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Alright, guys, hope you had a great Christmas yesterday. Let's go ahead and wrap up the week. All week we've been looking at Christmas carols and the rich theology and biblical truths therein. Yesterday we looked at my favorite, Ocome O'Cum Emanuel, and today we're looking at the Christmas song Mary Did You Know. So this is the most modern of all the songs that we've looked at this week. The lyrics for the song were written by Mark Lowry in 1984, but the musical composition did not come along until Buddy Green did it in 1991, so kind of a long gap there. But for the record, my favorite version of this song is from Pentatonics. I mean, they might be the goats of Christmas music at this point. I mean, they put out so much stuff. It's from their Christmas album, That's Christmas to Me from 2014. This is actually the song that made them go viral. So the main subject of this song is Jesus. But we are getting to see through the perspective of Mary, Jesus' mother, questioning whether she fully grasps the enormity of who Jesus is and what he was sent here to do. So to set the scene, we need to go to Luke 1, and we're going to start in verse 26. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from the from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favored One, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God, and behold, 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 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. And Mary said to the angel, How will this be, since I am a virgin? So pause. We have to reckon with what was going through Mary's head at this moment. The text says that she was greatly troubled. Why? Because everywhere you read a description of an angel and what they look like, they seem really scary, really intimidating, hence why the angels, just like in this setting, start out with, Hey, don't be afraid, do not be afraid. And then the message that is delivered to her has to be confusing and overwhelming. So wait, I'm I'm going to be pregnant and I'm I'm going to have a son and he will be called the son of the most high, but I'm a virgin, I'm confused, right? I mean, which would all make sense. Her feelings would be justified, but her level of understanding would very likely be very low. Now let's go to the song Mary, did you know? First verse. Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you've delivered will soon deliver you. Verse 2. Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand? Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod? And when you kiss your little baby, you've kissed the face of God. Mary, did you know? Now the bridge. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the dead will live again. The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the Lamb. Now verse three. Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations? Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb? The sleeping child you're holding is the great I am. And then the outro, Oh Mary, did you know? Well, to answer for her, she did not know all of that. I mean, certainly not then, as we see recorded in Luke 1, how could she? But she had faith. Enough faith to obey. So back to Luke 1, starting in verse 35. And the angel answered her, 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. Now, verse 38. And Mary said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. So Mary, a sinner, a normal woman, was selected by God to get this special revelation, and she was part of God's master rescue plan for all humanity. And even after Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem, Mary still couldn't have known all the details of what was to come for her baby and for the world. But she did her part as a dutiful mother and servant of God. So as she held her sleeping baby, she was holding heaven's perfect lamb, an atoning sacrifice for us all. The great I Am. Thank you for your attention this week. Stay sharp.

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