Doubt Is An Expectation Not An Interruption.
Mary’s Christmas: Luke 1:26-38
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by God’s expectations? Do you feel at times that God is calling you to do too much?
God expects us to be faithful to our spouses in our minds and with our bodies. He calls us to have a monogamous mind. This expectation may feel too burdensome to fulfill. Maybe you struggle with an addiction to pornography and you can’t seem to get victory over this vice. Do you ask God, “How can I overcome this?”
God expects us to be charitable with our finances. He calls us to not only care for our needs and those of our families, but also for those around us. This expectation may feel inconvenient to your plans for your income. Maybe you have a hard time empathizing with those who are less fortunate than you, which keeps you from giving aid to those in need. Maybe you feel that you can only handle your needs and can’t be troubled by the poverty of others.
God expects us to be forgiving. He calls us to forgive those who apologize for the hurt that they have caused us to experience. Maybe you are reluctant to forgive a significant offense you have against someone. Maybe you have told God that He is out of bounds in asking you to forgive a person who really hurt you.
When you attempt to follow Jesus’ teachings wholeheartedly, you will experience times of doubt. You will doubt your ability to do what God is asking you to do. You will feel that his expectations are too lofty.
Mary's Courage: Embracing Doubt in Answering God's Call
In the Christmas story, Mary received a huge calling from God and gave us a perfect example of how to respond. She experienced doubt and fear when God told her of his plan for her. She was honest about her fear and doubt but didn’t let that stop her from surrendering to the plan of God. We will not experience the same call that Mary did, but we will experience the heaviness of God’s call on our lives. We should view Mary as an inspiring model of how we should handle feelings of doubt and fear in relation to God’s call on our lives.
Big Idea: Doubt is an expectation, not an interruption.
We should expect times of doubt in our pursuit of following Jesus. We should find ourselves asking the questions “Why me, God?” and “How can I do this, God?” Doubting our abilities and doubting the outcome of God’s plan will happen. We should expect doubt, express doubt, but not let doubt stop us. God is specifically calling all of us to a level of obedience that is beyond us. It is okay to ask “How, God?” as long as we say “Okay, God.” Let me show you how Mary expressed her doubt, but didn’t let that doubt interrupt her obedience.
Luke 1:26-33, “26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Contrasting Reactions: Gabriel's Visits to Zechariah and Mary in Luke 1
The angel Gabriel has been pretty busy in the first chapter of Luke. Gabriel had just visited Zechariah, who was married to Mary's relative, Elizabeth, and told him that he and his wife were going to have a son, who would be filled with the Spirit and would bring God’s people back to him. Zechariah's son would prepare the way for God’s messiah. When Gabriel visited Mary she had a similar reaction as Zechariah, fear. Luke 1:12, “And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.”
Mary's emotion was similar but the object of her emotional response was different. Mary fears the message and not the messenger, unlike Zechariah, who fears the messenger. Angels often caused fear in those they visited, but Mary was alarmed “at the saying” of the angel, not the angel itself. She heard the greeting of the angel and thought deeply about his words. Why did his words trouble her?
The angel’s greeting may appear to just be polite and formal, but they are filled with meaning. The pronouncement of divine “favor” points back to several moments in the Old Testament when God chose to do something special through an individual. God used similar language when addressing Noah, Gideon, and David. God proclaimed his favor on Noah before he commissioned him to build an ark in order to escape his judgment on the wickedness of mankind. Gideon was assured of God’s favor before he defeated the Midianites.
God's Favor: Contrasting David's Experience with Mary's Perplexity in God's Plan
David experienced the favor of God when he was allowed to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. Mary was perplexed that God would pronounce “favor” on her. Also, hearing that God was “with her” must have made her wonder what God was going to do with her. This fear is most likely an expression of self-doubt and not terror. She could have been thinking, “How could God use me like Noah, Gideon, and David?” or “Who am I to hear such words from God?” Gabriel acknowledged her fear and then explained the plan that God had for her.
Luke 1:31-33, “31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary's Child: Fulfilling Centuries-old Prophecies of an Eternal Kingdom
Mary’s child would bring about the 1,000-year-old hope of a king from the line of David. 2 Samuel 7:12-13, “12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” The promises in 2 Samuel 7 could be read as speaking about an eternal succession of kings. A later prophecy in Daniel 7 introduced the idea of one figure ruling forever.
