you do as well. Well, we're going to talk this morning about Mary and Jesus and Mary's journey, if you will, with Jesus. If you're here and most of the folks that are regular folks here at Union Grove Baptist, you know how much we appreciate what Jesus Christ has done for us in our personal relationship with him. You might be here this morning, you might have been coming for a long time or could be your first time here. And sometimes, folks, Christmas and maybe one or two other times a year is when they come to church, but we're so happy that you're here this morning, and we're gonna try and challenge you this morning to look at Christmas the way God looks at Christmas, not just as a holiday or a time to get together with presents, which is all great and important, but the most important thing about what we do is, where are you gonna go? You say, what do you mean, where am I gonna go? Where are you gonna go? Where are you gonna go? I see some people pointing up. You might be here this morning. There's coming a day, and this is not the Christmas happy thing, but we gotta face reality. There's coming a day when every single one of us will breathe our last breath. Where are you going? Well, this morning we're gonna go through a journey that Mary took with Jesus. And the song, Mary did you know, did you have a clue about what was gonna take place? As we go through the narratives in the gospels this morning, you're gonna find out that Mary knew a little bit, but she didn't get the full picture at first either, even though she was the mother, if you will, the one that birthed Christ. There are things that just didn't quite make sense to her until we get a little bit further down into the gospel narratives. Now, just as a little introduction to this, when we talk about Mary's journey with Jesus, there's, and I don't wanna get too technical this morning, but when you look in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the four Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are what are called the synoptic Gospels. They cover the entire life of Christ. The Gospel of John does not do that. He starts basically when John the Baptist and Jesus are in their ministry. But Matthew, Mark, and Luke take us way back to when the announcement was made to Mary regarding the coming of Christ. And we're gonna look at this this morning. And then, and you mothers, this is kind of a, I hope it's really meaningful to moms this morning as well as to dads and children and so forth. But when we look at this from a mother's perspective, What was Mary seeing? How was God touching her heart at various points in the life of Christ? And what was taking place? I think you'll find some very interesting things this morning as we take Mary's journey with Jesus. Mary, did you know? Father, thank you for your love for us. I pray now that as we open up the word of God, as we look at exactly what took place some 2,000 years ago and how relevant it is to us today, this very day. So Father, I pray that you'd do some miraculous work here this morning. Father, there's those that are here that are saved, they place their faith and trust in Christ. And Lord, would you refresh us, rejuvenate us, Lord, as we look at a reminder of what Christ has done throughout these last several thousand years and what he's doing today. Lord, if there's those here this morning, maybe watching on our internet this morning that don't know Christ as their Savior, they're not sure if they died, they go to heaven. Might they find that reality before they leave this morning? So Father, we commit this time to you. Pray that you do what only you can do. Revive the saved and save the lost. In Jesus' precious name, amen. What do you envision as a perfect mother? And everybody's got, I mean every single one of us to my knowledge has a mother here this morning, right? And start to think about what were the qualities that hopefully your mom had, those good things that she did, the lovingness, the caringness, her investment within you. And I know some struggle a little bit with that, but just think if nothing else, what would the perfect mom be? A loving and caring and or watching every step that you took, trying to make sure that you stayed out of danger and trouble. And when you were hurting or when you were injured or when you were sick, what does mom do? Well, mom takes care of you and she tries to help you. Just try and think about mom as we look at Mary in a few moments. What does a loving mother want for her child? Well, those of you, especially if you're a little bit older and your children have grown up, what do you want for your children? Well, we always, it's like we want them to be successful in whatever endeavor they take. We want them to have a good job. We wanna be self-sufficient. We want them to have a good family and get you some grandkids and life is good. But that's what we look forward to when we look at a loving mother. Well, what did Mary want for her son? Think about that for a moment. We're going to look at, again, the biblical narrative regarding who Christ was and his relationship with his mom. But think about what Mary is going to be told. We're going to look at a couple of passages to start out with. And if you were going to have a baby, and you're dreamed about that baby, and oh, by the way, and sitting way in the back, kinda hidden behind the glass this morning, we got a brand new baby here this morning, and I praise the Lord for that, Penelope Manley is here. and she was just born a few days ago and went through a little bit of a tough time, but she's here this morning, so Ben and Melissa, congratulations on Penelope and the family, and it's just wonderful, and we love it. Babies bring new life into a family, into a congregation, whatever it might be, we love babies, why? It's new life and it's exciting. Well, here we have Mary, who's going to be told something quite unusual. How is Mary going to react to the things that she's going to encounter? Well, this morning, we're going to examine the journey Mary took with Jesus from his birth through his ascension. And a few of these things we touched on last week, so there'll be a... A couple of things here that you heard last week, but we're going to tremendously expand on that. But the first thing, the angelic announcement to Mary. God had a message he wanted to get to Mary. And we're gonna start in Luke chapter one, verse 26. Now in the sixth month, so that's the way it starts out. What is he talking about in the sixth month of what? Well another, and I guess we'll call it a miracle, had taken place before this six months earlier. How many of you know who have ever heard of John the Baptist, right? I mean, everybody knows the name John the Baptist, right? Well, he had parents too. His parents were Elizabeth and her husband, Zachariah. And Elizabeth, Basically, the Bible tells us was up in years. She was past the time of when she should have been