The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. AMEN.
Luke 1:26 “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, ‘Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ 29 But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.’ 34 And Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ 35 And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.’ 38 And Mary said, ‘Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.”
Slavery is called the original sin of the United States of America. Some of the white men who authored and signed the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights were slave owners. That’s a historical fact. A growing number of people now believe that that historical fact renders null and avoid all that is the United States of America as constituted by our founders and those founding documents. Rather than working to free real slaves around the globe and helping them begin new lives, the self-righteously immature are in the process of enslaving a nation to their woke and historically ignorant self-righteousness.
The legal definition of slavery is as follows: “A slave is a person owned by someone and slavery is the state of being under the control of someone where a person is forced to work for another. A slave is considered as a property of another as the one controlling them purchases them or owns them from their birth.”
Slavery still exists around the world. China has enslaved millions. India, Russia, North Korea, and most Islamic countries practice slavery without challenge. Though I think the number might be inflated a bit, it is estimated that 167 countries allow human trafficking. That’s the modern name for slavery.
Slavery is almost as old as human kind itself. The Greek New Testament word for slave is doulos. The Greek lexicon says this about the word doulos; “a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntary; frequently, therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency): a slave, bondman, man of servile condition, a slave as one who gives himself up to another’s will.”
In regard to a Christian, a doulos is one whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing Christ’s cause among men devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests. A doulos is a servant, an attendant.
Within the Christian community and across denominational lines, the English word “servant” is used an awful lot these days to describe the various activities of a Christian. You’ll see it in church publications, newsletters, and announcements. “Servant Event! Come pull weeds at the church.” Come to our seminar: “Developing Servant Attitude.” My personal favorite is a seminar on Servant leadership Ministries. This one wins the trifecta of “christianness”: servant, leadership, ministries all piled up in one seminar.
If you pay attention to the people who use the word a lot, more often than not it is being used as a self-description. It is a self-description often accompanied by a litany of various works or accomplishments that the self-described “humble servant” has done.
Over my career I have received my share of letters from church officials, teachers, and fellow pastors. Many of those letters betrayed an arrogance unbefitting a Christian, let alone pastors and churchmen. The signature reads, “Your Humble Servant” or “In Christ’s Humble Service…Rev. Gift to the Church; Director and/or President or CEO of something churchly, PhD, STM, MDiv, B.A.” I have received my share of letters from the humble servants of the LCMS… I suspended and am putting on trial for your unwillingness to be my slave. Signed Christ’s humble servant.
This attitude has always been a problem for us and in the church. The disciples didn’t do much better in their seminary days. Jesus called the lowliest among men, fishermen, tax-collectors, and even a Zealot. These 12 men argued over who should be the greatest among them in the Kingdom of Heaven. By the time they went out into the four corners of the earth to preach the Gospel, the Lord God had sufficiently humbled them.
Enter the Angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. 28 “And coming in, he said to her, ‘Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ 29 But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Mary was troubled and frightened by the greeting. That means she was confused. She didn’t understand it. Why her? What’s this about? What’s going to happen? Why should God take notice of me?
The angel calms her fears and gives her the good news. She is going to become the Mother of the Son of God. She is the virgin of whom Isaiah wrote. “A virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Is. 7:14)
While that is good news for the world, it presented some immediate troubles and difficulties for Mary. How is such a thing possible? Gabriel answers her question. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. . .37 For nothing will be impossible with God.’” Mary is going to conceive a son apart from the laws of nature and who is going to believe that?!
Mary was troubled at the greeting. Now imagine what was going through her head. Pregnancy out of wedlock in a time when such a thing was scandalous. About 50% of all births in the United States occur outside of wedlock. It’s normal for us these days, but it was a crime and could carry with it the death penalty.
The best she could hope for was utter shame. Not only her’s but her family, Joseph, and Joseph’s family would all suffer some degree of permanent shame.
38 [But] Mary said, ‘Behold, the bondslave [doula] of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.’”
There’s that word in the feminine form– doula. Unlike the servants that fill the visible church these days, Mary offers no other qualifications, credentials, accomplishments, or deeds as she stands, sits, or kneels before the messenger of the Lord God. She offers no boast. She doesn’t say she doesn’t deserve this hardship. She doesn’t say the God has chosen wisely because she had just completed a seminar on servanthood.
She simply presents herself as “a slave.” I don’t know whether we should call her an involuntary or voluntary one. What is clear is that she yields in subjection or subservience. She gives herself up to the will of another, namely the Lord God and the Son of God who will momentarily take up residence in her womb.
Mary faithfully listens and yields obeys. She gives herself in service to the Christ and to all the people who will be saved by the forgiveness of sins earned by Christ.
The angel’s announcement will change everything for Mary. The little no-name, peasant girl from Galilee and Nazareth is favored by God, not because of her bloodline, although it plays a role in God’s choosing. The Bible doesn’t give us Mary’s genealogy. God chose her and showed His favor simply because of His grace. Again the scandal of particularity. (James 4:6) “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
With God nothing is impossible. Mary believes this. She confesses her faith, “Behold, I am the bondservant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your Word.”
Most faithful theologians will tell you that this is the exact moment when the angel’s prophecy was fulfilled. When Mary said “Behold, I am the bondservant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your Word” the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and conceived in her womb the Christ Child.
Up to this point, the angel’s words regarding Mary’s pregnancy were in the future tense. Mary will conceive. She will bear a son. She’s not pregnant yet. Martin Luther said that at the very moment Mary hears the Word of God and obediently confesses, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your Word,” is the very same moment that the Holy Spirit brings forth life in her.
Mary didn’t argue. She didn’t doubt. In the moment she knew she was the promised virgin of Isaiah 7:14. When the Word of God was spoken to her she simply and humbly heard, believed, and obeyed.
This is not what King Ahaz did. (Isaiah 7:14) “Listen now, house of David! Is it too trivial a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel.”
Real humility and servitude to Christ is seen in the servant’s response to Christ’s Word. “The one who is of God hears the words of God…” (John 8:47)
Mary’s humble estate was the result of the knowledge of her sinful state. She sang of her need for the Savior. Remember when she chided Jesus in the temple when He was 12. Jesus chided her. I am to be about My Father’s business. Remember how she bossed Him around at the wedding at Cana. Do you remember later in Jesus’s ministry, Mary and Jesus’s half brothers came to him and attempted to get Him to stop preaching and speaking.
Unlike Ahaz, Mary responded to the announcement of the coming of the Christ in faith and without one boast. “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
The Lord’s promise to Mary was fulfilled. She conceived God’s Son. Joseph kept her and protected Mary and their Son from harm. They called His name Jesus. The promise to the house of David was fulfilled as David’s heir ascended to the right hand of God to rule forever.
Jesus did perfectly what Mary could not do perfectly. Jesus did perfectly what we cannot do. Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Mary became the perfect doulos for us. He did so voluntarily. He yielded in subjection and subservience to the will of His Father. “Not My will by Thy will be done” Jesus prayed before going to the cross.
“As He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)
The Son of Mary and the Son of God is your bondservant and you are His.
AMEN.
May the peace that surpasses all understanding keep our minds and hearts in Christ Jesus. Amen.