When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:15-21)
Sometimes, it is good to slow down in our journey through Scripture and imagine the various components of what was taking place. In this journey through Luke’s gospel, it stands out to me that Luke had talked to a lot of people to collect the details of what he wrote into his account.
Since we do not hear of Joseph during the time of Jesus’ public ministry, it is likely that he had already passed away by that time. We do know that Mary was still alive and well when the early church was filled with the Holy Spirit and growing phenomenally through the proclamation of the gospel.
This means that what I am reading in the early chapters of Luke’s gospel account would likely have involved some direct interaction between Luke and Mary, or at least between Luke and people who had heard from Mary about the events.
But what really stood out is that Mary is one more example of how God turns the spotlight away from the role someone played in his work so that we will not fall into the trap of idolizing a person. We do not have enough info about Mary to build a monument at a specific location or claim to have some object involved in her role that would tempt people to see how much money they can make from selling it, or paying admission to see it!
It is rather glaring that God mostly leads his servants off into glory with no parade that would give us the wrong impression. The spotlight keeps turning from the ones who joined God in his work to the work God is doing to seek and save the lost. Even Mary, the woman through whom God gave his Son to the world, was to be known as a disciple of Jesus Christ just like anyone else who received him.
The encouragement to me today is to point people to Christ and carry on. Tell someone about Jesus, and then carry on. Give a cup of cold water to someone in Jesus’ name, and then carry on. Rejoice in every opportunity God gives us to join him in his work, and then carry on with whatever he gives us to do next.
The fact is that God’s work of seeking and saving the lost continues. No one’s place in this work is inferior or superior to others, and the more we live out our unique place in God’s work, the more people will hear about Jesus Christ as the one and only Savior of the world. So we carry on turning the spotlight on Jesus, and rejoicing that he is still saving people like ourselves.
Oh, and one day, I will get to ask Luke and Mary all the questions that are unanswered in this earthly journey. That is, if I will even care once I am with them in the presence of God’s fullness of joy!
© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)
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