Gabriel’s Message
Please read Daniel 9: 20-27 and Luke 1:26-38 and then pray; Holy Father, you have spoken to us through your Son and in the power of your Spirit. Speak to us again about the glory of Christmas, and may the message given by the angel Gabriel to Mary bring transformation to us and to the whole world for whom your Son died, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
What is the essence of Christmas and why do we celebrate it? Why do you celebrate Christmas? What is the reason for this magical season? Why is Christmas such a big deal? Let me begin by stating this. If, as some people in our time wish, you were to take Christ out of Christmas – what would remain is nothing more than an empty shell. Christmas is all about Jesus Christ and his amazing advent or coming into our world; it is the celebration of his birth which takes centre stage.
I remember as a teenager my first Christmas as a committed Christian. On that Christmas morning, some months after Christ had entered my heart and I had received the gift of the Holy Spirit, I literally skipped to Church so that I could worship the Saviour of the world. I possessed a lightness and a joy in my soul, and I had a refreshingly clear mind about why I was giving and receiving presents, why there were so many lights lighting up houses and streets, and why church bells could be heard ringing in the distance. I truly knew and understood what Christmas was about! The central message and the fundamental meaning and significance of Christmas for the world had lit up in my heart.
I would enjoy and revel in Christmas more than I had ever done before. And the worship of the Christ-child who was now my personal Saviour would come first. I personally knew and loved Jesus – and I was in no doubt that he was the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6) The Christmas carols I would joyfully sing that morning, were now my story as well and a celebration of my Saviour.
Today, we are going to consider what is often referred as The Annunciation. The announcement of the good news that a great Saviour and King was to be born, and Mary would be His mother. As we reflect on this amazing section of Holy Scripture, we are going to be thinking about three personalities. One is angelic (Gabriel), one is divine (the Holy Spirit) and one is human (Mary). Luke highlights the importance of all three as he moves closer in his gospel toward sharing the details and circumstances of the birth of the One Gabriel refers to as “the Son of the Most-High.” Luke sets everything in its proper historical context, because Christmas is based in human history. (Read Luke 2: 1-7). And as the apostle John famously writes: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1:14)
And so, we begin with the angelic – and with Gabriel. “In the sixth month (of Elizabeth’s pregnancy), God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary.”
The interesting thing to notice here is that the angel sent by God to Mary is named. Are you aware of the fact that there are only two named angels in Holy Scripture? One is Gabriel, the other is Michael. The bible is a unique book that not only presents us with amazing revelation about God our Creator, but also lifts the lid concerning the existence and significance of angels. And there appears to be a ranking of the angels, and both Gabriel and Michael are of the highest rank. The great and prestigious title “Archangel” comes into focus here. In the book of Jude (Jude 1:9) Michael is specifically referred to as an archangel, and there is a general feeling that Gabriel is also such a high-ranking angel.
Some of will have heard of the Apocrypha. This is the set of books linked with the bible – books that were written during the intertestamental period – the period between the end of the OT era and the beginning of the New. Angels are mentioned quite a lot in the Apocrypha including Gabriel. Gabriel’s name means “the strong one” – and there is a feeling that what we have here, is not only an angel of great importance and rank, but also one who possesses great power and strength. The strong one.
Another interesting and significant thing to note about Michael and Gabriel is not just their status and power, but the fact that they both appear in the book of Daniel in the OT. It seems that Michael has the specific role of being the Guardian and Protector of Israel. Gabriel, on the other hand, is linked with prophecy which focuses on the coming of the Son of man, the Messiah into the world. Gabriel’s task is to announce and present this advent of the Holy One to Daniel, who like Mary is referred as being “highly favoured,” or highly esteemed in the eyes of God. (Daniel 9:23, Luke 1:28). The mysterious prophecy of the seventy weeks pinpoints the timing of the arrival of a great One who will “finish transgression, put an end to sin, atone for wickedness and bring in everlasting righteousness.” (Daniel 9:24).
