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In passages that weave together like a tapestry, we discover that God
had reasons for choosing the times, places, and people involved in His
redemption plan.
.
Some of the reasons that God chose Mary to be the mother of the Messiah - Mary was of the right lineage - Mary was engaged to a man whose heritage would require him to visit Bethlehem at just the right time - Mary was a virgin. It was critical that the mother of the Messiah be a virgin in order to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” The virgin birth, in bypassing a human father, circumvented the transmission of the sin nature and allowed the Messiah to be a sinless man.
.
Mary
was from Nazareth. Prophecies given hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth
declared that the Messiah would be of little reputation - to be called a
Nazarene or a Galilean was something of an insult in those days. God may have
had more reasons for choosing Mary of Nazareth, but we will have to wait until
we get to heaven to find out what they are.
Got
Questions Ministries
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent
the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary” - (Luke 1:26–27, NLT).
These words are familiar to most of us as
part of what we call the Christmas story.
Gabriel brought to Mary the news that she
had “found favor with God” and would
give birth to a son to reign forever on David’s throne (Luke 1:30–33).
In passages that weave together like a
tapestry, we discover that God had reasons for choosing the times, places, and
people involved in His redemption plan (Ephesians 1:9–11).
This article will explore some of the
reasons that God chose Mary to be the mother of the Messiah.
1. Mary was of the
right lineage. Luke traces Mary’s lineage through David, Boaz, Judah, Jacob,
Isaac, and Jacob.
Her son would be qualified to bear the
title Son of David and be the righteous “Branch” that was to come from David’s
family (Isaiah
11:1).
Micah 5:2 foretold the birthplace of the
Messiah, pinpointing Bethlehem in Judah.
Many virgins may have known God’s favor and
may have descended from King David’s line, but not many would also be in the
small town of Bethlehem when it was time for the Messiah to be born.
3. Mary was a
virgin. It was critical that the mother of the Messiah be a virgin in order to
fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14: “The
virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Matthew reminded his readers of that
prophecy, which was crucial in verifying Jesus’ identity (Matthew 1:23).
She could not be married, or the world
would assume Jesus had an earthly father.
The virgin birth, in bypassing a human
father, circumvented the transmission of the sin nature and allowed the Messiah
to be a sinless man.
4. Mary was from
Nazareth. Prophecies given hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth declared that
the Messiah would be of little reputation (Isaiah 53; Zechariah 9:9; cf. Matthew
2:23).
To be called a Nazarene or a Galilean was
something of an insult in those days (see John 1:46).
Had Mary been wealthy, socially
prestigious, or from an affluent city, Jesus could not have easily connected
with lowly people, the ones He’d come to save (Luke 19:10; Mark 2:17).
But because He was from Nazareth, Mary’s
hometown, the humility and commonness prophesied about Him was fulfilled.
God may have had more reasons for choosing
Mary of Nazareth, but we will have to wait until we get to heaven to find out
what they are.
The angel’s address to her as “highly favored” and “blessed” (Luke 1:28, NKJV) is a reference to
the uniqueness of her pending task, not to any level of virtuousness she had
attained.
Mary was surely a godly woman, but that is
not the point.
Gabriel’s emphasis was on her privilege,
not her piety.
She had “found
favor with God” (verse
30),
but that says more about God’s goodness than Mary’s.
She was the recipient of God’s grace, His
undeserved favor.
Mary gives us an
example of total devotion to the Lord in her answer to the angel Gabriel: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be unto me
as you have said” (Luke
1:38).
May we have the wisdom and grace to answer God’s call, whatever it is, the way Mary did.
Got Questions
Ministries
seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by providing biblical, applicable, and
timely answers to spiritually related questions through an internet
presence."
GotQuestions.org is a ministry of dedicated and trained servants who have a
desire to assist others in their understanding of God, Scripture, salvation,
and other spiritual topics. We are Christian, Protestant, evangelical,
theologically conservative, and non-denominational. We view ourselves as a
para-church ministry, coming alongside the church to help people find answers
to their spiritually related questions.
https://www.gotquestions.org/why-did-God-choose-Mary.html
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