4th Sunday of Advent
December 18, 2005
Pastor Kenneth W. Wieting
Text: Luke 1:26-38
The waiting of Advent is almost over but the repentance of Advent is needed every day of life. The sin of unbelief clings to us. We are easily thrilled by trinkets of this world but not so easily thrilled by the holy mysteries of God that reach far beyond this passing world.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary, “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…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.”
Dear Christians, may it be to you according to the Word of God for NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. This doesn’t mean whatever we dream or desire God will make happen. The Greek literally says NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. The meaning is that no word that God speaks, no promise that God makes concerning our rescue and salvation will remain unfulfilled.
God’s first word of promise connects directly to the word He now speaks to Mary. That first word told Satan of his defeat - “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Notice the surprising use of Seed instead of eggs in this promise. Men have seed, women have eggs. By speaking of the Seed of the woman it is as if the woman would bear a son without a man involved. NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.
Luther is said to have noted that this Word of God was particularly unkind for the devil. Satan knew that the man promised to crush his head would be born of a woman. But he didn’t know of which woman or when He would appear. Every time a son was born down through the centuries, Satan would have to wonder if this was the one.
The Savior’s identity was a mystery kept secret for long ages. Yet through those ages there were specific promises concerning Him. He would be born of the line of Abraham (Gen. 22:18) and David (II Sam 7:16). He would be from Nazareth (Mt. 2:23), and yet would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Though He would look like nothing special (Is. 53:2) yet He would be called “Immanuel”, “God with us”. He would be born of a virgin (Is. 7:14).
But now He has been disclosed. Now He has been made known to all nations. In the sixth month (that is the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist) 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.”
God broke into our sinful and dying world in the exact way He had promised in the garden. In the fall, angels guarded the way to the tree of life when man was driven out of God’s presence. But now God sends His angelic messenger to announce that God has come into our presence.
On this last Sunday of Advent ponder the awesome wonder of what Gabriel said to this girl. She who is a virgin will conceive as a virgin. She will have a son, not a daughter! His name will be Jesus, not another. She who is a sinner will bear the world’s sinless Savior and her own Savior as she called Him (See. 1:47 and Rom. 3:10). We can’t fully understand the miracle of a natural conception and here God trumpets a conception which leaves no explanation but one. NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. As Gabriel proclaimed, “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 so it was! Fellow Redeemed, In her womb, the tiny cells would have multiplied rapidly. By the 4th or 5th day Jesus’ embryo would have been at that very stage (blastocyst) where modern day researchers desire to grind up the unborn up as possible medicine for adults. After a few more days there would have been the rapid and rhythmic heartbeat in the womb – swish, swish, swish. Organs and limbs formed and increased in size. From the moment of conception there was a unique human being in Mary’s womb. He only needed to grow and develop as we all did, protected there, fearfully and wonderfully knit together in our mother’s wombs (Psalm 139).
As we stand at the door of Christmas, contemplate the awesome wonder of what this angel said to this girl. Man-made religions and man-altered Christianity often appeal to human logic, to what seems to get results, to what all can agree on. Popular sentiment concerning Christmas boils down to thoughts of honesty and compassion and charity. But here is Divine logic that passes all human understanding.
God sent an angel from His presence to announce the miracle of the ages. Even more than Elizabeth’s advanced age, Mary’s virginity would preclude pregnancy. Yet God caused both to conceive. The entire Old Testament hope is realized in the womb of Mary. The fullness of the Godhead (Col. 2:9) dwelt in the womb of Mary, bodily for us. The word for “overshadow” used in our text is the same word used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to describe the cloud covering the Tabernacle as the glory of the Lord filled it (Ex. 40:34-38). As God’s promised to locate His saving presence in the Tabernacle, so God’ saving presence was for a time located in the womb of Mary. For therein dwelt the body of Jesus. NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!
It is important to note that Mary’s favor is God’s choice of her, not something she earned. The verb for “favored one” or “graced one” is passive. It is God’s doing, God’s gift. Mary did nothing to earn the honor of bearing God’s Son. Mary is receiving grace here, not dispensing it. It is spiritually harmful when Mary is worshipped and prayed to as a mediator between God and man. But it is not Mary’s fault when such occurs. Beloved, do not allow such errors to sour your own thanks to God for the wondrous miracle that He worked through His chosen handmaiden. Is it not a wonder what God did through her? Is it not proper that we still confess in the creed two thousand years later “born of the Virgin Mary”? We should thank God for His work through Mary. We should honor her highly (Apology XXI, 27). NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!
Think for a moment about God’s Word to David through Nathan the prophet (II Sam 7). When David desired to build God a house of cedar, the LORD declared to David that instead the LORD would make him a house. The promise to David ends “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” We sang it in the Psalm “I will build your throne for all generations.”
But you know the history. In the very region now called Iraq, there were no elections back then. King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian chain saw cut through Israel like a twig. The temple was destroyed. The people were slaughtered and led away into captivity. For over 500 years David’s throne was a dead stump. Well might we ask, “What about the promises?” “What about God’s Word to David?”
