December 07, 2025 // Luke 1:26-38
APPLICATION: Read & watch/listen to Luke 1:26-38
Sermon Title: The Angel and Mary
Sermon Notes:
1. The Angel Reveals God’s Choice (vv. 26–30)
A. An Unlikely Place — Nazareth
God begins His redemptive work in a forgotten town.
B. An Unlikely Person — Mary
A young, humble, poor teenage girl becomes God’s chosen vessel.
C. An Unshakable Grace — “You have found favor”
God’s calling rests on grace, not greatness.
2. The Angel Reveals God’s Child (vv. 31-33)
A. His Saving Mission — “Call His name Jesus”
He comes to rescue sinners.
B. His Sovereign Majesty — “He will be great… Son of the Most High”
He is divine in identity, not just noble in lineage.
C. His Eternal Monarchy — “Of His kingdom there will be no end”
Jesus’ rule is universal, final, and forever.
3. The Angel Reveals God’s Calling (vv. 34–38)
A. The Question of Faith — “How will this be?”
Honest inquiry can coexist with genuine belief.
B. The Power of God — “The Holy Spirit will come upon you”
What God calls us to, God equips us for.
C. The Surrender of Obedience — “Let it be to me…”
The proper response to God’s will is yielded submission.
Life Application:
A Promise Fulfilled
Look what God has done. He has surprised the world. Yes, he has surprised his own people. He has gone to out-of-the-way places. He has spoken to unsuspecting, ordinary people, who appeared not to be in a situation to do what God announced would happen. God had two tasks to accomplish. He planned to prepare an unrighteous people to receive a holy Savior. He planned to provide forgiveness and salvation for these people. And he did it. We know he did it because he also prepared a well-educated writer to gather the details and put them in a stimulating and trustworthy literary form so we can enjoy reading what God has done. We know Luke’s story of two miraculous births. We know God’s surprises for his people. So what? How do we react?
We cannot expect angelic visitations to call us to such miraculous tasks. Mary’s and Elizabeth’s roles were one-time miracles, never to be matched in human history. They stood at the zenith of God’s salvation history. We cannot imitate them. The important thing is what God did and why He did it.
God completed his salvation promises, promises that he first made to Abraham and to David. He brought forgiveness and salvation. He established his covenant once and forever. He invites us to be a part of that covenant. He invites us to believe that God has done the impossible. God has opened a path for us to be in constant relationship with his mercy. He invites us to admit our sins, let him forgive them, and thus know his salvation. He wants to make us holy, separated from the world to serve him in moral purity.
What must happen before we are willing to believe and become what God wants to make of us? Does he have to silence our lips for nine months as he did Zechariah’s? Does he have to send us into five months of seclusion to ponder what he has done as he did for Elizabeth? Does he have to answer our questions about how God does the impossible as he did for Mary? What stands in the way of our forgiveness and salvation? God has prepared the way for us. He has sent his Son of righteousness for us. Will we follow Mary in believing what God has said, accepting the promises he has made, and becoming servants through whom God can do his will? If we respond in faith to God, we can know forgiveness for our sins. We can experience the salvation God promised. We can join Mary and Zechariah in singing praises to God for his mercy, forgiveness, and salvation.[1]
Digging Deeper:
Jesus … Son of the Most High … Son of God (1:31–35)
Luke used titles for Jesus in special ways. His basic name reaches back to that of Joshua who first gave Israel the land as a permanent home. The name Jesus means “Yahweh (personal name of the God of Israel) saves.” It was a common name that represented a parent’s praise for what God continued to do in the life of the family and the nation. Only with Jesus did the name take on a special meaning. Now the world would learn for the first time the true meaning of salvation. For the first time God’s eternal way of salvation would become clear. Yahweh’s salvation would become incarnate in this baby named “Yahweh saves.” “Jesus” as a name or title did not sufficiently express all that God was doing.
