Clean Transcript

It's a Matter of Principle

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• Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1, we're going to be reading, beginning there with verse 5, and we're going to read down through verse 25. Notice, if you would, Luke chapter 1, beginning there with verse 5. "There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abiah, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth."

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• "And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. It came to pass that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. There appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense."

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• "And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard. And thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink."

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• "And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and in the power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

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• "And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.' And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.' And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless."

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• "And it came to pass, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days where he looked on me, to take away my reproach from among men." The title of the message is, "It is a Matter of Principle."

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• There are many principles laid out for us in the Word of God. In fact, there are going to be a number of principles that I'm going to share with you, not only from our text, but also from a later text in Luke chapter 1, because I'm going to do some comparison for you, and just to show you the difference between Zacharias and Mary at this particular time.

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• I've often said that one of the greatest problems that we experience in our Christian lives is that we fail to live and to learn biblical principles. When you fail to learn biblical principles, usually you fail to live by biblical principles. And when you stop and think about it, the only alternative to principle, that is living by principle, is then you live by your feelings and your emotions and by circumstances and situations. Now, it should be obvious that feelings and emotions change, circumstances change, situations change, but principles do not change.

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• They remain steadfast and secure. Those who fail to live by principle usually have their lives full of trouble and turmoil. It's like being on a roller coaster. Highs and lows and ups and downs. And the next thing you know, they're experiencing exhilaration. And the next thing you know, they're down in the valley of depression. And it's one long, rough ride when you live like that. And in the end, when the ride is over, you're still living by your feelings and your emotions and situations and circumstances. And you still have not learned to live by principle. So, I want to share with you some of these principles that I think are very simple and which some of you know. It's just we need to be reminded of them.

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• Zacharias, of course, was the father of John the Baptist. He was a Levitical priest. He was the son of Aaron. In fact, his wife Elizabeth was also descended from Aaron as well. Look in verse 5. "There was in the days of Herod the king of Judea a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abiah, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth." So you have two Levites, both in the lineage of Aaron, who are now married. And I want you to look at verse 6, because this is an astounding testimony to Zacharias and Elizabeth.

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• "And they were both righteous before God, walking in the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." When the Bible says they were both righteous before God, that is, they were both just and holy. In fact, this indicates more than just what you and I would call an outward conformity to the law. It was indeed an honorable testimonial concerning their piety. Walking in all the commandments of God just signifies that they were keeping God's commandments. They were obeying God's commandments. But notice if you would, he says, "walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." So they walked in the ordinances of the Lord and keeping the ordinances refers to keeping the rites and the ceremonies of the tabernacle previously and now of the temple particularly. And they were blameless in these duties. They were faultless.

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• Now that does not mean that they were sinlessly perfect. It just means as far as their keeping of the rites and keeping of the ceremonies, no one could point a finger at them and say, "This is where you failed." In other words, they were exact. They were strict and they were punctual in the observances of everything that God required of them. So you have two descendants of Aaron that God testifies that they are godly, obedient individuals, and yet there was a problem, and that problem is very clear in verse 7, and that is they had no child because Elizabeth was barren and they both were now well stricken in years.

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• Today, we hardly think the way they thought in biblical times. But in Bible times, to be childless was either considered a sin or a reproach. Obviously, Zacharias and Elizabeth were righteous before God. So, the reason they did not have a child was not because of known sin and rebellion in their lives. Several times in the Bible, the Bible speaks about people sinning and one of the consequences or the results of that sin is there to be childless.

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• For instance, in Leviticus chapter 20, verses 20 and 21, let me read it. "And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness, they shall bear their sin, they shall die childless. And if a man take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing. He hath uncovered his brother's nakedness, they shall be childless." And then, of course, you had Coniah, who was a king of Judah in Jeremiah chapter 22 and verse 30, where God so detested and despised him, God says, "Thus saith the Lord, write this man childless." In other words, he was such a wicked man. God said, "There's no way that I'm going to bless him."

