Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

Hey podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress.

And right now your generous gift will have twice the impact, thanks to the Now Is the Time Matching Challenge, active now through December 31st. To give a special year-end gift, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm.

Speaker 3

Glad to study Word with you every.

Speaker 2

Day on this Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 3

Now, when we come to verse 26 of Luke 1, we find Gabriel coming to earth again with another birth announcement.

But this time he's not coming to an elderly priest who's in the temple burning incense on the altar. Instead, this birth announcement is made to a starry-eyed teenage girl who's preparing for the most exciting event in her life.

Speaker 1

Life, the Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. One day in the little city of Nazareth, an angel appeared to a young woman named Mary.

Now why would God pick such an average, ordinary looking girl to be the mother of the Savior? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress reveals that Mary was not a random choice, but a true servant of God.

But first, let's take a minute to hear some important ministry updates.

Speaker 2

Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Just before we begin our next message in our holiday teaching series called Celebrate the Savior, I'd like you to join me on a special journey in 2026 as I come alongside you with the daily devotional readings.

Here's how we're going to do this together. Over the last 12 months, we've been preparing a brand new Pathway to Victory daily devotional for 2026. In this impressive leather-bound volume, I've written an inspirational reflection for every single weekday in the new year. It's more than 500 pages in length.

Look, spending a few minutes every single day in God's Word is one of the most important disciplines in the Christian life. It's a discipline that applies to us all, even your radio pastor. You see, the Bible is a lantern that lights our path. It keeps us on course.

So let me send the 2026 Daily Devotional to your home today. It's my gift to you and your family when you give a generous year-end gift toward the wonderful matching challenge that's active right now. Because of this matching challenge, your gift will be automatically doubled in size. I'll say more about it later in the program.

Well, at First Baptist Dallas, we love to sing. So today, let's enter the worship center and join the congregation in singing one of our Christmas favorites.

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Be faithful, Joyful and triumphant O come ye O come ye To Bethlehem Come and behold him for the King of angels oh, come let us adore him oh, come let us adore him O now let us adore Be in Christ.

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The Lord.

Speaker 3

Oh, you sound great.

Speaker 4

Sure! Here is the text separated into paragraphs:

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Church.

Yea, Lord, we greet thee. Yea, Lord, we greet thee. Born this happy morning, Jesus, to thee be all glory. Word of the Father, now in flesh of fear. O come, let us adore him; oh, come, let us adore him; oh, come, let us adore in Christ the Lord.

We'll give him all the glory; we'll give him all the glory; we'll give him all the glory; we'll give him all the glory.

Sing.

Angels we have heard on high, angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o'er the plains, and the mountains in reply echo back their joyous grace.

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Let me know if you need any further assistance!

Speaker 3

Joy singh.

Speaker 2

Thank you, First Baptist Dallas Choir and Orchestra.

And right now it's time to continue our study in the Gospel of Luke called Celebrate the Savior. Open your Bible to Luke, chapter one, verse 26, as we meet a remarkable girl that God used in a remarkable way.

I titled today's message Mary. Quite extraordinary.

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Throughout the history of the Church, Christians have gone to one of two extremes when it comes to talking about Mary, the mother of Jesus. There are some Christians who exalt Mary to a position that, quite frankly, is totally unbiblical. For example, there are some who have taught through the history of the Church that Mary is a co-Mediator, a go-between between God and man. Pope Pius IX, who was pope from 1846 to 1878, said, "God has committed to Mary the treasury of all good things in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is his will that we obtain everything through Mary." Later, Pope Leo XIII wrote, "As no man goes to the Father, but by the Son, so no one goes to Christ except through His Mother." And yet we know what the Word of God says. First Timothy 2:5 says, "For there is one mediator, there is one go-between between God and man, and it is the man, Christ Jesus."

Others have taught the Immaculate Conception of Mary. When we talk about the Immaculate Conception, that's not referring to Jesus. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception refers to Mary, asserting that just as Jesus was sinless, Mary was also sinless. But again, there's nothing in Scripture to support this; Mary didn't even believe that about herself. As we'll see in a moment, she refers to God as her Savior. You don't need a savior unless you're a sinner. Mary understood that. Still others talk about the perpetual virginity of Mary. It's the idea that not only was Mary a virgin when she gave birth to Christ, but she remained a virgin throughout her life. The only problem with that is, among other passages, Matthew 13:55 and 56 tell us that Jesus had brothers and sisters: "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And his sisters? Are they not also with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?" Jesus had brothers and sisters, and there's all evidence that they came about the old-fashioned way. Mary and Joseph had children. There is no perpetual virginity of Mary.

Now, in response to this unbiblical position about Mary, many others have gone to another extreme. Those of us who are Protestants have not wanted to lift up Mary and therefore put down Jesus. So instead of exalting Mary, we've gone to the opposite extreme and we've ignored her. I mean, think about it. When's the last time you heard a sermon about Mary, the mother of Jesus? When's the last time you read a book about Mary? We just don't talk about Mary; we ignore her. And that is just as much an unbiblical position.