able to have a child. She'd been barren. She was related to Mary. And all of a sudden, God gives us the narrative that someone is going to be born to Elizabeth, the relative of Mary. Well, Elizabeth is six months into her pregnancy. Now, the Bible doesn't tell us how old Elizabeth was, but it says she was advanced in years. She was past the time of childbearing, but God decided to get that couple together and he said, listen, I'm going to give them a very special baby too. That baby would turn out to be John the Baptist. Again, six months before Mary became, if you will, pregnant with Christ. So that's the context. Now in the sixth month of the pregnancy of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, of course I added in the italics, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, up in the northern part of Israel, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. Now, why is all that important? I mean, there's a lot of details that the scripture gives us. Well, in 2 Samuel, and we're not gonna turn to it due to time, but 2 Samuel chapter seven, verses six to 16, tells King David that from his line will come one who will rule forever. And this is, who is that going to be? Of course, that was written hundreds of years before Christ. It was a prophecy speaking about that Jesus, the Messiah, would come from the line of King David. And of course, this is the documentation of that genealogy. Folks, every single thing in the Bible, every single thing fits together like hand and glove. Those that say, well, there's error in the Bible, show me one. It doesn't exist. 66 books, over 30,000 verses, every single one of them, hand in glove, fit perfectly together, and God's word is inspired. What does that mean? It means it's God-breathed. 2 Timothy 3.16 tells us that, that the word of God is inspired. It's God-breathed, and it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man or woman of God might be perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Hi Sharon, good to see you. And old friend, so excuse the interruption, but gotta say hi. All right, so here we have the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin. Why is it important that this young lady is a virgin? Because Isaiah chapter seven verse 14 tells us some 700 years before Jesus was born that there would be one called Jesus Emmanuel, God with us, who would be born of a virgin. Once again, God's word, prophecy that's being fulfilled exactly as God had stated, and that's why these details are here. Well, the virgin's name was Mary, and having come in, the angel said to her, now folks, And I know, we do this, and folks that are used to being here, I mean, can you just imagine? Imagine all of a sudden, out of nowhere, an angel shows up and starts talking to us. I mean, what would you, I mean, awestruck. What's taking place? And of course, if you're alone, you're like, what am I looking at? And of course, the first thing, you might be scared. And that's the normal thing. God tells us every time an angel appears, usually the first thing out of their mouth is, take it easy, it's okay. And that's what he does with Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. How is the angel talking to Mary? She's a young lady. We don't know the specific age, but she's young. And an angel now is coming to her and he's doing, if you will, take it easy, it's okay, hon. We'll get through this. Let me tell you, I got a great message for you. And you're blessed by God. Now that's a pretty good way to start a relationship. friendly, on positive side, and he says, blessed are you among women. Well, that's a pretty nice thing to hear. But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what man of greediness was. I mean, he's trying, and yet she's a little bit trepidatious here, so to speak, and she's trying to figure out what in the world is taking place. Well, verse 30, then the angel said to her, Listen, Mary, do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God. How many of you this morning would love to hear an angel come down and say, listen, you found favor with God. You've been doing a great job. Your life is exemplary of what I would expect from a godly individual. And that's exactly what happened to Mary. And that's, again, even though she's a little scared by who's delivering the message, boy, what a message. Verse 31, and behold, Mary, Young lady, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and she'll call his name Jesus. Well, she's like, okay, I guess that's great news, but there's a little problem here. I'm not married yet. And that's exactly where she goes. Now listen to what the angel tells Mary. Again, young lady, scared. All of a sudden this angel's telling her, you're favored with God, you're going to have a child. And she's like, just think if it was you. Very confusing. Usually, I don't know how many ladies here had an angel come and tell them you were gonna have a child. I'm assuming probably no one. But it's just a miraculous thing that's taking place and Mary is starting to slowly grasp on what's going to be coming. So let's see what the angel tells Mary. And here's the news he gives her. By the way, do you think the angel knew what was going to be taking place with Jesus Christ throughout his life? Do you think the angel knew that one day that Jesus would be nailed to a cross and crucified? Do you think he knew that he would be locked up in prison? Do you think they knew that he would be shamefully treated and scorned? The angel knew all that, but here's what he tells the mother, the mom of Jesus. Listen to what he said, verse 32, Luke 1. He, speaking of Jesus, will be great. And mama says, I like it, keep it coming. He will be great and will be called the son of the highest. And she's like, it's getting better, keep it coming. And the Lord God, God himself. Now these are good Jewish folks. These are individuals that worship God. They love God, they're serving God. And all of a sudden now he's bringing God into the equation and says what? The Lord God. the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the one that you've read about in the Old Testament and heard about in the synagogues, and the Lord God will give him, Jesus, the throne of his father, David. And mom says, I just watched, and I shouldn't go here, but I'm going to, watched a football game a few days ago. It's because Valerie likes to watch it. I don't, I really don't, no. But... We had on a football game and there was a young running back and he scores. I mean, he's running and mom's in the stand right in the end zone screaming and yelling, you know, go, go, go. And her son runs in and scores the touchdown. He looks up, he's looking. Who's he looking for? looking for mom maybe some of you saw it and he takes that ball and a couple other ladies were there he tosses the ball up to mom of course mom can't catch and she misses the ball but the person behind her gets the ball and they