18 Dec 12/21/25 Luke 1:26-38 “Our Greatest Need!
12/21/25 Luke 1:26-38 “Our Greatest Need!
There is one thing that I haven’t heard as much this year and that is the countdown of the days until Christmas. Now maybe I’m a little sheltered but I didn’t seem to think there was much to the Black Friday thing this year either. After all, retailers found out that the same number of people buy over that weekend whether they are open on Thanksgiving or not. Don’t get me wrong here. This holiday season is still driven by greed. However, don’t worry about Jesus because He will make His presence known to us all when the time comes. Whether we like it or not, Christmas will always be about Jesus. All other holidays and celebrations like this are pagan, except for Easter. They are non-Christian. I was talking the other day with someone who hated Christmas because it is so commercialized. I got to thinking that it is only that way because we allow it to be that way. We are the ones who buy 10 gifts for every person on our list. If you take a close look, most people in this area have all the things they need. If you want to reduce the commercialization of your Christmas, then only buy one or two gifts for your people. We could have the 3 gift exception for those under 12. It would be easy if you really want to remedy the problem. It is something to think about. Today’s Scripture lesson talks of the birth of Christ being foretold. Let’s see if we can learn some very important concepts from this reading as we also try to be less commercialized.
Today’s reading begins with angels. It begins with miracles. And it all begins with miracles. Take a look at the world. It all began with the miracle of creation. We have been through this many times. We always talk about how the Red Sea was parted for Moses by God. But we sometimes forget that He also stopped the Jordan River from flowing so they could cross. We are so used to all the big miracles that we sometimes overlook the smaller ones even though they are just as important. I would guess that it is the same in modern times. We see the big miracles and, of course, we try to explain them away but they are still there and they are still miracles. We overlook the smaller ones unless they happen to us. If you have ever been healed, and I have, then you know that miracles happen every day. We should be praising the Lord for this love He sends to us through miracles and everything else.
We begin this passage with God sending the angel, Gabriel, to give Mary a message. So we begin with the miracle of the angel appearing. Most people can go through their whole life without seeing an angel like this. This is true for the ancients and it is true today. When was the last time you talked with an angel? Some of you may have but most of us have never done this so I would call this another miracle.
What I would like us to notice here is how Mary responds. I think that she knows right away that this isn’t some normal person talking to her. However, she doesn’t get all excited. She doesn’t go running to find someone to tell. For some reason she realizes that she is in the presence of someone special and she is humble. Gabriel is telling her that she is highly regarded by the Lord. We don’t know but she might have been totally awe struck!
Please notice what she did when told that she was highly favored by God. And she isn’t just favored; she is highly favored. She doesn’t go running around and spiking a football. She doesn’t go to a mob of friends who jump up and down with her. She doesn’t run around shouting ‘I’m number one!’ These are the human ways that we show we have absolutely no humility at all. Her only response was that she was troubled and wondered what was going to happen, a very natural reaction.
I think that we have a lot of trouble with humility in our society. We sometimes think that being humble is a sign of weakness. Actually, just the opposite is true. The examples I just gave could also be signs of celebration and that is ok. But I always respect the running back or player who doesn’t celebrate because it is his or her job to score or hit home runs or whatever. There is much more strength in that one quiet humble person than the large crowd of boisterous people.
What I’m trying to say here is that Mary is showing us how to behave in the presence of the Lord or one of His angels. We are to recognize that whoever is talking to us whether it be the Holy Spirit or Jesus or God or an angel, we need to recognize who it is and act humbly. There is no way anyone in this world can be stronger, smarter or have more resources than God. This is one case where we have absolutely no reason to be proud. And of course, Mary isn’t proud but very humble.
Hopefully we can move on in humbleness as we read the next few verses. Gabriel continues to tell Mary what is going to happen. Gabriel is giving Mary the instructions as to what will happen. There is no negotiating here. Do you remember when Moses tried to negotiate? It didn’t work. Gabriel just tells it like it will be and Mary accepts it. In this ancient time, Gabriel tells her that she will have a child and still be a virgin and she accepts it.
Now these ancients were just like us. They weren’t going to accept this. We sometimes think that this is a story that everyone accepted right away. But the people around Mary weren’t having anything to do with this story. They were even getting ready for Joseph to divorce Mary. There was only one person who believed this and that was Mary. She was there. She saw and heard what was going to happen and she had no problems believing.
