Title: The Mood Swings of an Expectant Mother
Bible Book: Luke 2 : 37
Author: Steve Wagers
Subject: Christmas; Jesus, Birth Of; Mary
Objective:
Introduction
I’m sure that a lot of mothers can relate to a mother who opened her door to a census taker. After introducing himself, the census taker said, "How many children do you have?" The woman answered, "Fo'." The census taker then asked, "May I have their names, please?" The woman replied, "There’s Eenie, Meenie, Minie and George." Confused, the census taker asked, "May I ask why you named your fourth child 'George'?" The mother said, “Because after Eenie, Meenie, and Minie, we didn’t want no ‘Mo.’”
Expecting a new baby can be something that leaves you both overjoyed and overwhelmed. One minute, you are overjoyed to think that a new life will join your home; but, the next minute, you are overwhelmed as to the responsibility it will bring.
Every mother (and probably every father) knows the mood swings that occur through pregnancy. According to the American Pregnancy Association, mood changes during pregnancy can be caused by physical stresses, fatigue, changes in your metabolism, or by the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Significant changes in your hormone levels can affect your level of neurotransmitters, which are brain chemicals that regulate mood. Mood swings are mostly experienced during the first trimester between 6 to 10 weeks and then again in the third trimester as your body prepares for birth. [1]
The APA recommends that every expectant mother follow a certain criteria in balancing their mood swings. They include:
Get regular physical activity.
- Eat well.
- Spend time with your partner.
- Take a nap.
- Go for a walk.
- See a movie with a friend.
- Don’t be so hard on yourself.
- Try pregnancy yoga class or meditation.
- Get a massage.[2]
I think of a man who asked a soon to be father about his wife’s condition during her pregnancy. He said, “Oh, my wife is an absolute angel.” His friend, somewhat surprised, said, “Really? Boy, my wife had terrible mood swings carrying our twins.” The man said, “She’s an angel around the clock. She’s always up in the air harping on something.”
I’m sure that a lot of mothers can relate to Edna Bowman’s parody of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
12 dogs a leaping, 11 cats a creeping, 10 fingers gripping, 9 toes a tripping, 8 drinks a spilling, 7 glasses filling, 6 friends and things, 5 telephone rings, 4 crayoned walls, 3 loud calls, 2 kisses free, and A Mother Up A Pear Tree!
As we continue walking into the delivery room with Dr. Luke, we find a mother who experiencing extreme mood swings. You may have never considered it before, but as you read the account of Luke 1, we find the moods of Mary, the expectant mother of Jesus, going from one extreme to the other.
Last week, we were introduced to the Chief Physician on call, and were reminded that He was a God without limits. Today, Dr. Luke gives us a closer look at the woman chosen to be in God’s delivery room. As only a doctor can do, Luke describes the mood swings of an expectant mother.
Her first mood is described as she is:
I. Secretly Wondering
When we meet Mary, in Luke 1, we find her pondering the news just delivered to her. Again, remember, that when Gabriel came to deliver the news to young Mary, it was the 1st time in 400-600 years that had been a word from God, by God, and of God. Suddenly after hundreds of years of silence, Gabriel shows up a little mountain town called Nazareth, and delivers the powerful news to a young lady by the name of Mary. We read in verse 26, “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth.”
In verse 28, Gabriel declares to her, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” After she receives the news, we read in verse 29 that, “When she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.”
The word “troubled” is the Greek word diatarasso. It speaks of being wholly disturbed or alarmed. The phrase “cast in her mind” means, “To consider, or reckon thoroughly.” In other words, when Mary receives the news that she has been chosen by God to be the earthly mother of the Lord Jesus, she is overwhelmed to say the least. She has to take it all in and digest it. Once it begins to sink in, we find her secretly wondering as to:
A. Her Personal Situation
We learn of Mary’s present personal situation in verse 27. We learn that she was, “A virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph.”
There are 2 important aspects to her personal situation. One, she was a virgin who had never been with a man; two, she was “espoused” to a man named Joseph.
The customary Jewish marriage consisted of 3 distinct stages. The first stage was the engagement. This was often arranged through the parents while the couple was yet children. The second stage was the betrothal, or as the word in verse 27, the “espousal.”
