“Blessed are you among women”

You might not believe it, but Luke Chapter One is one of the most theologically, doctrinally, and prophetically packed passages anywhere in Scripture. To thoroughly exegete it would involve going from book to book, passage to passage, and cross-referencing. This video covers just Luke 1:26-30, where the Virgin Mary meets Gabriel. Subsequent videos will cover more of Mary’s response to Gabriel’s news, that she was selected to bear the Messiah, Jesus Christ. There is detail here that should edify and challenge us in our faith.

First, the name Gabriel, means “Hero of God. It’s very interesting that in Luke 1:19, Gabriel says of himself that he stands in the presence of God. This leads a lot of students and scholars to believe Gabriel may be one of the four angels that surround the throne in Revelation Chapter four. But one thing we do know, whether we’re looking at Gabriel, whether we’re looking at Michael, all the angels reflect God. Their job, their task, their purpose for existence is to reflect God in different ways. Michael is a warrior angel. Gabriel is a teaching and an encourager and exhorter. Note that whenever Gabriel appears, he appears as a man. And when Gabriel appears, the only thing he delivers is information about the coming of the Messiah. We only have three people in the Bible to which Gabriel appears. There may have been more, but he’s not named otherwise. He appears to Daniel in Daniel, Chapters 8 to 12 where Daniel stands there listening, and Gabriel is basically teaching and explaining (and in some cases giving visions) of the Messiah. And then, of course, he appears to Zacharias in Luke 1:11-20, where he revealed the miraculous birth of John the Baptist. Why is that important? Because John the Baptist is the forerunner of the Messiah. And then of course, shortly afterward, Gabriel appeared to Mary, who would be the virgin mother of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so Luke 1:26 says “that Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth.” That’s very important. This is the town in which Mary lived. It’s significant because it fulfills a prophecy that you might have pondered or maybe wrestled over. You’ll remember in Matthew 2:23, when Jesus’ family comes back from Egypt, it says that Joseph led them to Nazareth. “He came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called the Nazarene.” There are no real passages that say, “he shall be called a Nazarene.” You’ll search in vain. You can’t find it. And yet Matthew said that this was a fulfillment of the “prophets,” plural. You’ll probably remember that there are several passages in the Old Testament that refer to the Messiah as “the branch” (Isaiah 4:2, Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5, Jeremiah 33:15, Zachariah 3:8, and Zachariah 6:12.) The word branch in Hebrew is “Netzar,” is the root of Nazareth. Is it amazing? God named a town just so a prophecy could be fulfilled concerning the Lord Jesus Christ

Our passage in Luke goes on to tell us that “Mary was betrothed to Joseph of the House of David.” This is going to become significant, but I’m going to save that for the next video. Suffice that it is the fulfillment of a prophecy. “Mary” is derived from the Hebrew name “Miriam,” which goes all the way back to the sister of Moses. It’s very interesting that Miriam is probably derived from the Egyptian “Meri,” which means “beloved.” Isn’t that appropriate? In Luke 1:28, Gabriel identifies the character of Mary using three phrases. These should be a challenge to us. First though, many scholars have suggested that probably every generation of young women in Israel dreamed that possibly, maybe they would be the one who bears the long-awaited Messiah. Well, here of course, it came down to Mary. And I think Gabriel explains something about why she was chosen. He says that she was highly favored. Now favor, of course, refers to Grace. And we’ll see that in a moment. She was highly favored or highly great, highly blessed. This shows me that she was living in intimate association with the grace of God. Her life was enveloped in grace. How does that happen? This fellowship and Grace are available to every one of us. The Apostle Paul amplifies this when he says in Romans Chapter 5, “grace upon grace” and “much more grace.” Much more than what? Much more than anything you’ve known up to this point. There’s more grace available. How do we get it? Well, it’s very simple. In 1^st Peter 5:5, Peter said, “God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. Also, Jesus began his public teaching ministry with the Beatitudes, and he began with the statement “Blessed,” or you could say “Grace.” “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” The word for “poor” here in the Greek language conveys a person is so poor, so destitute, so helpless that when people walked by, they would just spit on them. They were what you would call the dregs of the earth. God gives grace to we who realize how poor we really are in comparison to our God

Luke 1:28 continues, “The Lord is with you.” This indicates that Mary was living by faith. You must realize that Mary is likely just 14 or 15 years old, the typical marriage age in her time. How spiritually deep could she be? Let’s not deify Mary, which is idolatry, but let’s give her a rightful place, because she was a very magnificent young woman. She was living in fellowship with God, living in the sphere of grace. Gabriel said, “blessed are you among women,” indicating that she represented the ideal woman. Notice he did not say “above other women,” but, “among women.” Mary represented one half of humans. Immediately our mind goes to Genesis 3:15 where the first promise of the Messiah that tells us essential that “the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.”

Now in Luke 1:29, Mary responds within herself in two ways. She was “troubled,” and she “considered.” First, the word “troubled” is actually an intensified verb, which literally means “terrified.” You know, there’s an interesting reaction that you will find in everyone in the Bible when the invisible, unseen realm intersects with the human realm. They’re terrified. If you want to see a vision of angels or the Lord, prepare yourself to be terrified, because the spiritual realm is something that we’re not qualified or capable of taking in. Second, I love this word “consider” which in the Greek is the word “logizomai.” It’s a mathematical term. What a magnificent young woman! What kind of facts do you think she’s adding up here? She’s had an appearance of an angel that calls himself Gabriel who tells her that she is highly favored and she’s standing there dumbfounded, terrified, and she’s in her mind casting about with what? Scripture! She’s beginning to add up the facts she knows of scripture. Being a young Jewish woman, you know, there wasn’t a lot of training. A young man, on the other hand, was trained in the law. Before a young man’s bar mitzvah, he got some intensive training, but not so much a young woman. Something interesting, however, is revealed in the Song of Mary (Luke 1:46-55). There are 15 direct references and allusions to Old Testament scriptures. Off the top of her head, she begins to sing a song composed of fifteen Old Testament texts. Anybody here want to try that? We might get John 3:16 and a couple of others. Mary was obviously a scholar of scripture, and likely, because she was not pushed into knowing the law like a boy would be, she was probably searching on her own.

