Rev. David Holwick ZM Mary Did You Know, 1
First Baptist Church 8:30 only (cantata)
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 13, 2009
Luke 1:46-55
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I. Can Baptists hail Mary?
A. A song is born.
Mark Lowry has made his career as a Christian comedian.
But after his humor is long forgotten, a song he composed will
probably remain.
Back in 1984, Mark's Baptist church in Nashville asked him if
he'd be willing to write a musical for Advent.
He agreed.
Inspiration came as Lowry focused his heart and mind on
the wonder of Christmas.
He tried to picture Mary holding the baby Jesus on the
first Christmas morning.
He wondered what she was thinking about that child.
She knew he was special - the Virgin Birth was her first clue.
But could she ever imagine all the things that he would do
while he was on earth?
Soon, Lowry came up with a series of questions that he
would like to ask Mary:
"Did she know he would walk on water?
Raise the dead?
Give sight to the blind?"
In the beginning, Mark's questions were placed as a monologue
in between the scenes of his musical.
Six years later, another Christian musician supplied the
music and the song "Mary, Did You Know?" was complete.
Since then, it has been recorded by more than 30 different
artists, both Christian and secular.
#36108
B. Mary is an important part of Christmas.
1) Catholics have raised her to a very high level.
a) Tim Jones writes a Catholic website.
He considered the questions raised in the song and
says:
"Every time I hear this song, I want to stand up and
holler 'YES, Mary knew!
If ANYONE knew, she did!!'" [1]
b) I am not so sure.
1> She knew some things because God and angels spoke
to her.
2> But the gospels are clear that some things she
didn't get, at least right away.
2) Baptists believe she was very spiritual but also very human.
a) She didn't necessarily have everything figured out.
b) Even God's revelation to her was only partial.
C. The events of Christmas have become too familiar to us.
1) We tend to think we have it all figured out.
2) Jesus appeared, and everyone did their parts just like in
our Christmas pageants.
3) But was it really that easy?
II. Mary knew what average people could know.
A. She knew the facts of life.
1) She was a virgin, and virgins don't have babies. 1:34
2) She probably also knew that her fiance Joseph would be very
upset.
B. She gained insight from other spiritual people. 1:42
1) Elizabeth, a relative, gave Mary important confirmation.
2) The unborn John (the Baptist) did as well.
C. Mary also knew what God had revealed to her.
1) His words to her were wonderful, but limited.
2) For a lot of it, she would have to fill in the blanks.
III. Mary knew that her son was God's son.
A. God's angel revealed this to her. 1:32
B. I am not sure how Mary would have processed this.
1) A Jew would not naturally think of God having a son.
a) God was just God - he didn't have a family.
2) But Jews did see the Messiah as having a special
relationship with God.
a) In 2 Samuel 7:14, God says to David about Solomon,
"I will be his father, and he will be my son."
b) Mary probably viewed this phrase in this context -
the emphasis is on her son being the Messiah.
c) She wasn't thinking of it the way a Christian would.
IV. Mary knew that her son was the Messiah of Israel.
A. The angel's testimony. 1:32
1) Jesus would sit on the throne of David.
2) David's dynasty was no longer in power in Mary's day.
a) It seemed to have died out 400 years previously,
in the Babylonian Exile.
b) But devout Jesus believed it would come back in the
future.
c) The angel is saying, that future is now.
B. Mary's Song, the Magnificat. 1:46
1) It is militant and triumphalistic.
2) It is also very Jewish-centered.
a) The words mirror the Old Testament attitude.
3) Her song focuses on God's actions in history, more than
on her son.
C. The great reversal. 1:52-53
1) Triumph was not a typical experience for Jews.
a) In Mary's day, Israel was controlled by Rome.
1> They were allowed to have a Jewish king, but the
Roman governor, Pilate, held the real power.
2> The Jews were independent for only short periods.
3> One of them came because of the revolt of the
Maccabees.
A> These rebels overthrew the foreigners and
reclaimed their temple.
B> Hanukah honors this event.
