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We'll now call on our brother Alan Archer to lead us in our second session entitled The Handmaid of the Lord. Brother Alan. Thanks, Brother Ron. It's surprising that my wife didn't put her hand up about speaking too quickly. I always get told at home I speak too quickly and now you come and you're talking to people who don't speak English. It makes it very hard. And by the way, we don't speak Australian either. We come from New Zealand, which is much different. Well Luke chapter 1, this is it. It's all happening. That which the prophets have looked forward to for so many years, it's now happened. Here it is, the salvation of God. And it's a marvellous story that we come across, the story of Mary. What a delightful person Mary was. The best in the world. Best person in the world. I guess if there was a better person, God would have chosen her. And so it's a delight that Mary then comes upon the scene and here is Elizabeth in verse The old and the aged Elizabeth who rejoices that God has taken away her reproach among men for not having a child. And Mary comes forth and she's going to carry a reproach because she's going to have a child before she's married. There's a great contrast then, Elizabeth, the old lady, and Mary comes, new, the new life, a young person comes springing upon the scene. And to her great credit, she accepted that which God has involved her with, a child without a husband. And even Zechariah hadn't done that. He hadn't accepted the fact that they would have a child. Mary, to her credit, does that in a very wonderful and a very gracious way. Not easy, as we'll see. Well it was the six months in verse 26, which meant that John, of course, would be six months older than the Lord Jesus Christ, which is really quite sensible that the forerunner then would be the older of the two. But of course, those six months gave Mary the opportunity to see Elizabeth and what had happened to her, and therefore to be reassured about her own revelation. And so we read in verse 26, the angel Gabriel was sent from God. When Gabriel spoke to Daniel, he said, I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God. So of all the hosts and the myriad of angels, there was a very special angel Gabriel sent from God to Nazareth. And it was as though there was an unreality in that, because such a contrast from God to that Galilee of the Gentiles, to the mixed up area, to the confused area, the area that was in darkness unto Nazareth. So it's part of the drama of that story. From God up on high to Nazareth down on below. Could any good thing come out of Nazareth, Galilee of the Gentiles? So it's like a fairy tale, isn't it? It's the drama of that story. Imagine there in Galilee, the light was coming, as it said, in Isaiah chapter nine. Nazareth just sits up in the hills, at the start of the hills in the area with the Galilean hills. I've got a bit of a picture here, but it's a bit hard to actually see. If you don't actually put the right box on the computer, you print out a color slide and it comes out black and white, and that's got me a bit confused, that that slide really is in color. I look at it on the screen, it's in color. Look at it on the projector and look it up on the screen, it's in black and white. There's some reason that I just don't understand. But anyhow, Nazareth is really, it's a valley. Actually, if you look over and looked at the four, just to flip over there for a minute, it says, and you know the story, they rose up and thrust them out of the city and led them up to the brow of the hill where on their city was built. And yet, you can see from that picture that Nazareth is in a valley. The answer to that question is that Nazareth sits in a valley which really sits on the brow of the hill. So if you could look over the hills in the distance, you would actually then look down and go right down this precipice and to the plain of Estrano. So you've got the hills of Galilee start up and then it just sort of drops down a little bit into this valley and so that's the valley there where Nazareth, so you could describe it as I looked at the four in the brow of a hill where on their city was built. So it's a very small and a very insignificant kind of city, it was hardly ever mentioned. Joshua never mentioned it in his description of the settlements of the tribe of Zebulon. Josephus mentions 45 cities of Galilee, but he never mentions Nazareth. In the Jewish Talmud there are 63 towns in Galilee mentioned and there is never any mention of Nazareth. So a small place in those days, much larger now, it's an Arab town these days, much larger now but very small in those days. Why Nazareth? Why would Nazareth be chosen, a little insignificant place? I suppose perhaps Paul's comment in Corinthians, God had chosen the foolish things of the world that no flesh should glory in his presence. And Nazareth really then was one of the weak things of the age, there was no prestige, you could not stand up and say I'm from Nazareth, it would be like saying I'm from nowhere virtually. The work, the whole work involved in this is a work which has no human claim to greatness, it has no human recommendation, it's a work that's going to be of God alone. The glory of God alone would be what would be seen in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just an interesting reference about Americans, you may not believe this and I'm just quoting from Robert Roberts and what he did in Nazareth Revisited, he actually compared the little despised Nazareth and the great and mighty Jerusalem with America and England and guess which one America was. There's no reflection against you, but this is what he said, America has given us the gospel which venerable and learned England was alone supposed to be possessed of learning