Daniel 7:13-14, “13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
Mary’s child, Jesus, would fulfill both of these passages. She must have been overwhelmed by the calling that God had placed on her life. The savior of the world and the royal ruler of God’s eternal kingdom would be her son. Who wouldn’t be overwhelmed by this? She first expressed fear rooted in self-doubt, next she would convey doubt in the plan of God.
Luke 1:34-37, “34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 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. 36 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. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Mary's Understanding: Questioning and Embracing God's Plan with Assurance
She understood the angel’s message as referring to an immediate conception while she remained a virgin and not to having a child with her soon-to-be husband after the wedding day. How could she give birth to a son when she was staying faithful to her commitment to remain pure until her wedding day? It is very interesting how the angel responded to her doubt here as compared to his response to Zechariah’s doubt. Zechariah asked a similar “how” question to Gabriel when he spoke of his barren wife having a child.
Luke 1:18, “And Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.’”
Mary’s doubt was not like Zechariah’s. He asked for proof, whereas Mary asked about the plan. Mary is not rebuked. Zechariah was made mute for his unbelief. I believe Luke was arranging the accounts of Zechariah and Mary in such a way as to highlight just how remarkable Mary’s response was to the plan of God. Zechariah was a priest serving in the temple and he was outclassed by an unknown teenage girl. He had the education, experience, and status of a religious leader, yet a young girl from a small town with a bad reputation shows more faith than him. Luke was intentionally showcasing Mary as a model of godly behavior.
Gabriel answered her question by speaking to the activity of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the divine agent that would bring about this miraculous conception. She was clearly incapable of bringing this plan of God to completion by herself. Assurance of divine power and presence is common in commissioning stories. When God reveals a plan to his people and they express self-doubt, he reassures them with a promise of his enabling power and abiding presence. Mary expressed her fear and her doubt. She did this in a reverent way, which is evident by the lack of a rebuke from the angel, Gabriel. The angel assured her of God’s favor and answered her question about how God’s plan was going to happen. Her next move was to surrender.
Luke 1:38, “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.’”
We can underestimate the challenge of this commitment. It is hard for us to understand the risk she was taking by submitting to God’s plan. Her submission meant she was taking on the risk of embarrassment and even death, which was the punishment for adultery according to Deuteronomy 22:23, though it was not commonly practiced. How was she going to explain this miracle to Joseph, her fiancé, and her family? She didn’t have the answers to all those questions, but she did have enough faith in the assurance of God’s power and presence that she submitted to his plan. Her doubt was not defiant and led to obedience.
Doubt is an expectation, not an interruption. The Christian life is filled with expectations that are beyond us. God calls us further than our abilities can take us. It is appropriate to feel doubt and express that doubt. When we experience self-doubt or doubt in the plan of God as revealed in scripture, we need to look up to find our assurance. Assurance will not come from looking from within. God’s expectations for purity, marriage, sexual behavior, forgiveness, and generosity won’t be met by your might. You need his power and his presence to accomplish these things.
Following Mary's Lead: Sharing and Living the Gospel Calling
As a follower of Jesus Christ, you may be thinking that you will never receive a calling on your life like Mary did. You are right and wrong. You will not be asked to bear the son of God, but God has called you to something that is beyond you. God has called every Christian to fulfill the great commission. He has called us to spread the good news of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin with every tribe, tongue, and nation. This calling also requires you to live a life of high character in order to reflect the validity of your message. You are called to share the gospel and live out the gospel. You should feel the weight of such a calling and say similar things that Mary said. It is appropriate to think, “Who am I?” or “How can I do this?” After asking those questions, look up. Look up and see that God has promised you the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Luke 1 foreshadows Acts 2, where the spirit fell on Jesus’ first followers and they became bold witnesses of Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins.
Embracing Transformation: Surrendering to God's Call in Following Jesus
If you are not yet following Jesus you may be overwhelmed by the expectations that you are starting to realize God has over your life. God cares about who you sleep with. God cares about how much you drink. God cares about your internet history and your thought life. You might be thinking that you could never give up the things that God asks you to give up in order to follow him. When you look up, you can give up those things. When you look up and see the power he promises you, you can be assured that you can let those things go.