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• So you have to understand that there were certain sins that withheld children from individuals. But there were people who were, like Elizabeth, who was just barren, whose womb the Lord had shut up. And it was considered a reproach. You remember in 1 Samuel chapter 1, there was a story of Hannah in her crying and praying to the Lord for Samuel. She had no child. Elkanah, her husband, comforted her. And Elkanah had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not. And the Bible says in 1 Samuel 1 and verse 6, "And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb." So here is a woman being reproached because she has no children. And if you look in verse 25 of Luke chapter 1, when God did bless Zacharias and Elizabeth, here's what Elizabeth said, "Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked on me to take away my reproach among men."

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• In other words, it was a shame not to be able to have children. And obviously the problem was with Elizabeth, because the Bible says very clearly that she was barren. Moreover, now there's another problem, and that is that not only was she barren, but they were both now, the Bible says, old or well stricken in years. So now that they're old or well stricken in years, it means basically there's no hope, humanly speaking. I mean, they are old, old.

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• It's kind of like Renee, our oldest granddaughter. I think she's 29 now. About years ago, when Alice and I were in our 40s and 50s, she looked at Alice and said, "Granny, tell me about the old days." So there are some folks that are really old. And they're well stricken in years. That was Zacharias and that was Elizabeth as well. Now, it is possible that although Zacharias and Elizabeth had prayed for a child, it is quite possible that they had now given up hope.

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• And in all probability, they had. Because not only had she been barren, now they're very old and they're well stricken in age, and they're probably no longer praying for a child.

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• Now, look in verse 13, if you would. "But the angel said unto him, to Zacharias, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John." Now, notice if you would, he says, "Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard," which is an aorist passive. Your prayer has been heard. In other words, it was heard in the past.

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• So indicating to me that basically they were no longer really praying for a child because humanly speaking they were counting it as absolutely hopeless. Now, ironically or interestingly ever how you want to call it, the angel appeared to Zacharias while he was offering and burning incense. Look in verses 9 and 10. "According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of the incense." Note, if you would, please, he's offering incense. Note, if you would, secondly, that the people were praying without while he was offering the incense. And the reason for that is incense in the Bible speaks of the prayers of the saints. If you would hold Luke 1 and look in your Bibles, please, to the book of Revelation, chapter 8, at verses 3 and 4. Revelation, chapter 8, at verses 3 and 4.

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• Notice what the Scripture says. Revelation 8, beginning there with verse 3, "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer, and it was given him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the Lord. And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of the angels' hands." So, Zacharias now is offering incense, the people are praying, he had been praying, and the prayers are identified here with the incense, and so the angel says to Zacharias, "thy prayer has been heard."

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• Now, let me just point something out. Just simply because our prayers are not answered instantly, immediately, right away, in our time frame, in the way that we want them answered, whenever we want them answered, that does not mean that they will not be answered. When you stop and think, undoubtedly Zacharias and Elizabeth prayed for a child for many years, but it did not come to pass. And now it comes to pass in the Lord's appointed time. It is now coming to pass in such a way that the birth of John the Baptist is a miracle. It is an exhibition of God's power, and it's brought about in such a way that it's going to bring God more honor and more glory. So here's an interesting question that we should ask ourselves about our prayers. Are we really more interested in what we need and what we want and what we desire? Or are we more interested in God's honor and God's glory? See, God worked it out that He answered this prayer, but He did not work it out the way that Zacharias and Elizabeth wanted it.

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• He worked it out in such a way that ultimately He was going to get far more glory than had it been something of a natural experience. Now, let me point something else out. Look in verse 11 and 12. "And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right hand side of the altar of incense. And when Zechariah saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him."

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• Now, the word trouble there actually means to be agitated. It means to be disturbed. It means to be distressed. And the word fear indicates that Zacharias was genuinely frightened. It was terror and dread that rushed in upon him and seized him.

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• Now let me explain something to you. Most of you know that no one but the priests were allowed in the holy place, and only the high priest was allowed in the most holy, and then only once a year. It was the Levites that were given the charge of the tabernacle and of the temple, not only to protect the tabernacle and protect the temple, but also to protect the priests.

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• If you will turn in your Bibles, hold Luke chapter 1, but look if you would to the book of Numbers chapter 1, first of all, and look if you would please at verse 51. Numbers chapter 1. And look at verse 51. Numbers 1 verse 51. He says this. "And when the tabernacle set it forward, the Levite shall take it down. And when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levite shall set it up."