enough to discover, just read that sentence again. So what he's drawing of course the fact was that Dr. Thomas started in America, of all places, whereas England really should have been the place and he went there of course. So I just read, this is straight Robert Roberts, I'm not having you on, this is straight Robert Roberts, America has given us the gospel which venerable and learned England was alone supposed to be possessed of learning enough to deliver and it is in the hands of the poor and unlearned that its work is being done. Well that's, I'm not American, no that's not true, well Nazareth anyhow is off the highway of human traffic, so being in that little valley that was there it was close to that way of the sea but off the highway, so you weren't really connected with the world except that Jesus, and no doubt he did, could go up to the brow of the hill and look down on that plain and then would see the traffic that was going along that road, would see all the events that happened in those bygone days, there was Saul, there was Elijah, he went up the top of the valley to Carmel, all those pictures of the Old Testament times would be just very close at hand on the brow of the hill looking over that valley of Jezreel. Nazareth of course comes from a word which means branch, so I would guess you would know, and there's a whole series of quotations in the Old Testament about the branch, just one or two because it has a great bearing upon the virgin birth, if we come to Isaiah chapter 11, and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch, it's Isaiah 11 in verse 1, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, so just using this glass of water for a minute to pretend that's now our stem of Jesse, then you've got a rod that comes out from the top, and then you've got a branch which grows out of the roots of Jesse, so as you know the Lord Jesus Christ of course is not only from the stem on the top, he's not only of the line of David, but he comes right from the very origins of Jesse, he comes from God himself, and so it's like a sucker that comes forth in it, it shows the characteristics of the roots, you know you have a rose, suppose you have roses like we have roses which are grafted, and then occasionally you'll get a sucker that'll come up, and you've got to cut it off because it would be nothing like what was on top, but what it is like of course is what's underneath, it has that strength and that brillity of the rootstock which the rose has been planted into, well the same with the Lord Jesus Christ, he has the characteristics then of that rootstock, he's the root of Jesse as he comes forth and shows those divine ways in his life, branch out of his stem, sorry a rod out of the stem, branch out of his roots. Just have a look at Revelation, and that's the whole picture carries straight through, Revelation chapter 22, where he makes that same thing very clear, I am the, that's Revelation 22 and verse 16, I'm the root and the offspring of David. There is really no other explanation than that he was born of a virgin, had to be, to be the roots of David as well as the offspring of David, but just look at a more interesting one in Revelation chapter 5, and the same thing here you see in verse 5, it's got the root of David, Revelation 5 and verse 5, but just notice this, and I'll just read through from verse 3 to verse 5, and notice the words I emphasise, well I'll start halfway through verse 2, who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof, and no man in heaven nor on earth, neither under the earth was able to open the book, neither to look thereon, and I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon, and one of the elders said unto me, Weep not, behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the roots of David hath prevailed. Interesting isn't it, no man, no man, the root of David, it's the virgin birth which we have here portrayed in a marvellous way, there's God, unto us a son is given, no man will do it, he's not the son of man, he's not the seed of man, he was said in Genesis 3.15, he is the seed of the woman, he's the one who's going to be raised up as the seed of the woman, a righteous branch. Just another one in the series of Zechariah chapter 6, I've just put up on the screen the whole series which includes two quotations from Jeremiah, but just look at Zechariah chapter 6, it has the same little detail here because in verse 12, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch, like the name Nazareth, Behold the man whose name is the branch, and he shall grow up out of his place. Now the margin says the branch up from under him, interesting, behold the man whose name is the branch, the branch up from under him. So it's exactly the same concept, no man, no man comes from the root of David, he's the branch which grows up from under the roots of David, and the one that therefore shows forth those great and divine characteristics, is truly, truly they could say this was the son of God. There are of course the other linkages like Isaiah 53, the root out of dry ground, the dry ground of course was Galilee of the Gentiles, in that despised Nazareth as we would sing in our hymn. Well let's go back to Luke, go through the story then in Luke chapter 1, Gabriel then is upon the scene, Gabriel comes from God to Nazareth, and it makes it clear in verse 27 that she comes to a virgin, been to an old woman, and now to a young virgin. This virgin then is espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, we'll say more about that when we get to Matthew 1, but meanwhile she's engaged to this man called Joseph. We don't know a lot about Joseph, but what we do know is one of the greatest things that was said about him, and it's actually in Luke, in Luke chapter 2 I think it is, Luke 2 and verse 51, there