“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 02

Two things fixed in our minds throughout this study: 1. -Theme is the High Priestly ministry of Jesus Christ. HEB 8:2 A Totally unique kind. We each have priesthood has a ministry. 1PE 2:5-9 We are to follow the lead of the High Priest. We minister outside the veil, while He is on the inside. 2. -Aim of theme is the fulfillment of its purpose , that we fix our eyes on Jesus Heb 12:2 Get our eyes off of our circumstances, weaknesses, problems and instead to fix our eyes on Jesus Heb 3:1 (to bear down in concentration in our mind) Heb 12:2 (to get our eyes off of other things and fix them solely on Jesus) These two things are essential if we are to fulfill our own priesthood. Heb 5:1 A priest ministers the things of God to the people. That is what He calls us to. We need to have that burden for the world around us. It’s not just for the pastor or evangelist or missionary, it is for you as a believer in Jesus. Key Word: Better Three areas of Superiority Person of Jesus Heb 1:1-8:5 He is better than the prophets, angels, Moses, Joshua, Aaron Work of Jesus Heb 8:6-13, Heb 9:1-28, Heb 10:1-39 Better Covenant, tabernacle and sacrifice Faith vs works of the law Heb 11:1-40, Heb 12:1-29, Heb 13:1-25 Warning Passages 1. These are following a progressive error of the people of the time. The falling away of believers in their steadfastness in Christ. They show a progression of what happens to a believer, and what happens as their discipline. 2. Starts with apathy to Word of God Heb 2:3 (neglect) 3. Hardened heart against Word Heb 3:13-15 4. Danger of falling short of Grace of God Heb 12:15 (to fail to use His grace to accomplish His purpose for our life) 5. Willful sinning against God Heb 10:26-39 6. Refusing Jesus Heb 12:25-29 Final refusal of correction Him who is speaking is Jesus Christ. Don’t refuse Him. It will be dire consequences. If you follow this process your life will not be pleasant. God is jealous for you, a jealous love, and that jealousy will not accept second place. No one knows the author of Hebrews. This study is practical because it hits at the root of the problem for the life of a believer, the devil’s subtly. Maybe nothing big has happen, but he slowly turns us to become spiritually unconscious (asleep 1th 5:10) He wants to rob us of our first love for Jesus Christ. Do you love Him as much now as when you first were saved? Has your love diminished, if so, then the devil has snuck in and robbed you of that treasure. Written to Jews who believed in Jesus. 2ti 3:12 They suffered persecution. They were removed from their ancient heritage, and they had second thoughts. They wanted to go back into the temple to offer sacrifices, which is referred to in Heb 6:6. Accurate Analysis is dependent on: • Historical understanding/setting of the book • Grammatical questions and problems • Lay a doctrinal foundation (verified through Scripture) If you have Christ’s love for others then we need to be praying on behalf of other people in the world. The background of these believers and what they were facing spiritually, as well as in the world, with the revolt against Rome, and then the destruction of Jerusalem is the historical backdrop of this book. Heb 1:1-3 Starts off with so much truth, truth about the person of Jesus Christ. He wants us to stand in awe of Jesus, and without Him Christianity is nothing. Urgency in the tone of these verses. “in Son” a strong, powerful blow. God has spoken, and now God has said His last word, in Jesus Christ. 2pe 1:21 The amazing things that happened during the Old Testament that God used to proclaim the truth to the world is nothing compared to the grand finale: Son God has said everything He has to say to man in Jesus. The God, the same as the One who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the same God now who speaks in Son. The author didn’t use the definite article before “Son” in order to present it in as forceful a way as possible. This grammatical construction magnifies the character of the person. Jesus: God’s final revelation Heb 1:1-3 Everything in the New Testament was quickly finished, roughly 60 years, when it took the progressive revelation of the Old Testament 1500 years to finish. Seven Superiorities, Uniqueness of Jesus: 1. He is God’s Son Heb 1:2, Joh 1:18, Joh 19:7 2. He is the heir of all things Heb 1:2, Psa 2:7-8 3. He is the creator of all things Heb 1:2 He made, designed, organized matter and space, spiritual 4. He is the glory of God made visible Heb being=eternal existence, a blinding light Joh 1:18 Character: stamp that left an impression. An exact match. That is was Jesus Christ is to God. If you want to know God, know Jesus. He wanted us to view God as our Father. How much more than our earthly Father. 5. He sustains the universe Heb Upholding/Sustaining=to carry or to bear, to carry something in motion Col 1:17 He does it by His spoken word. Verbal command. 6. He is the redeemer Heb 1:3 Jesus Christ made purification of all things. Construction: He made purification of sins. From beginning of human history with Adam and Eve, all the way to the last sin at the end of history, every kind of sin, He cleansed all of them. Whatever sin will continue has been paid. 1Jo 2:2 We can only wonder at what He did on the cross. 7. He is sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Heb 1:3 His work is complete, and He can rest from His work, because it is finished. Work He continues while His work for us is finished, and that work is what He wants to do through us. Forgive, that shows Christ’s love to the world. What should the study of Hebrews do for us? God has an intention for us in this study. It should renew our first love for Jesus Christ. Where we love Him more than anyone or anything else. He will be a treasure, a source of joy, despite dire circumstances. He is always there for you. Gal faith works through love Call us to a greater purity in our devotion to Christ. He cannot use vessels that are unfit. God uses pure vessels. He is calling us to purge our life because Christ purged our sins. We can begin conquering and overcoming these things because His Spirit is in us. Ask Him what is in your life that you’re not letting Him deal with it, and if you’re honest and submissive, He will point it out, and let Him take care of it. Urgency, time is running out. Challenged to be faithful priests in our ministry to Him. We have been called to a position that only God can give. Heb 5:4-6 We are His personal possession. To treasure what they forsook. Learn how precious what we have here. It is something to defend and fight for. Heb 12:18-25. See to it, that you do not refuse Him who is speaking to you. Let’s not reject Him, let’s not harden our hearts to His voice.

Scripture References: Hebrews 12:2, John 19:7, Hebrews 11:1-40, John 2:2, Hebrews 10:26-39, Hebrews 3:1, John 1:18, Hebrews 10:1-39, Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 12:15, Hebrews 12:2, Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 9:1-28, John 1:18, Hebrews 3:13-15, Hebrews 8:2, Hebrews 1:1-3, Hebrews 8:6-13, Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 2:3, Hebrews 12:18-25, Hebrews 1:1-3, Hebrews 1:1-8, Psalms 2:7-8, Hebrews 13:1-25, Hebrews 5:4-6, Hebrews 6:6, Hebrews 5:1, Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 12:1-29, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 12:25-29