give the ball to mom and she's so excited and thrilled because her son scored a touchdown and acknowledged her Isn't that wonderful? I mean, that's a mama's dream, my boy. And now God is telling Mary, not that he's gonna play football, of course, but what? In all seriousness now, he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom, there will be no end. Well, folks, it doesn't get any better than that. Mary is told your son is the one. Your son is going to be the one that's going to reign over Israel. Well, of course, Mary starts to think about that, I'm sure, and it's like the only one that fits that would be the Messiah. I'm going to be a child. He's going to be a king. Hmm. All these things are starting to work within Mary's mind, but catch what the angel does with Mary. And we're not gonna go to the account of when Joseph's told about the birth because it's much different. It's negative. It talks about how Christ will indeed suffer, not to Mama. God says, I want you to be happy, Mary. I want you to enjoy what's gonna be taking place. Mary had no clue the difficulties that she was going to go through with her family, with the culture, with Joseph. Here we have a virgin who's going to become pregnant That's a problem, and especially back in those days. Our culture today, if a young lady gets pregnant on a wedlock, it's almost assumed that that's okay. Back in those days, this could be the death penalty, quite frankly. Very disturbing, very troubling, and Mary was going to be facing that issue when she became pregnant with Christ. All right, so let's go to the second thing. That's the first scene, if you will, that we have with Mary. And by the way, this is all true. This happened exactly as stated. Well, the second thing we want to look at now is Mary is with child and she's going to go to Elizabeth, who is also with child. Now, again, remember, Elizabeth is significantly older than Mary. She was beyond the ability, if you will, to have children, yet God opened up her womb with her husband and allowed her to become pregnant with, again, the one that would be John the Baptist. Verse 36, Luke 1. Now, indeed, Elizabeth, your, now, if you've got your Bibles out, you're gonna see two different words here. There's the word in the New King James Version, the word relative is there. Some of you, if you have the King James Version or some of the old versions that were written literally before the King James, you're going to see the word cousin. Now, there's a reason for that. Back in the, and again, I don't wanna get overly technical, but it's important because why are there two different words there? And I wanna explain why. Wycliffe translated the Greek New Testament into English back in about 1380. Our English language has changed a bit since 1380 and since 1611 when the King James was formed. There are two Greek words, and again, here's for our scholars, here's your scholarly corner for just a moment. There's two Greek words in the New Testament that talk about this relationship. The word that is only used once in the New Testament is anarios. What does that mean? That word means cousin. The only place it's found in the New Testament in Greek is in Colossians chapter four, verse 10. And you say, well, in my particular version, it uses the word cousin. Well, back when Wycliffe first translated the Bible into English, the word sugenes, which is the Greek word here, was translated by him as cousin. Cousin had a much broader scope back in the 1300s than it does today. Cousin today means it's gonna be probably somebody close to your age, it's going to be somebody from your mom or dad's brother or sister, and it was much more myopic today than it was back then. So back in the day, the word sugenes, which is the one here, was translated kinsmen, relative, cousin, but the word cousin, of course, has been transformed over the hundreds of years, and cousin no longer means just simply a kinsman or a relative. So I like to point these things out because it's like, well, is my Bible accurate? Yeah, it is. Absolutely it is. And the only problem is if you don't understand the English language when it was written specifically for the King James Version, why the word there is cousin? Well, it's because back when it was written had a bit of a different meaning than it does today in English. So there we go. So bottom line is, and that was free, you don't have to pay for that at all. You don't have to pay for anything, by the way. So now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative in modern day English, has also conceived a son in her old age. And this is now the sixth month of her who was called barren. And she didn't have any children. And now here's the outstanding statement that God's going to make here. And I want you to remember this as we go through today, because when we're looking at what can God do for you, Here's the answer, for with God, say it with me, nothing will be impossible, nothing, absolutely nothing. You say, I don't know if I can trust God. God says, listen, you trust in me, nothing's impossible. If it's God's will, and this is what he wants for your life, he will make it. for with God, nothing will be impossible. It's not impossible that your relative Elizabeth, who is well advanced in age, way past the age of childbearing, Mary, catch what I'm saying to you. She's pregnant. How did that happen? Well, it's because God intervened and allowed it to happen. This is an object lesson to Mary, who now was just told, just told, that she's gonna be with child, but there's not gonna be a daddy. God is going to place Jesus, if you will, within the womb of Mary. Mary had to have an object lesson And Elizabeth provided for with God, nothing will be impossible. Then Mary said, Behold, the maid servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. And Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste to a city of Judah. and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. So here she is. She's through with the angel. The angel had told her what's to come. She now comes to Zacharias and Elizabeth, and here's what happens. Verse 41, Luke 1. And it happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary. Here's what happens. The babe leaped in her womb. You say, wait a minute, it's just an inanimate object, it's just a fetus, it has no life, has no capability of understanding anything. That's what the world wants to tell you, that it's just a fetus, it's just a nothing, and here's what happens. Jeremiah chapter one, verse five, by the way, says that before you were thought about, before you were conceived, God knew you. The babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. I mean, we're having a spiritual revival right here between Mary and Elizabeth, and this little baby inside of Elizabeth jumps within her. Now, folks, she's not saying this just because it sounds like a cute thing to say. God is doing some serious work here. This is real. And what does she say? Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, Wait a minute, Mary's not showing yet. She's just meeting with her. She just got pregnant with the Holy Spirit, through the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, here's what Elizabeth states to Mary, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. God's working. God is showing things to Mary. God has opened up the door, if you will, to Elizabeth of things that are to come. Mary, did you know, verse 43, but why is this granted to me? Now catch the words. These are inspired by God. They're very much on purpose. Why is this granted to me, says Elizabeth, that the mother of my, what? the mother of my Lord should come to me. How did she know that? How did she possibly know that Mary was the one that was going to be bearing the Savior, the Messiah, the coming King? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeted sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Now most moms and those of you that moms and dads that are here and when Valerie was pregnant. And it's always a fun time, for me anyway, not necessarily for mom, but she's like, ah, it just kicked. I'm like, really? She's like, yeah, just take your hand, put it right here. She'd take my hand and she'd put it right where the little foot was, and then Trevor would kick hard and bounce my hand off, or Tabitha, or Tiffany, and it's like, ah, man, that's cool. That's amazing. That's God's little guy or gal right inside there, and they're kicking and they're fussing, and they're still kicking and fussing after they've been around for a while, but it's fun, right? I mean, there's life. There's life. It's joyful. It's exciting. And what happens? Elizabeth said, listen, what is this? The babe leaped in my womb for joy. This just wasn't a little kid. How did she know that? How did she know? Well, because God was telling both of these dear ladies things. And again, John the Baptist is inside Elizabeth. Jesus is inside Mary. And God made it very clear to these dear ladies what was coming. Well, we move down a ways. to Luke chapter two now, Mary's journey to Bethlehem. The announcement has come. The thrill has come. You're going to bear something very special. Someone who's very special. Someone who's going to do great things. Someone who's going to be the king someday. And it's like, wow, this is an amazing, amazing journey that Mary's starting to take with this little baby Jesus. Well, Mary takes her journey to Bethlehem verse Chapter two, verse one, it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, the government, that all the world should be registered. This census first took place when Quirinius was governing Syria. So again, they're way up in Nazareth and they get this message that the census is being taken and they need to be registered. Verse three, so all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. Now again, we could take a long time on this just going through the geography of what's taking place. There are actually two places called the city of David. The first place called the city of David in scripture happens to be the place where David literally was born, which was in Bethlehem. It was his home city. You go about three miles north, and you can go there today to both places, you go about three to four miles north, and you come to the place that is also called the City of David. That's where David's palace was, and all the things that he had. So the City of David here is speaking about where he was born, not where he ended up having his palace, which was, again, about three to five miles north of where he is today. But bottom line is Joseph was from the line of David, as we'll see Mary was as well, and they had to go all the way down from Nazareth, all the way down to Bethlehem. Why did God do that? Why did God take this dear poor mom, now she is a great witch child. She's ready to deliver. And all of a sudden they get this nasty letter from the government. Did you get your tax bills yet? Yeah, a nasty letter from the government. And there it is. And it's like, ah. Man, not the government again. And the government says, I need you to go 97 miles south to Bethlehem from Nazareth to be registered. Mary, you can just imagine, she's like, all right, pack up the goodies, get the toys, get the crib ready, throw them in the back of the station wagon or the minivan, and here we go. No. Hon. We got a long journey over rocks and hills and badlands and whatever else, 97 miles to get from Nazareth down to Bethlehem. You're great with child. You can just imagine how thrilled she was to hear that. Mary's gonna suffer a bit. We can say, ah, it's Mary, the mother of Jesus. Life was good. They just got on that donkey, pranced down, down 97 miles. Life was wonderful. I'm gonna pretty much guarantee it wasn't wonderful. She's a lady, she's pregnant. She's great with child, she's uncomfortable. And now all of a sudden, she has to travel. Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary's betrothed wife, who was with child. By the way, and we don't have time to expand on this much, Joseph did not have a physical relationship with Mary until after Jesus was born. She was pregnant via the virgin birth of Christ. No man was involved. Absolutely important when it comes to Jesus being able to be the Savior. So just a quick map. We showed this last week. 97 miles, all the way down from Nazareth, all the way down to Bethlehem. Passing Jerusalem on the way again about three four miles south or north of where Bethlehem was where Jesus would be born Well, why did God do that Micah chapter 5 verse 2? 700 years before it took place prophesied that Jesus must be born where in Bethlehem, 700 years before it took place. That's why the census had to be done. That's why the registration had to be done, because God's fulfillment of prophecy always takes place. For those visiting this morning, there's 1,000 prophecies in the Bible. 500 of those have been fulfilled exactly as stated. 