Dec 7 - Highly Favored

Highly Favored

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

by Ted Landers

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-38

Key Verse: Luke 1:28-33

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! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Wow, what is she to think? Highly favored? The Lord is with me? Blessed among women? Was she troubled because she was thinking what did I do to be highly favored, blessed among women and to have the angel Gabriel tell me that God is with me??? She probably did not think at that moment that God was choosing a woman who met the requirements of the OT prophecies for the coming of the Messiah: 

1. Isaiah 7:13-14. Born of a virgin.
2. Isaiah 9:6,7. A child born into the lineage of David on both Mary and Joseph's sides (see Matt 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38).
3. Micah 5:2. Born in Bethlehem.

The Annunciation by Mike Moyers

AND that God uses people that are willing to be used by Him. It is evident by her response that she was: Luke 1:38 “...Let it be according to your word…”. Maybe there were other women in the City of David, Bethlehem, a very small town, that met the prophecies above, we don’t know, but God chose her.

For whatever reason He chose her, I think the lesson is that God can choose ANY of us to do His will at any time. However, we must be ready and excited to obey and serve Him. “Trust and obey, for there is no better way”. Oh, sorry, just a choir singer getting excited about a song for Christ!!! 

Luke 1:30 “Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.'” Trying to allay her fears, Gabriel reiterates the fact that she is favored. “Highly favored” could be restated as “greatly graced” or “given a great gift”. I am sure that part of her fear, in addition to having an angel appear from nowhere in her home, was the thought of the repercussions of having a baby while unwed. She probably also didn’t realize at that moment that this gift would bring her great pain in the future as she watched her son tortured and killed on a cross.

In Luke 1:31-33, Gabriel tells her that she will have a son and describes Him to be the promised Messiah to rule God’s kingdom forever. Even though she couldn’t figure out how this could happen, this must have been incredible information, humbling information, maybe bringing back her “why me?” quandaries. By naming Him Jesus, Gabriel confirms that He is to be the salvation of the world. Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua which means “the Lord saves”. Gabriel here also affirms the deity and humanity of Jesus. Born of her and of the “Son of the Highest”. Again, mind blowing information!!! How would you receive such information? Mary received it as she was - humbly.

I think that the main message of these passages is that Mary was willing to publicly humiliate herself for the Lord. We should also be willing to be a public witness to the risen Christ. Mark 16:15 says that we should “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned”. Our mission is West Plains, open your mouths, share Jesus with those He sends to you. He has Divine Appointments for you to share Him with others.

God has called you out of darkness,

into his wonderful light.

May you experience his kindness and blessings,

and be strong in faith, in hope, and in love.

because you are followers of Christ,

who appeared on this day as a light shining in darkness,

may he make you a light to all your sisters and brothers.

The wise men followed the star,

and found Christ who is light from light.

May you too find the Lord

when your pilgrimage is ended.

- Author Unknown