When we come to Luke's gospel, this great doctor who is also a historian gives us a proper balance in understanding Mary. He neither deifies her nor does he ignore her. Instead, Luke paints Mary as somebody whose character should be admired and whose faith ought to be imitated. And that's what we're going to see today as we talk about this extraordinary girl that God used in an extraordinary way, named Mary.

Take your Bibles and turn to Luke, chapter one. Look at verse 26 with me. "Now in the sixth month." You have to stop there. What do you mean sixth month? Well, remember, this is Elizabeth's story—Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. It was in the sixth month of her pregnancy that the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth. Look at verse 27. Gabriel came to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.

Now, when we think about Mary, we usually cast a young adult woman, maybe in her 20s or early 30s, to play the part of Mary. But that's really wrong. According to Jewish culture, Mary was probably 12 or 13 years of age. Joseph would have been probably 17 or 18 at this point in their story. Notice also that Luke says that Mary was engaged. Now, that's the New American Standard translation—engaged. The King James says she was betrothed. Let me quickly explain to you three steps in the Jewish marriage process. There were three steps. Jot them down.

First of all, there was the selection. When the parents of a boy would find a girl they felt was suitable and both sets of parents agreed, that was the selection that was made. When they came of age—13, 14, 15—that led to the second step, which is the betrothal period. Now, the betrothal period probably best corresponds to what we call engagement, but betrothal was much more serious than an engagement. In the betrothal process, commitments were made, vows were exchanged. It was everything that a marriage was, except there was no sexual relationship. The betrothal period lasted about a year. The final stage, after about a year, was the marriage ceremony itself.

Now, Mary and Joseph were in this betrothal period, and it's at that point that Gabriel comes to Mary with this remarkable announcement. Look at verse 28. "And coming in, Gabriel said to her, 'Hail, favored one, the Lord is with you.'" The Latin translation says, "Hail, one who is full of grace." And that translation has led to a lot of confusion. Mary's full of grace; she's running over with grace. Therefore, that means she is the dispenser of grace to other people. No, it's simply saying God has had grace on you. He has favored you. He has chosen you for a special purpose. You are the recipient of God's grace.

Now, Mary was very troubled when she saw this angel suddenly appear before her. Verse 29 says that she was greatly troubled, wondering what kind of announcement the angel was about to make. But notice what he says in verse 30: "You have found favor with God. Do not be afraid." There’s no inference, again, that the fact that she found favor with God means that she was sinless; it was simply that God had chosen her for a special purpose. Gabriel begins to unveil what that purpose is, beginning in verse 31.

"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and you shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus." The word name Jesus means "Jehovah is salvation." Now, I'm sure Mary wondered a lot of things at this point, but who will this baby be, whom I'm to call Jesus? Gabriel follows with a five-fold description of this baby that was more exacting than any sonogram could have ever been. Because once Gabriel had finished, she had no doubt who this baby was.

Notice this five-fold description, beginning in verse 32. Number one, he will be great. Gabriel said, "Your son is going to be great." Now, every mother thinks her son is great, but this is going to be beyond that. There's something special about him. Then he goes on, number two, to say, "He will be the Son of the Most High." Number three, "He will have the throne of David." This is an obvious reference to 2 Samuel 7:16, in which God said to David, "David, one of your descendants will be the Messiah who will sit on your throne."

Verse 33, number four: "He will rule over the house of Jacob forever." That's the operative word—forever. And then climactically, number five: "His kingdom will have no end." This was a reference not just to the duration of his kingdom forever, but to the extent of his kingdom. This child of yours, Mary, is going to rule over the entirety of God's creation. Now, that was the announcement. Mary was getting the picture of who this baby was going to be.

So in verse 34, she responds with a logical question. "And Mary said to Gabriel, 'How can this be since I'm a virgin?'" Look at how he answers in verse 35. "And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And for that reason, the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.'" Why was a virgin birth necessary? Is it really important whether or not Jesus was born of a virgin? Some say that's just a little extra mythology tacked onto the Jesus story.

Speaker 2

No.

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Let me show you why a virgin birth was absolutely necessary. If somebody ever asks you, you can give them these four reasons.

Number one, the virgin birth protects Christ's deity. Had Jesus been born of a human father, if Joseph had been the biological father of Jesus, Jesus would have inherited the curse and the corruption of Adam's sin. Remember, the sin nature and the guilt came through the Father. Romans 5:11 states, "Just as through one man, Adam, sin entered the world and death spread to all men." So the virgin birth protects Christ's deity. He could not have been God had he been born of Joseph.

Number two, the virgin birth preserves Christ's humanity. Some people say, "Well, why did we have to go through this whole Bethlehem thing? I mean, why not just put God on earth in the form of a young adult male, let him go to Calvary and pay for our sins and do it that way?" No. Had he escaped the birth process, had he not really been totally human as well as totally divine, then we could not have a high priest who understood us. Hebrews 4:15-16 talks about Jesus, saying, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who is tested in all points as we are, and yet without sin." The fact that Jesus was born just like you and I are born, and he lived the same kind of existence we did, means he understands everything you and I are going through. There's no heartache, there's no disappointment we experience that he has not experienced. His humanity is preserved through a virgin birth.

