Having answered the prayers of a barren old couple who wanted a baby, God now sends Gabriel to a very young unmarried virgin who doesn’t want a baby.
“You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.”
— Luke 1: 31
But is his name really Jesus, which means Yahweh saves? Well, yes and no.
Bear with me because I’m about to upset the apple cart and tell you Jesus’ name was not, but came to be Jesus. Jesus’ name was Yehoshua (Joshua), but when Yehoshua was transliterated into Aramaic it became Yeshua.
Then, when it was transliterated into Greek it became Iesou(s) in the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Finally, when Iesou(s) was transliterated into Latin, it became “Jesus.”
Any other nice young unmarried virgin would be horrified at the news about an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy, but Mary, who was only about 14 or 15 years old simply says in Luke:
“Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
— Luke 1: 38
It’s a story and a response that repeats itself throughout Biblical history and the first sermon I ever preached came from Isaiah:
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” — Isaiah 6: 8
Now I, like Mary’s response as she chooses to obey God, we Methodists are big on choosing and free will and I’d like to leave it there. Jesus even said in John:
“... if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.”
— John 8: 36 But I can’t leave it there, because earlier Gabriel didn’t ask Mary, “Would you give birth to the son of God?”
What he said was “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.”
And that is God’s sovereignty, so there’s a delicate balance between our free will and God’s sovereignty.
Certainly, we are free to choose, but God is always three steps ahead of us and the ultimate destination on earth and in heaven is summed up in Mary’s response, “let it be with me according to your word.”
And that’s what ties our free will to God’s sovereignty. That is what it means to be created in the image of God when our free will and God’s sovereign will coincide.
We call it “holiness!”
Charles “Buddy” Whatley is a retired United Methodist pastor serving Dawson Street Methodist Church in Thomasville, Ga. With wife, Mary Ella, they are missionaries to the Navajo Reservation.
