“Case For Christ: Scandal and Effect/Christ’s Birth”
                    (part 16)                                                       

We have looked at Christ's birth from the perspective of the glory of God shown by the shepherds and the angels, from the homage to God by the quest of the magi, and from the rejection of His work by Herod the Great.

With such a display of differences to the advent of such an innocent Baby, have we sometimes wondered at what must yet lie ahead in Him?

What is there yet to come at this 'Sign' of God's act to the world, at this sign of His nearness to man, at this sign of the promise of a new people in Him?

There is no doubt that in Christ, this Babe, there lay the pledge of power yet to become evident that would cause men to fall and to rise, - a falling and a rising that would dethrone every power and every thought that would exalt itself against Him and above Him. 

There was much, much to be thought about concerning this little Child and, it appears Mary found herself among those who wondered at His meaning and His mission.

It is said of her, when the shepherds gave their testimony on the day of Christ's birth, that she 'kept all these things in her heart and pondered them' - she reflected on them, she meditated on them, puzzled over them.   

Let us just look at this for a moment - let us look at how the coming of Christ and His mission had its impact on her - and on us.

We see in Luke 1:34, when Mary first got the news of the divine conception, 'she was troubled...how shall this be, seeing I know not a man?', she inquired.

She was confused.

She was troubled over it all. (v 29)

She could not imagine how something like this could happen outside of the normal, human way.

In the Jewish mind, this was a horrible act - not to be married but yet ‘with child’. 

This was a disgraceful, shameful thing.

And - these were people who were not generally known for their quick forgiveness and for their willingness to set things like that aside and just go on.

Can you imagine the humiliation she probably endured and the tongue-lashing she may have received from the town elders in the small village when they heard the news. 

To make matters worse for Mary, her cousin, Elizabeth, was pregnant at the same time with a legitimately-conceived child in her womb.

She was one of those unfortunate women at that time who, if they could not bear a child, carried the stigma of childlessness. 

And, in looking at Luke 1, when the news reached the people in Elizabeth’s town, everybody starting talking about how Elizabeth's womb was healed.

But, Mary had to be quiet about her pregnancy and hide the shame of the miracle that was happening to her.

Later, we see how all of Elizabeth's relatives and friends were so happy for Elizabeth: her whole community celebrated when John was born.

It was a family affair - she probably had a midwife to help her - it was a hugh event in the small village.

Six months after the big celebration, Jesus was born.

When that took place, there were no relatives, no friends, no midwife to help and encourage, no big community function.

He was born to a young maiden - she was not even a queen or a princess: there was nothing about her circumstances that would have led anyone to think that she would be playing such an important role in God's plan of salvation for mankind.

She was going to have a child - a child out of wedlock! 

How shocking! What a scandal!

Mary's entire pregnancy could have been a living hell for her, filled with scandulous scuttlebutt and embarrassment.

Can you just see it? 

As she kept growing bigger each month, the sharp tongues wagged even more and got sharper by the minute.

She was in a great predicament - but notice Luke 1:38.

'Behold, the handmaid of the Lord: be it done unto me, according to Thy word.'

Mary accepted what the angel told her in this way, even with those hellish consequences staring her in the face.

'Behold, the handmaid of the Lord...': 'Lord, I am just Your servant'. She humbly submitted to God in servanthood - she encouraged herself with this appraisal of her situation.

We have to wonder how many times she came back to this one conviction during her pregnancy.

I do not think the whole ordeal was without severe times of struggles and great stress.

But - you see - this was a great act of God to set this up in this way!

In Isaiah 40:4-5, there is the pattern He had set down in the Scripture - Isa 40:4-5: 'Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain shall be made low: and the crooked should be made straight, and the rough places plain.' And, then, '...the glory of the Lord should be revealed...'. 

And - Isaiah 45:2 - Isaiah 45:2: ‘I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut asunder the bars of iron.’

And, back to Isaiah 42:16 - Isa 42:16: ‘I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will make the darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.’ 

There it is - it is the pattern Christ brought with Him in coming from His pre-existing glory to the pangs of earthly living: it was one of humbling, then of exaltation. 

Mary's own words in the Magnificat attest to that pattern - read it through when you have the opportunity.

That is in Lu 1:46-55.

And what she had to say was no small thing, for it echoed what the Incarnation of Christ would bring in due time. 

There were two edges to come in His work among men: first, of humbling, and, then, of exaltation; first, of great pain, and, then, of lifting up.

‘Do you think that the Scripture saith in vain, ‘The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy’? But He giveth more grace. Wherefore, He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God...draw nigh to Him, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness...’.

And, then the passage summarizes what has taken place in the process and reveals what the Lord will substitute for the lustful contents of the heart: ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up’ - a humbling but, then, a lifting up.

Read it for yourselves in James 4:5-10.

