The Women of Christmas: Mary, Part 2

“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel appeared 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. So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God”(Luke 1:26-30 BSB).

In today’s devotional about Mary, we are going to focus on the grace of God. We see the grace of God in Mary's conversation with the angel. The grace of God would bring about a huge change for the Jewish people and ultimately the Gentile world as well. There was a transition taking place from the Old to the New.

Under the Old Covenant, the Jews lived under a system of rules known as the Law. It was given to them by God through Moses and they had lived under this system since shortly after their Exodus from Egypt. But, why did they live under the law?

Romans 5:20 tells us,

“The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,” (BSB)

And Galatians 3:19 reads,

“Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator.”(BSB)

In John 1:17, it says,

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (BSB)

What was coming under the New Covenant through Jesus was new to them. They were looking for a military leader in the Messiah. They weren’t expecting this.

In the lives of the women of Christmas, we begin to see this transition that was taking place. Grace was coming. In fact, it was already here.

In verse 28 of chapter 1, the angel says to Mary,

“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you” (BSB).

That phrase “you who are highly favored” is actually the verb form of the word "charis" (grace) in the Greek. It is the Greek word

“charitoó” and is found only in one other place in the Bible, and it is a verse about Believers in Jesus.

“to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One”(Ephesians 1:6).

Later on in the passage in Luke 1:30, the angel tells Mary,

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” (BSB)

That word favor in that passage is a noun and is the Greek word "charis." According to Biblehub, there are 157 occurrences of the word “charis” in the New Testament. It means “grace, favor, kindness, and blessing.” Grace was coming through Jesus. There would be a transition from law to grace.


They would no longer live under the law, because Jesus would fulfill it. A new way of life was coming. What was happening to and through Mary, was also coming to and for us. Tomorrow we will discuss that new way of grace, one that would involve the Holy Spirit.


Blessings to you as you continue to grow in grace and the knowledge of Him!

Beth



To learn more about the word "charis," please check out my post here on Grace in the Greek.


If you missed yesterday's post on Mary, Part 1, you can also find it at my blog, The Women of Christmas: Mary, Part 1.

Five Minute Friday: Announce

Today I am participating in Five Minute Friday, where a group of writers get together and free write about a one word prompt for 5 minutes. Today's word is "announce."

And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men

on whom His favor rests!”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby, who was lying in the manger. After they had seen the Child, they spread the message they had received about Him. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was just as the angel had told them.-Luke 2:8-20



This was a great announcement, the greatest announcement that has ever been issued in the earth!

For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!

He’s here! He’s finally here! And the angels announced it to the shepherds that were out in the field. This begs the question: why?

Yesterday I was looking at this wonderful book I have, A Visual Guide to Gospel Events. In the commentary on the shepherds in Luke 2, it said that “typical sheep and goats grazed during the day and were brought into sheepfolds for the night.” They indicated that these shepherds to whom the message was proclaimed were no ordinary shepherds. For them to stay with the sheep and guard them round the clock might have meant that they were Temple shepherds and those were sheep that would be used for sacrifice.

This would be a satisfactory explanation to why God would have angels announce the birth of Jesus to shepherds, wouldn’t it?

That would be so remarkable in itself, but I want to take this a little further. I noticed something else about this passage yesterday when I was studying. It says the shepherds “hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby who was lying in a manger.”

The shepherds just leave the sheep! It doesn’t seem like they took the sheep with them. The Scripture says  they “hurried.” I don’t really know a lot about sheep, and I would have to research it, but it doesn’t seem to me that sheep are the type of animals to hurry.

Throughout the Gospels there are so many pictures of the grace of God, and the transition that was taking place between law and grace. I think that in this story, we find one of those pictures.

Those shepherds were keeping sheep. Sheep were used as temple sacrifices. Jesus is called by John the Baptist, “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29) The shepherds left the sheep and the old covenant way of life, to look for Jesus, who brought “grace and truth.”

Just like the angel announced to them, it was “good news of great joy for all the people.”

I pray this Christmas is full of great joy for you and your experience is the same as the shepherds, wonder at the birth of Jesus!

A Foundation of Grace: Grace From the Touch of Jesus

When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean." Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."-Matthew 8:1-4

Everyday I pray and ask the Lord what I should write about.  And everyday I feel like He gives me something.  Today is Matthew 8.

In Matthew 8, we have a story about a leper. We can learn a lot about Jesus through this man's story. 

In verse 1, it says great multitudes followed Him.  And then a leper came and worshiped Him.  The leper probably wasn't a part of the multitudes that day, because under the law, lepers were isolated from the rest of society.  When they were out in public, they were required to shout, "Unclean!" as they passed by so that others would know they had leprosy.

The man didn't shout, "Unclean!" that day, even though he may have been hiding from everyone else.  He came to Jesus, much like the woman with the issue of blood.  He had enough faith in Jesus, but still didn't make his presence known to everyone else, just like she did.

And he calls Jesus "Lord."  I love that.  You only see people who believed in Jesus doing that.  

Still uncertain of whether or not Jesus wanted to heal him, even though He knew He could, he says, 

Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.  

How many of us had said that to God in prayer?  I believe His will is that He is always willing.  Nowhere, not one place during the earthly ministry of Jesus do you see Him tell someone "no" or "wait" or "you are not ready" or "your sin keeps you from receiving my healing."  Nowhere.  He just heals people all the time, everywhere.  Because that is who He is.  He is the healer.

