“For nothing is impossible with God.” The powerful words leaped off the page.
Since Advent began on December 1 this year, and the book of Luke has 24 chapters, I decided to read a chapter of Luke each evening of Advent and go back to chapter 2 (the birth of Jesus) on Christmas day. Luke’s introduction of the book makes it clear that Luke had “carefully investigated everything from the beginning” and wanted to write an orderly account to tell the truth about Jesus. His writings would confirm the teachings of the apostles who had been with Jesus up to his death, burial, resurrection and ascension. And so it seems a good book to study and meditate on through this season that celebrates the birth of Jesus.
As I attentively read through Luke chapter 1, many things caught my attention, but the words in verse 37 burned in my heart, “For nothing is impossible with God.”
I read through the chapter again. God was doing some seemingly impossible things for sure. First of all, an angel appeared to Zechariah to let him know that his prayer had been heard, that Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth would have a son and that they were to name him, “John.” Zechariah didn’t understand how this could be. He and his wife were both old.
Not only would Elizabeth give birth in her old age, the baby would be very important. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. He would be a joy to many as he would go before the Lord to prepare their hearts for his arrival.
Elizabeth’s pregnancy of this special baby wasn’t the only seemingly impossible thing that God was doing in chapter 1. An angel appeared again in the chapter, but this time to a young woman named Mary, a virgin who was pledged to be married.
The angel spoke to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Mary didn’t understand how this could happen since she was a virgin. So, the angel explained, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”
For nothing is impossible with God. He can open the womb of a barren woman. He can cause a virgin to conceive a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. And greater still, He can raise a man to life and save man for eternity.
God sent his Son, Jesus to fulfill what he had spoken through the Old Testament prophets. Jesus would be the Messiah God’s people had been waiting for.
You see, God is holy and perfect; he can’t tolerate sin. He created man in his image. However, man sinned when he chose to disobey God.
The punishment for sin is death, eternal separation from God. We can’t fix that separation on our own.
Matthew, Mark and Luke all touched on this when they wrote about a rich man who later came to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. The man claimed to have kept God’s commandments and wondered what else he needed to do. Jesus told him to go sell his belongings and then come back to follow him. The man sadly walked away because of his wealth.
The disciples questioned Jesus about this, “Who then can be saved?” they asked. Jesus replied, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Only God can give us salvation. We are saved by the grace he extends through Jesus. God sent Jesus, the promised Messiah, to pay the price for our sin.
The baby growing inside Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit was Jesus. He was born of a virgin just as the Old Testament said. He was both God and man. While he lived here on earth, he was tempted in every way just like we are. However, he did not sin. He lived a perfect life, and the blood he shed for us when he died on the cross paid the price for all of our sin.
Jesus conquered death when God raised him from the dead, and because of his great sacrifice, his death and his resurrection, we too can live. Do you understand this? We were given the death sentence because of our sin. There was nothing we could do to make things right. Salvation was impossible for us, but salvation is possible with God, for nothing is impossible for God!
When we realize our sinfulness and cry out to Jesus to save us, he will. When we accept God’s gift of grace, God sends the Holy Spirit to live in us, to guide us and transform us. The Holy Spirit gives us the desire to do things God’s way instead of ours.
No one is out of God’s reach. He is able to transform any heart that is willing to surrender to his will. For nothing is impossible with God, and that’s the best news ever!