By Pastor Stephen Hess –
The top selling book on the topic of pregnancy for the last few decades has been a book called What to Expect When You’re Expecting. As of last year, it was estimated that 93% of expectant mothers who read a pregnancy guide consulted this book and over 22 million copies were in print. In the introduction, author Heidi Murkoff talks about the origin of her bestselling book and writes, “I conceived a baby, and then I conceived a book. And let’s just say, I didn’t expect either.”
Many parents can probably relate to Murkoff’s feelings about the unexpected. Sometimes when future moms and dads realize that they are going to become parents it catches them by surprise. Even those who feel eager and ready to have a baby often discover that the realities of parenthood are not what they expected. I have often thought that a good title for a parenting book would be, “Expect the Unexpected!”
During the season of Advent, we remember how a young woman named Mary was visited by an angel and given an unexpected surprise. Gabriel told her, “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 to 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” (Lk. 1:31-33). Not only did Mary not expect to become pregnant, but she never expected that she would give birth to the Son of God!
Mary was not the only woman in the Bible who had an unexpected and miraculous pregnancy. In fact, there is a pattern of significant women in the history of God’s people who conceived children that they never thought would be possible, and each of these children pointed forward to the coming of Jesus in unique ways. That is why this Advent season we are going to embark on a new sermon series called “Expecting” where we will be looking at five women who had miraculous pregnancies. Here is a preview of the women we will encounter:
Sarah – After making a covenant with Abraham, God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah a son. When God promised them a child, they both laughed because Sarah was well beyond child-bearing years. However, it was God who got the last laugh when he gave them a son and kept his covenant promises against all odds.
Rachel – Rachel was Jacob’s first love, but unfortunately she was his second wife. As such, she had a bitter rivalry with Leah and was deeply saddened by her inability to bear children. God eventually enabled Rachel to conceive, and one of the children she bore (Joseph) would eventually save the covenant family from starvation.
Hannah – Like Rachel, Hannah was stricken with infertility and unable to bear children. But Hannah trusted in the Lord, poured out her heart to him, and asked him for a child. The result was that God granted her petition and she gave birth to Samuel, who would become the first great prophet in Israel.
Elizabeth – In Luke 1 we are told that Zechariah and Elizabeth were both righteous and godly people but were not able to bear children—a reminder that godliness does not exempt us from earthly troubles. However, God enabled Elizabeth to conceive in her old age and the son she bore would be the messenger who would prepare the way for the Messiah.
Mary – The long series of miraculous pregnancies culminates with Mary. All the other pregnancies were miraculous, but Mary’s was uniquely miraculous. Not only did Mary conceive while she was still a virgin, but she gave birth to the one who was both truly man and truly God. The Son of God became flesh to save us from our sins.
Just as these five women waited expectantly for the birth of their children, God’s people waited expectantly for the coming of the Messiah. When he arrived, it became clear that the entire history of God’s people had been pointing forward to him. Join us this Advent season as we reflect on these truths and celebrate his coming!