“Readers' Theater”:
Luke 1:26-45, ESV
Narrator: In [Elizabeth's] sixth month
the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named
Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of
the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to
her and said,
Angel: “Greetings, O favored one, the
Lord is with you!”
Narrator: But she was greatly troubled
at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this
might be. And the angel said to her,
Angel: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for
you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in
your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 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, and he
will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom
there will be no end.”
Narrator: And Mary said to the angel,
Mary: “How will this be, since I am a
virgin?”
Narrator: And the angel answered her,
Angel: “The Holy Spirit will come
upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
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. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Narrator: And Mary said,
Mary: “Behold, I am the servant of
the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
Narrator: And the angel departed from
her. In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill
country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of
Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the
greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was
filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry,
Elizabeth: “Blessed are you among
women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this
granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For
behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby
in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that
there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the
Lord.”
Merry Christmas!
You have just heard the way the Bible introduces Mary
to us. If you can forget about the Christmas songs, plays, movies
and other things that so often shroud the Bible's simple message
with tradition and folklore, you have to admit that we really
don't know much about this woman. In a few moments, we'll hear
Mary's remarkable response to Elizabeth's greeting (known as the
Magnificat). But other than that, the Bible is pretty silent. I
can basically put everything we know about Mary on just
over one page. Here's what we know:
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, then
returned home (Luke 1:56). Matthew (1:18) simply says that Mary
“was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit,” so an angel
talked Joseph out of divorcing her (in a dream). Anything we
imagine about Mary's response is just that—imagined. Next, Luke
says the pair head south to be registered in Bethlehem, and “while
they were there” Mary gave birth. When the shepherds arrived,
saying that angels had made the delivery announcement, they “found
Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.” And all we're
told about Mary is that she “treasured up all these things,
pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19).
When Jesus was 40 days old, we see the family at the
Temple in Jerusalem, offering “a pair of turtledoves, or two young
pigeons” (Luke 2:24); this is how we know they were poor, for the
required sacrifice for wealthy people was much more expensive.
While there, Simeon (a “devout and righteous man” who apparently
liked to hang out at the Temple) told Mary of the child's destiny,
and added: “and a sword will pierce through your own soul also”
(Luke 2:35)--hardly the thing a new mother wants to hear about her
baby, but I'm sure those words brought comfort and understanding
later.
If you thought that the “wise men” arrived the same
night Mary arrived in Bethlehem, sorry,
that's not what the text says. Matt 2:11 uses the Greek word
for toddler or child: “And going into the house they saw
the child with Mary his mother...”, and then they worship
Jesus and present their gifts. Soon thereafter, Joseph (not Mary)
sees another angel in a dream, who says (Matt 2:13) “take the
child and his mother, and flee to Egypt...”, where they stay for a
year or two until Joseph's final angelic dream informs them that
King Herod is dead. Then they return to Nazareth.
When Jesus is 12 we see Mary and Joseph again, and
this time Mary gets a direct quote in scripture (something that
never happens to Joseph). After Jesus' Bar Mitzvah, Luke (2:48)
tells us that Jesus apparently decided to stay at the Temple in
Jerusalem, without telling his parents. When Mary and Joseph
finally find Jesus three days later, Mary says: “Son, why have you
treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for
you in great distress.” to which Jesus replied: “Why were you
looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's
house?” Luke adds (Luke 2:50-51): “And they did not understand the
saying that [Jesus] spoke to them. And Jesus went down with them
and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother
treasured up all these things in her heart.”
We don't hear from Mary again for almost 20 years. In
John 2:3-5, at a wedding in Cana, Mary sort of prompts Jesus to
perform his first miracle, turning water into wine for the wedding
feast. The text simply says:
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have
no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do
with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the
servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now, I LIKE Mary, for that statement alone! That's probably
the clearest, shortest summary of Christian doctrine in the
Bible, and remarkable advice no matter what the
occasion! As the New King James version puts it:
“Whatever He says to you, do it.”
The results were great, for John tells us: “This, the first of his
signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And
his disciples believed in him.” (Way to go, mom!)
Then it gets sketchy for another three years. John
6:42, Matt 13:55 and Mark 6:3 tell us that the neighbors (near the
Lake, and in Nazareth) know both Mary and Joseph. It's here, not
the nativity story, where we learn that Joseph is a carpenter.
These passages also tell us that Mary and Joseph had more
children, namely Jesus' “brothers James and Joseph and Simon and
Judas,” as well as unnamed sisters—a big family by today's
standards! We get a glimpse of the big, happy family in John 2:12,
which says that, after the wedding in Cana, Jesus “went down to
Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and
they stayed there for a few days.”
But apparently, Jesus family was having misgivings
about Jesus by Mark 3:20. Big crowds were gathering around Jesus,
who had just appointed the 12 “to preach and have authority to
cast out demons.” The text says: “And when his family heard it,
they went out to seize him, for they were saying, 'He is out of
his mind.'” This might explain what happened 10 verses later, when
“his mother and his brothers came....” I can just picture this: “Mom,
He won't listen to us; YOU go talk to Him!” When they all got
there, Jesus—looking about at those who sat around Him--said: “Who
are my mother and my brothers?” “Here are my mother and my
brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and
sister and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35)
Perhaps Luke 8:19 & Matt 12:46 record different times
when Mary and Jesus' brothers came to visit Him. Sooner or later
they came to grips with who Jesus was, for we know that his
half-brother James was one of the leaders of the Early Christian
Church.