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• "...and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." Skip down to verse 53, "...but the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel, and the Levites shall keep the charge, or keep the sentry post, of the tabernacle of testimony."

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• Now if you look in Numbers chapter 3, Numbers chapter 3, notice if you would please beginning there with verse 5, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. And they shall keep his charge, that is, concerning Aaron, and any high priest that followeth, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle." Now, look in verse 9, "And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons."

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• "They are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office. And the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." Well, who is to put them to death? It's the Levites, because they have been charged with guarding the tabernacle later on the temple and with guarding the high priests. When you look at Luke chapter 1, and you understand that great trouble and fear has now fallen upon Zacharias, if no one had gotten past the Levites, and if there's a man standing on the right side of the altar, then obviously it had to be a supernatural being. If it had been a man, well, certainly he'd be fearful for his life because no man was supposed to be in there but him. And if it's an angel, well, he's still fearful because he does not understand what's going on. I would assume that Zacharias probably figured out that it was an angel. Now, look what happens in verses 13 through 17.

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• "But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard. And thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, or Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

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• Now here's an interesting thing. The announcement to Zacharias came not only as a surprise, but also as a blessing as well. But it was also a fulfillment of prophecy concerning this child and what this child would accomplish. So let me ask you a question. What more could any godly parent desire than to hear God is going to give them a son? That son is going to be so special and so unique that he's going to be filled with the Holy Ghost from the mother's womb. He's going to be used of God to turn the people's hearts back to God. He's going to be the forerunner of Jesus Christ. He's going to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. You would normally think that when Zacharias heard this, he would automatically started shouting and praising and thanking the Lord because look how long that he and Elizabeth prayed for a child and then to have this special child who's going to be so holy and so godly and so used of the Lord. What more could you want?

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• But unhappily, that was not his reaction. If you look in verse 18 through 20, "And Zechariah said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.' And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings."

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• "And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words which shall be fulfilled in their season." Now, if you would, notice what Zacharias asks. "Whereby shall I know this?" In other words, what he was saying is this, "I don't believe you. Give me a sign. Let me see something tangible. Let me see something I can grab a hold of."

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• The interesting thing, the Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 7, that we walk by faith and not by sight. And here what Zacharias was asking for was not the Word of God. In fact, he was indicating that the Word of God was insufficient, that he wanted something that he could see and understand. We've all heard the old adage, we've all used it, "seeing is believing."

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• Well, that's not necessarily true. A lot of times people see things that are not really there. And a lot of times you see things that are totally different from what you really see. I told some folks earlier with the technology today, seeing certainly is not believing. Because with the technology, I could have Gary on film, and he could be talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. And with the technology, I could change his lips and put words in his mouth with his voice and make him say something entirely different.

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• Moreover, let me show you. I want you to turn to this one. Look in your Bibles to Matthew 27 just to show you that seeing is not believing. Look at Matthew chapter 27. Of course, we're talking about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Christ was being crucified. And I want you to notice in Matthew 27, verse 22, what the chief priests and the scribes and the elders said, mocking Jesus. Notice verse 41, "Likewise also the chief priests mocking him with the scribes and elders said, He saved others, himself he cannot save."

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• "If he be the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross and we'll believe him." In other words, let us see something and then we'll believe. No, God says you believe and then you see. So Zacharias had everything backwards at this particular point. He wanted to see something. He wanted some sign that this would come to pass because the Word of God was insufficient for him.

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• Now, I want to call your attention to the fact, again, that the Bible says in verse 12, "And when Zechariah saw him," that is, the angel, "he was troubled, and fear fell upon him." So, you can mark this principle down in your heart. Fear always leads to doubt and unbelief. He was fearful. How do we know that Zacharias did not believe? Well, we know first of all because he questioned the words of the Lord in verse 18 when he asked, "Whereby shall I know this?" It's interesting what else he said, "For I'm an old man, and my wife is well stricken in years." I'm old, but she's worse than I am. The way he's reading, you know. "Whereby shall I know this?" So we know he did not believe.

