The Royal Family
As we prepare for Christmas, Pastor Annie Spangler is blessing us with a beautiful message about the family of Jesus. In The Royal Family, we learn that Jesus’ second cousin John the Baptist prepared the way, His mother Mary prepared a song, and His brother James prepared to believe. We’re diving into Pastor Annie’s message to discover how each of these three members of Jesus’ family can teach us more about the call on our lives as followers of Christ.
John the Baptist – Prepare the Way
John is the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah and he is the second cousin of Jesus. We’re first introduced to John right in the midst of the Christmas story, but we see lots of family drama surrounding his story right from the beginning. The start of John’s story is found throughout Luke chapter 1, but to summarize, Zechariah doubts God’s promise that he and Elizabeth will have a child in their old age and because of his doubt, God causes Zechariah to spend the entirety of Elizabeth’s pregnancy in silence, completely mute. Following John’s birth and Zechariah regaining his speech, we see this prophecy over John:
Luke 1:76-79 (NLT) 76“And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. 77You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. 78Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
These verses make it clear that John’s purpose on this earth was to prepare the way for Christ. As John grows up, he begins preaching and declaring that the Messiah is coming. People have been waiting for generations and generations for this prophecy to be fulfilled–from Malachi to Matthew there were 400 years of silence. Now John is here after all that time to prepare the way and share the revelation that the Messiah is finally here to give forgiveness for our sins and salvation for our lives! As we see in the verse below, this good news didn’t come without drama…
John 3:28-30 (NLT) 28You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ 29It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. 30He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
John makes it abundantly clear–his one job was to introduce people to Jesus and prepare the way for the world to meet the Messiah. In the same way, we too are to prepare the way for the world to meet Jesus! We are called to help those in our sphere of influence encounter the one who can transform their entire lives. This is our purpose!
We have to prepare the way and we have to get out of the way. We must care less about our reputations, what people think of us, or our pride and insecurities. We must put those things aside and choose to invite others to join us at church so that they, too, may experience the presence of God and hear a message about Jesus.
Let’s be bold in our faith this Christmas season as we prepare the way for the return of the Messiah!
Discussion:
How is our purpose as believers similar to John’s purpose?
How can we practically prepare the way for the coming of Jesus?
What does it mean for us to then get out of the way?
Mary – Prepare a Song
Similar to Zachariah’s experience, an angel of the Lord also appeared to Mary and told her that she would soon miraculously become pregnant and that she would give birth to a son named Jesus. Take a look at Mary’s response to this amazing encounter:
Luke 1:28-29 (NLT) 28Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.
Luke 1:38 (NLT) Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
Mary hears this news and is processing all that’s going on…she’s a young girl, she’s engaged (not married), and will soon be miraculously pregnant with the Savior of the world. Immediately after her encounter with the angel, Mary goes to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who we know is 6 months pregnant with John the Baptist at this time. As a result of Mary’s visit with her cousin, she leaves singing this magnificent song:
Luke 1:46-55 (MSG) And Mary said, “I’m bursting with God-news; I’m dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me, and look what happened— I’m the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him. He bared his arm and showed his strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud. The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced his chosen child, Israel; he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. It’s exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now.
Not only is Mary’s song one of praise, but it’s also a song filled with scripture. She alludes to over 35 different Old Testament passages and highlights the promises of the Lord. This is truly amazing because during this time period, young women wouldn’t typically be that familiar with Scripture. What this means is that Mary’s parents made sure that the Word of God permeated their home and that they followed the instructions given in Deuteronomy to impress scripture onto your children.
Like Mary’s parents, we too can discuss the Word of God in our everyday lives and have His truth permeate our homes! It’s our job to make sure that the next generation following after us not only knows the scriptures, but more importantly, knows God personally.
Not only did Mary know God and abide in a close relationship with Him, but we also know that Mary sang in faith. Mary had no bodily way of knowing that she was pregnant with Jesus, but she did have the Word of God from her childhood and the spoken word that the angel had just delivered to her. And that was all the proof she needed! Mary hose to declare God’s goodness before she had any evidence that the things that had been promised to her would come to pass. Mary took God at His word!
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see…
Mary’s song of faith was the reason that Elizabeth could proclaim this truth over her cousin:
Luke 1:45 (NLT) You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.
We learn from Mary preparing a song that God is worthy of our trust and He is faithful to keep his promises. Let’s have faith like Mary–faith that assures us even without tangible evidence. The promises of the Lord will come to pass and like Mary, we can begin to rejoice and declare that his promises are fulfilled in our lives in His perfect timing. Amen!
Discussion:
What takeaways from Mary’s song can we apply to our own daily lives?
We know that Mary’s parents must have made sure God’s Word permeated through their home. How can we practically do the same in our own homes, with our own families?
Mary took God at His word. What does it look like for us to mirror her faith?
James – Prepare to Believe
James was the son of Mary and Joseph, the half brother of Jesus. We know that James wrote the New Testament book of James and that in his adult years, James was a great leader and pastor in the early church of Jerusalem. However, this is not where James’ story starts. It begins with disbelief; at first, James missed Jesus.
John 7:5 (NLT) For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.
Matthew 13:54-58 (NLT) 54He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” 55Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. 56All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” 57And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” 58And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.
Mark 3:21 (NLT) When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said.
James grew up in a faith-filled home, he was the brother of Jesus, and yet somehow he misses the truth of Jesus entirely. James was not initially prepared to believe. From James’ perspective, could you imagine growing up with an older brother who was quite literally perfect? A brother who never made mistakes, was always obedient, and loved everyone around him unconditionally. It would undoubtedly be a challenging dynamic to accept!
Even when Jesus was hanging on the cross, breathing His last breath, James still missed the truth. This is why Jesus told His disciple John to care for Mary as his own mother before he died on Good Friday. James couldn’t fathom or understand all of the signs and wonders and miracles that Jesus did. All the things Jesus said about himself were absolute truth and James missed it. But not indefinitely…
1 Corinthians 15:4-7 (NLT) 4He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.
Following His resurrection, Jesus had a special encounter with James in which He showed His brother grace, love, and compassion. Jesus assured James how much He loves him and that it wasn’t too late for James to believe. Following that encounter, James was prepared to believe. And we know that James was part of the 120 who received the Holy Spirit in the upper room at the time of the Pentecost. From that point on, here’s what we know to be true of James:
James 1:1 (NIV) James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…
In The Royal Family, Pastor Annie encourages us to not lose heart when it comes to our family members and friends who are not yet prepared to believe. Keep loving and keep praying that the eyes of the eyes of their heart would be open so that they can receive the light and the good news of Jesus. God is in the business of redeeming the prodigals!
James 1:22 (NIV) Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James is warning us here to not make the same mistake that he did. He grew up his entire life hearing the word and didn’t do what it said. We are called to abide by the Word of God and receive Jesus. We can’t just be hearers of the word and miss the Messiah! This Christmas season, let’s prepare our hearts to believe and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior and celebrate our salvation in Him. Amen!
Discussion:
What does James’ story teach us about our own non-believing family members?
We are called to do what the Word says, not just listen to its teaching. How do we carry out the Word of God in our lives?
How can we actively incorporate Jesus into the Christmas season this year so that we don’t miss Him like Jesus’ brothers did?
Prayer:
Lord, we love you. We are so grateful to have an opportunity to gather around your word. Help us to lean on you and lean into you, to trust that you are speaking to each of us individually. Thank you, God, for giving us the example of Jesus and his earthly family to help us better understand the depths of your love and the call on our lives as believers. In your Son’s holy name we pray, Amen!
