Advent Part 3- Mary — Founded on the Bible

Luke 1: 26-30 NLT

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!”

This is the third blog of our Advent series and today we will focus on Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The question we will ask today is, do you think your life is random?

Once more, Gabriel was dispatched to give a message, this time he visited a young woman named Mary. Let’s take a look at how God purposefully directed Mary’s life to fulfill her specific purpose.

Prophecy #1: According to Matthew 2:23, the Messiah was a Nazarene.

Luke 2:39 confirms this fact. “When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee.”

Mary’s hometown was Nazareth and she was a Nazarene. According to archeological findings, Nazareth was a small agricultural village at the time of Roman occupation (1). The people would have been considered backwoods farmers, certainly not the cultured citizens in the thriving metropolis of Jerusalem. In fact, the best description of this town in the Bible is found in John 1:46, “Nazareth?” exclaimed Nathaniel. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” In other words, as far as the people from the advanced Roman cities were concerned, it was Hicksville, Judea.

Prophecy #2: According to Isaiah 7:14, Jesus was to be born of a virgin.

Isaiah 7:14, NLT, “The Lord Himself will give you a sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel (which means God is with us).”

This fact is confirmed in the New Testament in Matthew 1:18, “This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Mary was of the appropriate age to marry and a virgin. Her reputation and the testimony of her virtue would have been observed and witnessed by her parents, extended family, and local community. Most importantly, God also watched over Mary’s life and qualified her as pure.

Prophecy #3: According to Isaiah 9:7 NLT, the Messiah would be a descendant of King David from the lineage of Judah.

“His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity.”

Mary was a blood descendant of King David. Her lineage is recorded in the Book of Luke, chapter 3:23-28.

Mary’s life was not random and neither is ours!

Little Mary, living in Hicksville, meeting the traditional expectations, going about her usual business. Doesn’t sound like ‘the perfect set-up’. Nonetheless, her life was not random. God had Mary born in the right district, in the right town, under the right circumstances, and into the right family, all for a specific purpose.

Let’s pray:

Father,

I thank You that my life is not random. No matter what town I was born in, or the circumstances concerning my conception, or what kind of family I was born into, it was all for a specific purpose. I trust You and I desire that Your specific purpose for my life would be fulfilled. In Jesus name, Amen.

References:

http://www.bibleplaces.com/nazareth/