Series: The Word
Acts 16:31 ESV
Isaiah 7:14 ESV
Isaiah 9:6-7 ES
Matthew 1:18-25 ESV
Luke 1:26-33 ESV
Luke 1:34-38 ESV
Believe is often a word associated with Christmas and the holiday season.
A phrase that became popular years ago said, “Jesus is the reason for the season.”
That’s really what ‘believe’ is about.
If we do not believe that God was born in a manger, coming to earth as a baby to save man, then Christmas becomes a cultural phenomenon that could fade away. As it turned out, it didn’t fade away.
Acts 16:31 tells us, “And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Believing Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary and believing Jesus came to save mankind are all part of the same story.
So, we begin at the beginning long before an event occurred that promised a sign of the Lord’s coming.
The prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 7:14, “the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
God revealed to Isaiah a sign of what was to come.
Isaiah also foretold in Isaiah 9:6-7,
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;and the government shall be upon[d] his shoulder, and his name shall be calledWonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold itwith justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
Isaiah served as a prophet of God (Yahweh) in Jerusalem of the Kingdom of Judah for about 40 years, from approximately 740 to 701 B.C.E. (some sources specifically say 687 B.C.).
Experts have determined that Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled and written about in Matthew 1:18-23. We also read in Matthew 1:18-25 important background information about Joseph (who was betrothed or promised to the Virgin Mary):
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”
Once again, the gift of the coming child was foretold in Luke 1:26-33, “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
We have to understand when the Angel appeared to Mary the message was difficult for the young Virgin (she was possibly 13 or 14 years old) to comprehend.
There was no precedent for conception of a child by a Virgin.
In Luke 1:34-38 we are told, “And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”
Mary’s response was more than remarkable.
She immediately said to the Angel, “let it be according to your word.”
She believed.
Even today, when we say to God, “let it be according to your word” it’s a ‘thing’, a holy moment thing. Years ago when I had the opportunity to sit with a seasoned Spiritual Director, he would remind me that when God promised something, even before the promise was fulfilled speaking “let it be according to your word” was an affirmation. I think of it as a holy affirmation.
A few years back, I had a vision and in the vision I saw myself much much older. The vision had parts and in the parts I saw what I think was what God has for me do do on down the road.
I occasionally ask God, “is it now?” and it seems like I’m not near old enough yet. I laugh, because I’m no spring chicken.
So, I just say to God, “Let it Be according to your word” and I think it seems like God smiles.
I kind of think when Jesus was a baby Mary remembered “let it be according to your word.”
Then, on the long long “trek” up Golgotha Mountain, Mary might have said over and over again, “let it be according to your word”.
She suffered excruciating pain that we cannot begin to imagine…
But she believed.
Spiritual Practice: Let it Be
Tell God whatever you are called to, “let it be”. When the waiting gets hard BELIEVE and say, “let it be”. When you get tired of waiting, “let it be”. Keep at it. God will not fail to fulfill the promise!
In God, Deborah
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