Hear again Gabriel’s words to Mary, “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.” God’s kingdom is not of this world.
NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. This is true whether He is speaking about David’s throne or about His eternal gifts to you or about your scarlet sins being as white as snow or about His strength being made perfect in the weakness of your present suffering or about Him being with you when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. No matter how many promises God has made, they are “yes” in Christ Jesus (II Cor. 1:20). All of God’s promises to bless you are fulfilled in Him who took on flesh in the virgin’s womb.
NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. His word to baby Ulrich today is that “Baptism now saves you” (I Peter 3:21), that you are baptized into the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), that you are born again of water and the Spirit (John 3). His promises to you in your baptism are the same. How can water do such great things? It may seem as impossible as a virgin conceiving.
But remember it is not simple water but water included with God’s command and combined with God’s Word, and NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.
Luther once quoted Saint Bernard concerning our text who declared there are here three miracles: first - that God and man should be joined in this child; second - that a mother should remain a virgin; third - that Mary should have such faith as to believe that this mystery would be accomplished in her. The last is not the least of the three…Had she not believed, she could not have conceived.
Beloved, see what a treasure God has given you in the miracle of faith! What is foolish to a dying world is precious to you. What is moronic in the eyes of worldly wisdom is marvelous in your eyes. The mystery that was kept secret for long ages has now been revealed, and wonder of wonders you believe it. He through whom all things were created has come among us as a creature. He who created the universe and threw the stars into space was so small a speck in the universe as a few cells in His virgin mother’s womb. He was there for only one reason, to forgive your sins, to take you out of death to life.
Dear Christians, you also are a “favored one” a “graced one” of God. He delights in nothing more than in giving you the life and salvation Christ brought into this world. That’s why He comes into your midst to serve you today. You cannot build Him a house. But He has built you a house that will last forever. Indeed, you are living stones built into the very household of God.
Will you ever question your membership in His eternal house? Absolutely! Will you doubt God’s love at times? Certainly! Will you be tempted to despair when held in captivity by loneliness or illness or grief? Of course! Will you be sorely tested both by the pressures and by the fleeting enticements of this passing world? Yes! As long as we live in this sinful world we will waver. But God doesn’t waver. The Lord is faithful to His promises. NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!
He has promised that nothing can separate you from God’s love in Christ Jesus. He has promised that He will never leave you or forsake you. He has promised to strengthen you through the preaching of Jesus Christ. He has promised that He will finally give you rest from all your enemies even the last enemy of death. May it be done to you and to me according to the Word of God. In the Name of Jesus, AMEN.
Pastor Kenneth W. Wieting
Text: Luke 1:26-38
The waiting of Advent is almost over but the repentance of Advent is needed every day of life. The sin of unbelief clings to us. We are easily thrilled by trinkets of this world but not so easily thrilled by the holy mysteries of God that reach far beyond this passing world.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary, “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…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.”
Dear Christians, may it be to you according to the Word of God for NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. This doesn’t mean whatever we dream or desire God will make happen. The Greek literally says NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. The meaning is that no word that God speaks, no promise that God makes concerning our rescue and salvation will remain unfulfilled.
God’s first word of promise connects directly to the word He now speaks to Mary. That first word told Satan of his defeat - “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Notice the surprising use of Seed instead of eggs in this promise. Men have seed, women have eggs. By speaking of the Seed of the woman it is as if the woman would bear a son without a man involved. NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.
Luther is said to have noted that this Word of God was particularly unkind for the devil. Satan knew that the man promised to crush his head would be born of a woman. But he didn’t know of which woman or when He would appear. Every time a son was born down through the centuries, Satan would have to wonder if this was the one.
The Savior’s identity was a mystery kept secret for long ages. Yet through those ages there were specific promises concerning Him. He would be born of the line of Abraham (Gen. 22:18) and David (II Sam 7:16). He would be from Nazareth (Mt. 2:23), and yet would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Though He would look like nothing special (Is. 53:2) yet He would be called “Immanuel”, “God with us”. He would be born of a virgin (Is. 7:14).
But now He has been disclosed. Now He has been made known to all nations. In the sixth month (that is the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist) 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.”
God broke into our sinful and dying world in the exact way He had promised in the garden. In the fall, angels guarded the way to the tree of life when man was driven out of God’s presence. But now God sends His angelic messenger to announce that God has come into our presence.
On this last Sunday of Advent ponder the awesome wonder of what Gabriel said to this girl. She who is a virgin will conceive as a virgin. She will have a son, not a daughter! His name will be Jesus, not another. She who is a sinner will bear the world’s sinless Savior and her own Savior as she called Him (See. 1:47 and Rom. 3:10). We can’t fully understand the miracle of a natural conception and here God trumpets a conception which leaves no explanation but one. NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. As Gabriel proclaimed, “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 so it was! Fellow Redeemed, In her womb, the tiny cells would have multiplied rapidly. By the 4th or 5th day Jesus’ embryo would have been at that very stage (blastocyst) where modern day researchers desire to grind up the unborn up as possible medicine for adults. After a few more days there would have been the rapid and rhythmic heartbeat in the womb – swish, swish, swish. Organs and limbs formed and increased in size. From the moment of conception there was a unique human being in Mary’s womb. He only needed to grow and develop as we all did, protected there, fearfully and wonderfully knit together in our mother’s wombs (Psalm 139).