The “espousal” was the ratification of the engagement. When the couple came of age, they entered into an agreement that was legally binding, and lasted for 1 year. According to Deuteronomy 23:24, unfaithfulness on the part of the bride was punishable by death.
During the year of espousal, the man would go away and make provisions for his future bride. At the end of the espousal year, the groom would come back for his bride, and the third and final stage would take place, called the wedding proper. Here the vows were exchanged and the marriage was consummated. The couple was officially recognized as husband and wife.
Our text tells us that Mary was “espoused” and in the 2nd stage of her commitment to Joseph. Thus, when the angel of the Lord informs her that she will give birth to a Son named Jesus, she ponders her personal situation, because of:
B. Her Possible Humiliation
Here is a young woman, approximately 18-20 years of age, who is “espoused,” legally engaged to a man, and now discovers that she is not only going to be a wife, but she is also going to be a mother. But, she would not just be any mother; she would be the earthly mother of the Eternal Man, Christ Jesus.
While there should have been immediate jubilation, there is instead immediate reservation. Verse 29 tells us that Mary, “…cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.”
She silently wonders not only over her personal situation, being “espoused,” not yet married to Joseph; but, she also wonders about her possible humiliation. Why humiliation?
She is a virgin. And, a virgin cannot conceive a seed, or give birth to a baby. Furthermore, she is not yet legally married to Joseph; thus, to discover that she is going to “conceive” and become pregnant, would only lead people to believe that she has been unfaithful to her future husband.
Again, according to the law, only the perception of unfaithfulness would be grounds to punish her by death. Being well aware of the ramifications, Mary poses a question to the angel in verse 34, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”
This is one area of attack for liberal theologians. They seek to prove that since Mary was an unmarried virgin, and became pregnant with child, there must have been infidelity on her part. Many of these “so-called” theologians claim that Mary was raped by a German mercenary. What these liberal “know-nothings” cannot stand is the fact that they cannot explain, or explain away the miracle of the Virgin Birth. They have no argument for the statement in verse 37, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
Humanly speaking, it is impossible for a virgin to conceive a seed and give birth to a child. From a human standpoint, not only is it an improbability; it is an impossibility. But, God does not operate according to human standards and procedures. While it is impossible for it to happen humanly; it is not impossible for it to happen divinely.
With great specificity, God declared through the prophet Isaiah, 700 hundred years earlier that, “The Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7: 14) God informs Isaiah that the Virgin Birth of Christ was given as a Sign. The Hebrew word for “sign” speaks of “a monument, a marker, or a miracle.” The birth of a child to a woman is no sign; but, the birth of a child to a virgin is most definitely a sign to the power of God.
Vance Havner said, “The Son of God required a birth in keeping with His deity. Who He is explains how He was born.” [3]
In order for Jesus to become a man and yet still be God, there could only be one method of birth. It is described in verse 35, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
In his book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight prophecies regarding Christ. Stoner says that the chance that any man might have fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 10 to the 17th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (One hundred quadrillion).
Stoner suggested that we take 10 to the 17th silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly. Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up that one marked silver dollar.
What chance would he have of getting the right one? Stoner concludes, “Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.” [4]
In other words, the Virgin Birth of Christ had to be coincidence or providence. But, had Jesus not been born of a virgin then Mary was an adulteress, the prophets were phony, God was a liar, Jesus was illegitimate, the Bible is a joke, and we are all sinners without any hope of salvation.
Yet, at this point, this is all unbeknownst to young Mary. She is attempting to digest this great, grand and glorious news. She is silently wondering. But, we see the next mood swing of this expectant mother revealed not only as she is silently wondering, but also as she is:
II. Submissively Willing
Apparently, this life-changing news has begun to settle in Mary’s young heart. She has just been informed that she has been chosen by God as the vessel to give birth to a body that would encase the eternal Son of God.
Included in the news, are several details concerning the One to be born. The angel describes His Name. In verse 31, he is called “Jesus.” In verse 32, He is called “the Son of the Highest.” In verse 35, he is called “the Son of God.”
