BOOK BY BOOK BIBLE STUDY
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BIBLE STUDY LESSON
For
the week beginning Sunday November 22, 2020
THE BIRTH OF JESUS FORETOLD
Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the archangel,
Gabriel, returns to earth to deliver yet another message from GOD. This time he
visits the tiny town of Nazareth in Galilee, the home of a young teenaged
“virgin” (“parthenos” in the Greek) named Mary. Mary was engaged to marry a man
named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Gabriel’s charge, on this
visit, was to give young Mary shocking news of GOD’s plan to bless the world
through her, with the “Immaculate Conception” of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS
CHRIST, WHOM HIMSELF would be “the ULTIMATE MESSAGER”.
The long-awaited
“MESSIAH” WHO had been forecasted by ancient prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Daniel and the likes, would now be sent by GOD to usher in a “New Covenant”
that would liberate all mankind from under the dominion of sin. It would be a covenant
that would allow anyone, who believes in HIM, to receive the gift of eternal
life, through their faith. It would then become the duty of all of HIS
followers to build their spiritual foundation on that “most high” faith.
As Christians, they
would then have to learn to pray and communicate with GOD in the power of a,
soon-to-come, HOLY SPIRIT (worship in Spirit), WHOM JESUS would later send. And
after HIS ascension back into Heaven, through regular “Holy Communion”
services, we were to always acknowledge and remember the conditions of this
covenant, under which the love of GOD has called us, and of which, JESUS
HIMSELF, signed with HIS OWN blood.
In verse 28 Gabriel
greeted Mary saying, “Greetings favored
woman! The LORD is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary struggled to try
and understand just what the appearance of the angel before her meant. Sensing
her fear, Gabriel sought to calm her by saying, “Don’t be frightened, Mary, for GOD has decided to bless you! You will
become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him JESUS. HE will be very
great and will be called the SON of the MOST HIGH. And the LORD GOD will give
HIM the throne of HIS ancestor David. And HE will reign over Israel forever;
HIS kingdom will never end!” (NLT)
Then Mary wondered out
loud, asking Gabriel, “But how can I have
a baby? I am a virgin”. Gabriel then explains to her that, “The HOLY SPIRIT will come upon you, and the
power of The MOST HIGH will “overshadow” (“episkiazo” in the Greek) you. So, the BABY born to you will be holy,
and HE will be called the “SON of GOD” (“Prototakas”, which means, “first
born”) (Vs.34-35).
In order to understand
further what the angel, Gabriel was telling Mary, the word “overshadow” which
is “episkiazo” in the original Greek, has a duel meaning, and in this case both
meaning do apply. First it means “to make insignificant”. Here the angel is
telling Mary that the child she will borne is “infinitely more important than
herself”.
Secondly, “episkiazo”
means, “to envelope (fully cover) with a “preternatural (beyond the normal
course of nature) covering or influence”, or a haze of brilliancy”. In other
words, GOD would place a supernatural covering around Mary to protect her,
during the course of her pregnancy, from the wiles of satan, and his last-ditch
efforts to prevent, or delay the entrance of JESUS into the world.
Suddenly Mary’s
“confusion and fear” turned to “joy and appreciation”. She then responded by
saying, “I am the LORD’s servant, and I
am willing to accept whatever HE wants. May everything you said, come true”
(v.38).
When we believe in GOD,
in all HIS fullness, holiness, and eternal righteousness, it becomes easy to
accept whatever HE sends our way. We then understand that HIS tests are not
meant to make us fail, but rather, are sent to make us strong, so that we may
become better warriors in the Army of CHRIST.
Mary accepted the
message that GOD sent her that day through HIS angel, Gabriel, and as a result,
every generation since, has called her blessed. We can’t help but acknowledge
the “favor” (“charise”) that GOD showed her, by way of HIS bestowing upon her,
such a divine role, in HIS divine plan and works.
MARY VISITS ELIZABETH
Luke 1:39-56
In Luke 1,
verses 39-45, just a few days after Mary had been visited by the archangel
Gabriel, she traveled to the hill country of Judea, to the town where
Zechariah, the husband of her cousin Elizabeth lived. When she entered their
house and greeted, a now, six-month pregnant Elizabeth, the sound of her voice
caused the child that her cousin was carrying to leap in her womb with joy.
Being filled with the HOLY SPIRIT,
Elizabeth herself gave a cry of joy and exclaimed to Mary, “You are “blessed”
(in the Greek “eulogeo”, which means “well-spoken of”) by GOD above all other
women, and your child is blessed. What an honor this is, that the mother of my
LORD should visit me! When you came in and greeted me, my baby jumped for joy
the instant I heard your voice! You are blessed because you believed that the
LORD would do what HE said” (NLT).
