Gabriel’s Message to Mary

Rev. Mark C. Alvis, Union Congregational Church — Advent IV, December 24, 2006

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In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and 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. But the angel said to her, “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.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her (Luke 1:26-38 NIV).

This morning we have lit the angel’s candle, because angels played a very important role in announcing the birth of Christ. Doctor Luke begins his gospel by recording the words of an angel spoken to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Six months later this same angel spoke to the virgin Mary. The name of the angel is Gabriel. Even though it has been two thousand years since Gabriel spoke with Zechariah and Mary, we know that he is still very much alive. How do we know this? Because in Matthew 22:30, our Lord Jesus taught that angels do not die.

How long have angels been around? From Job 38:7 we get the impression that angels were present when God created the earth. Personally, I missed out on that. Were any of you around then?

When God’s angels have spoken to man, they have always said exactly what God told them to say. To hear from one of God’s angels was to hear from God. Gabriel makes this point to Zechariah in Luke 1:13-20:

The angel said to him: “Do not be afraid Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.” . . . Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel answered, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak with you and tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you would not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.”

God used the angel Gabriel to give mankind some extremely important messages. Over five hundred years before Gabriel spoke to Zechariah and Mary, he appeared to Daniel. What Gabriel told Daniel was also vitally connected to the person and work of Christ. We will see this in a bit.

Do angels continue to play an important role in God’s work on earth today? Yes. Hebrews 1:14 states, “Are not all [God’s] angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” I don’t pray to angels, but I am grateful for their ministry on my behalf as I seek to serve God. I do not believe angels help me if I merely seek to serve myself.

“Do angels speak to people today just as they did in Bible times?” I would say no, in this sense: the Bible is now complete. It was God’s words spoken through angels which were responsible for much of our Holy Scripture, including the Law of God. However, with the coming of Christ a turning point in world history occurred. Look with me at Hebrews 1:1-4, written over 1900 years ago:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways [often through angels], but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being . . . So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

I do not expect revelation from angels today because God has now spoken to us through His Son, who is the ultimate self-disclosure of God to man. Am I saying that with the coming of Christ and completion of the Bible we have full knowledge of God? No. But I am saying that with the completion of the New Testament we have all we need to know about Christ and His plans for this age in order to live godly, fully functioning lives. Listen to John 21:25: “Jesus did many other things as well. If everyone of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” The New Testament writers did not give us more information about what Jesus did and said because what they recorded is all we need. If we needed more they would have given us more. II Timothy 3:16-17 backs this up by stating, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

I am going to say something now that may not seem important to you, but it is. I believe all the New Testament was completed before the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70, which is why the New Testament nowhere refers back to that temple’s destruction. The fact that the New Testament was completed before the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed should not surprise us, because the angel Gabriel had already revealed that to Daniel over five centuries before the birth of Christ. Listen to Gabriel’s words recorded in Daniel 9:21-24:

While I [Daniel] was still in prayer, Gabriel . . . came to me in swift flight in the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision: Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin , to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy [place]., to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness” [this was achieved by Christ when He died on the cross at Jerusalem].

When Gabriel spoke these words to Daniel, Jerusalem and the temple had been in ruins for 70 years because of Israel’s transgressions. If the Jews had gotten what they deserved, that would have been the end of Israel as a nation. But the long-awaited Messiah was to be born of the Jews in Bethlehem. Therefore God promised both Jeremiah and Daniel that the Jews would return to their land and regain what was lost. Nevertheless, in Daniel 9:26 Gabriel discloses that the future rebuilt city of Jerusalem and temple would be destroyed again during the last part of the seventy “sevens” period of time. Immediately after Gabriel spoke this to Daniel, King Cyrus of Persia, issued the edict which allowed the Jews to return to their land and rebuild their temple. That edict started the seventy “sevens” time clock. I believe the end of the seventy “sevens” occurred in AD 70, when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Romans. What made Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70 so significant is that it marked the official end of the Old Covenant Age and demonstrated that God is finished with animal sacrifices and stone temples forever. It is important for us to realize that the nation of Israel that exists today does not have a functioning covenant with God. I say that because when the book of Hebrews was written 1900 years ago the Old Covenant had already been made obsolete and was on the verge of being swept away (Hebrews 8:13). The destruction of the temple in AD 70 was important also because of some great achievements by God accomplished during the “last days” of that stone temple and Old Covenant Age. Gabriel spells out these great achievements in Daniel 9:24. Notice what else was to be accomplished before the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed.

When the book of Daniel was written, the Jews were going back to their land to rebuild the holy place, God’s temple at Jerusalem. However, after Jesus died on the cross that temple was made obsolete. God had a new temple in mind. Therefore, when Jesus ascended into heaven His first major work was to pour out the Holy Spirit and anoint a new and greater holy place — the Church of Jesus Christ. God’s New Temple functioned for about 40 years before the old covenant temple was officially and permanently swept away. In other words, there was a period of overlap between the Old and New Covenants (Hebrews 8:13).