is the Lord Jesus Christ now 12 years old and upwards, coming back to Nazareth and was subject unto them. It says a lot really for Joseph doesn't it? There's the Lord Jesus Christ who knows full well who his father is at that stage, wished he not that I must be about my father's business, and yet he comes back to Nazareth, Nazareth and is subject unto Joseph and Mary. A great attribute really to Joseph you could never find. There as the story goes in chapter 1, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, so they're both there of the house of David, the virgin's name was Mary. Very simply put, there's no grand genealogy at that particular point. It's very matter of fact and we wonder about Mary, we'd like to know more. What did she look like? Was she beautiful like Rachel? Or just nice eyes like Leah? What kind of life did she live? Was she a lively teenage girl? Or was she just reflective and quiet and meditative? What were the parents like? How did the household live? Lots of questions of course but no answers, and there's no pictures of course left behind about Mary, although of course the Roman Catholic Church has got plenty of those and they transform her into a goddess, but it's obvious. Looks aren't relevant, it's her thoughts, what is relevant is the way she had her godliness and reverence. Now there's three quotations or three phrases that are used, expressions which show how she was regarded. Verse 1 and verse 28. She was highly favoured, or as the margin says, she was graciously accepted or much-graced. Verse 30 it says, she has found favour with God, and then she was lest among women, and that's in verse 42 where Elizabeth says it. So there's those three phrases which are showing Mary's greatness, highly favoured, found favour with God, lest among women. And then the other aspect of her character comes out from the responses that she showed in verse 38. What an amazing response. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. In view of the task which she had been given, in view of the difficulties that task would cause her and the heartache and the anguish, she's able to say, behold the handmaid of the Lord. Or in verse 46 for example, my soul doth magnify the Lord. And all this really is from a girl whose age, how old? 18? Why do you say that? Yeah, yeah. Somehow some of the young people of Adelaide tend to get married quite young these days. I was taking wedding the other day and the girl was only 18, just turning 19 this week, she was married two weeks ago. But she was actually a very mature girl, she brought up in a very good household and she was a good example actually, she had a maturity probably beyond her years. And you imagine therefore that's Mary, isn't it? You take most 18 and 19-year-olds or whatever she might have been or 17-year-olds, we've got a lot of them back home which are pretty sensible, but they're still 18 and 19-year-olds and I've had about four daughters, three daughters which have passed through that age group, one approaching that age group. But here's a person who's really very different, isn't it? A marvelous example really for young people, isn't it? When you think about it though, the reaction of Mary, no one's going to be quite like Mary, but there's a thing to strive for, to be so receptive indeed to God's Word and to be so harkening unto divine instruction and therefore, and to control her life in such a way and be constrained and restrained in the life that she was living. Marvellous, marvellous thing. There's not just a little tittering about there's going to be a wedding, a big concentration, but what am I going to wear and who's going to be the bridesmaids and what are the men going to be and what castle we travel in and what cake's going to be and all those sorts of things which go on with weddings. We don't sort of derive that really. Weddings ought to be sort of special things, shouldn't they? I think the world has really sort of ruined all that, hasn't it? With its life of people, I don't know what it's like here, but in Australia invariably people living together before they're married and takes everything away from the whole thing, doesn't it? It's like you go and try and book a wedding venue. Daphne's tried to do that three times. You can hardly book a wedding reception venue because people have got them booked up two years ahead because of course it doesn't matter when you actually have the ceremony. It's a crazy world, isn't it? So it's good that we have excitement about them among our own young people. They do the right thing. They're restrained and then they come together at that particular time of joyfulness and of pleasurable happiness, etc. So excitement about weddings is good, but back to Mary, of course, it's the lasting things which are the things which affect her. She responds to that not thinking about her husband, but thinking about the greatness of the promise that's been shown. It's like when the angel comes in in verse 28, hail, well I suppose the Catholics would say, hail Mary. I'd say Ave Maria, which is a nice piece of music, at least the Schubert one, but unfortunately it's somewhat spoiled by the connotation that's given to it. That connotation really is totally lacking in the record. I think the interpretation is something like, and it's like the margin there, where it's got much graced. So hail Mary, much grace, and so that becomes totally misinterpreted to say that Mary then is the source of grace. So you can obtain grace, which is more than what we think grace is, you can obtain that grace by hailing Mary. So you go through your rosary beads and count your rosary beads and hail Mary's full of grace, etc. Totally, totally foreign, really, to what this record is all about. This is a plain, straightforward record, and she's favoured, the favoured one. Hail