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• Secondly, if you look in verse 20, the angel said so, "'And behold, thou shalt be dumb and not able to speak until the day these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words which shall be fulfilled in their season.'" Now, here is Zacharias, a godly man, a blameless man, a just man, and he failed to believe. Let me tell you the advantages that Zacharias had. Okay?

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• First of all, he had the advantage of having prayed for a child for many years. That's an advantage. It should come as no surprise that God had heard his prayer and God was going to answer that prayer. So he had the advantage of having prayed for many years for a child. Secondly, he had the advantage of being married. With God's blessing upon the marriage, he should expect a child.

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• Thirdly, he was a priest. And the Bible teaches us that the priest should know the Word of God. Malachi 2 and verse 7, God said, "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should speak the law at his mouth." Listen carefully. "They should speak the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts." So the priest's lips should keep knowledge. He should know the Word of God. So he had the advantage then of having prayed, he had the advantage of being married, he had the advantage of being priest, and fourthly, he had the advantage of knowing the Scriptures.

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• He had examples in Scripture. He had examples in history. There's not an Israelite who was alive at this time who did not know the story of Abraham and Sarah. Abraham, what, 99 or 100 years old? And Sarah, 90 years old. And they had a child. How about Manoah and his wife, who was the father of Samson? They were old and childless. And of course, there was Elkanah and Hannah. She may not have been old, but at least she was barren as well, and God heard her prayer. So he had all of these examples. He had history on his side.

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• And fifthly, only an angel could have been on the right side of the altar of incense and remain there without anything happening to him or harming him in any way. So he had all of these advantages. He should have known.

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• Now, here's what I want you to do. I want you to skip down to verse 26, because now we're going to read through verse 38, and I want you to see the disadvantages of Mary. Watch carefully. Luke 1, and notice if you would please, verse 26. "And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin, a spouse to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women.'"

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• "And when she saw him she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David."

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• "And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.' Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the high shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age. And this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed." Now I'm going to point out that Mary had absolutely none of the advantages that Zacharias possessed. In fact, I will go further, there were positive disadvantages in the life of Mary. Please note, if you would please, that it was the angel Gabriel that appeared to Zacharias, because he said so in verse 19, "I am Gabriel."

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• It was the same angel that appeared to Mary in verse 26, because he identified himself again as Gabriel. Now, before I go farther, let me point out three things concerning angels. So I hate to burst your bubble, but I'm going to burst it anyhow. First of all, angels do not have wings. Okay? Seraphim have wings. Cherubim have wings. But angels do not have wings. Do not let art interpret your theology. Okay? How do I know that angels do not have wings?

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• And the answer is, because they are spirit beings. Spirits do not need wings. In fact, the Bible says in Psalm 104 and verse 4, talking about angels, "...who maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire." And then when you get to the book of Hebrews, chapter 1 and verse 7, "...and of the angels," he said, "...who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." So angels are spirit beings, and since they are spirit beings, they do not need wings. Okay?

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• The second truth is this. Each and every time that an angel has appeared in the Bible, he's appeared in the form of a man. There are, and there were, no women angels in the Bible. No female angels. And, let me go farther, there are no little baby angels. And when little babies die, they do not become angels. Angels are created beings and there is a limited number of them. Okay? There's a finite number of them. But every time an angel has appeared in the Bible, he's appeared as a man. So I've told you now, angels do not have wings. There are no female angels. There are no baby angels. Angels are spirits.

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• Now, I want you to hold Luke chapter 1, but I do want you to turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 13, because I want you to see this, and I think this will be self-explanatory. Here we go. Listen carefully. You may have seen an angel, but you would never know it. Why? Because when angels appear, they look just like us. Hebrews 13, verse 2. "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Do not forget to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

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• Now, I've got news for you. If there's a knock on my door, and I open the door, and there stands someone with wings sticking out of his back, long flowing and glowing garment, with a halo over his head, he ain't getting in my house. He might be an angel, but he's not one of God's angels. Why? Because an angel looks just like a man. In fact, there is an angel in the room.

