God’s Confirmation of the Son of Man
Luke 1:39-45
July 21, 2024
It has been called, “The button that could have changed the internet.”
About 25 years ago, Tim Berners-Lee, a computer programmer who has been credited with inventing the world wide web and the HTML computer language for writing those pages gave a talk in which he suggested an addition that every browser should be given — an “Oh Yeah?” button. He said this:
Imagine an “Oh, yeah?” button on your browser. There you are looking at a fantastic deal that can be yours just for the entry of a credit card number and the click of a button. Oh, yeah?, you think. You press the “Oh, yeah?” button. You are asking your browser why you should believe it. It, in turn, can challenge the server to provide some credentials: perhaps, a signature for the document or a list of documents that expresses what that key is good for. Those documents will be signed. Your browser rummages through with the server, looking for a way to convince you that the page is trustworthy for a purchase. Maybe it will come up with an endorsement from a magazine, which in turn has been endorsed by a friend. Maybe it will come up with an endorsement by the seller’s bank, which has in turn an endorsement from your bank. Maybe it won’t find any reason for you to actually believe what you are reading at all.
Alas, there were too many problems with his proposed button and the idea was scrapped. But the idea appeals to the skeptic and doubter in all of us — “why should I believe that?” Skepticism is often a good spiritual virtue when surfing the internet (especially social media); unfortunately, too often we accept what we should doubt and doubt what we should accept.
Examples of doubt abound in Scripture. Think about Abraham and God’s promise of a son (a doubt that led to sexual sin with Hagar). And Gideon who doubted God’s promise to deliver Israel from the Midianites. And Saul who offered a sacrifice though he was not a priest because he didn’t believe Saul would return. And Jonah who questioned God’s goodness in saving the Ninevites. And Nebuchadnezzar who doubted God’s ability to follow through on the threat to humble him if he continued to live pridefully. And Peter who doubted the wisdom of Christ’s crucifixion and Thomas who questioned Christ’s resurrection. And Zacharias who doubted the promise that he and Elizabeth would have a son (who would be the Messiah’s forerunner).
In contrast to Zacharias was Mary, who was also given an astounding promise, and this young woman (likely an early teenager) believed the promise explicitly and profoundly. We noted last week that while Zacharias asked for a confirming sign of Gabriel’s promise to him (and was given the sign of silence), Mary did not ask for a sign, but did receive a sign of God’s ability to do what was promised — the sign of Elizabeth’s pregnancy.
In the continuation of this account (1:39-45), Mary receives a further sign to confirm God’s promise to her. From this story of confirmation we learn a lesson for ourselves:
Believe all God’s promises all of the time. He is faithful.
Mary’s trip to Judea is a model of what it means to live by faith — what it means to believe God and His promises. Mary’s trip provides us with two reasons to believe God and be confident in His faithfulness —
- Believe God Because He has Spoken (vv. 39-40)
- Believe God Because He has Confirmed What He has Spoken (vv. 41-45)
- Confirmation by the Spirit’s Action (v. 41)
- Confirmation by the Spirit’s Prophecy (vv. 42-45)
Download the rest of this sermon on Luke 1:39-45.
The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.
Words of Grace 