What does Gabriel mean by the sealing up of vision and prophecy? It means the end of vision and prophecy in a revelatory way. Our Bibles will not be getting any thicker. The best scholarship has always maintained that the New Testament was completed before the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed. The destruction of that temple was God’s way of signifying that animal sacrifices will never be needed again, and also a reminder that vision and prophecy have been sealed up. Why is that important for us to know? Because Islam claims that Mohammed was the seal of the prophets — the last of the prophets. I am sorry, but Mohammed was five hundred years too late according to Gabriel’s message to Daniel.

“But Pastor Mark, don’t we have apostles and prophets today?” We do not have apostles or prophets today who speak new revelation from God. That is why the New Testament tells us that the apostles and prophets formed the foundation of the Church (Ephesians 2:20; Revelation 21:14). That foundation was laid 1900 years ago. Most all cults that we are contending with today have originated from supposed visions that people have received from God. Gabriel’s message to Daniel knocks the props out from under all those false claims.

We are going to close this morning by looking at Gabriel’s message to Mary, recorded in Luke 1:26-38:

In the sixth month [of Elizabeth’s pregnancy], God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you” [This is very similar to how Gabriel greeted Daniel five hundred years before]. Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “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 of Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

What a powerful and hopeful message! I grew up being taught that most of what Gabriel said to Mary hasn’t yet taken place. That is, Jesus is not on David’s throne; He is not reigning over the house of Jacob; and His kingdom has not yet started. None of that stands up to scrutiny.

What does it mean for Christ to have David’s throne? David was the acting king over Israel, but God was their true king because He had given Israel her laws and they had sworn allegiance to Him (Exodus 24:3-7). The nation of Israel was to be a living, breathing example of God’s kingdom on earth. Did Israel do a good job at that? No. Their history is pretty much a record of rebellion against God. That is why a better covenant was needed (Jeremiah 31:31-34). And so our Lord Jesus told the Jewish people of His day that the kingdom was going to be taken away from them and given to those who would bear its fruit (Matthew 21:43). What people today are living in God’s kingdom? All believers in Christ (Colossians 1:13-14). The Apostle Peter refers to the Church as God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God (I Peter 2:9).

Who is our king? The Lord Jesus Christ, who is alive forever and seated on His kingly throne at the Father’s right hand. Christians, we need to remember that David’s throne was merely a shadow of the much greater throne and kingdom that Christ has now taken.

Question: Is Christ presently reigning over the house of Jacob? Of course He is because the New Testament explicitly teaches that all Christians are the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through faith in Christ (Galatians 3:7, 14).

Will the kingdom Christ established 2,000 years ago ever be destroyed? Not a chance. According to Daniel 2 and Isaiah 9, Christ’s kingdom is destined to grow all through this New Covenant Age. When Jesus Christ returns to earth it will not be to end His kingdom, but to perfect it and deal with His last enemies. Look with me at I Corinthians 15:20-28:

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead [it was Christ’s death and resurrection which dealt Satan a blow from which he can never recover], the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [have experienced physical death, which is the last enemy Christ will deal with when he comes again] . . . Then [when Christ returns] the end will come, when Christ hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all [opposing] dominion, authority and power. For he must reign [which Christ is currently doing] until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is [physical] death.

Friends, Jesus has already destroyed spiritual death for all who follow Him. If you are in Christ, you have eternal life that cannot end. But we are still destined to die physically. Physical death will not be overcome until Jesus Christ returns and gives the order for the bodily resurrection of all people who have ever lived. That will be the final day of reckoning, when all unbelief will ultimately be dealt with and the eternal state ushered in.

Gabriel has informed Mary that she is going to give birth to One who will be called the Son of the Most High. In verse 34, Mary asks, “‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Was all this supernatural? Just slightly. We would think that a woman so favored by God could have at least found a clean room in which to have her baby. Instead, Christ was born in a stable and laid in a feeding trough. Not very impressive.

When the unbelieving world today looks at the Church they are not very impressed. But, friends, God is supernaturally working through the Church to accomplish His plans and purposes, just as He supernaturally worked through Mary. It is sad that most Christians today do not believe Christ’s kingdom can significantly impact this world as long as Christ has only the likes of us to work through. In this regards we are like Mary, who did not understand how she could bear a son while being a virgin. Gabriel’s response was, “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

How did Mary respond to Gabriel’s words? “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38).

Christians, the resurrected Lord Jesus has said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father . . . the Son and . . . the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20; see also Psalm 2:7-12).

When Jesus spoke those words the New Covenant Age had just begun. And, friends, this age will not end until the nations are discipled for Christ. That is what the Bible says, and therefore that is what I believe. Let’s pray.

Sermon text ©2006 Mark C. Alvis
Bible text © as applicable