Lesson Two “The Coming of Jesus” (Winter Quarter year two) First Grade sunday School

Mary was just a girl, a teenager really, who loved God with all her heart. That is probably one of the reasons that Joseph had his father ask Mary’s father permission for their betrothal. Do you know it means for them to be betrothed? It means that Mary and Joseph were promised to marry each other, and that they both were getting ready to make a home together. Joseph was probably building a room for them to live in, and making any changes to his work to add enough income to allow him to take care of a wife, and, if God wanted it, a baby.

Mary was busy at home finishing any projects her parents needed from her and preparing her own things to make her new home with Joseph a special place to have a family. Mary didn’t let her mind dwell on the worry, but in the back of her mind she wasn’t really sure that she and Joseph would be raising a child. Didn’t her cousin Elizabeth live almost her entire life as a wife without ever having a baby of her own to hold? Mary could count easily enough women to cover both hands who never were able to have a baby.

Mary also knew that the Messiah would be born to a woman from her family, the family of the great King David of long ago. God had promised it! As a girl Mary had heard that proclamation many times from her father. He was sure that one of his daughters would be the mother of the Messiah. Wasn’t it about time? Everyone was talking about it. The horrible Romans were making life miserable, and many of the Jews were getting stronger in their obedience to God’s laws in hopes that they would bring the mighty Messiah to raise an army which would defeat the Romans and establish an Israel like the one King David ruled so many years ago. Mary just wanted to be a mother even if it meant that she wasn’t going to be the mother to the Savior of Israel.

It was to this woman that the angel Gabriel was bound, but when he showed up she wasn’t the least prepared for his entrance. Not one for useless gab Gabriel simply spoke his message- “Greetings oh favored one, the Lord is with you!” What do you think Mary thought when she heard this from the angel? What could the angel be there to say?
Was the angel coming to give her a secret message about her marriage to Joseph? Or was she in trouble for something big enough that required an angel to give her a message?

The angel tried to calm her and share his message- “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And pay careful attention, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary did not really know what all this meant at the moment. She had a clue that the angel meant that she was going to be the mother of the Messiah, but how could this happen to her now?

Everyone she knew that had a baby after God said they would were already married. Think of Hannah, the prophet Samuel’s mother, and Sarah, the wife of Abraham who was told she was going to bear a child in her old age. Mary didn’t understand how God would want a woman who was not married to have a baby. This meant that people would think that she didn’t want to obey God and wait to have a baby until she was married. Mary didn’t think God goofed, but she did need to make sure she understood so she asked- “How will this happen since I am unmarried?”

Her question did not bother the angel- “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And guess what? Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Then the angel left.

How do you think that Mary felt? This was an incredible moment for Mary because now she knew that she would not have to worry about bearing a child to Joseph, but she also realized that no one would believe her. Joseph may not even believe her when she told him how she came to be a mother without being married to him. Why did God make sure she became pregnant before she married her husband? So that it will be clear that the child was the Son of God, and not a man marred by sin. The Bible tells us that Mary spent a great deal of time studying what God was doing, and I honestly think that she understood what was going on. She didn’t understand it all, it was a big plan, but she did know that the baby was God’s Son. She probably even understood that Jesus was God Himself.

Can you imagine being Mary now? She had every sign of a coming baby in her body. She was tired, and probably felt sick quite often, especially in the morning. She probably worried about how well she would do in teaching her coming baby everything he needed to learn. I hope she understood that if God could give her and her cousin Elizabeth a baby, He could make it possible for her to raise His Son right. Mary went to her cousin to visit for a few months. I think it was so she could rest and figure out what was going on. I am sure that Mary couldn’t tell anyone about her coming baby so she was probably happy when Elizabeth realized that Mary was carrying her holy child.
Listen to her song-

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;for he w ho is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thronesand exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things,and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel,in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Do you see that Mary’s praise focuses on God’s plan and how He kept his promise to His people? Did you know that Jesus came not only to Mary, but to us? Jesus was God’s promise from the very first moment of our need for a Savoir way back in the Garden of Eden! It is His power in keeping His promises, and His love for the World that made Jesus come to earth to save us from our sins. Mary was picked to be part of God’s plan, not because she was the most righteous woman ever, but because she was the one God planned to do this special ministry for her God. Did you know that you have a special part of God’s plan? When Mary was born God had already decided to protect her and capture her heart so that she was able to be the mother of our Savior, and when you were born God already a special plan in mind for you. When you hear His spirit calling to your heart, obey like Mary did with a heart of praise.