Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-25
GODLY PARENTS, 5/8/05
Life of Christ #2
I am going to make
a bold assumption. I’m going to give you
the benefit of any doubt and assume that you are in church because at some level
you want to be godly. And if you want to be godly in general, it would follow
that you would want to be a godly parent in particular.
We need role
models to be godly parents. The Bible
introduces us to people who are role models as godly parents.
This week we are
about to meet up with Mary and Joseph as they find out that they are going to
be the earthly parents of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will view the announcements made to each
of them concerning the birth God’s Son, and in doing so we will also discover
the qualities each one had that made them a godly parent. Even if you are not a parent now, these same
qualities will also help you to be a godly individual.
Let’s begin by
looking at Mary, the mother of our Lord.
Our text is Luke
1:26-38.
Vs. 26 – Gabriel is only one of two angels mentioned by name in Scripture. The other is Michael the
Gabriel was sent
to
You would think
that an angel sent from God would appear to someone who was well known and in
the limelight. Not so!
Vs. 27 - Gabriel was sent to a young
teenage girl, a virgin, who was just like thousands of other teenage peasant
girls in
Mary was espoused
to a man named Joseph, who was a descendent of David. Joseph and Mary had already made vows to each
other. Usually within a year of the
vows, Joseph would come for Mary. There would be a wedding celebration and they
would consummate the marriage.
They were
considered married although they were not yet living together. To break this commitment required a divorce.
Now, let’s
consider the first quality that helped make Mary a Godly parent.
SHE LISTENED
Vs. 28 – The word “hail” can be translated “rejoice”!
Mary was to
rejoice because she was highly favored and blessed among women.
The reason is
obvious. Only one woman throughout the
earth’s history and could be chosen as the mother of
This doesn’t mean
that Mary was sinless, but she was special and certainly had a heart for God.
And let me remind you
that you are special this morning.
You are special
because you either are or can become a “child of God”. That makes you special and highly favored.
John 1:12, Ephesians 1:6
Vs. 29 – Mary was a close listener. Not
only would she have been unnerved by the appearance of a stranger, but she paid
attention enough to know that what he was saying was significant. She simply wondered what he meant by the
saying.
Vs. 30 – Now if an any angel appeared to you, would you think yourself in
trouble? “Oh no! What did I do now?”
God quelled any
fears Mary may have had. “Don’t be
afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God!”
Vs. 31 – “Mary you are going to get pregnant.”
“Mary, it’s a boy!”
“Mary, name him “Jesus” or
“Joshua”.
The name “Jesus”
means “Savior”.
Vss. 32-33 – How great was Jesus? Just
consider the power of His miracles, from feeding 5,000 to raising the
dead!
He would be called
the “Son of the Highest” because He is!
And the throne is
coming when He again comes to earth!
He will than reign
over
Vs. 34 – Mary is
listening. You can tell she’s listening.
She does not doubt, but, she is thinking.
She asks the obvious question “How can this be, since I am not having a sexual
relationship with a man?”
All through her
life, Mary listened.
First she listened
to the angel, later she listened to her Son.
She paid attention
when he spoke!
The bottom line is
that Mary listened for the voice of God!
If you are going to
be a godly parent, you need to listen as well!
First, you need to
listen to God in prayer and through His word.
You can’t be a good parent unless you have God’s guidance! Psalm 127:1
Also, you need to
learn to listen to your children!
You can only lead
a child correctly if you take time to listen when they speak.
SHE LEARNED
Instead of
fretting or being distracted by the sheer enormity of what she had been told,
Mary sought to learn.
Vs. 35 – Mary was told that the work of conception would be done by the Holy
Spirit.
She was also told
that the “power of the highest” would overshadow her. That means that the same
presence of God that was in the tabernacle and in the temple in the “holy of
holies” would come upon her.
Please note that
the baby was “holy”.
This baby was
entirely set apart for God.
This baby had no
sin and no sin nature!
This baby would
have been known as the Son of God because He was and is!
Vs. 36 - To give further proof, the angel told Mary that her barren cousin,
Elizabeth, was pregnant. That was proof
of the power of God, and that what Gabriel was saying was the truth.
Mary was learning!
She absorbed these
things and tried to understand them to the best of her ability.
Mary would go on
to learn more about her Son, as he was growing up, as He ministered and as He
died on the cross.
Mary meditated on
the things she heard. Luke 2:19
Luke 2:19 - But Mary kept all these things,
and pondered them in her heart.