Who Jesus was is as important as what Jesus would provide for us. Jesus is the “Son of the Most High.” He is directly tied to the ancient name the patriarchs used for God—El Elyon (Gen. 14:18). He is tied to God’s allotment of land to the nations (Deut. 32:8). He is tied to the God who comes and delivers in time of urgent need (2 Sam. 22:14; cf. Ps. 7:17). He is tied to the king of all the earth who is “exalted far above all gods” (Ps. 97:9). This baby announced in the insignificant village of Nazareth to an unmarried teenager can claim the most awesome title imaginable. He is Son of God, tied to the language of kingship (2 Sam. 7) and to the rituals used to install David and his successors in office (Ps. 2:6–7). He is Son of God, not just in a sense of one adopted by God for special service as was the king. He is Son of God in the most intimate sense possible—Son of God by his very nature. What better time to express this than at his birth.
Interestingly, Luke holds tightly to this title for Jesus. It belongs to demonic profession (4:3, 9, 41; 8:28) and to the priests’ accusations (22:70), never to the disciples’ confession as in Matthew 16:16; Mark 15:39. Instead, it occurs in private conversations as God speaks to Jesus (3:22; 9:35) or in Jesus’ coded messages to his disciples (10:22; 20:13). Luke wanted the readers of his Gospel to know that Jesus is the Son of God, but he used the Son of God role to characterize how Jesus ministers on earth. Jesus is the intimate Son loved by the Father and held in awe by the demons. He is not the miracle-working Son sent to display overpowering divine works that[2]
Questions to Consider:
1. What are some characteristics of Mary that stand out to you and why?
2. How do you think Mary must have felt as Gabriel revealed each fact and
characteristic of Jesus?
3. Is there anything different about Mary’s question and Zechariah’s question
earlier in the chapter? Why does Gabriel react differently to Mary’s questions
than to Zechariah?
4. What were some possible issues that might come up in Mary’s life when she
submits to God’s plan?
5. Was Mary’s tendency to contemplate and ponder things a strength or a
weakness? Explain.
6. What if anything does this have to do with her humility and submissiveness to God?
7. What would it take for you to spend more time reflecting on God and His will in your life?
8. Reflect on the biggest challenges you are facing right now. What can you do to glorify God through them?
9. How can the group pray for you?
Prayer Time:
[1] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 16–17.
[2] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 21–22.
Sermon Title: The Angel and Mary
Sermon Notes:
1. The Angel Reveals God’s Choice (vv. 26–30)
A. An Unlikely Place — Nazareth
God begins His redemptive work in a forgotten town.
B. An Unlikely Person — Mary
A young, humble, poor teenage girl becomes God’s chosen vessel.
C. An Unshakable Grace — “You have found favor”
God’s calling rests on grace, not greatness.
2. The Angel Reveals God’s Child (vv. 31-33)
A. His Saving Mission — “Call His name Jesus”
He comes to rescue sinners.
B. His Sovereign Majesty — “He will be great… Son of the Most High”
He is divine in identity, not just noble in lineage.
C. His Eternal Monarchy — “Of His kingdom there will be no end”
Jesus’ rule is universal, final, and forever.
3. The Angel Reveals God’s Calling (vv. 34–38)
A. The Question of Faith — “How will this be?”
Honest inquiry can coexist with genuine belief.
B. The Power of God — “The Holy Spirit will come upon you”
What God calls us to, God equips us for.
C. The Surrender of Obedience — “Let it be to me…”
The proper response to God’s will is yielded submission.
Life Application:
A Promise Fulfilled
Look what God has done. He has surprised the world. Yes, he has surprised his own people. He has gone to out-of-the-way places. He has spoken to unsuspecting, ordinary people, who appeared not to be in a situation to do what God announced would happen. God had two tasks to accomplish. He planned to prepare an unrighteous people to receive a holy Savior. He planned to provide forgiveness and salvation for these people. And he did it. We know he did it because he also prepared a well-educated writer to gather the details and put them in a stimulating and trustworthy literary form so we can enjoy reading what God has done. We know Luke’s story of two miraculous births. We know God’s surprises for his people. So what? How do we react?
We cannot expect angelic visitations to call us to such miraculous tasks. Mary’s and Elizabeth’s roles were one-time miracles, never to be matched in human history. They stood at the zenith of God’s salvation history. We cannot imitate them. The important thing is what God did and why He did it.