Number three, the virgin birth solves the problem of Jeconiah's curse. Now, stay with me for the next three minutes. I've talked about this before at Christmas time, but I want to be sure you understand this. Hold your place here and turn over to Matthew chapter 1. For Jesus to be the Messiah, he had to be a descendant of David. 2 Samuel 7:16 says, "The Messiah will be a descendant of David." That's why Matthew, which was written to the Jews, showed that Jesus was in fact the Messiah, because he met the qualification—he was a descendant of David. That's why you have that long genealogy, those "begets" that put us to sleep in our Bible reading. It's in Matthew chapter one to show Jesus' connection to David.

As you read through that genealogy, you find you've got David, but underneath David, before Joseph and before Jesus, you find a man named Jeconiah. He was also known as Jehoiachin. He was the last king of Judah before Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar came and took Israel captive for 70 years. This king, Jehoiachin, was so evil that God placed a curse on him. God was so mad at Jehoiachin that he not only allowed Judah to be taken captive, but he gave this curse. Let's skip down to Jeremiah 22:30: "Thus says the Lord, write this man down, for no man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah." God said, "Here's the curse on Jehoiachin. Not one of his descendants will ever prosper on the throne of David."

Well, that presents a big problem because if you've got David here and you've got Jehoiachin here, then it means nobody who's a descendant from that point on could ever be qualified to be the Messiah because they can't prosper on the throne. Yet the Bible says the Messiah, whoever he is, has to be a descendant of David. For him down here to be a descendant of David up there, he has to pass through Jehoiachin. How do you solve that knotty problem? You solve it through a virgin birth.

In Matthew 1, you find that Joseph was a descendant of Jehoiachin, so he couldn't be the Messiah. He was a descendant, and then Joseph, the father of Jesus. Now here's my simple point: Had Joseph been the biological father of Jesus, Jesus would have inherited the curse of Jehoiachin. He would have inherited that curse and could not have been the Messiah. But because he was not the biological son, Jesus escaped the curse. By being the legal son of Joseph, which he was—Joseph was his legal guardian—he inherited the right to rule as being a descendant of David. That is an amazing thing. Only God could come up with a solution like that to cure the curse of Jehoiachin.

The fourth reason a virgin birth is necessary is that it fulfills prophecy. Seven hundred years earlier, God had said through Isaiah the prophet that the Messiah would be virgin born. "Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin will be with child and shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Immanuel."

Look at Mary's response in verse 38: "Behold the bond slave of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word." The word "bond slave" is the lowest kind of slave there is. In other words, Mary was saying, "God, whatever you want to do with my life, do it. I am yours. I am here to serve you."

Speaker 2

Mary was willing to do whatever it costs to serve the living God. And her passion provides a model for us all. In closing today, I wanted to bring you an encouraging report that Pathway to Victory is enjoying a remarkable season of influence for the gospel all across America and even the world. And we want to see this trend continue deep into 2026 and beyond. But we cannot accomplish this aggressive, forward-thinking mission without faithful friends like you. The doors for making an impact are wide open right now and the time is running short.

I was inspired by a note I received from a gentleman who found Pathway to Victory on radio and television. He wrote, "Pastor, I was diagnosed with ALS last summer and I started watching and listening to Pathway to Victory every day. Shortly afterward, the doctors said there is no cure for me and I have only a few years to live. Over the months, I've come to realize that I'm already cured by having a personal relationship with God. I want to thank Pathway to Victory and to say, please continue to spread God's Word to the disabled."

Well, thank you for that encouraging letter. This is what Pathway to Victory is all about. But there's still much more work to do and now's the time to respond. Maybe this is your first time to give a generous gift. Perhaps it's been a long time since you've given. Well, you can be the one to help us reach our record-setting year-end goal.

You see, because of the $1.7 million matching challenge, your gift to Pathway to Victory will be automatically doubled in size. Now's the time to leverage your gift so that it has twice the impact. Here's David to tell you more.

Speaker 1

Today, when you give a generous year-end gift towards our Now Is the Time Matching Challenge, we'll say thanks by sending you the brand new 2026 Pathway to Victory Daily Devotional. To request your very own copy, call 866-999-297 or go online to ptv.org. When your gift is $100 or more, we'll also include the teaching series Celebrate the Savior on DVD, video, and MP3 format audio discs.

Don't forget, right now, because of our Now Is the Time Matching Challenge, your gift will be doubled in impact by another generous donor. So request your copy of these resources today. Call 866-999-9296 or visit ptv.org. If you'd prefer to write, then be sure to jot down this mailing address: P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins inviting you to join us Thursday for the conclusion of this message, "Merry, Merry, Quite Extraordinary," right here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Isaiah 40, verse 8 says, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever."

While you privately prepare your family's will or estate, guarantee that your personal resources have a never-ending influence by investing in the Pathway to Victory Legacy Giving Program. Call 214-969-2400 or go to ptv.org/legacy.

You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible, and right now your special year-end gift will be matched and therefore doubled in impact thanks to the Now Is the Time Matching Challenge.

Take advantage of this opportunity to double your impact before the deadline on December 31st. To give toward the matching challenge, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.