Fresh Bread

Guest (Male): You are listening to Fresh Bread, Dr. Harry Reeder's daily devotional from the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

Harry Reeder: We're in Luke chapter 1. We now make the transition into verse 26. Zachariah and Elizabeth, beyond years of childbearing, now conceived. This child's going to be named John. He is the forerunner to the Messiah.

In the sixth month, verse 26, Luke chapter 1, the angel Gabriel—there's Gabriel again—is sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin. Now this is not a woman in older years that is beyond childbearing; this is a young woman, a virgin, one who has had no intimacy because she is yet to be married and brought to the consummation of marriage.

She is a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. Just as Zachariah and Elizabeth were of the house of Aaron and Levi, this one is of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you."

So Mary and Joseph, both of the house of David, now hear that the Lord is with them. And the greeting has come: favored one, grace has come to you. And grace is "the Lord is with you." Remember the Aaronic blessing? "The Lord be with you. May the Lord cause His countenance to shine upon you. The Lord shalom, peace be with you." So the message of peace comes to Mary.

But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. In other words, is this good news or bad news? An angel's come to speak to me, and not any angel, but the one from the presence of the Lord, Gabriel. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."

In other words, that's another phrase of grace: You have been graced, you have been blessed. And behold, you will conceive in your womb—not you and Joseph—you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, that is Yahweh saves, Yeshua, Jehovah saves.

You will call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Well, this is an unmistakable message.

You are going to miraculously conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit, and you, the one betrothed to Joseph, you will be with child. So here is a miraculous conception that is beyond the miracle of Zachariah and Elizabeth. This is one where she will conceive, and the Holy Spirit will overshadow her, and she will bear this son.

His name will be Yeshua, meaning Yahweh saves. He will save his people from their sins. He will take the throne of David. That means this is the Messiah King. He has come to save his people from their sins. She is the appointed mother through which his humanity will be given, of the line of David.

And his legal position will be assured by his adopted father, which will be Joseph. And then he will be born to be the Messiah and the Savior of sinners through this one who is favored, that is, been graced by the Lord. Notice Mary, like everyone else, is in need of grace. And God's grace has come to her, that she has been the one chosen to bring forth this one that was prophesied all the way back in Genesis.

There, the woman was instructed she will receive a seed that will defeat the serpent, Satan. Well, women don't have seed. Women have, biologically, the egg. Men have the seed. But there will be a woman chosen who will have seed by the miraculous presence of God. Her name is Mary. She's going to have a son. His name is Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords. Join me next week for another slice of Fresh Bread.

Guest (Male): Jesus said the great commandment was you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. Recover that zeal with this month's free gift offer, Dr. Reeder's series, Cultivating a Heart for God. For your copy, call 1-800-488-1888.