And immediately he is cleansed.  Immediately is one of my favorite words.

In this passage, neither Jesus nor the leper use the word sickness or healing though.  They used the word "clean" and "cleansed."  Those are lawful terms relating to sin.  That word "cleanse" is the same word found in 1 John 1:9.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There is so much controversy around that scripture.  I believe that this is a salvation scripture.  I believe this is the scripture that demonstrates what happens to a person when they are born again. This is how a person becomes a Believer. If you look at the rest of 1 John 1, there is lots of discussion about darkness and light, and being in Him.  If you are in Jesus, the blood continuously cleanses you.  You don't need a repeat like the Israelites did yearly. That would put the burden of salvation back on you, and it's on Jesus now.

Back to Matthew 8.  Under the law, if you touched a person with leprosy, among other things, you would be considered unclean.  But with Jesus came grace, as we learned in John 1:17.  Jesus was a fulfillment of the law for every man and woman. So, when Jesus touched the man, grace was delivering healing and wholeness back to him.  

Then Jesus said something strange that I have always wrestled with.  He tells the man to tell no one, but the priest.  At first I just thought Jesus meant nobody, but after reading it again today and seeing that He could tell the priest, it made a little more sense. The man gets to tell the priest as a testimony.  As a testimony about Jesus.  As a testimony about the grace of God.  And the priest will examine the man and see for sure if he is clean.

Today, Jesus is our high priest, and we don't have to bring an offering or gift.  Jesus has already done it for us.  Because later on in that passage of scripture in Matthew 8:16-17,  Matthew echoes what Isaiah the prophet said in Isaiah 53:4,

...And He cast out the spirits with a word and healed ALL who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying " He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."

Everything that happened for those in the Gospels is what happened for the Church with Jesus' death on the cross.  His earthly ministry was a picture of what is available to us, grace, forgiveness, and healing.

To read more in the series, please join me here, at A Foundation of Grace.

A Foundation of Grace: By Grace Through Faith

Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.  And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving,  “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.  Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.-Luke 7:1-10 (NKJV)

This is a very interesting story.  We can learn so much about the time period by reading this account.  And this is a very simple picture of law and grace.

Remember that according to John 1:17, the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  The Jewish elders would have been following the law of Moses, but when Jesus came things changed.

A centurion was a Roman soldier who over 100 men. This one lived in Capernaum, a place Jesus visited frequently.  He had probably already heard about Jesus or come in contact with Him even. We are told he had a sick servant, who was dear to him.  This affection prompted him to seek help for him, which already tells us something about the posture of his heart, to care for a servant.

The centurion sends the Jewish elders to Jesus, and they came to Him, which tells us that there were Jewish leaders there that believed in Him.  They may not have had a full picture of who He was, because of the way they approached Him.  They approached Him based on the law.

They come to Jesus, and they start telling Jesus He should help the man based on what the man has done, based on his works.

And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving,  “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

So, what does Jesus do.  He goes with them!  Because that what Jesus does.  He is a healer.  But when he gets close to the house, the centurion sends more people to him saying he is not worthy to have Jesus come under his roof.  He sends the message to just say the word and he knows his servant will be healed.

He was not looking at himself!  He was not looking at his actions or deeds!  He is looking to the person and grace of Jesus! At the end of the story, Jesus commends him for his faith. Knowing the grace of God produces faith.

Ephesians 2:8 says,

For it is by grace you have saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

This story is a beautiful picture of that scripture!!

And the servant was healed.  Grace causes healing to flow.  Knowing Jesus causes healing to flow.

To read more in the series, please join me here, at A Foundation of Grace.

A Foundation of Grace: A Place of Rest

Now it happened a they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcome Him into her house.

And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.

But Martha was distracted with much serving and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."

And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.

But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her."-Luke 10:38-42


I love the story of Martha and Mary.  You will probably hear me say that a lot about many stories, and it is always true.  Stories communicate so much to us.  We can use our imaginations, see ourselves in their shoes, and learn truths that reach us in our hearts.  I think that is why Jesus used stories to teach.

Martha and Mary lived in the town of Bethany.  According to two different sources, the word Bethany means "house of affliction, house of dates, or house of depression or misery."  I also found one source that said it means, "house of figs." I find that very interesting because the first place we find figs in the Bible is with Adam and Eve, when they tried to cover their sin themselves. 

We have two women, sisters, and their brother Lazarus, living in this place.  And then Jesus comes.  

The two sisters are very different in their approach to Jesus.  Eventually this changes, and it is oh so beautiful!  But now, in this moment, they are very different.  

Both believe Him to be Lord.  Martha calls him Lord, and Mary is sitting at His feet in the posture of a disciple.  But they both respond to Him very differently.  I believe this to be a picture that God has given us of law and grace.

The Bible says Martha is distracted with much serving.  It is as though this is how she believes she can please the Lord.  She even goes to Him, obviously embarrassed or burdened by her sister's lack of concern, and points out all she is doing...for Him.  Jesus even tells her she is worried or troubled about many things.

Mary, on the other hand, is sitting, resting, at His feet.  She is not flustered, but at peace, just enjoying Jesus' presence.

The Law was given to make people do.  Grace came so we could rest.  

Hebrews 4:9-10 says,

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.  For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

Jesus doesn't want us to live in the house of Bethany, a place of misery and depression, a place where we have to do something to receive approval.  He wants us to receive His grace, cease from our works, like Mary, and enter into His rest.




To read more in the series, please join me here, at A Foundation of Grace.