The angel describes His Nature. In verse 32, “He shall be great.” In verse 35, He is called “the holy thing.” Then, the angel describes His Notoriety. In verses 32-33, we’re told that, “The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. [33]And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
Regarding this momentous news, young Mary did as anyone would do; “she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.” The angel comforts her in verse 30, “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.”
She considers all of the possible ramifications, but suddenly holy revelation moves in, and human hesitation moves out. She is no longer secretly wondering, but now she is submissively willing to:
A. Available To God
In spite of her doubts, fears, and questions, she is reminded, in verse 37, that, “With God nothing shall be impossible.”
She makes herself available to God in verse 38, “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord.”
The word “handmaid” is the Greek doule, which speaks of a female slave. In other words, Mary seemed to say, “God, I have no idea why You have chosen me to have a part in the birth of the Messiah. But, if it is Your will to use me to accomplish Your work, then I am Your slave, and I am at Your service, Lord.”
As we saw last week, Mary was but a common, ordinary person chosen by God for an extraordinary event. She was but a village maiden, a peasant girl; and, thus, did not carry any great position, power, prestige or possessions in her life. Therefore, in all honesty, she really had nothing to offer God, except herself. It’s apparent that God wasn’t looking for her ability, but her availability. God was going to take care of all of the details; He only needed someone to agree to the terms and conditions of the agreement.
Mary had been chosen by God, but Mary was not coerced by God. She could have said ‘No,’ and went on about her life. But, she says, ‘Yes,’ and makes herself available to the plan, the purpose, the promise, and the power of God.
I think of the time in the life of F. B. Meyer that he struggled to know God's will for his life. He attended the annual Keswick conference in hopes that God would reveal His plan for his life. During one of the services, Meyer walked out from under the Keswick tent to a place called “Manor Brow.” He fell down on his face and began to cry out to God, “Lord, there must be more than this. I must have more than this. What is it that I am missing?” In his pocket were set of keys, and taking those keys out he looked at each key as a particular key to some area of his life. He went through each key, one by one, giving them to God. Then, falling down on his face he prayed, "Lord, if I'm not willing, I'm willing to made wiling."
God is not looking for our objections; only for our obedience. God is not looking for our suppositions; only for our submission. God is not looking for our ability; only for our availability.
Someone has said, “It’s not our responsibility to serve God; it’s only our ‘response’ to His ‘ability.’”
Do you want to encounter God’s purpose for your life? Do you want to experience God’s power in your life? Then, like Mary, make yourself available to God. Throw any and all excuses, objections, and rationalizations out the window, and say, “Lord, I am your doule, your slave, your servant who will be what You want me to be, and who will do what You want me to do.”
Mary is not only willing to be available to God, but to:
B. Be Usable For God
I can’t help but believe that the statement in verse 37 became the turning point for young Mary. Before verse 37, she is filled with wonder. But, after verse 37, she is filled with willingness. In response to her doubts, fears, questions, and hesitation, this statement put the nail in the coffin,
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
As we saw last week, the word “nothing” is the Greek word ou pas rhema. It is a reference to God’s authority. The word “nothing” tells us that when the Word of God is spoken, there is nothing that can stop, and there is nothing it cannot accomplish.
While the word “nothing” speaks of God’s authority, the word “impossible” speaks of God’s ability. To her question, “How shall this be seeing that I know not a man.” The angel says, “Mary, don’t worry about it is going to take place. God has already taken care of that. He has spoken; He will do it, and there is nothing that can stop it.”
Mary makes herself available to God, and then makes herself usable for God. She responds in verse 38, “Be it unto me According To Thy Word.”
In complete, total and utter submission, Mary reckons that she is unable, but God is more than able. Faith moves in, fear moves out, and Mary avails herself to be used of God to fulfill a promise given, thousands of years before, in the Garden of Eden.
After the tragic fall of Adam and Eve, God steps in to pronounce the sentence. In Genesis 3: 15, God informs the serpent that He will put “enmity” between his “seed and her seed;” but the seed of the woman would “bruise the head” of the serpent.
That is the 1st prophecy of the Virgin Birth of Christ in the Bible. It is fulfilled in Galatians 4: 4, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman.”