(On another note of interest and connection, the Magi who would visit the infant Jesus, would come from the area where Daniel had been exiled in Babylon/Persia. They almost certainly were aware of the content of his prophecies.)
So, with regards to Gabriel, this named archangel, God set him apart to be the messenger of the Messiah’s advent and arrival. Part of this mission was to also appear in connection with the birth of the forerunner, the preparer of the way for the Messiah, John the Baptist. So, in the NT, the first we hear of Gabriels’s name is in the previous story to the Annunciation, the story of an angel’s appearance to Zechariah the priest and the miraculous conception of John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth his mother, who was Mary’s close relative. This is what Gabriel declares to Zechariah:
I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
Notice that self-description. I stand in the presence of God. He waits for God’s signal to go, and then he springs to action and delivers the divine message with total obedience and speed. Gabriel is one of God’s generals in the angelic army of innumerable multitudes, the host of angels that forever worship God and do his exact bidding. (Psalm 103:21)
Now why is all this so significant – the naming of the angel that came to Mary and presumably Joseph who would have a dream? The answer to the question is I believe, glaringly obvious. The incarnation of the Son of God, the Son of Man, was so profoundly significant in the history of God’s plans, that in God’s eyes, the messenger bringing this good news must be – one of the most – if not the most significant of all God’s angels, one who dwelt right at the side of God’s throne.
I asked you at the start of the sermon about the essence of Christmas. Why is Christmas such a huge event, and why is it that Jesus Christ cannot be removed from Christmas. It is such a huge event because God himself, in the person of His Son, entered the world He created – as a man. God took on skin and bones and blood. Why? So that men and women could be rescued from sin. God took on flesh (in his Son) to die for the sons and daughters of Adam. The incarnation is historically unprecedented. It is staggering beyond belief and the miracle of miracles. That God should take frail flesh and die for the sins of the world.
This is the event that was brought to attention of the world by many OT prophets (like Isaiah) as well as by the angel Gabriel. Nothing is greater than this mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God. The turkey, tinsel and trimmings, pale into utter insignificance when compared to the birth of Jesus – Emmanuel – God with us. This is what the world, or at least so many in the world tragically miss altogether. They go through life celebrating Christmas after Christmas without ever seeing, ever understanding, ever discovering the majesty and the glory and the miracle of the incarnation. (John 1:10-11)
I think it was the Christian writer Peter Cotterill who wrote this: The greatest achievement in the history of the world is not that man set foot on the moon, but that God set foot on the earth. The eternal Word, who is God and was with God in the beginning, and through whom all things were created – BECAME flesh and lived among us. (John1: 1-3, 14) This is the most staggering and stupendous news of all – and God decided that the disclosure of this world changing news required the services of one of his most eminent angels – Gabriel. And that is who was despatched from the throne room of Almighty God to the home of a peasant girl in Nazareth.
Let me share a couple of bits of application. If God sent such a distinguished angel to Mary (and previously to Daniel), with such incredible news, do you not think that you and I who have received, believed, and understood this message, should share it with others? We are called to be those who share these glad tidings with all our friends and families and neighbours. We may not be high ranking angels, but we are chosen and humble messengers, ambassadors and witnesses of the gospel, and we must speak and share and live out the good news of Jesus’s birth, life, death, and resurrection. We must use our tongues to tell people that the God who created them and the earth we all live upon – has been here in the person of Jesus. Some ask: If there is a God, why does He not show himself to us all? He has – that is the point of Christmas. As CS Lewis put it so memorably in his Narnia Chronicles: “A stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.”