God completed his salvation promises, promises that he first made to Abraham and to David. He brought forgiveness and salvation. He established his covenant once and forever. He invites us to be a part of that covenant. He invites us to believe that God has done the impossible. God has opened a path for us to be in constant relationship with his mercy. He invites us to admit our sins, let him forgive them, and thus know his salvation. He wants to make us holy, separated from the world to serve him in moral purity.
What must happen before we are willing to believe and become what God wants to make of us? Does he have to silence our lips for nine months as he did Zechariah’s? Does he have to send us into five months of seclusion to ponder what he has done as he did for Elizabeth? Does he have to answer our questions about how God does the impossible as he did for Mary? What stands in the way of our forgiveness and salvation? God has prepared the way for us. He has sent his Son of righteousness for us. Will we follow Mary in believing what God has said, accepting the promises he has made, and becoming servants through whom God can do his will? If we respond in faith to God, we can know forgiveness for our sins. We can experience the salvation God promised. We can join Mary and Zechariah in singing praises to God for his mercy, forgiveness, and salvation.[1]
Digging Deeper:
Jesus … Son of the Most High … Son of God (1:31–35)
Luke used titles for Jesus in special ways. His basic name reaches back to that of Joshua who first gave Israel the land as a permanent home. The name Jesus means “Yahweh (personal name of the God of Israel) saves.” It was a common name that represented a parent’s praise for what God continued to do in the life of the family and the nation. Only with Jesus did the name take on a special meaning. Now the world would learn for the first time the true meaning of salvation. For the first time God’s eternal way of salvation would become clear. Yahweh’s salvation would become incarnate in this baby named “Yahweh saves.” “Jesus” as a name or title did not sufficiently express all that God was doing.
Who Jesus was is as important as what Jesus would provide for us. Jesus is the “Son of the Most High.” He is directly tied to the ancient name the patriarchs used for God—El Elyon (Gen. 14:18). He is tied to God’s allotment of land to the nations (Deut. 32:8). He is tied to the God who comes and delivers in time of urgent need (2 Sam. 22:14; cf. Ps. 7:17). He is tied to the king of all the earth who is “exalted far above all gods” (Ps. 97:9). This baby announced in the insignificant village of Nazareth to an unmarried teenager can claim the most awesome title imaginable. He is Son of God, tied to the language of kingship (2 Sam. 7) and to the rituals used to install David and his successors in office (Ps. 2:6–7). He is Son of God, not just in a sense of one adopted by God for special service as was the king. He is Son of God in the most intimate sense possible—Son of God by his very nature. What better time to express this than at his birth.
Interestingly, Luke holds tightly to this title for Jesus. It belongs to demonic profession (4:3, 9, 41; 8:28) and to the priests’ accusations (22:70), never to the disciples’ confession as in Matthew 16:16; Mark 15:39. Instead, it occurs in private conversations as God speaks to Jesus (3:22; 9:35) or in Jesus’ coded messages to his disciples (10:22; 20:13). Luke wanted the readers of his Gospel to know that Jesus is the Son of God, but he used the Son of God role to characterize how Jesus ministers on earth. Jesus is the intimate Son loved by the Father and held in awe by the demons. He is not the miracle-working Son sent to display overpowering divine works that[2]
Questions to Consider:
1. What are some characteristics of Mary that stand out to you and why?
2. How do you think Mary must have felt as Gabriel revealed each fact and
characteristic of Jesus?
3. Is there anything different about Mary’s question and Zechariah’s question
earlier in the chapter? Why does Gabriel react differently to Mary’s questions
than to Zechariah?
4. What were some possible issues that might come up in Mary’s life when she
submits to God’s plan?
5. Was Mary’s tendency to contemplate and ponder things a strength or a
weakness? Explain.
6. What if anything does this have to do with her humility and submissiveness to God?
7. What would it take for you to spend more time reflecting on God and His will in your life?
8. Reflect on the biggest challenges you are facing right now. What can you do to glorify God through them?
9. How can the group pray for you?
Prayer Time:
[1] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 16–17.
[2] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 21–22.