To a common person, Mary; and, in a common place, Nazareth, the fullness of time had come. The Word of God, the rhema, had been spoken; thus, as He has spoken, so will He do. Mary would be the one, used of God, to allow Jesus to step out of prophecy into history, to step out of eternity into reality, to step off the page of the written Word to become the Living Word.
She makes herself available to God by saying, “I am your handmaid, your slave, Lord.” She makes herself usable for God by saying, “Be it unto me according to Thy word. Let it happen, Lord, just like You said it would happen.”
Such willingness would go on and define the life of Mary. At a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee, in John 2, the party began to die because the wine had run dry. Jesus came in as a guest at the party, but He ended up as the host of the party, telling the servants what to do. Mary speaks to the servants and says, in John 2: 5, “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.”
Mary had learned the secret many years before. She had learned that to make oneself available to God means to make oneself usable for God.
Adelaide Pollard was a frail, feeble girl who suffered from a host of physical problems. She was diabetic. She experienced periods of deep depression. She suffered debilitating collapses that forced her to return to her family for long periods of recuperation. Adelaide's burning desire was foreign missions, but with all of her physical maladies, it was a call that constantly seemed to slip away from her. When she finally did get to go to Africa, she was forced to leave after only a few months because of the outbreak of World War I. She spent the war years in Scotland and then returned to the United States. During one of her periods of depression following her failed attempt to be in Africa, she sat in a prayer meeting too distracted to concentrate. In her dark mood, she heard the prayer of an elderly saint, "It's all right, Lord! It doesn't matter what you bring into our lives; just have your own way with us." That evening, Adelaide returned home and meditated on Jeremiah 18, which describes God as the Master Potter. She questioned her will, as well as God's will. But, as she bowed her head to recommit and renew her commitment to God's will for her life, the words of a poem began to form in her mind:
"Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still."
Do you want to be usable for God? Then, make yourself available to God. Have you ever, like Mary, said to God, “Lord, I’m not able, but You are more than able. If you can use me, you can have. If you have a plan for my life, then be it unto me according to Thy Word.”
In the Christian life, the secret of success is sweet submission and surrender to the Savior.
We come to the final mood swing of this expectant mother, and we not only see her secretly wondering and submissively willing, but:
III. Sincerely Worshipping
The day, for this expectant mother, began as a low, but it ended as a high. The clouds of doubt, dismay, and disbelief begin to break and give way so the Son of deity can shine.
The first mood of this expectant mother was one of secretly wondering. The further mood of this expectant mother was one of submissively willing. But, the final mood of this expectant mother was one of sincerely worshipping.
Mary learned that the only thing that remedies worry/wondering is willingness; and, the result of willingness is worship. She is filled with worship because of:
A. The Gift Of Grace
Once she becomes aware of this act of grace in her life, she makes herself available to God so she can be usable for God. She surrenders and submits to God’s plan for her life. She comes to the house of Elisabeth, and walks in the door shouting in verses 46-47, “My soul doth magnify the Lord. [47]And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”
In verse 48, She identifies 2 aspects of this gift of grace. First, grace has shown her favor. She says in verse 48, “He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.”
The word “low estate” literally means, “Vile, or humiliating.” The same word is used in Philippians 3: 21 where Paul says that at the resurrection, God will “change our vile bodies.” As we saw earlier, the word “handmaiden” refers to a female slave.
Mary is overwhelmed at this gift of grace that has shown her favor. She was a nobody, in a no where place, with nothing to offer God. But, His “favor” and grace noticed a poor, little, wretched, vile, and humiliating servant.
The angel informed Mary, in verse 30, that she had found “favor with God.” The word “favor” is a word that describes someone who has experienced a gracious act of God in their life. The choice of Mary for this divine event was not because she deserved it or earned it. It was an act of God's grace in her life.
I remind you that one thing the grace of God has done for us is show us favor. Without grace, we are the enemies of God; but, by grace, we are “heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.”
Like Mary, we were nobodies, in a nowhere place, with nothing to offer God. We were dead, defiled, depraved, despicable, destitute sinners. But, God did something for us we could never deserve, and gave something to us we could never earn. What the law of God could not do for us, the grace of God has done in us. Every child of God must say with the apostle Paul, “By the grace of God, I am what I am.” (1 Corinthians 15: 10)
However, the gift of grace not only showed her favor, but it secured her future. She declares in verse 48, “Behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.”