We too, need to
learn from God, as we listen to Him.
We too, need to
learn about our children so that we understand them.
As parents, we
should ask God for the wisdom to understand our children.
SHE LEANED
Vs. 37 – This is a powerful reminder.
THERE IS NOTHING
IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!
There is not one
thing that God can not do.
When He makes a
promise, He keeps it.
When we pray by
faith He answers.
If nothing is
impossible God, then there should be only one source of power in our lives –
HIM!
We are to lean on
Him in faith. That’s what Mary did.
Vs. 38 – First Mary yielded herself to God.
She was God’s “handmaid”, a
female slave.
Be it unto me according to thy Word - She was willing to accept whatever God had planned for her life and lean
on Him through it.
This was not
something to be taken lightly.
Many would be the
times of misunderstanding, people not believing that she was really the
Messiah’s mother.
Many would be the
times of sorrow, especially at the cross.
Being a parent to
a martyr would not be easy.
Being the parent
of the sinless son of God, who was martyred, would be extremely agonizing.
Mary accepted the
role God had for her and leaned on Him.
Have you accepted
the role God has for you as a parent?
Do you have a
particularly trying child?
There is only one place
to go, and that’s to the Lord!
Lean on Him. It’s
the only way Godly parents make it through.
Now turn please to
Matthew 1:18-25.
Here we see the
other Godly parent, Jesus’ stepfather, Joseph.
We learn from Him as well.
JOSEPH WAS
RIGHTEOUS
Vs. 18 – The Holy Spirit had done His work, as promised.
Mary was
discovered to be pregnant.
The news came out,
probably in a hush, Mary was pregnant!
Vs. 19 – Joseph knew that he wasn’t the father. Mary had been away visiting her
cousin Elizabeth… Perhaps when she was away…
Joseph, who loved
Mary, would have been devastated.
He was a just or
righteous man, he would divorce her.
He was a righteous
man, he would do it quietly so as not to publicly embarrass her.
He was a righteous
man, he would do what was right, kindly!
He would quietly
grant her a divorce, and go his own way, devastated.
Joseph was a
righteous parent.
A parent should
always do what is right!
If a child needs
to be corrected, we should correct the child. Proverbs 22:15, Proverbs 22:26
Remember however,
part of being righteous is being kind.
A parent who only
knows how to criticize and correct will harm the child.
A righteous parent
will encourage, because that’s part of righteousness.
A righteous parent
will express love, because that’s part of being a righteous parent.
A righteous parent
will forgive, because that’s part of being a righteous parent.
JOSEPH WAS
RECEPTIVE
Like Mary Joseph
was open to what would say to Him.
He was planning to
do what was right and what was kind.
Vs. 20 – Joseph had a dream. It was the first of a few.
Joseph was told
not to be afraid to take Mary as His wife.
Joseph was told
that the Holy Spirit of God was responsible for the birth.
He was let in on
the secret.
Vs. 21 – Joseph was told the name of the boy, “Jesus”.
The name means “savior”. It was
the name of the general who saved his people by leading them to military
victories as the
Joseph was told
why the name would be Jesus. He would
save his people from their sins.
That’s why Jesus
came. He came to die for us that we might have forgiveness and everlasting
life.
Vss. 22-23 – Matthew tells us more. He tells
us that the birth of Jesus was the fulfilling of prophecy. He tells us that
this prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 says that Jesus would be called “Emmanuel” or “God
with us.”
Please note that
Joseph was given new information and he was receptive. He was willing to have his mind changed by
the facts.
This is a good
lesson for us who would be Godly parents.
Sometimes your
children will give you more information and will want you to change your mind.
Sometimes God will
show you that your child is right and that you are wrong and will want you to
change your mind.
There are times when
a receptive parent will change his or her opinion because it is right!
JOSEPH WAS
RESPONSIVE
Vss. 24-25 - Joseph did what he was told.
He responded
immediately in obedience and took Mary to be his wife.
God did not have speak
twice or twist his arm. Joseph acted.
Good parents are
responsive parents.
They do what is
right, when God shows them what is right.
They act in
obedience to God.
There is no better
role model for a child than a parent who is obedient to God and will obey no
matter what the cost.
The birth
announcement was given to two Godly parents.
MARY
SHE LISTENED
SHE LEANED
SHE LEARNED
JOSEPH
HE WAS RIGHTEOUS
HE WAS RECEPTIVE
HE WAS RESPONSIVE
RETURN TO
LIFE OF CHRIST INDEX