She had no problems with this because of her faith. Mary was totally faithful to God in her life. She was humble before Him because she knew who He was. People often come to me with various things that God has done that they don’t believe because some deeds are outside our scientific belief zone or comfort zone. I have no problem when someone tells me that they were healed by God. I have no problem with people telling me just about anything that God does because I believe deep down that He can do anything. He will not only do anything but He will do everything for you if you are just faithful to Him. This is a message that I try to get home to you all the time. When nothing happens for you when you pray or ask God for something, it might just be a problem of lack of faith on your part. When you pray for something, believe that it will happen. Don’t just go through the motions of prayer without faith to back it up. Believe!
While we are on the subject, when was the last time you waited for instructions from God? When was the last time you actually listened for God or to God so that you could do the right thing? Most of the time, we just pray and then go about our business. There is no listening or following instructions.
But not Mary! She is listening. If you remember when God talked to Moses, Moses argued with God. He wasn’t going to lead his people but had to be talked into it. Gideon needed proof that it was actually God talking. We find this scenario played out over and over in the Scriptures. God gives direction and the people need convincing. But this isn’t the way of Mary.
As I just mentioned, I don’t think we do enough listening to God either. This has a lot to do with the world we live in but I think that if you look back 100, 200, 1000 years you will find a similar percentage of listening. It just doesn’t happen. You may wonder why I feel this way and here is the answer. If everyone did a good job of listening to God, you wouldn’t really have a huge need for me or any pastor.
You see, if everyone is tuned into God through a continuous prayer life, then you will know when God is acting or calling out to you. You will know when He nudges you to be a Sunday school teacher or local missionary or even a preacher. I have always maintained that when God talks to you, you know exactly who it is. It is only by the devil that you have doubt. This would change the whole role of preacher to that of support and backing. In a situation like this, you people who are the church would become the pastors. If it is God who is leading you, then I’m going to get out of the way and follow you. If God is leading you then you should go for it. We know this because we know that God can do anything.
Mary knows all this. Just by reading this we can tell that Mary has been faithful for her whole life. She is favored by God. What a complement! All Mary does is ask a simple question like what any of us might ask. She asks “How is this possible since I am a virgin?” This question is normal considering that we live in a physical world that is usually governed by laws of nature. How can this be?
The angel tells Mary how this will be. He says that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and she will have a baby even though she is a virgin. He goes on to tell her that her cousin Elizabeth will also have a baby even though both her and Zechariah are well beyond the years when they can produce children.
I think that one of the important things about these two families is this. God was entering the lives of these two women. He was entering the lives of their families. Please note that when God enters your life or when Jesus enters your life, your world gets turned upside down. Nothing will ever be the same again. Jesus will disrupt us right to the very core of our lives just like He did for Mary and Elizabeth. All things were now different.
Jesus does the same things today. Did you know that before I asked Jesus into my life I was afraid that I might change too much? I might not be myself again and I was scared to do it. There was no one to tell me that all the changes that would happen were going to be better than any part of my life before this time. No one told me that I would never have to be alone again. I would never have to seek out things that weren’t good for me just so I could fit in with other people. No one told me that I would experience joy for the first time in my life. I had to be convinced that everything I had done my first 40 years was wrong. But I praise the Lord that the Holy Spirit came upon me and I have never looked back. I have been rejoicing before the Lord ever since then. My world was turned upside down and I have loved it ever since.
This is what happened to Mary and Elizabeth and it has been happening since the beginning time until now. Mary and Elizabeth would never be the same again. I don’t think that they ever had any regrets for accepting what Christ gave them. Humankind has never been the same since either.
This is our Christmas season. The message of the 4th Advent Candle is love. It is also sometimes called the angel candle. This is because it is the angel Gabriel who is bringing the message and it is a message of love. Jesus came to this world so that the world could be saved through Him. This is what the Bible is all about. We talk about different aspects of this every Sunday but the bottom line is love. This is what the world needed at that time and it is what we need today.
Chuck Swindoll wrote this about our needs. He said, “If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior!” Think about this for a minute.
In a couple of days you will be opening your Christmas presents. I would like you to forget about all the commercialism and hoopla that has been happening. The angel, Gabriel, came to us to tell us of the coming of the one who would save the world. Jesus Christ came so that we can all live. No matter what kind of present you get this year, think of it as a direct gift from Jesus Christ himself. Think about how His hands cut the paper and tied the bow because it is Jesus who does these things through those people who give. You see, Christmas is all about giving love and that is what this world is all about.
I hope that you all have a very merry Christmas and that you allow Jesus to permeate every area of your celebrations. He has done all this and more because of the tremendous love that He has just for you. Don’t ever forget this no matter what you do or what happens. Jesus loves you. Thank you, Jesus, for first loving us. Let’s pray.
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