the favoured one. The Lord is with, blessed are they among women. Some translations, by the way, omit that, but it doesn't make much difference because it occurs in verse 42 anyway, so it's okay. Her reaction then in verse 29, when she saw him, she was troubled. Well, that's not very surprising. She was greatly distressed. Or were, of course, when they saw an angel like that. Greatly troubled. She didn't understand, of course, why, why her, why would she be visited by this angel? And so she, in verse 29, it says she was troubled at his saying and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. What do we imagine cast in her mind? There's a few references, isn't there, to Mary in her mind? Remember what they are? Whereabouts are they? The verses, do you know? Good. Just a few references in this particular section is in verse 29. Sorry. So that's the one we've got, 129. The next one is chapter 2, verse 19, where it says, and Mary kept all these things, and she pondered them in her heart. So I guess that's two things, isn't it? She keeps them, and then she ponders them in her heart. And then, without going on to that other incident, just staying in chapter 2, verse 51. But her mother kept all these sayings in her heart. So there's a remarkable thoughtfulness. I've just got on the screen just a few little words that they say reflects the meaning of these ideas, a cast in her mind. She pondered them in the first one. When the angel comes, she ponders what's to happen. Chapter 2, verse 19, she kept all these things. It's like retaining them, memorizing them, if you like. Pondered them in her heart as though she's linking them through, turning them over, working the whole things out. Then, 2.51, as though she's sort of watching carefully, and she sees these things happening before her with her son, and she's trying to work it out, and watching carefully at what happens. Isn't she a marvelous person like that? You know, reflector, meditator, a mind really filled with the scriptural import of what's happening. A great woman married. The best ready there was, at least in the line of David in those days. All that from a girl who's just about to be married, an amazing maturity in her mind. Wonder what she really thought. In chapter 1, in verse 29, she cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. Now, of course, the chances are that events occurred so quickly that there wasn't much time to do a lot of thinking, but if you did have time to stop and think, and you thought about angels appearing to women, then the Old Testament really would make you start thinking about children, because the mothers of Isaac and of Samson, and possibly Moses and Jacob, they were sort of tied up with this angelic visitation. They were to do with the impending births of children. Could Mary possibly have thought about that? Could Mary possibly have thought that she might be involved in the working out of God's purpose? No? Well, possibly yes. I mean, she at least was the right generation, and if they thought that that was the time of the birth of the Lord, or she was the right age, there weren't many direct descendants of David, and she was one of them. It seems like she had no brothers. We only say that because, remember, John, the crucifixion is given in charge of Mary, not any other relations, and she was espoused to another person who was actually in the Kingly line. So it was really a remarkable circumstance, and maybe they had, maybe they hadn't, maybe they had thought about that situation, but I guess never, of course, would she ever thought about the fact of a virgin birth. Never, because, verse 34, how shall this be, seeing I know not a man? But they may have thought there may have been some involvement. Possibly, possibly not. But anyhow, whatever it was, she cast those things in her mind. There was something ticking, something great really going on with that. Verse 30, then, Gabriel says, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God. And by now Gabriel was getting quite used to saying that because he said fear not to Daniel. And he said fear not to Zechariah. And he says fear not, then, to Mary. Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb. There's no mention, of course, of any man. That's the point that Mary immediately then picks up. But who would it be as father, then? Thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son. Who would be as father? Well, it's obviously 2 Samuel chapter 7. I will be his father. When the fullness of time was come in Galatians chapter 4, when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth a son made of a woman. I will be his father was ringing in the ears of David. Write down those in the line of David. And I shall bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. Yah shall save. He's going to be Immanuel. And we know the way that all happens, and I think I've got a table in those notes there just that link up together the Luke 1 verse 31 and the Isaiah 7 verse 14. So you see the whole both cases. Thou shalt conceive in thy womb. A virgin shall conceive, bring forth a son, bear a son, and thou shalt call his name. Yah shall call his name Jesus or Immanuel, is the case in Isaiah 7. So there's a very direct, direct cross-linkages between Luke 1 and Isaiah 7. You'll actually remember that Matthew 1 quotes Luke 7 verbatim, but Luke 1 then strings together the ideas of Isaiah chapter 7. And so he shall be great in verse 32. He'd used those words of John the Baptist, but Gabriel then uses them in a greater sense of the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. It's going to be the Lord God who would give him that throne. Now it's interesting. Come back to 2 Samuel chapter 7. This is quite fascinating, really. It's the Lord God shall give him the throne of his father David. You