Grace that provided for her past will extend into her future. Grace not only qualified her, but it satisfied her. She has made her available to God and usable for God; thus, His “favor,” or grace would be experienced in the present, and extended into the future.
Mary’s song of worship celebrated the reversal of positions that would come under God’s new order. Those who are proud, mighty and rich think they need nothing beyond themselves; thus, they will not be open to God’s help. However, to those like Mary, the poor, the lowly, the vile, the helpless, grace would not only be extended, but grace could be experienced. Grace has shown her favor and grace has secured her future.
Ladies and gentlemen, that is exactly what the grace of God has done for us. Grace has shown us favor by giving us what we could never earn, merit or deserve. But, grace has also secured our future. That is what Christmas is all about. The eternal Son of God became the earthly Son of Man, so that the sons of men might by grace divine, become the sons of God. The moment we trusted Christ, His grace showed us favor and forgave us. But, it also secured our future, not only in the right here and now, but in the sweet bye and bye.
Grace settled our past, stabilized our present, and secured our future. Grace makes us citizens of a new company, a new calling, and a new country. Grace is the promise, the preparation, and the provider of glory. The grace in this life paves the way for the glory of that life.
In the midst of economic distress, political division, social disturbance and financial difficulty, I can sing with John Newton:
"Thru many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come.
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home."
Mary’s realization of the gift of grace is all because she recognizes:
B. The God Of Grace
Mary identifies the focus of her worship in verse 49, “For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.”
The verses that follow are called the “Magnificat,” the first word in the Latin Bible. It is a hymn comprised of Old Testament these, especially the prayer of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2. Listen to Mary’s estimation of the God who has shown her grace. “And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. [51]He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. [52]He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. [53]He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. [54] He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy. [55]As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.”
This song of praise depicts, denotes, and describes the true meaning of Christmas. What God had done for Mary, He would, through Christ, do for all people. He would come and lie in a cradle so that He would, one day, hang on a Cross.
I think of an old story I read years ago that has always stirred my heart. It was of a wealthy man who had only one son, who he loved dearly. The wealthy man was interested in collecting expensive and rare pieces of art. He taught his son to love art as well, and together they began to collect some of the most exquisite pieces of art in the world.
A war broke out and the son was called away to fight. After a few months, the father received the word that his son was missing in action, and not long after that his son had been killed. The father's heart was shattered. He had accumulated all of these treasures, but none of them could compare to his only son.
One day, a knock came to the father's door. As he opened the door he saw a soldier, in full uniform. The soldier said, "Sir, I was a good friend of your son. I want you to know that he died trying to save the lives of other people. I am not an artist, but I painted a picture of your son just before he died, and I wanted to give it to you." The father was overjoyed. He had seen better, more quality work, but none of that mattered, because this was a portrait of his son.
The father took the painting and put it over the mantle in his home, in the midst of millions of dollars worth of art. In time, the old man died. Invitations were sent to come to an auction of the old man's art collection.
Many came from around the world to bid on these rare items. As the auction opened the auctioneer started off with the painting of the old man's son. Many of the famous art collectors shouted, "That isn't worth anything. It's the worst painting I've ever seen. We came to see 'real' art. Let's get to the good stuff."
The auctioneer stated that the stipulation of the father's will was that the painting of the son was to be sold first. They started the bidding at $100, but no bids. Then $50, but no bids. Finally, the bidding went to $10, and one of the old man's servants, in the back, said, "I'll give $10 for the painting."
Suddenly, the auctioneer lowered his gavel and shouted, "This auction is officially over!" Cries came back from the crowd, "What do you mean this auction is over?" The auctioneer then informed them that, according to the will of the Father, "whoever gets the son, gets it all!"
Christmas tells of a God of grace who provided the gift of grace; and, now we that once were nobodies with nothing have become somebodies with everything, because whoever gets the Son gets it all!
I believe you would agree that is something worthy of our worship, as well as something that will cure any mood you may be in.
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Endnotes
www.americanpregnancy.org
IBID
“Reflections on the Gospels,” Vance Havner, pg. 140.
“Science Speaks,” Peter Stoner, ppg. 47-55.