351 of those prophecies involved everything for the first advent of Jesus. Hundreds of years before these things took place, God documented exactly what would take place. And guess what, folks? It happened. There's no other book on earth, nothing, no other religion on earth, no other book on earth, no other sacred writing on earth that has that accuracy, 100% accurate. And all God's people said, I mean, that's it, there is nothing else. Well, let's go to the birth of Jesus quickly, verse six of Luke two. So it was that while they were there, basically in Bethlehem, the days were completed for her to be delivered. Mary's there. She was told about the coming Jesus. Now she makes the trek down to Bethlehem as Micah prophesied would have to take place. And now here she is, the fulfillment of what the angel had told her. And she brought forth her firstborn son, Jesus, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, the protective clothes for a sacrificial lamb, laid him in a manger because there was no room. for them in the end. Well, the Bible made it very clear in prophecy that this would be the exact setting where Christ would be born. We talked last week about the priestly shepherds when a baby lamb, when a lamb was born, they would take the lamb up, they would wrap it in swaddling clothes to make sure there was no harm, no mark, no mar on that baby lamb. Why? Because God said, when you sacrifice that lamb, the Jewish people in their sacrificial system, that lamb must be without spot, it must be without blemish. And Jesus, the sacrificial lamb, when he was born, just as God had told the shepherds would be taken up. He would be wrapped in swaddling clothes, put in the manger for his protection, just like a sacrificial lamb. No, there was no room in the inn. Why? Because scripture had to be fulfilled exactly as was stated. Well, again, the priestly shepherds, those who would prepare the lambs for sacrifice when they were born, pay a visit to Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. So it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven that the shepherds said to one another, these are the priestly shepherds that were just a short click away, in Bethlehem, again Micah 5 to 750 years before this event, see this thing that has come to pass which the Lord has made known to us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe. Jesus lying in a manger This is an unusual Sunday for us here In a few moments will be done. We'll go down have some cookies together and you're gonna go home. No Sunday school No evening service. Why? Because we're all gonna get together with family and friends I hope you can and we're gonna sit down with each other and we're gonna rejoice and we're gonna give presents to each other Why do we do that? Why do we give presents to each other? Why do we do niceties on this day? Because the greatest gift ever given to mankind came into this world when Jesus Christ was born, if you will, as we celebrate on this day. The greatest gift. There is no greater gift that you can give to somebody than the gospel. There's no greater gift that you can take in your life, ladies and gentlemen, young people, than receiving the free gift of eternal life by placing your faith and trust in what Jesus will do as we'll see for you. Luke 2.17, now when they had seen Jesus, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning the child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary, Mary, Mary, she's hearing these things, she's seeing these things, she was told about the greatness of that Jesus will be someday, and she's seeing these things, she's seeing the shepherds, she's seeing the birth, she's seeing how she ended up in Bethlehem, and all these things are starting to add up into Mary's mind as to Something special is happening here. What's happening? What's going on? And her mind is still trying to grasp the miraculous things that are taking place. Well, Mary takes that little baby at eight days old, and what does she do? And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the child, according to the law, Leviticus chapter 12, his name was, that's when they named him, That's when it became official. His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Everything is coming to pass exactly as God said. Mary is doing exactly what the angel had said. She's doing exactly what the scriptures had predicted for hundreds of years about what would happen with Mary and Jesus. Well, Mary's purification. Here's the next, if you will, major thing with Mary. Now in the days of her, Mary's purification, according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought him, Jesus, to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. All this is part of fulfilling the Old Testament laws found in Leviticus. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. Mary takes this precious little baby. She does her days of purification according to the Levitical law. She takes Jesus then to the temple, and now another miraculous thing takes place. And what do they do? They offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons, basically to cover the uncleanness of the birth. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. Here's Mary's next encounter, hearing something from someone else about this baby Jesus. His name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him, to Simeon, by the Holy Spirit, hey Simeon, You're an old man, but guess what? We're going to tell you, here's another miraculous thing God does. Simeon, you know what? Here's what's going to happen in your lifetime. You will not see death until you see the Lord's Christ. Christ meaning here, Messiah. The Messiah. You're not going to die until you lay eyes on Jesus, the Messiah. What a wonderful thought. So he came by the Spirit into the temple, and the parents, Mary and Joseph, brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law. He goes over and says, hey, can I hold your baby? Everybody, and I'm very careful because I'm clumsy. I don't wanna hold your baby. But most people, they say, can I hold the baby? I mean, that's the first thing, can I hold the baby? I realize my hands fumble so it's like keep your baby away if you want it safe. But most people, wow, Simeon comes up in all seriousness and he says, listen, can I hold the baby? Can I hold the baby? I know there's something special about that baby. And then Mary gives the child Jesus to him. He takes him up in his arms and bless God and what does he say? Lord, now you are letting your service depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your what? Salvation. Here he is, Jesus the Messiah is there. Jesus the Messiah is starting to go through the process, if you will, of becoming the one who would come to pay for our sins. Quickly, let's go to the next one. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, behold, this child is destined, uh-oh, uh-oh. eight days into the birth of Jesus. She'd been told nine months earlier about who Jesus would be, the king, the powerful one. And now Simeon's going to give something to Mary that's going to burst her bubble a little bit. And Simeon says, behold, this child, Jesus, is destined for the fallen rising of many in Israel and for a sign which will be spoken against. A sword will pierce through your own soul also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Mary, a sword is gonna pierce your soul. It's gonna pierce your heart. She's hearing these words, trying to register, what is he talking about? This is not what I wanted to hear in the temple. It's not what I wanted to hear when I'm here to present my son. And all of a sudden, Simeon reveals this painful thing to Mary. Well, next thing, and we'll do this quickly, Mary's encounter with the Magi. Most of you have manger scenes like you see up here, and many times you'll see that the wise men show up at the manger. That's not biblical. The biblical thing is that Jesus was actually a young child, maybe a year or two, when the wise men actually arrive at the scene. So he's noted as a young child at this point, very young. All right, so what takes place? Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And we know the story, I'm not gonna go through it. Simply the wise men from different places see this star and they head towards Bethlehem where Jesus still was. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search carefully for the what? young child, and when you have found him, bring back word to me that I may come and worship him also. Of course, he wanted to kill him. When they heard the king, they departed, and behold, the star which they had seen in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. God had also placed in their hearts to know that this was talking about Christ. Now here's the point. Again, we talk about Mary. Matthew 2, verse 11, and when they had come into the house, not into the manger, not into the barn, when they came into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother and fell down and did what? that worshiped him, they knew who it was. They understood that this was the one that would be the Messiah, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented to him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Myrrh, of course, a burial spice. Isn't it interesting? A burial spice for Jesus. Well, Mary and Joseph, then they flee to Egypt with the young child. I'm going to skip through that due to time. And now let's go to when Jesus was 12 years old. Jesus was called out of Egypt every single year at the Passover, one of the three pilgrim feasts where every Jewish male had to go to Jerusalem. Now they're living up in Nazareth, but every year, Mary and Joseph would take the trek 90 some miles down to Jerusalem to celebrate the three feasts that all Jewish males had to be at, Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Now Jesus is approximately 12 years old, and of course, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, thousands of people are going to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Jesus, like any young boy, was with his friends, with his buddies probably, they're in Jerusalem, they're celebrating, they're having a great time, and all of a sudden it's the end of the time of the Passover and mom and dad start to head back to Nazareth. And they're walking along, having a good time, seeing their friends and relatives and just having a good old time. But somebody's missing. Hey, Joseph, Joseph, where'd Jesus go? And they're looking all over, they can't find him. They start panicking like any parent would do. And where's Jesus, where'd he go? His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover, and when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the Feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother didn't know it. And supposing him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey and sought him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem seeking him. Now so it was that after three days, oh boy, Can you imagine if your son or daughter's missing three days? You're gonna be hot. I can't believe he did this. Now let me ask you a question and we'll answer it. Was Jesus sinning right now? You better say no. No. And we're gonna see what he was doing, and Mommy and Daddy had to get a clue here as to what was taking place. Now, so it was, after three days, they, Mary and Joseph, found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. Well, guess what? Jesus was the one that wrote the book. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, John 1, 1. So when they saw him, Jesus, they were amazed, and as Mother Mary said to him, Son, why have you done this to us? I mean, Mama, I mean, she was scared. Where you been? Why are you doing this to us? Why would you do something so irresponsible? And Jesus, well, I don't know if he said, sorry, Mom, didn't mean to upset you, but what does he tell her? Why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously. And Jesus said to them, why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my fathers? business, but they did not understand the statement which he spoke to them. They weren't getting it yet. Well, let's go to the next major thing. Mary very quickly was at the marriage at Canaan, Galilee. They ran out of good wine, out of wine, and so Jesus is there, performs his first miracle with his mom. On the third day, there was a wedding in Cana, Galilee. Now Jesus, of course, is grown up. He's in his earthly ministry. The mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding. When they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. Jesus said to her, woman, Kind of a harsh word for mom, but it was acceptable here. Woman, why does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. It's not time for me yet to show people who I am. Verse five, his mother said to the servants, whatever he says, you do it. She knew he was special, she knew. She knew. In verse six, so there's six water pots there that were basically for purification. She said, fill them up. He fills up the water pots, and they took it to the master of the feast who tasted the water that was made wine and did not know where it came from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. The master of the feast called the bridegroom, and he said to them, every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. "'You have kept the good wine until now.'" In other words, Jesus doesn't make anything that isn't perfect and righteous and wonderful, and he presents this to the feast, ahead of the feast, and it's like, wow. All of a sudden, we're about done with Mary, and now we're going to come up to the end. Mary had been with Jesus some 33 years, Mary had listened to him and watched him. She wiped his little tears when he was just a young boy and he scraped his knees. She took care of him, she watched over him. She saw these things that took place at the temple. She saw the miracle that he did at Cana of Galilee. And now she knows that her son is being wished away, he's been arrested. And now the thing that every mother would dread, her son is gonna be killed. And a sword will pierce your heart, Mary. Little did she know when Jesus was eight days old that what Simeon told her now was going to come to pass in the most horrific of ways. And there Mary is with the Apostle John. And in John chapter 19, verse 25, Jesus had strong affection, of course, for his mother, the same affection that all children should have for their moms. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother. She's standing there, she's seeing this. And his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved, which is speaking of the apostle John standing by, he said to his mother, woman, Behold your son. He's on the cross. He looks down. He sees his mama there. Behold your son, mom. She's, I'm sure, crying. She's seeing the blood and the horrible things that they'd done to Jesus' body. She sees him up there suffering. And he looks down at his mama. And he said, woman, behold your son. Then he looks down at her, and the apostle John is right next to Mary. Then he said to the disciple, behold your mother. That's not his physical mom. Jesus was saying, without saying it, I'm going away. Now John, of course, knew that Jesus was about to die, and he says, take a look at your new mama. You take care of mama, will you? John, take care of mama. Behold your mother. And from that hour, that disciple, John, took her to his own home. He followed what Jesus asked. Do you think Jesus cares about mamas? I think so. Well, here's the final journey. He's up on the cross, her son, being crucified for my sins and your sins. All of this was taking place, all these 11 major things took place to get Mary to understand that she was going to bear the one that they would call Jesus. She was bearing the one that they would call Emmanuel, God with us. She was bearing the one that would go to the cross, which is represented behind us this morning, to take your and my sins on his back. Folks, here's what Christmas is. Yes, it's a wonderful time to remember the little baby Jesus being born. It's a great time to remember the joy that Mary experienced when Jesus was born and the shepherds came and the wise men came. but all the struggles that came along with it, being accused of being a harlot, being accused of being a prostitute, being threatened by Herod, trying to kill her children, forced to flee to Egypt, going back and forth from Nazareth to Bethlehem, over 100 miles, and the suffering that she went through and the trials that she went through, the heartbreak when she thought she'd lost her precious son at 12 years old, and just can't understand what's taking place. And all of a sudden, the worst possible scenario is right before her face when she looks up and she sees Jesus, her son, on that cross. And he says, listen, John, take care of mom. I'm obviously going away. And her heart's broken. All the things that she was told some 33 years earlier seem to be going away, seem to be ending as Jesus goes to that cross. But it's not over. Mary, after the resurrection of Jesus, here's what takes place, Acts chapter 1 verse 9, next time we hear of Mary. Now when he had spoken these things, Jesus was now on the Mount of Olives, he's there. This is the final, if you will, statements of Jesus, Acts chapter 1 verse 8, he's standing on the top of the Mount of Olives, the disciples are there. It doesn't tell us Mary was there, but I can almost guarantee you based on the scenario, she had to be there based on what we're going to see. And all of a sudden, Jesus has been resurrected. Mama's happy again. Yeah, it went through some tough, tough times. Some of you moms, you've been through tough times. Some of you dads, you've been through tough and hard times, horrible times. You've gone through unbelievable things that have happened. things that have gone wrong in your life, things that have crippled you at some points, and there's no hope. There's no hope. I don't know how I'm gonna take my next breath. I don't know how I'm gonna make it through the next day. And the most horrible possible things come, and then all of a sudden, something marvelous happens, like happened with Mary. Yes, they take Jesus, they place him in the grave. Three days later, though, they go to the tomb. Where's Jesus? Where is he? Where's Jesus? He is not here because he is risen. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Mary hears, my son, the one who I just saw crucified three days ago, he's alive. And folks, he is alive. He's alive. Now when he had spoken these things, he said, listen, I want you to go out and tell folks about me. I want you to go across the world and tell folks about me. I want you to reach out and tell folks about me. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me. And now Mary, the others, watches Jesus goes up into the clouds. Now when he spoke those things while they watched, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, angels, who also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up to heaven? Union Grove Baptist Church, why do we stand here gazing? Here's what God asked us to do. This same Jesus who was taken up from us from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven. Listen, Jesus is coming back. Jesus is coming back in an event called the rapture to take God's people home to be with him. Then Jesus is going to return seven years later, Revelation 19, he's going to set up what Mary was told would take place, his 1,000 year kingdom on this earth, where he will reign victorious, just as Mama was told. It's coming. Well, here's the final piece. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount Calvary, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey. It basically is about a 15-minute walk. And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying. Peter, James, John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James, the son of Alphaeus, and Simon, the zealot, and Judas, the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the woman and who? And God said we aren't gonna forget Mary. We're not gonna forget Mary. With Mary as mother of Jesus and with his brothers. Can I ask you one final question? Have you had an encounter with Jesus the Messiah? Oh, Mary had a long one, 33 years of time. And then when Jesus was ascended from heaven, she's there praying. She knows who she's praying to. Well, folks, it's the same one that Mary prayed to, that we pray to. Have you had an encounter with Jesus in your life? Do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you were to die, that you go to heaven? Most in this room say, praise the Lord, I know that. It's Christmas time and I'm having a great time because I'm rejoicing in who Jesus is. I'm rejoicing because I know that little baby grew up and went to that cross to pay for my sins, was buried in three days, rose again. I know my Redeemer in all God's people's head. But finally as we close, there's some of you this morning, Some of you this morning, and I don't know who you are, but you know who you are. If you're to die this very moment, you have no clue where you're going. Someone watching on the internet this morning, you don't know. Let's take two minutes and see if we can change that from I don't know to I do know. Bible made it very clear that indeed Christ is our Passover lamb. Remember when we talked about the little baby lamb that was taken up by the priestly shepherds? Why? Because that little baby lamb would be walked three miles north and would be sacrificed to cover the sins of the people. Well, Jesus Christ came. There's no more lambs that we sacrifice. Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice. It's been done when he went to that cross at 33 years and gave his life. And here it is. Are you ready? Do you wanna go to heaven when you die? Here's how. For God so loved the world, that's you, that he, God, gave his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, that whoever, that means you, that whoever believes in him, in what? In his death, his burial, and his resurrection should not perish. That's speaking of eternal separation from God. It's speaking of that politically incorrect word called hell. It's speaking of the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, Revelation 21.8. And God said, listen, if you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ this morning, you can rejoice that this will be the best Christmas gift you'll ever receive when you find eternal life through believing on what Jesus did for you. What does he promise you? Everlasting life. Everlasting life. You're a Christian this morning. Right below that cross, you're looking forward. There's kids all over here right now saying, ah, would you be quiet so we can go open our presents? And I get it. I did the same thing. But the greatest present of all is sitting above the presents. When Jesus went to that cross, but he didn't stay on the cross, did he? Three days later, he rose from the dead. Final and we're done. Here's the gospel. All of this to get to the gospel. All of this is why Jesus came into the world at what we call Christmas. He came because, number one, we've all sinned and come short of the glory of God, Romans 3.23. We're all sinners. I'm a sinner. Second thing God says, because we sinned, if we got what we deserve, we wouldn't be getting presents. We'd be getting eternal punishment in the lake of fire, Revelation 21.8. But Jesus said, I love you. He says, I love you, folks. I love you, folks. I love you, folks. I love you, folks. I love those watching this morning. I love you. And I don't want you to perish. I want to take you to heaven when you breathe your last breath. And Jesus said, here's what I did for you. Yes, I was born just like we just went through. We just went through the entire story how account. It's not a story. It's an account of how Jesus came into this world and what took place all the way up to his death, burial and resurrection. And God says, listen, would you receive that free gift of eternal life this morning? That's why my son came. That's why he suffered. That's why he went through what he did. Would you take that free gift this morning? You say, how do I take it? The Bible says, for by grace, God's free and merited gift are you saved, saved from sin, saved from the penalty of sin. But by grace, are you saved through what? Faith, nothing else. For by grace we are saved through faith, and not of yourself. It is the gift. It's the gift. It's the gift. We give it. We hold out a gift. We put it right there, and all you have to do is take the gift. And God says, would you take the gift this morning? Every head bowed, every eye closed. Father, it's a wonderful, wonderful day. It's a time when we'll wish each other a Merry Christmas. It's a time when we rejoice with our family and friends. And yet Father, just like Mary, she was confused a bit at first. She didn't really understand everything that was taking place. Folks, there's some Lord may be sitting here this morning that have been a bit confused, too, or watching on the internet. And they've been a little confused about how they, too, can enjoy the greatest gift ever given to mankind, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Father, I pray that right now that the truth of the gospel would penetrate their heart, that the Holy Spirit would be able to work within their life and draw them to the Savior through faith in Jesus Christ. Every head's bowed, every eye closed. If you're here this morning, And he walked into this building and said, boy, I'd sure like to know if I died, I'd go to heaven, but I really, I don't know that for sure right now. We've shown you from the Bible exactly what God said about how to get to heaven. We've shown you the process exactly as God gave it to us. Would you like to go to heaven when you die? You say, oh, of course I would. I want that with all my heart. Well, then let's do what God said. We read that one verse, for God so loved the world. That's you, for God so loved you. You can put your name in there. For God so loved you. that he gave his only son, Jesus. In other words, through his crucifixion, he gave him, he sacrificed, he paid the debt for your sin. You can't pay for it yourself. Jesus paid that debt. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, Jesus, that if you would believe in him, if you would place your faith in him, in what? His death, his burial, and his resurrection, you will not perish or go to hell. but have everlasting life. Would you receive that free gift this morning? You say, it sounds so simple. It's simple for us, but it was not simple for God who had to go to the cross and pay and go through 33 years of tough living to pay for your sin. He went through all that. And yes, for you, it's simply by faith, nothing else. By faith, would you receive that free gift this morning? If you're here and you're a Christian and you know Jesus as your personal Savior, would you thank Him right now? Would you take a moment and thank Jesus for what he did for you? Would you thank him for the day that we're going to have and tomorrow as we celebrate Christmas? Help us to remember you, Jesus, and to love you with all of our hearts. Finally, if you're receiving that free gift of eternal life this morning, I'm going to say a prayer in just a moment. The prayer won't save you. It's a prayer of thanksgiving. If you by faith received Jesus, how about let's thank him for what he did. When you get a gift, what do you do? You thank somebody for what they gave to you. So maybe you'd like to say something simple like this. You can pray silent with me. Dear God, I knew this morning when I turned this on or came into this room that, yes, I know I've done wrong. I know I'm a sinner. And I know because I've done wrong that I truly, I guess I don't deserve to go to heaven. But I believe with all my heart that Jesus, God's son, did come down from heaven, was born to a virgin named Mary, that he did live some 33 years and then was taken to the cross and crucified. And I believe with all my heart that three days after he was buried, that he rose from the dead. I believe that with all my heart. And now I'm receiving that free gift of eternal life by placing my faith in what Jesus did for me through his death, his burial, and his resurrection. Thank you for saving me on this Christmas Eve day. Father, we love you. We love Jesus. We love the ability to be able to come here and worship in peace this morning. We love you with all our hearts. I pray that you'd give us wonderful days now as we remember you in the midst of our