Luke
1:46-55 is a passage that, over the years, has become one of the great hymns of
the Christian Church as a whole. This passage is known world-wide as the
“Magnificat”. Magnificat is a term taken from the “Latin Vulgate”, the first
Latin translation of the bible, written by Jerome at the end of the fourth
century A.D., and it means, “My soul doth magnify the LORD”.
This song, composed by Mary, mother of JESUS, praises GOD’s favor on her
and her people (Vs. 51-55). Some scholars tend to doubt that a young uneducated
country girl, such as Mary, could have composed such a wonderful and prophetic
poem, however, common sense dictates that she, or anyone else, who was in a
close personal relationship with GOD, and were fairly familiar with the Old
Testament passages which are alluded to in this song, is capable of expressing
these thoughts of praise that we find here.
Apparently, Mary saw herself as a part of the GODly remnant that had
served her LORD with all diligence. We see in verse 47, for instance, where she
calls GOD, “my Savior”, shows she had a deep intimate knowledge of HIM. She
also speaks of GOD’s faithfulness, power, holiness, and mercy in verses 48-50,
showing that her relationship with GOD was an experiential one.
This timeless stretch of biblical literature, has, contained within it,
four distinct parts which should be noted by every reader. First, there is
“great personal adoration and thanks to GOD” (Vs. 46-48). In the biblical
Greek, the word “makarizo” (mak-ar-id-zo) is used in verse 46 for “blessed”,
and it actually means “supremely blest”, or, “beatified”. It describes, in this
passage, what it is like to be “indwelt by GOD, and thereby, fully satisfied”.
Mary was completely satisfied and honored by the wonderful, and unexpected way,
in which GOD chose to use her body for HIS purpose.
Then secondly, there is “a celebration of GOD’s attributes” (Vs. 49-50).
Mary celebrated GOD’s goodness and she cherished all that HE had done for her,
and she also appreciated the fact that HIS mercy extended throughout all
generations, for all times.
Thirdly, we see her “acclaim GOD for
correcting pride, social injustice, and economic disparities” (Vs. 51-53). In
these three verses we see “GOD’s three great moral revolutions”. These moral
rebellions can also be found in the make-up of Christianity. We see, first of
all, “GOD’s revolution against pride (v.51), where Mary notes that, “GOD
scatters the proud and haughty ones” (NLT). When Christianity is practiced properly,
it automatically means death to pride. A person cannot possibly set their life
beside the life of CHRIST without, first, tearing every ounce of pride from
him, or herself.
Next, we see “GOD’s revolution against social injustice” (v.52) “HE has
taken the princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly” (NLT). When
Christianity is practiced properly, it means death to social injustice. It puts
an end to race, labels, and prestige, because what CHRIST did for one, HE
intended for all. No man is favored in the eyes of GOD, but also, we can call
no man worthless, or common, for whom JESUS CHRIST has died. HE died for all
men in general, and all Christians, in particular.
And then, there is “GOD’s revolution against economic disparity” (v.53)
“HE has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty
hands” (NLT). When Christianity is practiced properly, it means death to
economic disparity and greed. A Christian society is a community of believers
who dares to have too much, while others don’t even have enough. The attitude
of a believer in CHRIST JESUS, is one that desires to have more, in order that
they may have more to give away.
In the fourth and final part (Vs. 54-55), we see “Mary giving GOD praise
for the mercy shown to Israel”. There
she cites that, “How GOD has helped HIS servant Israel! HE has not forgotten
HIS promise to be merciful. HE promised our ancestors, Abraham and his
children, to be merciful to them forever” (NLT).
Even at her young age we can clearly see that Mary knew for sure that
her blessing and charge of giving birth to the SON of GOD was not all about
her, but rather, it was about a covenant promise that was established with
Abraham and her fore-fathers, long before she was ever thought about.
It was William Barclay who wrote, concerning this wonderful passage of
scripture, that, “There is loveliness in the Magnificat, but within that
loveliness, there is also, dynamite”. And he was right. And so Mary went on to
birth our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, and JESUS CHRIST birthed Christianity
into the world, and Christianity birthed a revolution in mankind against pride,
social injustice, and economic disparity, and mankind must now take up that
fight, and continue that revolution throughout the world.
A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander
Larry Dell Alexander (1953–)
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas
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