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Mom
“‘Is this not the
carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and
Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?’ And they were
offended at Him” (Mark 6:3).
What an honor to be allowed to create life.
It’s such a strange way for life to come into humanity, but it’s
precisely and wonderfully the method chosen by God for the people of
this world. C. S. Lewis said of procreation, “If
instead of storks or cabbage leaves, you told children the way it
really is, they wouldn’t believe you.” Indeed they probably
would not.
God commanded us right from the beginning, “Be
fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) and he made it all so
strangely beautiful that the process has filled the minds and lives
of humanity since the beginning of time. He has given some the
right to actually bring life to this world, right out of their
bodies. An amazing gift!
From the Scripture verse of this morning, it
seems apparent that Mary had other children in addition to her
astonishing Firstborn. She was a Mom. You likely know the story of
Jesus. Hundreds of years before His birth, it was foretold by
Isaiah the prophet, that the Messiah would be born of “a
virgin” (Isaiah 7:14). Those who quibble that the Hebrew
word for “virgin” in that verse can
have other meanings must reckon with Matthew 1:23. When the angel
appeared to Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather and quoted Isaiah 7:14 to him,
the Greek word for “virgin” he used, only had one possible meaning – a woman who had
not known a man. What a challenge for him. What a challenge for
HER. She had all the problems of other women, and yet infinitely
more.
The reason that many have objected to the
virgin birth is obvious: such a birth is a miracle. If Jesus was
indeed born of a virgin as stated in Scripture, then you are drawn
to believe other miraculous information about Jesus, as well. Note
that when the angel quoted Isaiah, stating “Behold
a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son,” it continues,
“and they shall call His name ‘Immanuel,’
which is translated, ‘God with us.’” The child that Mary
bore is God!
The angel who appeared gave Mary good news: “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” (Luke 1:35). Indeed it is
wonderful. Out of all the women of history, this woman was chosen
to be the one who would bring God’s Messiah into the world. Through
her, salvation has come to us all.
But it was not easy for Mary. The rumors and
innuendos about His birth followed Mary all of her life, and persist
among theologians to this day. However, her Firstborn WAS the Son
of God, just as the prophet foretold hundreds of years before, as
repeated by the angel months before His birth. It’s the truth that
matters, and those who love you will look for the truth about you.
Notice in our verse for today, that those who reject the truth about
Mary, are actually “offended at”
God.
At the time the angel visited Mary, she was
living in Galilee. Isaiah had been shown that the Messiah would
come from “Galilee” (Isaiah 9:1-2), a
place that was not well thought of by those who were part of the
“in” crowd.
Shortly before she gave birth, Mary and her new
husband Joseph were uprooted at the command of the egotistical
Caesar who took the name “Augustus”
(a title that meant “sacred” or “kingly”).
He forced everyone to return to their ancestral homes, just because
he wanted to know how many people he ruled. Both Mary and Joseph
were actually royalty from a human perspective, because of descent
from King David. Their ancestor’s home was far to the south, which
meant they had to leave suddenly for Bethlehem, David’s home, on
short notice and with little preparation.
From a Godly perspective, this is very good
news for us, for it had been foretold in Micah 5:2 that the Messiah,
the Christ, would come from “Bethlehem”,
and He also would be from what the prophet called “everlasting”
(literally, “the days of eternity”).
All prophesy would be fulfilled in her soon-to-be-born Son.
However, Mary, in her ninth month of pregnancy, had to make the trip
on a donkey. Can you imagine? Bouncing on a donkey for all of
those miles at such a time!
Another difficulty came later, when the local
kinglet, Herod the Great, got word that a King was being born in
Bethlehem. He was an insecure man who often felt threatened and
sent men to kill all the children in that area (Matthew 2:16).
Joseph, Mary’s husband, had been warned in a dream to get out of
Bethlehem, and off they went to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14). This
fulfilled yet another prophesy, “Out of
Egypt I called My Son” (Hosea 11:1, as expressed in Matthew
2:15). Mary’s Son fulfills it all.
Every mother is potentially a heroine, and Mary
is the among the greatest of them all. She epitomized motherhood by
her willingness to give up herself, placing her family and God’s
will before her own needs. Even in difficult circumstances.
I recall reading, “It
takes two years to convince a child that he is the center of the
universe and most of the next 16 to convince him that he is not.”
The author, John Rosemond, continued, “Sometimes,
unfortunately, that isn’t sufficient.” God, in His wisdom,
has put mothers into the position where they must place their
children’s needs ahead of their own. Mary had the extra concern, in
relation to her Firstborn Son, that He really IS the center of all
that is. Scripture says of Jesus Christ, “He
is before all things, and in Him all things consist”
(Colossians 1:17).
Mary is a model for us all, because she
received news, dangerous news for the time and place (an unwed
mother might be killed by others in the community), and chose,
instead of merely being afraid, to trust in God. After initial
surprise, she responded, “Behold the
maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word!”
(Luke 1:38).
It’s time for us all to TRUST like Mary did,
and put aside our fears. Lord, we trust in You now. Life is a
fearful place, but You are greater than our fears. Let us discover
now that life is not all about us, but instead YOU are the center of
all things. Just like Mary, we place our trust in You. We love
You, Lord, and praise Your Holy Name. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchontheNet.org
www.BlessedHands.org
E-mail:
Ron@FridayStudy.org
Tel: (562) 688-5559
PO Box 92131
Long Beach, CA 90809-2131
"While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8) |