Yes - it is true - it is God’s pattern: every - every - important and notable work of God comes with those two edges of - first, of humbling, and, then, of exaltation; first, of pain, and, then, of joy.

In Mary's case, she began with an incomplete joy that was mingled with consternation and confusion.

Her consideration of the pain, the humiliation, the shame of possible scandal that surrounded the experience of giving birth to God's Son was a grave thought for her.

But - her pain for such an experience as this would be nothing in comparison to what it would become as she was more awakened to an anguish that would one day crush her altogether and she would feel the weight of that fall because of Him.

Let us look at some of her difficult times along the way to that moment.

One time, she 'sought Him sorrowing' when she could not find Him among the crowds. (Lu 2:48)

That certainly was a time of panic for a devoted parent.

And - at another time when she tried doing the motherly, proud thing at the wedding, she was awakened further as He said to her: 'My concern is not the same as your concern. The time for My mission has not yet come.'  
(Jn 2:4)

Gently, He gave her the suggestion of a fall, a blow, that would come to pass in her life. She would need to endure a separation from Him, a separation that was beyond herself, apart from herself as His earthly mother.

And, then, - again - how it must have pierced her when Jesus was told that His mother and siblings wanted to talk to Him and He answered, 'Who is my mother...?'.

And He stretched out His hands toward the crowd there on the hillside and gave priority, not to the earthly kinship but to the higher spiritual kinship with that sea of people He saw there - those people for whom He had come - and He  said: 'These are My mother and My brethren.' 

For whosoever shall do the will of My Father, which is in heaven, (there is the separation of the two) - My Father, which is in heaven - the same is My brother, and My sister, and My mother.’ (Mt 12:46-50) 

That surely was a crushing blow!  That hurt!

By about this time, she probably had thought often of what Simeon said to her on the day Jesus was dedicated in the temple: ‘Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel...yes, a sword will pierce your own soul also...’ - ‘...your...soul also’!

And what was the reason why that was to happen?

It was so ‘...the thoughts of many, (including Mary’s) may be revealed.’

You will find that in Lu 2:34-35.

Many crushing blows had come to her but none was so pulverizing as the one at the Cross.

It was at the Cross that her pride, her hopes, her spirit - all were thoroughly shattered as she saw Him nailed to it.

The weight of the separation fell heavily upon her there.

It became reality when Jesus said to her: ‘Woman, behold thy son.’

And to John, He said, ‘Behold thy mother.’

‘And from that hour, that disciple took her unto his own house.’

Listen - this was far more than Jesus just being concerned for the welfare of His mother at this point.

That is how this is usually interpreted, but how often during His earthly ministry is He seen with His mother?

How often did He make references about His concern of her earthly welfare?

As a child, He already told her: ‘...I must be about My Father’s business.’ (Lu 2:49)

There is no question in my mind that He always gave the honor due a mother and was concerned about her earthly welfare but that was not His main interest in this great work of God He had come to complete.

Jesus had said earlier in His prayer in John 17:13: ‘These things I speak in the world...’. 

Why? ‘...that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves.’

He was indicating how weighty and now effective the words He spoke were!  His words were ‘spirit and life’. (Jn 6:63) 

And these words at the Cross were no exception!

All His words are here at the Cross - and here is where God’s sword is applied in reality. 

For His Word, ‘...the Word of God, is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.’ (Heb 4:12)

The anguish of that sword followed Mary all the way to the open sepulchre.

It was there she found Christ's true being - it was there she was lifted up and could rise into fuller accord with the One she loved so much.

Yes - it was there she was raised again in 'newness of life', to a new relationship with Him that would be hers forever.

Her spirit had been thoroughly crushed - she had fallen, but she awoke to the Cross which was the Crown of His mission.

And she would arise to the beginning of the understanding of it by His resurrection Life.  

His true mission bore her away beyond the earthly dreams of her motherhood.

The highest Gift given was not to be for herself but was to be for others - for the whole world, and - not only for her time - but it would be for all time and for all eternity.

What she was to Him as His earthly mother was nothing compared with what He was to her now - her Savior.

It is through the cycle of falling and rising again that much is learned concerning the effect of His redemption work.

His double-edged sword breaks into pieces and cuts asunder but - praise God - it, in turn, heals and lifts up! 

We are born in newness of life in Him and we are carried to the reality of its completion through the crushing and the shattering of all that seeks to exalt itself above Him.

In Heb 6:1 and 3, we are admonished: ‘...let us be borne on to maturity...and this will we do, if indeed God permits.
(Interlinear Translation)

Oh - how I pray that each one of us will keep on embracing the effect of our Lord’s work in this way. 

I encourage you to enter into the joy of the Lord, ‘looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith: Who - for the joy  set before Him - endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
(Heb 12:2)

Amen! So be it!

Let us pray.