THE NAME JESUS

Luke 1:26-56

Key Verse 1: 31

You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.

Today we would like to think about the blessedness of the life that serves the name Jesus. Mary the mother Jesus is a living example of it. 

First, Greetings, you who are highly favored (26-29)

Serving the name Jesus is such a noblest theme that although it comes with much sacrifice and pains on our part, we call it a total boon, not a bane. Look at verses 26-29. In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Here, sixths month refers to the time period which counts from the date of Little Johnny’s conception in the womb of his mother Elizabeth. Six months before the angel had made a business trip from God’s kingdom to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem of Judea. Then he had announced to Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth would bear a child. Six months thereafter the same angel made another business trip but this time to visit a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. She lived in Nazareth of Galilee in Israel. At that time we don’t know what Mary was doing. Perhaps she was dreaming about her fiancé Joseph. In her dream, she might have been thinking about what kind of wedding gown would suit her better, how her hairstyle should be, or which place might be most romantic for a honey-moon trip. But suddenly, someone knocked on the door. She thought that it might be Joseph. So she opened the door. But it was not Joseph! It was an angel! It was the heavenly UPS delivery man! Even before Mary open her mouth saying, “How can I help you?” the angel said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 

Why was she so troubled? We can find a few clues from the passage itself. First is the fact that she was a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph. Second is the expression “at his words.” It was the angel’s words not his presence that troubled her greatly. Most likely, being a woman pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, she might have thought that she wouldn’t need any additional favor from anyone. In addition, in my opinion, the idea of someone else other than Joseph being with her sounded even disturbing and even troublesome, for to her, Joseph her fiancé being with her was enough. After all, according to Jewish custom, already she was a Joe’s girl. [According to the Law of Moses which was reflected in the Jewish custom on marriage, once you are pledged to be married to a man, you are already a lawful “wife”; the couple were not allowed to sleep together; during the period of pledge which normally lasted a year, they keep themselves pure until the date of wedding coming; it is only after the formal wedding ceremony that they came together. Still however, the pledge of marriage was a legally binding transaction so that the couple under the pledge were called husband and wife; accordingly they can set the relationship aside only through divorce.]

Her hunch proved right. As the angel said in verses 30-33 the mission that fell on her put her relationship with Joseph in jeopardy. After all according to the Law of Moses, if a virgin gets pregnant, especially a virgin pledged to be married with a man becomes pregnant (not through the man pledged to be married with, but through someone else), and the information on her pregnancy becomes public, then the elders in town come around, drag her to a public arena, and stone her to death. Surely the mission put her in double or triple jeopardy. 

But still the angel called her “highly favored.” Why? We already answered the question: serving the name Jesus is a great boon, not a bane. It is a blessing upon blessings, a privilege of privileges. Why is it such a great blessing? Again the answer is found in the word “Jesus.” Jesus saves. So serving the one who saves is gaining all by losing all. 

Mark Twain also understood this truth at least to a certain extent. In his book “The Five Boons of Life” he calls “pleasure, [human] love, fame, and riches” as “worldly” gifts. Then he curses all of them saying, “Curse all the world's gifts … They are not gifts, but merely lendings. Pleasure, Love, Fame, Riches: they are but temporary disguises for lasting realities--Pain, Grief, Shame, Poverty.” Tons of people make super-human efforts seeking pleasures, human love, worldly reputations, and material wealth. They sacrifice their time, energy, youth, and surely their purity. In order to secure all these, one after another, some of them even sacrifice their family relationships. They even sell their identity as a human being, as a Christian, or as a missionary. After pursuing fleeting pleasures they realize that pleasures are short-lived and disappointing, vain and empty. After frantic search for human love for example, and by the time one thinks that he has found one, and starts leaning on it, one will have to admit that one traded each hour of happiness for a thousand hours of grief. The same is true with the life spent (or put it more correctly wasted) for worldly fame and material wealth. At the end of the road one has to admit that he has wasted his life for what does not give life to man. The life that serves the worldly pleasures, worldly love, worldly fame, and worldly riches is the life of a slave serving Mr. Total Emptiness. 

But it is not so with the life that sacrifices one’s everything for the name’s sake of Jesus Christ. Why? Jesus Christ alone is the Savior. He alone can provide us with eternal security for life. 

