The Gospel Is for the Lowly (Luke 1:26–38)

November 17th, 2025

Who Is the Gospel For?

If we launched a brand-new product—a left-handed, self-gyroscopically stabilizing coffee mug—the first question in the pitch meeting would be simple:

Who is this for?
Left-handed, clumsy coffee drinkers. That’s just advertising 101.

So let’s ask the same question of something far more important:
Who is the gospel for?

As we kick off our Christmas series E Is for Everyone, we’re walking through the story of Jesus’ birth to see this truth on repeat:

Different people.
Different backgrounds.
Different status.
One Savior over all of them.

Titus 2:11 says: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.”

Today, we start with the people many assume God would skip:
The lowly.
The overlooked.
The ordinary.

And we start with a teenage girl from a nowhere town.

God’s Pattern: Choosing the Lowly

God has a long history of using people no one would’ve picked for anything important:

Gideon – A fearful farmer hiding in a winepress, called a “mighty warrior.”
Ruth – A foreign widow with no status, grafted into the lineage of Christ.
David – The forgotten shepherd boy, an afterthought to his own dad, anointed king.
Amos – A fig picker and shepherd, called to speak for God.
Peter, James, and John – Ordinary fishermen turned into apostles.
Mary – A teenage girl from Nazareth, chosen to carry the Son of God.

God consistently bypasses the platforms, the pedigrees, and the power structures—and chooses the lowly as the stage for His glory.

When God Chooses the Lowly, He Reveals His Glory (vv. 26–30)

Luke 1 drops us into the “sixth month” of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. An angel has already appeared to Zechariah. Now the same angel—Gabriel—is sent again.
Where?
Not to Rome.
Not to Jerusalem.
Not to the palace.

“…to a city of Galilee named Nazareth” (Luke 1:26)

Nazareth was small, forgettable, unimportant—maybe 300–400 people. People joked:

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46)

Gabriel is not sent to a queen or a priest’s daughter, but:

“to a virgin betrothed… and the virgin’s name was Mary.” (Luke 1:27)

If you lined up the “important” people of the ancient world, Mary wouldn’t even be in the room. She was:

Young
Poor
Female
From a nobody town

Yet the angel says:

“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you… You have found favor with God.” (Luke 1:28, 30)

“Favor” isn’t earned—it’s given. It’s grace.

This is the heart of the gospel:
God chooses the lowly not because they’re worthy, but because He is gracious.

Mary wasn’t chasing the spotlight.
The light found her.

When God Calls the Lowly, He Interrupts Their Plans for a Greater Purpose (vv. 31–34)

Mary’s life was simple and predictable:

Betrothed to Joseph
Expecting a normal, quiet marriage
Planning a life in a small town

Then Gabriel says:

“You will conceive… and you shall call his name Jesus.
He will be great… and will reign on David’s throne.” (Luke 1:31–32)

In one moment, her “normal” life is gone:

Her reputation is at risk.
Her marriage could be threatened.
Her comfort evaporates.
Her expectations shatter.

Her honest response:

“How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34)

She isn’t doubting; she’s awestruck.

When God calls the lowly, He interrupts their plans for a greater purpose.

We’ve all felt this:

A job falls through.
A diagnosis comes back.
A relationship shifts.
A perfectly-planned path disappears.

Mary moves from “How can this be?” to “Let it be to me according to your word.”

Not understanding everything…
But trusting the One who does.

When God Empowers the Lowly, He Turns Surrender into Strength (vv. 35–38)

Gabriel explains the impossible:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you… For nothing will be impossible with God.” (v. 35, 37)

Mary’s contribution is not talent or status.
Her contribution is surrender:

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (v. 38)

That’s all God needs.

Gideon had 300 men.
Moses had a staff.
David had five stones.
Mary had surrender.

God doesn’t empower the proud;
He empowers the yielded.

The Gospel Really Is for the Lowly

Picture a small country church on Christmas Eve.

Everyone looks put together—except for one young woman in the back row, worn and weary. She whispers:
“I shouldn’t be here… I don’t belong in a place like this. My life is a mess. People like me stay in the back.”

The pastor opens not to the shepherds or wise men, but to Luke 1.
He reads about Mary, the “favored one.”

He explains:

God chose someone lowly.
God called someone lowly.
God empowered someone lowly.

Not because she was worthy—but because she was surrendered.

Then he tells her:
“Jesus came into the world through someone just like you, so He could come for someone just like you.”

That night, she surrendered her life to Christ—not because she had anything to offer, but because she finally believed:
The gospel really is for the lowly.

And that includes you.