Secondly, we can also delight (as I do regularly) in the doctrine of the presence of angels. We will not get a visit from Gabriel as Mary did, but we are very likely to experience the care and protection of one or more of the hosts of God’s angels. Gabriel had a particular task at a very specific time in history. But what is the main function of angels after the worship of Almighty God? The main function of the angels is to serve God’s people – God’s children – you and I. We read this gloriously encouraging verse in Hebrews 1:14: Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
The main function of the angels is to watch over and protect and help us mere mortals – but mortals who have been born again and who love and serve Jesus Christ who is the King over all angels. I wonder if you have ever sensed the presence and the help of an angel? I believe I have on more than one occasion. What about you? Many testify to it. And you would not believe just how much of the public believe in the existence of angels even in our very secular age. I am not sure about the idea of individual “guardian angels,” but certainly angels are sent by God to guard. Listen to this most encouraging and comforting Scripture promise from Psalm 91:
If you make the Most-High your dwelling – even the Lord who is my refuge – then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. (Psalm 91: 9-10)
He will command his angels concerning YOU. They will guard YOU. The angel was to guard and guide Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus. But the angels also intervene of my behalf, on your behalf. Do you believe it? Do you thank God for the serving and caring ministry of the angels?
I must move on a divine personality in our passage. The Holy Spirit. The news is brought to Mary by Gabriel that she is soon to become pregnant. But Mary rightly asks the question? How can this be? How will this happen? I am betrothed but not yet married. I am still a virgin. Gabriel then discloses that this will happen through the omnipotent overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit. The child that will form in Mary’s womb will be the result of the miraculous work and power of the Holy Spirit. This will happen because the child to be born, Mary’s firstborn, will be called “the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)
This will be God’s sovereign creative work and nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible for God. Mary is told that Elizabeth, her much older relative who was known to be barren and unable to have children is now six months pregnant. She is to give birth to John – the prophet who will prepare the way for Jesus. God is already at work through his Spirit. Mary is invited to believe in God’s power to do the impossible!
Luke, in his wonderful gospel, reveals that from the point of Gabriel visiting Zechariah onwards, there was an amazing and powerful upsurge in the creative, saving, and empowering work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit suddenly appears to move very powerfully and purposefully. This parallels the OT and what happens at the beginning of the book of Genesis. There, in Genesis (1:2) we are told that “the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Holy Spirit was dynamically active at the beginning of the creation which would come about through the spoken “Word of God.” God would speak and the Spirit would move powerfully. And here in the NT, at the point when God will come into the world via the womb of a young woman named Mary, the Spirit will once again “hover” and “over-shadow” and work creatively and powerfully. Jesus’s conception will be utterly unique – a unique creative work of the Spirit’s awesome power. The Spirit will later come down upon him at baptism and work powerfully through him with miraculous healing power. (Luke 3:22, 4:1, 14, 18, 5:17)
Again, with regards to us and the application in our lives – it is the Spirit that that creates new life in us. Christians are born of the Spirit. We are new creatures in Christ through the work of the Spirit. If anyone is in Christ – he is a new creation! Through the work and the power of the Spirit, Christ is born in us by the Spirit’s call and work. O Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray; cast our sin and enter in, be born in us today. That is what happened to me as a teenager as I said earlier. Christ was born in me by the gracious and purposeful working of the Spirit’s power. The Spirit creates the Church. The Spirit brings us into Christ’s kingdom and God’s eternal loving salvation.
