is eternal?
III. Faith (Virgin Birth) (Luke 1:34-38)
“34 And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ 35 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[d] will be called holy—the Son of God. 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. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.’ 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.”
- Mary had her concerns and questions but she trusted God and responded with surrender to His will saying she was God’s servant, a word literally meaning “slave.”
Application; Mary is such an example of surrendered trust to God’s will.
- The word overshadow means to block the light so that a shadow covers, used in Exodus 40:35 for the glory of God that filled the Tabernacle.
Discussion: When have you seen God do more than you had thought possible?”
Devotional: “The Son of the Most High God” (Luke 1:32) Link: https://drcalebwalker.com/2024/12/16/devotional-the-son-of-the-most-high-god-luke-132/
General Outline Overview: https://drcalebwalker.com/2024/12/16/general-outline-overview-on-luke-126-38-delivered-from-sin/
Caleb Walker 
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