Likewise, John 19:24 tells us that Mary was “standing
by the cross of Jesus” (fulfilling Simeon's prophecy, to be sure).
Jesus speaks to Mary from the cross: “Woman, behold your son!” and
then commends her to the care of John, “the beloved disciple”--and
tradition says that she ended her days in John's care, in the city
of Ephesus. An ornament on my Christmas tree was purchased above
Ephesus in what some hold to be the remains of Mary's house.
It is also possible that Mary was one of the Mary's
who went to the tomb on that first Easter; the text is not
definitive. (Mark 16:1 and Luke 24:10 say “Mary the mother of
James” went to the tomb—that might refer to Jesus' mother, since
James was his brother). But, in Acts 1:14 we see Mary for the last
time, among the disciples in the Upper Room, just after Jesus
ascended into heaven. The author, Luke, tells us: “All these with
one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the
women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
That's all we know about Mary. She isn't
mentioned once in the epistles. We have no stories of people
asking her to take some need to Jesus, and no scriptural
indication that she was superhuman in any
way. She was just a common girl,
from a religious family, who trusted and submitted to a very
big God.
The only information I've left out is the Magnificat
in Luke 1. Maybe I've saved the best for last, because I think
this “song of praise”, standing there with her relative
Elizabeth—who is also pregnant with a miracle baby—this song shows
us part of why God chose Mary out of all the women who would ever
live to be the mother of Jesus. This was a woman who loved God,
and knew His Word. And this is amazing for the first century. In
the synagogs, women were separated from the men (and the Holy
Books) by a screen. Back there with the other women and children,
it was likely difficult to hear the teachings. Furthermore, the
Jewish men of the first century prayed, “I thank Thee God that
Thou hast not made me a woman.” And the Jewish Talmud
said it was better to burn the Torah [i.e., scriptures] than to
teach it to a woman.
As you are about to see, somehow Mary was not shackled
by these notions, which might also tell us something about her
mother and father. Did her Dad quietly teach her the scriptures at
home? It is a good assumption (and I hope you parents are doing
that). But this much is clear: God Almighty saw something special
in this teenage Jewish virgin. And once she gave God
permission--by telling the angel “I am the servant of the Lord;
let it be to me according to your word”--God performed a miracle.
To quote Jack Hayford: "God's redemptive promise was brought to
her, to grow in her, to be delivered through her, to
change the world around her."
Here is Mary's song, and to give you an idea of how
well Mary knew her Bible, Jamie will read Mary's words while I
quote related Old Testament scriptures.
Mary's Song of Praise (The Magnificat; Luke 1:46ff)
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
Michael
3 Oh, magnify the
Lord with me, and let
us exalt his name together!
4 I sought the Lord, and he
answered me and delivered me from all my fears. (Ps 34:3-4)
47 and
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
Michael
I will rejoice in the
LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. (Hab
3:18)
48 for
he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
Michael
For though the Lord
is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows
from afar. (Ps 138:6)
For behold, from now on all generations
will call me blessed;
Michael
May people be blessed in
him, all nations call him
blessed! 18 Blessed
be the Lord, the God
of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
19 Blessed
be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with
his glory! (Ps 72:17–19)
49 for
he who is mighty has done great things...
Michael
The Lord your
God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will
rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he
will exult over you with loud singing. (Zep 3:17)
49 he
...has done great things for me,
Michael
The Lord
has done great things for us; we are glad. (Ps 126:3)
and holy is his name.
Michael
For thus says the One who is high
and lifted up, who inhabits
eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and
holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and
lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to
revive the heart of the contrite. (Is 57:15)
50 And
his mercy is for those who fear him...
Michael
O Lord, let your ear be attentive
to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear
your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him
mercy in the sight of this man. (Neh 1:11)
who fear him from generation to
generation.
Michael
May they fear you while
the sun endures, and as
long as the moon, throughout all generations! (Ps 72:5)
51 He
has shown strength with his arm;
Michael
Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the
Lord; awake, as in days of old, the generations of
long ago. (Is 51:9)
he has scattered the proud in the
thoughts of their hearts;
52 he
has brought down the mighty from their thrones...
Michael
At the end of the days I, [King]
Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason
returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and
honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting
dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to
generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as
nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of
heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay
his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” (Dan 4:34–35)
52 he
has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those
of humble estate;
Michael
thus says the Lord
God: Remove the
turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as
they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low
that which is exalted. (Eze 21:26)
53 he
has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent
away empty.
Michael
For he satisfies the longing
soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
(Ps 107:9)
54 He
has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
Michael
But you, Israel, my
servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, ...saying to you, “You are
my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; fear
not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will
strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand. (Is 41:8–10)
55 as
he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Michael
You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to
Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days
of old. (Mic 7:19–20)
(continued in the other column)