4> But it wasn't long before the Jews lost again,
and sadness has marked much of their existence.
b) An interesting experience on my German vacation.
Just beyond my sister's backyard in Florsheim, Germany,
is the remains of a small Jewish synagogue.
Only a few Hebrew words remain on the outside wall of
an adjoining building.
It was one of the hundreds of synagogues that were
burned to the ground on Kristallnacht in 1938.
In English it means "The Night of Broken Glass."
The Nazis had blamed the Jews for a terrorist attack
and encouraged people to lash out at them.
One synagogue member was a prominent factory owner in
the town named Max Schohl.
When German money became worthless due to hyperinflation,
he paid his workers with food.
Local children would come by his house to get bread during
the week.
But after Krystallnacht, he tried to leave Germany for
America.
The quota for immigrants from Germany was already filled,
but the State Department said he was on a waiting list.
They figured he would be able to enter America in 1944.
In the meantime, Max he escaped with his family to Yugoslavia.
Unfortunately, the Germans invaded Yugoslavia and in 1943
he sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he died.
#36055
2) It took a lot of faith to believe in triumph, but Mary had
that kind of faith.
3) And she believed her son would be the key to bringing it
about.
a) When Lowry's song asks, Did you know that your baby will
one day rule the nations?, Mary would say, YES!
V. Mary knew that she needed a savior.
A. In verse 47 she calls God her savior. 1:47
1) "Savior" can have several meanings in the Bible.
a) Save me from a bad situation. (deliverance in battle)
b) Save me eternally from my sins.
2) Which did Mary mean?
a) Catholics believe Mary was born sinless and stayed that
way, so she wouldn't need to be saved from sin.
b) Protestants like us believe she was a normal human
and needed God to save her, from situations AND from
sin.
B. Did Mary think Jesus would save her?
1) The song asks:
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered
Will soon deliver you.
2) I don't see any indication Mary knew this.
a) Her song says nothing about forgiveness of sin,
or Jesus as a sacrifice.
b) No one would know this until Jesus told them himself.
3) She may not have known it, but she witnessed it.
a) Mary was among the few who stayed at the cross to the end.
VI. What do YOU know about Christmas?
A. God's angle is being pushed aside.
This year, the 70+-foot spruce tree in Manhattan is
officially called "The Tree at Rockefeller Center."
They took the word "Christmas" out so no one would be
offended.
I found this out in the New York Post, in an article written
by a Jew.
She wasn't offended when it was called a Christmas tree. [2]
B. Secularism is not the culprit - declining faith is.
1) Christmas should focus on Jesus.
2) Personal story of a friend of Celeste's at work:
She was brought up staunchly Catholic, but decided to let
her kids make their own decision about faith.
She found out the results when her teenage daughter was
invited to a Christian concert by a friend.
The daughter came home and said, "Mom you wouldn't believe it.
These people talked about Jesus like he was real!"
Your kids can't make their own decision on faith if they
are raised in a vacuum.
We can't force them to believe, but we can give them a
foundation they can build on.
C. Christmas is not just about Jesus.
1) Christmas IS Jesus.
2) It is the story of God laying out a plan for our salvation.
3) If you believe in Jesus as your savior, then you really
know what Christmas is all about.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] The comment comes from a blog by Tim Jones at
<http://www.jimmyakin.org/mary>, December 23, 2005.
[2] "Lawyers & jerks putting the 'ex' in Xmas," by Andrea Peyser, The New
York Post, <http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/lawyers_jerks_putting~
_the_ex_in_HyDcoZ9vvaop1Kpuq9DX7L>, December 7, 2009.
#36108 "The Story Behind Mary Did You Know," by "charlie",
<http://domania.us/quietstormcml/mary/>.
#36055 "He Could Not Flee The Holocaust," by David Holwick, with material
drawn from <http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/~
dear-cousin-julius-we-trust-on-our-god-and-on-you-1253574.html>.
#36109 "Shocked That Jesus Is Real," personal story conveyed to Celeste
Holwick.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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