Opportunity

An opportunity is “a favorable juncture of circumstances,” according to Webster. Opportunities are time sensitive: there is a brief “open window” for deciding and acting. To seize the opportunity may change you, your life, and the world. To refuse the opportunity may mean living with “might-have-beens.”

Do you see an opportunity as a fresh adventure or as a disruption to a comfortable life? Saying yes to an opportunity is sure to result in change. Declining an opportunity may only deepen the ruts of routine.

Some of the main characters of the Advent and Christmas stories were presented with amazing opportunities to work with God. Let’s briefly explore their experiences, considering the risks and the rewards of a God-given opportunity.

Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for a child (Luke 1:13). But when the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that his prayers were answered, he saw the obstacle, their old age (v. 18), instead of the opportunity to trust God. Zechariah became a father but he endured at least nine months of silence for his disbelief. When he named his son John, Zechariah was given a second opportunity to give praise to God.

Mary’s opportunity was to cooperate with God in His Son’s entrance into the human race. She could have said no, citing the problems that would come with being single and pregnant. But she chose to submit to God’s plan and now she is called “blessed.” Seizing her opportunity had a price; the sword did pierce her heart when Jesus was crucified (2:35).

When Joseph learned of Mary’s pregnancy, he faced a weighty choice, and in that choice was his opportunity. He could privately break off his engagement to Mary or he could go ahead with the marriage but face scandal. After God revealed His plan through a dream, Joseph became Mary’s husband and eventually Jesus’ earthly stepfather (Matt. 1:18–25). Joseph trained Jesus in Scripture, in the carpenter’s craft, and in relationships. Much of what he did for Jesus is unknown to us, but Joseph made the most of his moment.

The shepherds outside Bethlehem saw the angel, heard the announcement, and heard the angelic chorus give glory to God. They took the message seriously and went to town searching for the infant Savior in a manger (Luke 2:8–20). Theirs was an opportunity to see God’s gift of salvation firsthand and to prove that what God says can be trusted.

Once they saw the miraculous star, the Magi knew they had an opportunity to see and worship the King of the Jews. The journey promised to be expensive and hazardous, but they dropped everything and took to the road. Between the guiding star and information about Bethlehem from Jerusalem’s biblical experts, the Magi found the Christ Child, presented their gifts, and worshiped the King. They had an opportunity to let Herod know where the child was, but they took God’s warning and went home by an alternate route (Matt. 2:1–12). Not every opportunity is worth seizing.

Herod and Israel’s religious leaders had an opportunity to welcome the Messiah and be among the first to acknowledge Him as King. But they were protective of their positions and saw the newborn King as a threat. Even though Magi from the East came seeking this child, and even though the Scriptures identified Bethlehem as the place where Messiah would be born, they refused to see the truth. They knew the Scripture but missed its fulfillment. Eventually Herod had all the boys two years old and younger put to death (vv. 16–18). He missed the spiritual opportunity and embraced the evil one.

What about us? Do Advent and Christmas still hold opportunities for us? They do.

• As long as there is life, the opportunity to receive God’s gift of salvation through faith in Jesus is available.
• Perhaps you need to take advantage of the opportunity to forgive someone who hurt you and heal the relationship.
• Look for openings to tell the story of God’s love during the season.
• Maybe it’s time to make a new beginning: turning a character weakness into a strength, obeying where you have been rebellious, or tearing down a stronghold.
• Certainly this season is full of opportunities to pray, to hear or make glorious music, to be silent and meditate on what God is doing in your life, and to give in ways that make a spiritual difference.
• Advent is an opportunity to rekindle hope. After all, we are waiting for a Savior from glory.
• Every day is an opportunity to prepare ourselves to meet the Lord face-to-face.

 See: Herod the Great, Joseph, Mary, Shepherds, Star, Wise Men, Zechariah

Overshadow

The word overshadow refers to how Mary became pregnant with the Christ Child (Luke 1:35). While the normal phrase for this discussion is “virgin birth,” it was more accurately a virginal conception. (Roman Catholic tradition holds that not only was Jesus’ conception miraculous, but so was His actual birth, so that Mary’s virginity remained intact. This is not found in Scripture.) The Apostles’ Creed says it best: “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.”

After Gabriel announced to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son, she inquired, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (v. 34). It was an excellent question and it reveals that Mary had an accurate understanding of human sexuality.

Gabriel replied to Mary without really giving an answer. He said, “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” (v. 35). Mary would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit’s “overshadowing” her. This miraculous work of the Spirit was also confirmed to Joseph: “what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:20). Both Luke and Matthew confirm that Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father and that Mary’s pregnancy was the result of divine activity.

The word overshadow is used here in the New Testament (Luke 1:35) and of the cloud at the Lord’s Transfiguration (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:34). In the Old Testament it refers to God’s glory covering the tabernacle: “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Exod. 40:34–35). By implication, the overshadowing made Mary’s womb a holy place for the Son of God to dwell and protected Him from the effects of sin.

The virginal conception was how “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14). Overshadowing was the means by which the Son of God entered Mary’s womb. While the word has no sexual connotations, it does indicate that the Spirit’s action provided the male genetic material for the pregnancy. The incarnate Son of God received from His mother a human body and a human nature without compromising His deity. The act of overshadowing ensured that the infant would be the “holy one” (Luke 1:35), free from the sin nature that marks every other human being. The sinlessness of the Lord Jesus Christ is taught consistently in the New Testament (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5). To save sinful humans, a sinless sacrifice was required (Exod. 12:5; John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:18–19). Jesus, the perfect Son of God, is the sole, all-sufficient sacrifice for sin.

Mary’s pregnancy fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” The writer of Hebrews, in 10:5, quotes Christ as saying “a body you prepared for me.” God the Father planned the incarnation; God the Son became flesh; and the Holy Spirit of God prepared Mary’s womb and the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 See: Advent, Immanuel, Jesus, Mary, Messiah, Nazarene, Virgin Birth