In a moment we will see how Mary welcomed and opened herself up to the powerful working of the Spirit in her life. But at this Christmas time, and as we prepare to move into a new year, are we ready, prepared, and willing to open our hearts and lives to the powerful work of the Holy Spirit? Jesus is Emmauel – God with us. The Holy Spirit is God in us and God upon us. The Holy Spirit rests upon us and abides in us as the children of God, as brothers and sisters of Jesus. As one Christian writer pointed out so concisely; The Holy Spirit is upon me for your sake, and in me for mine. In other words, the Spirit anoints us so that we can serve others in his power and with his blessing. He is working in us to change and transform us into the image of Jesus – making us ever-more like him and bringing glory to the God. Peter Lewis, Church leader, writer, and bible scholar writes;
“The Holy Spirit is God next-to-us. Every time in sensitivity and faith we hear God speaking, it is the Spirit who is working. Every time we respond to God’s love in the gospel with joy and faithful obedience, it is the Spirit who is blessing. Every time we take the gospel – the Good News about Jesus to others with courage and love, it is the Spirit who is moving out into the world – through us! The story of the Church is story of the Holy Spirit’s presence and activity.” (The Glory of Christ p 40)
Please let us pray that the Holy Spirit will work in the lives of those who need to discover Jesus and the reality of God’s love for them and the world. The Spirit can open blind eyes, unstop deaf ears, shed glorious light into darkened minds. I urge you to ask the Spirit who came upon Mary in mighty power, to come upon all your loved ones and neighbours this Christmas. Pray for the Spirit’s personal work and anointing in your own service as you consider how your gifts might be used in the new year, as you become more open to what form your stewardship and service might take. “Come Holy Spirit” must be our hearts cry, our earnest hope and desire!
Finally – we come to Mary – the central human character in this story. Just a humble girl and yet one in whom God’s grace had already been working so beautifully. She is highly favoured because she is already dedicated to being God’s humble and obedient servant. Specially prepared and singled out, a young woman who loves holiness and humble service. She will be magnificently supported by her husband to be, the one already covenanted to her, but he too will need a special visit by an angel to convince him that Mary’s pregnancy is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. (Read Matthew 1: 18-21) Joseph’s faith and obedience is exceptional – but it is Mary’s that is highlighted by gospel writer Luke.
Luke (who must have personally interviewed and spoken to Mary after the Pentecost) stresses two things. Firstly, Mary’s willingness to accept and trust Gabriels’s message. She humbly accepts the word and the will of God. Her trust is amazing for such a young one. “I am the Lord’s servant” she says; “May it be to me as you have said.” Mary believes that God wants to use her to give birth to the Messiah, the Son of the Most-High. What a faith! This is confirmed when she meets Elizabeth, and the baby in Elizabeth’s womb does a somersault when Mary (with Jesus in her womb) walks into the room. Elizabeth declares over Mary: “Blessed is the one who has believed what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished. (Luke 1:45) What faith! Mary believed all would be accomplished by God as Gabriel had revealed to her.
Secondly, as I have already shared, Mary was willing to be open to power of the Holy Spirit working mightily in her. Mary said “Yes” to the work of the Holy Spirit. So, Mary is a model of faith and belief, and model of openness to the inner work of the Spirit. This is why, Mary is seen as a superb example of faith in the NT and in the history of the Church! The Roman Catholics have often gone too far in their exaltation of Mary, but have we Protestants really gone far enough? Do we like her believe the message of Gabriel – that the One to be born to Mary was indeed “the Son of the Most-High, the Son of God, whose throne, and Kingdom are everlasting? Do you believe that this came about through the miraculous working of the Spirit? And will you, like Mary, be open to the miraculous and mysterious work of the Spirit in your heart and life and service? Do we accept what Gabriel declared – that nothing is impossible with God! Will we say “Yes” to the powerful and gentle working of the Spirit upon us and within our hearts? Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me. Break me, melt me, mould me, fill me. Is this our heartfelt cry and petition?
Nothing is impossible for us with God as our Father – for our Church and for God’s mission in the world. How can anything be impossible for the God who created all things, sustains all things and who was incarnate of the virgin Mary? If this great and mighty God is for us, who can be against us? If we have the support of angels and the power of the Spirit – how much can be achieved if we are prepared to walk obediently as Mary and Joseph did. As the apostle Paul writes:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church, and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3: 20-21)
May God fill your Christmas and new year with joy and hope and inner power from the Spirit. And may you be surrounded by love and kept in peace during this remarkable season, and throughout the whole of your earthly pilgrimage. Amen.
(Revd Peter J Clarkson 14.12.25)