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• You'll laugh, but it's me. Why can I say that? Well, the same word is used, remember, in the book of Revelation concerning the ministers, to the angels of the seven churches, angelos. It's the same word. It means messenger. So God's preachers are called angels. But anytime an angel appears, you would never know that he was an angel because he looks just like us. I mean, you remember, two accompanied our Lord to Abraham, and Abraham fed them. So I mean, when you think about an angel, here is this angel who looks just like a man standing beside the altar for Zacharias, the altar of incense, and now this man appears to Mary.

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• I want you to look in verse 28, Luke chapter 1. Go back there. Please keep this in mind regarding the angels, okay? Look in verse 28. "And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, thou art highly favoured of the Lord, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled." Yeah, she was kind of distressed at his saying and cast in her mind what manner of salutation should this be.

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• I mean, why is this man greeting me like this? And the angel said in verse 30, "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God." Now watch this. Verse 31, "And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son who shall call his name Jesus." Let me just stop right there. Here's a strange man who has approached Mary, tells her that she's highly favoured of the Lord, and starts talking about her having a baby. Now, I just want to ask you a question. If you had a daughter, and a strange man walked up to her and just started talking to her about having a baby, would not alarm bells go off in your mind?

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• They certainly would in mine. I can understand why Mary was kind of troubled. She had no idea what was about to come out of this man's mouth who happened to be an angel. So let me just point this out. The angel or this man whom she has just met is informing her that she is going to have a child. Wow. Let me give you her disadvantages. First, Mary was unmarried.

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• It is true she was espoused to Joseph, verse 27, or betrothed to Joseph. And in the Bible, a spousal and betrothal was more than our modern day engagement. So in our modern day engagement, if I got engaged to Lorraine and I found out I didn't like her and she didn't like me, I could break it or she could break it. I mean, you know, it's no big deal. But in the Bible, if you were betrothed to someone, it was counted actually the same as married, but you just had not come together as husband and wife just yet. Okay?

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• So here is Mary now. And she's a spouse to Joseph, and here the angel is announcing that she's going to have a child. And look in verse 34, Mary now asks a very logical question. She said, "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" I don't have a husband. You're telling me I'm going to have a child? I don't have a husband. So her first disadvantage was she was unmarried. The second disadvantage she had was that bearing a child outside of marriage was not only a reproach, but it was absolutely forbidden. Just stop and think. Since she and Joseph were espoused or betrothed, her conception of a child would imply unfaithfulness and immorality and would subject her to the death penalty. Wow. Deuteronomy 22, verse 21.

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• Here's what God says, "Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of the city shall stone her with stones that she die, because she hath wrought folly in Israel to play the whore in her father's house. So shalt thou put evil away from among you." That's kind of poignant. And then God said in Deuteronomy 23 verse 17, "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel nor sodomite of the sons of Israel."

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• So it's not just a reproach that she's going to be bearing, but she is possibly subjecting herself to the death penalty as well. And one would have to wonder, did she even consider Joseph at this particular time? Did the thought enter in her mind, "What is he going to think? Am I going to lose him? Will this be over between us?" Because obviously, if I'm pregnant, he's going to think that I've been unfaithful and I've been immoral.

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• So, she had a disadvantage that she was not married. She had another disadvantage because having a child outside of marriage was considered a reproach and possibly subjecting her to the death penalty. But thirdly, the angel goes on to tell her, in answer to her question, "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" The angel answered and said in verse 35, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the high shall overshadow thee, and therefore thou shalt that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

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• In other words, there was no other example in the Bible or in history of a virgin birth. Zacharias could point to Abraham and Sarah. Zacharias could point to Manoah and his wife. Zacharias could point to Elkanah and Hannah. But Mary can't point to anybody. Now, it is true that there is a prophecy in the Bible concerning the virgin birth. Everybody knows it. Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us." But notice, if you would, this is not going to be just any son. His name shall be called Jesus, verse 32. He shall be great. He shall be called the Son of the Highest. That is, He shall be the Son of God. And the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His Father David.

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• And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of His kingdom there shall be no end. So let me ask you this question, please. How could Mary wrap her mind around the fact that she's going to be bearing the Son of God?

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• How can she wrap her mind around the fact that she is going to conceive and have a child whose father is God?

