1. Mary: An Example of Discipleship
Luke 1:26-38

2. Mary Mishandled
Luke 1:28
Latin Vulgate
Jerome
Early 5th century

3. Mary Mishandled
“And the angel being come in, said unto her: ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”

4. Mary Mishandled Pope Pius IX (1846-1878)
“God has committed to Mary the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is his will, that we obtain everything through Mary.”

5. Mary Mishandled Pope Leo XIII
“As no one goes to the father but by the son, so no one goes to Christ except through His mother.”
Pope Pius XII (1953): “It is the will of God that we should have nothing which is not passed through the hands of Mary.”

6. We Are Not Our Own Mary was most likely quite young.
Probably she was in her teens.
Three times in the passage she is called a virgin.

7. We Are Not Our Own Engagement had two stages
Kiddushin---betrothel period lasting 12 months.
If either violated their vows it took a divorce to break the engagement. (Matthew 1:18-29)

8. We Are Not Our Own Kiddushin They were called husband and wife
They still lived at home with their parents
They were totally chaste (Matthew 1:18)

9. We Are Not Our Own Huppa The marriage ceremony Often lasted a week
Marriage consummated then

10. We Are Not Our Own
News for Mary was troubling (v.29) and perplexing (v. 34)
Her response is magnificent
v.38— “I am the Lord’s servant.”

11. We Are Not Our Own In creation we do not belong to ourselves
Acts 17: 24-28
The very essence of what is wrong with our world is rooted in our rebellion against this fact (Genesis 3)

13. We Are Not Our Own In redemption we do not belong to ourselves
Salvation is possible and can begin when we come to recognize that we are not our own; when we come to see what our approach has done to our relationship with God; when we are willing to accept His provision.

14. We Are Not Our Own Rom 1-3: Rebellion Romans 6:23: Result
Romans 10: 9-10: Remedy
Mary needed a savior (v.30)

15. We Are Not Our Own
In redemption we are more deeply reminded that we do not belong to ourselves
1 Cor. 6:19-20
Mary reminds us that God has the right to show up and redirect our paths.

16. We Are Part of a Larger Drama
For the followers of Christ, our lives are part of a larger drama.
The angel spoke to Mary about something taking place in her time.
It was, however, part of something that was larger than she and preceded her.

17. We Are Part of a Larger Drama
Luke 1:32
Luke 1:48
Revelation 13:8
Mary was reminded that she had Eternal Significance

18. We Are Part of a Larger Drama
You matter to God
What you are and what you do matters to the fulfillment of God’s larger drama
1 Cor. 1:26-27—He called us from insignificance to significance

19. We Are Part of a Larger Drama
Ephesians 2:14-15;19-22 — We are part of His new humanity
We live before Him here as a witness
We will reign with Him in eternity
1 Cor.12:12 ff — Every one is significant

20. We Must Grasp That Pain Is often Part of the Process
Luke 1 records her jubilation.
Luke 2 records the reminder to her that this jubilation will be mixed with pain.
There is pain is disobeying God, which ends in eternal pain in hell.

21. We Must Grasp That Pain Is often Part of the Process
There is pain in following the Lord in the unfolding of His plan.
This world is severely broken and will not be redeemed apart from blood and tears.
We must experience the pain of self-denial.

22. We Must Grasp That Pain Is often Part of the Process
We will experience the pain of God’s hand shaping us
Handel
Messiah

24. We Must Grasp That Pain Is often Part of the Process
We may experience the pain of a world in rebellion against God.
Mary suffered the pain of the process of redemption.