 

Second, his kingdom will never end (30-33)

Practically then what do we mean by eternal security for life? Let us read verses 30-33 responsively. Here, the angel described the mission for Mary. It was the mission to bring the Savior into this world through her womb. God chose her to be an instrument to make the Word to become flesh. But giving birth to a Savior is only the beginning of the end. What is the end? What is her “end” purpose? What will be the ultimate outcome of her service? According to the angel, the ultimate vision that will be fulfilled through the Savior to be born of the virgin Mary is eternal kingdom of God which is never ending. “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

God’s purpose is to build God’s kingdom in the hearts of all who put trust in Him. God’s kingdom refers to the domain where God is the ruler. Jesus is the exact representation of God’s being. God is the Creator. All the rest are God’s creation. By definition, what is created is limited, and therefore cannot serve as a lasting security. Man’s life is meant to be eternal. It is not a small venture. It is a very complex venture. After all man is the crown of God’s creation. No creation is as sophisticated as man. One of the indications of man’s sophisticated-ness is it is only God the Creator who can fully meet all of man’s total needs, for man’s total satisfaction. And this is why we say that God’s kingdom, the domain where God is the ruler (the ruler in the sense of protector and provider) is the only lasting security for man. 

Mary was chosen to participate in the Lord who is come to build this eternal life security for man. Viewed this way, we can see that the mission upon the shoulder of Mary is like the mission the Lord God gave to Noah. What was Noah’s mission? It was to make a huge ark. Building the ark was not a small job. It required total devotion. He needed to devote all of his resources: time, energy, money, intelligence, everything. But it was a worthy cause, for when the rain started and water rose, when all others were swimming only to drown, he himself was able to enjoy a quiet moment of meditation sipping a cup of Lipton Tea. 

In many ways, the struggles to study God’s word, prepare Bible notes, go fishing, teach the Bible to our sheep, and praying for each of them, is similar to Mary going through the pain of bringing the Savior into this world. In many ways, living as a shepherd or a missionary in this society of rugged individualism is like a virgin having to give birth to a baby. Personally I don’t know what it is for a woman to conceive a baby, gives birth to a child or two, and raise them up. I know at least babysitting is not a picnic. But overall parenting involves travails, toils, and even tears. But it is worth the efforts. Shepherding also involves travails, toils, and tears. But, it is worth the efforts, for it is to introduce Jesus Christ, the builder of eternal life security into the lives of many.

Third, the power of the Most High will overshadow you (34-37)

The third reason why the life that serves the name Jesus is the most blessed life is because it comes with God’s power, not man’s abilities. 

Look at verses 34-35. At first, Mary thought that she needed to bear a child through human efforts. But, angel made it clear that she is to fulfill the mission of child-bearing only through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

This is a very important point for us to remember. As I mentioned a number of times, God never asks his children to do anything without first providing them with all the means by which to fulfill what they are asked to do. And the greatest provision the Lord God provides his children with is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has all the characteristics which God the Father has. Functionally, however, it is the Holy Spirit who makes things to happen. God wills, but the Holy Spirit makes things happen. Figuratively speaking, God the Father is like Abraham and the Holy Spirit is like Abraham’s chief servant in Genesis 24 where father Abraham shared to his chief servant his will to find a wife for his son Isaac, whereupon the chief servant went to Rebekah’s place, and brought her to marry with Isaac. Abraham willed, and Abraham’s servant made things to happen. Likewise, God the Father wills and the Holy Spirit makes God’s will to come true. And here is the point for all to bear in mind: nothing is impossible with God. All things are possible with God, and so is the case with the Holy Spirit. In fact this is one of the first truths we find in the Bible, for in Genesis 1:1-2, we see that it was the Spirit of God who caused the beautiful universe and the planet earth to come into being. 

The fact that it is by God’s power that we can serve and fulfill God’s mission gives us a great relief from all the senses of burdens and anxieties. It is a total remover of all the hang-ups you might have been suffering from as a man or woman of mission. And may the Lord bless you by remembering that “NOTHING” means really NOTHING. All things are possible with God. Nothing is impossible with God. 

Fourth, I am the Lord’s servant (38)

The blessedness of the life that serves the name Jesus stems from the fact that it is the Lord who is our master, and it is we who are the servants of the most blessed master, the Lord Jesus Christ. And this fourth point is what made Mary to be such a blessed woman. Look at verse 38. [I would encourage all sisters to read this passage.]