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• The virgin birth, humanly speaking, is beyond human conception. That is, we cannot conceive it in our minds. We cannot wrap our minds around it. Because it is not natural, it is supernatural. It is not an act of man, it is indeed an act of God. So, let me just go over this for you. I want you to think about this. Here are Mary's disadvantages. She was unmarried, although she was betrothed. She faced losing Joseph. She faced reproach, castigation, ostracism, and possibly even the death penalty. She had no example in history of a virgin birth. There was no example in the Bible that she could go to and say, "This has happened before." And then she had to somehow comprehend that she is going to conceive this child by a supernatural act of God, and this supernatural act of God was going to produce the Son of God.

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• Let me tell you. When Gabriel told Zacharias he was going to have a child, Zacharias said, "How shall I know this? Give me something tangible." I want you to see with all of the disadvantages of Mary what she said. Look down to verse 38. "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed." I've got news for you folks. That blows my mind. When she said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," expression of resignation to the will of God and of faith in His promise. And to be the handmaid of the Lord means the fact that she was going to be submissive, and she was going to be obedient, and that she was going to be whatever God would have her to be.

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• She was saying, in essence, "I fully credit all that is said, and I'm perfectly willing and ready to obey and have everything accomplished in my life." Look at it. Look at verse 38. Look at it. "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord." She didn't just say, "Here I am." She added this short prayer, "Be it unto me according to thy word." So here's not just an expression of her humility, but of her readiness and willingness to give herself up to the Lord's pleasure. She was saying, "I assent and I consent to whatever God would have me to be and have me to do." And she adds that little prayer in verse 38, "Be it unto me according to thy word, let it come to pass."

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• Unlike Zacharias, she did not ask for a sign. Zacharias had all the advantages, she had all the disadvantages. And yet she just simply believed the words that Gabriel spoke to her. And the evidence of her belief was that she willingly submitted herself to everything the angel said.

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• Now let me make a couple of applications. I want you to think this through with me. First of all, principles do matter. We've looked at a number of principles. I have not necessarily pointed them out every time, but there's the principle of faith. There's the principle of submission to the will of God. There is the principle of resignation to the will of God in spite of the situation and in spite of the circumstances.

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• Mary faced not only reproach, but losing Joseph and even facing a possible death penalty. But we know how God came to Joseph. And Joseph being a just man, the Bible said, was willing to put her away privately. He was not going to put her in the law courts and seek the death penalty. He was willing to put her away privately. And God told Joseph, "Fear not." But here she is. She's willing to lose everything. It's amazing someone has not asked Mary, "Well how did you feel?"

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• She was not living by feelings, she was living by faith. The second application is this. Like Zacharias, we have all of the advantages today. We have the complete, full, and final Word of God. Why in the world should we doubt anything? Why in the world should we waver? Everything that we do should be done in faith, because that principle is enunciated over and over in the Scripture. The just shall live by faith. We're to go from faith unto faith.

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• Have you ever stopped to think about this? God has not asked us to do anything that has not already been done before. Moreover, He's given us examples. He would say, "Take the prophets for an example." Or He would say, "Remember Job." Or "Remember Lot." Everything that He asked us to do has already been done. We do not have the disadvantages that Mary had, we have all the advantages and what God is telling us that our greatest need is that we're to learn to live by principle. Whether it's the principle of faith, the principle of submission, the principle of resignation to the will of God, and God has given us a historical example in Mary. When you stop and think about the difference between Zacharias and Mary, the difference is absolutely phenomenal. And Zacharias should have known better, but he didn't. And Mary, who really didn't know anything except she trusted the Lord, was willing for whatever God brought to pass in her life.

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• It did not matter if she suffered reproach. It did not matter if she suffered danger. It did not matter if she lost Joseph. She trusted him to work everything out for her good and his glory. And of course he did. And so we need to learn to live by the principles that God has laid down in our lives. We have the advantages. We do not have the disadvantages. So we need to embrace these principles and learn to live and to walk by faith.

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• Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask, Father, that You'd be pleased to give us, Lord, faith, increase our faith, enable us to exercise the faith that You've given us. Father, may we be thankful for all of the advantages that You've given unto us. We have Your Word. We have Your history. We have examples. Teach us, we pray. Help us to honor Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:16:38Z