As we stand at the door of Christmas, contemplate the awesome wonder of what this angel said to this girl. Man-made religions and man-altered Christianity often appeal to human logic, to what seems to get results, to what all can agree on. Popular sentiment concerning Christmas boils down to thoughts of honesty and compassion and charity. But here is Divine logic that passes all human understanding.
God sent an angel from His presence to announce the miracle of the ages. Even more than Elizabeth’s advanced age, Mary’s virginity would preclude pregnancy. Yet God caused both to conceive. The entire Old Testament hope is realized in the womb of Mary. The fullness of the Godhead (Col. 2:9) dwelt in the womb of Mary, bodily for us. The word for “overshadow” used in our text is the same word used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to describe the cloud covering the Tabernacle as the glory of the Lord filled it (Ex. 40:34-38). As God’s promised to locate His saving presence in the Tabernacle, so God’ saving presence was for a time located in the womb of Mary. For therein dwelt the body of Jesus. NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!
It is important to note that Mary’s favor is God’s choice of her, not something she earned. The verb for “favored one” or “graced one” is passive. It is God’s doing, God’s gift. Mary did nothing to earn the honor of bearing God’s Son. Mary is receiving grace here, not dispensing it. It is spiritually harmful when Mary is worshipped and prayed to as a mediator between God and man. But it is not Mary’s fault when such occurs. Beloved, do not allow such errors to sour your own thanks to God for the wondrous miracle that He worked through His chosen handmaiden. Is it not a wonder what God did through her? Is it not proper that we still confess in the creed two thousand years later “born of the Virgin Mary”? We should thank God for His work through Mary. We should honor her highly (Apology XXI, 27). NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!
Think for a moment about God’s Word to David through Nathan the prophet (II Sam 7). When David desired to build God a house of cedar, the LORD declared to David that instead the LORD would make him a house. The promise to David ends “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” We sang it in the Psalm “I will build your throne for all generations.”
But you know the history. In the very region now called Iraq, there were no elections back then. King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian chain saw cut through Israel like a twig. The temple was destroyed. The people were slaughtered and led away into captivity. For over 500 years David’s throne was a dead stump. Well might we ask, “What about the promises?” “What about God’s Word to David?”
Hear again Gabriel’s words to Mary, “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.” God’s kingdom is not of this world.
NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. This is true whether He is speaking about David’s throne or about His eternal gifts to you or about your scarlet sins being as white as snow or about His strength being made perfect in the weakness of your present suffering or about Him being with you when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. No matter how many promises God has made, they are “yes” in Christ Jesus (II Cor. 1:20). All of God’s promises to bless you are fulfilled in Him who took on flesh in the virgin’s womb.
NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. His word to baby Ulrich today is that “Baptism now saves you” (I Peter 3:21), that you are baptized into the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), that you are born again of water and the Spirit (John 3). His promises to you in your baptism are the same. How can water do such great things? It may seem as impossible as a virgin conceiving.
But remember it is not simple water but water included with God’s command and combined with God’s Word, and NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.
Luther once quoted Saint Bernard concerning our text who declared there are here three miracles: first - that God and man should be joined in this child; second - that a mother should remain a virgin; third - that Mary should have such faith as to believe that this mystery would be accomplished in her. The last is not the least of the three…Had she not believed, she could not have conceived.
Beloved, see what a treasure God has given you in the miracle of faith! What is foolish to a dying world is precious to you. What is moronic in the eyes of worldly wisdom is marvelous in your eyes. The mystery that was kept secret for long ages has now been revealed, and wonder of wonders you believe it. He through whom all things were created has come among us as a creature. He who created the universe and threw the stars into space was so small a speck in the universe as a few cells in His virgin mother’s womb. He was there for only one reason, to forgive your sins, to take you out of death to life.
Dear Christians, you also are a “favored one” a “graced one” of God. He delights in nothing more than in giving you the life and salvation Christ brought into this world. That’s why He comes into your midst to serve you today. You cannot build Him a house. But He has built you a house that will last forever. Indeed, you are living stones built into the very household of God.
Will you ever question your membership in His eternal house? Absolutely! Will you doubt God’s love at times? Certainly! Will you be tempted to despair when held in captivity by loneliness or illness or grief? Of course! Will you be sorely tested both by the pressures and by the fleeting enticements of this passing world? Yes! As long as we live in this sinful world we will waver. But God doesn’t waver. The Lord is faithful to His promises. NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!
He has promised that nothing can separate you from God’s love in Christ Jesus. He has promised that He will never leave you or forsake you. He has promised to strengthen you through the preaching of Jesus Christ. He has promised that He will finally give you rest from all your enemies even the last enemy of death. May it be done to you and to me according to the Word of God. In the Name of Jesus, AMEN.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
12/19/2005