know that's like the expression, the Lord Yahweh or Adonai Yahweh in the Hebrew. The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. Not a very common expression. It's not used very much in the Old Testament, but you take 2 Samuel 7 and there is the promise which is given to David I will be his father and he shall be my son. And then in a remarkable way in verse 18, King David went in and sat before the Lord. I mean, that's remarkable. You never did that. The priest stood. David comes in and sits. And what does he say? Well, he says from verse 18 through to verse 29, Who am I, O Lord God? And then verse 19, And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God. At the end of the verse, And is this the manner of man, O Lord God? And then in verse 20, For thou, Lord God, knowest thy servants. And verse 22, Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God. And then verse 25, And now, O Lord God, the word that hast spoken to concern thy servants. And then in verse 28, And now, O Lord God, they are not that gods. And then finally, in verse 29, O Lord God, thou hast spoken. Interesting connection. Gabriel comes and says the same words. Unusual phrase. The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father, David. Amazing, isn't it? The way the scripture connects with all those things. It's also, of course, said, He's the son of the highest. The most high God. When was that first used? Who said that? Or who was it said of? The most high God. Abraham? Abraham? Said about what? In the time of Abraham? At Melchizedek. The priest of the most high God. So here's Melchizedek, the type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's of the most high God. So Jesus comes then. He's the son of the highest. And how many times does it say in Luke about the highest? Well, let's count them. There's one in verse 32. The son of the highest. There's one in verse 35. The power of the highest. There's one in verse 76 said by Zechariah. That child shall be called the prophet of the highest. And when the angels came outside Bethlehem and they heard the voice, it was glory to God in the highest. So it's interesting that the whole sort of expression is surrounding those events. They're surrounded by that idea of the highest. The high hope that we have. We have the most high God before us who's come and who's intervened for our salvation. The son of the highest is about to come. And so he's going to have the throne of his father David then in verse 32. The throne which is going to show mercy, judgment, and righteousness. And it's going to reign in verse 33 over the house of Jacob forever. You stop and think, why does it say the house of Jacob? I mean, wouldn't it be more sensible to have said the house of Israel? Because remember Jacob is more often used as the confined sort of word for Israel. The nation of Israel. And Israel then can be used then for a more expansive idea. Generally so, but not always. It's interesting to go back to the prophets. Let's come back to Isaiah and just see the way that sort of expands. So that the house of Jacob starts really. It is a focus then upon Israel, but it's referred to in an expansive kind of sense. You take Isaiah chapter two. And it's got that well-known part in verse three. Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob. And that's referring of course to the kingdom age when Gentiles will come in to the house of the God of Jacob. So that phrase then becomes an inclusive phrase to bring people in. You see, what was the house of Jacob doing at that stage? Well in verse five it says, O house of Jacob, come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord. So the house of Jacob literally was in darkness. There were soothsayers, verse six, involved with all these soothsayers and like the Philistines that were there. And so the encouragement then of Israel is to come out of that darkness. The house of Jacob comes and comes out of that darkness and they worship the Lord Jesus Christ at Jerusalem. So the house of Jacob then is used in this sort of kind of expansive sense. Isaiah chapter 14. So Gabriel saying he shall be of the house of Jacob holds together this expansion that's going to come in. Isaiah chapter 49 has the same sort of thing. So the ringing of the prophets, Isaiah 49. So that's the idea then that's behind that phrase that Gabriel says in Luke chapter 1. Verse 33, he shall reign over the house of Jacob because that house is going to be a house which will pull together all people. Well Mary's perplexed. Well at least she can't work out how it's going to happen. In verse 34, how shall this be seeing I know not a man? How shall this be seeing I know not a man? Now it's pretty obvious what's happening here is that Mary is, she's not questioning the fact that it will happen. She doesn't doubt the fact but like Abraham did, he questions, she questions the mode. Remember that's the difference with Abraham and Sarah. Sarah laughed because that would never happen, they could never have a son. Abraham believes it but doesn't know how. So Mary then doesn't know how but believes it but Zechariah, Mary in the chapter, couldn't believe it. And so he was struck dumb. That's a marvellous thing isn't it that Mary, she just accepts it, she believes it but is puzzled to know how. How's it going to be? Verse 35, And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Now there's another case where it talks about the highest himself and that's Psalm 87. Remember Psalm 87 is a psalm that has the bring together of the people from different countries, Ethiopians, Philistines and Tyrians and they come together and where are they all born? They're all born in Jerusalem because that's where their heart and their hope is. So it's the highest himself it says in that psalm. The highest himself brings all these Gentiles in and brings them into the hope of Israel and so they're all born in Zion. Like us, birthplace, Zion, birthplace, Zion, birthplace, Zion and it's the highest himself. So that reference to the highest really again like the phrase House of Jacob becomes a phrase which brings people in there, there's going to be a new relationship. There's going to be Gentiles as well as Jews now participating in the things of the House of David. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And there weren't many that appreciated that. What would it mean to Mary at that stage? Difficult. What does it mean to be in a household with a son who's the Son of God? I guess she could never really appreciate that. She found it hard obviously as the record later says to know that this was the Son of God. There were of course a few occasions when he was said to be such. Nathaniel, when he read Nathaniel's mind out of the picture he says that this is the Son of God. Right at the beginning of the ministry but didn't happen for many others, Peter. There are the Christ, the Son of the Living God he said at one stage in his adhesives that Peter showed. Martha said it too. Martha said Lord I believe that there are the Christ, the Son of the Living God but I wouldn't open that tomb because he's been there for four days and it's not good. One thing isn't to say he's the Son of God but the reality of it was hard for them to know what that really was doing. They really saw it before their eyes all happening and it was only afterwards they probably realized the greatness of it, the Son of God. I guess the greatest one really was the centurion. He sees him on the stake or the cross. A time when really he was no one's son. No one wanted him. Who would want a son on the cross? And the Jews certainly said he's not our son. And the centurion was able to stand back and say truly this was the Son of God. Amazing really. Well all those things of course are ahead at this point of time and Mary really cannot really appreciate what was happening. But what Mary does do in the greatness is she accepts it. It said in verse 36 and behold thy cousin Elizabeth she hath also conceived a son in her old age. And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. But with God nothing shall be impossible. Nothing shall be impossible. Actually that was said later on. Remember when it was said? The end of the life of the Lord. And he's in the garden and he says Father all things are possible unto thee. Take away the cup. So it's interesting right from the beginning of the birth of Jesus to his final hours. Nothing with God would be impossible. And the fact of course that she's actually been able to go and see Elizabeth. It's the sixth month now with her who was called barren. And she probably had not known about Elizabeth because Elizabeth had hit herself for five months. So no one really knew what was happening with Elizabeth. So probably this is the first time then which Mary has heard about those things. And you can imagine the encouragement that therefore it's given so she can go there and be reassured of those things. Behold the handmaiden of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word. Did Mary have an option? Could she have said no thank you? Possibly she could have. And possibly some would have. Shrinking from the very difficult situation that they were going to be faced with. The malicious talk that was going to inevitably follow. The gossip. The looks. And so on. Would you go along with this? Would you volunteer to be in Mary's situation? Who's going to believe your story? No one. But she voluntarily chooses the handmaid of the Lord. And what lay ahead for her? Elizabeth was going to have this child to take away her approach. And as we said Mary's child was going to bring her approach upon her. Elizabeth could come and she could proudly carry the child that she had looked for for so long. But Mary couldn't. Here she was living in a group of people who were very moral. It was a moral age. I guess all of us have seen an age change very dramatically. At least if you're over perhaps 40. There was a great, much greater sense of morality. At least in our part of the world. And probably our part of the world is worse now than your part of the world. A sense of shame if that was going to happen. Having a child outside of marriage. And now it's all confused. It's all changed. And women say it's their right to have a child even if they haven't got a husband. There are programs, IVF programs, and big thrust in Australia to make those IVF programs available to women with no husbands. Or even with other women. A dramatic change that we've seen. Well I mean in those days of course there was a great morality around the place. It might have been wrongly directed but there was a great morality. And Mary then has been asked to go among those. To show the shame that would come from her condition. But she accepted it all and she was God's slave. Be it unto me according to your word. And so she expresses very quietly the submission. She had to face the unknown. The unknown reaction of Joseph to her pregnancy. She wasn't yet married to him. What's his reaction going to be? Likely to be very strong. What's going to happen to her if Joseph deserts her? How's she going to fend for herself and her baby? What support possibly would her parents give to a disgraced daughter? And there was a penalty of course for adultery. Well there is the greatness before. And I guess she probably didn't understand everything. The sword that would come upon her. But in a great way she comes and she ponders those things. And in a grand example willingly accepts those things. And she resolved as we should all resolve. Men, women or young people or so on. To be handmaidens of the Lord. To be it unto us according to God's word.