To me this means she loved the word of God!

Gene Cunningham - January 28, 2003

Hebrews 15

Heb 3:1-6 Comparison of Jesus to Moses Central focus is to a generation of people who are about to see civilization as they knew it cease to exist. Warning came in 67 AD, and it happened in 70AD. 1.5 million Jews killed in the siege of Jerusalem, there were so many Jewish slaves in the world that they were free. The one thing that is utmost in the spiritual life is to keep your eyes on Jesus Christ. Heb 2:9, Heb 3:1 Greatest test we will face is whether we look to Jesus in all sorts of situations we find ourselves in. Moses had enduring faith because he fixed his eyes on Jesus heb 11:27 Heb 12:1-2 Christian life is an endurance race. Jesus is greater than prophets and angels and Moses, which was a big step for orthodox Jews. Jesus is God in human flesh. Since Moses is infinitely outstripped by Jesus, with all the respect people gave to the words of Moses, how much more important is it to pay attention and heed Jesus’ message. Heb 3:7-11 Heb 3:1- Heb 4:1- Very critical to the book. Jesus repeatedly warned “He who has an ear, let him hear.” If you have an ear (all believers have spiritual ears, and all who are surrendered to God can hear. If you are a believer, and obedient, are you listening to what He has to say to you? He has a message for you every day. He speaks non-stop. If we’re attentive, He speaks to us in the Word, through messages, through Christian friends. • Early • Daily • Diligently • Yielding He speaks to us through the Word, and the Spirit of God will remind us of His Word, the exact information we need at the right time. Act 11:16 then I remembered the word of the lord He speaks to us through prayer. We should pause to listen. He speaks by bringing into our consciousness what Jesus wants us to know. He also uses friends and circumstances. When things hurt we tend to listen, so He will allow so that we become attentive, and depend on Him. Failure to hear is a volitional issue. If you’re a believer you have everything necessary to hear the voice of God, but you have to choose to be attentive. Psa 95:7-11 Three great generations of failure in Jewish nation: Exodus generation, Jeremiah generation, Jesus generation. Failure to listen to God is the direct consequence of failing to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ. It is easy to hear Him 1ki 19:12 still small voice, not less clear. He doesn’t need to yell or use circumstances, when we fix our eyes on Him. The break between divine provision and God’s faithfulness is a failure to have faith in His faithfulness. 1co 2:13 psa 95:7-11 Today reminds us that He will speak to us every day. The present time. I AM I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly, my Lord was speaking. "My name is I Am." He paused. I waited. He continued. "When you live in the past, with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not "I was." When you live in the future, with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not "I will be." When you live in this moment it is not hard. I am here. My name is "I AM." By Helen Mallicoat Live in present moment. phi 3:12 We have things in the past, successes or failures that are a distraction. When you learn from a mistake it becomes a valuable thing when it’s not a stumbling block. Live in the present and keep your eyes on Jesus Christ. This is a daily potential. You can know what God spoke to you, it won’t be the same as others. When the listener is in tune with the Spirit of God, and Jesus is always in tune with the Spirit of God, then you can hear what He has to say to you specifically. We are spiritually born with ears. Rom 1:20 When God enters into our life and does a work we can see, we believe by sight, and our faith feels strong. Faith when we don’t see is stronger, and we will still see Him. Mat 6:33-34 There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday with all its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed;We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone forever. The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with all its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and its poor performance; Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow, for it is yet to be born. This leaves only one day, TODAY Any person can fight the battle of just one day. It is when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities Yesterday and Tomorrow that we break down. It is not the experience of Today that drives a person mad, it is the remorse or bitterness of something which happened Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring. Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time. Ecc 3:1-11 There is an appointed time for everything. God is the one who plans the blueprint of our lives. Eph 5:15-16 we need to be careful how we walk, redeeming the time. How do we redeem time? Job 7:1-7 Time involves effort, boredom, exhaustion, repetition, trouble, suffering. Jam 4:14 you don’t own time, it is a gift. Today is part of a pattern. We make a decision, and it ends up being repeated. Then we start a trend, it’s a direction or inclination. It develops a habit. We become the result of our decisions. As time goes by we grow older. Look to Jesus, don’t get distracted by yourself, and be at peace. What convictions steer your life? What can’t you forget? God infinitely values us as individuals. Jesus is the friend who sticks closer than a brother, He is the one who always finds good in you, He is the only one who will never leave you. It is essential to express love to those around you every day. Psa 19:14 It’s a tragedy when we talk about Jesus we’re talking about Him, not from experience. Study the book of John, get to know Jesus, know His character. Each woman has her own beauty that He made. Do not compare yourself to others.

Scripture References: Psalms 95:7-11, Job 7:1-7, Hebrews 11:27, Psalms 95:7-11, Ephesians 5:15-16, Hebrews 3:1, Acts 11:16, Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, Hebrews 2:9, Hebrews 4:1, Matthew 6:33-34, Hebrews 3:1-6, Hebrews 3:1, Romans 1:20, Psalms 19:14, Hebrews 3:7-11, Philippians 3:12, James 4:14, Hebrews 12:1-2