^”"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.” Legally she was a “Joe’s girl.” But, even without making a phone call or sending an email to Joe, on the very spot, she said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be tome as you have said.” Wow! What happened to her loyalty to Joseph?! Perhaps as she went through the ceremony to solemnize the pledge of marriage, she must have expressed her faithfulness to Joseph. But, being a Jewish girl, she might have already received discipline on the meaning and purpose of every Jew: that is, to serve the Lord as a member of the kingdom of priests and a holy nation. For the Lord’s name’s sake, they were trained to sacrifice their everything to the Lord. 

Lately, we are having daily bread passages coming from the book of Genesis. Personally I received much grace from the life of Joseph. In Genesis 39, we find the expression repeatedly, “The Lord was with Joseph, that the Lord gave him success in everything he did.” The question that came to mind was “Why is it that in my case, I am not as successful as Joseph was?” The answer was quite obvious: my relationship with the Lord was not as ideal as the relation between Joseph and the Lord. This brought up another question: what is wrong with my relationship with the Lord? Logically nothing is wrong with the Lord. The trouble is with me. What then is wrong with me? On further prayer I realized that my attitude to the Lord was the problem. The Lord must be Lord. The word Lord has the meaning of master. He is the master. I am not. Who then am I? I am only a servant. Then the question became, “Am I really a servant to the Lord, in the true sense of the word servant?” Then it occurred to me that I must repent of my own-men mentality. I learned that I have the so-called “director’s disease.” I am not a CEO. I am not a director. I am merely a servant, not to men alone, but first to the Lord, then to men. This made me happy. Why? If the Lord is my employer, he is the one who will protect me and provide for me, if I remain faithful to Him to the end.

Fifth, to a town in the hill country (39-40)

The next point for us to consider for the blessedness of the life that serves the Lord is the blessedness of co-working. It may sound odd, but please bear with me for a while, read verses 39-40, and think about the point I am going to make. Look at verses 39-40. “At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.” This passage indicates that Mary headed for Judean country even without seeking a prior approval from Joseph. Why? It was because the angel tipped her in regard to the need to seek consultation from her relative Elizabeth. Although the journey was not an easy thing to make, she still ventured to go and talk to Elizabeth. This turned out to be a great turning point for her to experiencing the blessedness of the live that serves the name Jesus. 

In our own ministry I am personally thankful that the Lord God provided us with many spiritual seniors both men and women, that as we seek advice from them, the Lord makes our services in the Lord more pleasant. Mother Barry or Dr. John Jun works as our good spiritual guides for us. The same is true in our ministry. On many occasions, when situations arise, we are quite at al loss. Then, as we pray, the Lord God will come up with clear directions by leading us to talk to some of our coworkers who already have gone through similar situations. Then the service in the Lord becomes joyful. 

Sixth, blessed are you among women (41-45)

In verses 41-45, we find this being true particularly from what Elizabeth said to Mary, especially the word “blessed” which is repeated three times. Look at verses 41-45. “When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" Here Elizabeth did not utter the word “blessed” out of her own good mind. But she said it through the movement of the Holy Spirit. The word “blessed” means “happy”. The level of happiness is not a shallow one, but the one which is on a perfect level, the kind of happiness enjoyed by the Divine. This then says that the life that fully obeys the Lord fully in every detail is the life that is fully blessed.

Seventh, my soul glorifies the Lord (46-56)

Verses 46-56 is Mary’s doxology. Let us read this song of praise with the spirit of joy. In this passage three points deserve our special attention: 

The blessedness of the one who fears the Lord. Mary says that those who fear the Lord God will experience the Lord’s mercy. Mercy is to be treated well even if we do not deserve. She admitted that she is an unworthy woman. Yet the Lord blessed her more than any women in human history. 

The blessedness of the one who is humble. The humble will be uplifted. By the same token the proud will fall down to the bottomless pit. Mary experienced it firsthand.

The blessedness of the one who is hungry. The hungry refers to the spiritually hungry. The spiritual hunger belongs to those who are aware of the fallen condition. God then blesses them with what is truly rich and truly satisfying. 

One word: the name Jesus

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