Gabriel Makes Another Appearance (Luke 1:26-38)
Gary McManus, 12/11/2022Part of the Christmas series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
This season at DCC: angels; angels all around and
in the reports of Jesus’ birth. Angels are God’s messengers.
Let us hear what the Lord says; the angels’ words.
Do we know an angel when we see one?
The Bible does not always show us images of angels
as lovely or precious. Example: cherubs / churbim
The internet believes that cherubs are angels and that cherubs are cute babies with wings. Not in the Bible. (One historian suggested that in Italian renaissance art, the cherubs represent the omnipresence of God Himself.)
See Genesis 3:24. In Exodus 25:20 and Exodus 37:9,
cherubim are described as having wings:
Angels mentioned in Genesis three times.
Luke 24:4 described only two men in shining garments.
See Matthew 28:3. In the Christmas accounts there is no description of what the angels look like.
See Hebrews 13:2: we might not know an angel when we see one.
Americans and angels. . .and Satan
Satan IS an angel. Or, at least, Jesus mentions them in the same sentence (Luke 10:18 , Matthew 25:41).
"Satan and his angels."
Today, notice the difference in Gabriel’s showing up
for Zechariah and Gabriel showing up for Mary.
Zechariah prayed for children. There is no sign that
Mary did. Mary was troubled. Really? Or was she:
startled?. . . .perplexed?.. . . confused?
Pastor suggests: filled with WONDERMENT.
Was Mary be-WONDERED?
This child of Mary’s will be a new creation.
(The only begotten, not made, son of God.)
And the child will have a human family.
When we look at Israel’s history, deliverers
or leadership figures have always been human. . .
have they not?
Book of Genesis: Joeseph (with coat of many colors).
Book of Exodus: Moses
Judges: Deborah and Barrak (Judges 4)
God intended to fulfill the promise to Abraham,
Genesis 12:2-3.
Americans today, even American Christians, don’t
much believe in Satan. But are we so certain that
we can rescue ourselves . . . .?
2 Corinthians 5:17 states that God in Christ can rescue—a new creation.
Jesus could not rescue us
-- if Jesus was a product of this world (that tried to kill him at his birth).
--if Jesus was only willing to die for us.
We could only trust in a Savior who did die,
not a Savior who only promised to die.
The angels news to Mary is for Mary AND all of us:
(Luke 1:33-35, 37)
(Jesus), the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God.. . .
And he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever;
his kingdom will never end.”
. . . For no word from God will ever fail.” Amen.
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