Mary and Job and Jesus - 2026 Job Lenten Midweek 5 
Based on Job 38:1-11 and Luke 1:26-38.

You can access the audio of the sermon HERE.  

Only nine months till Christmas.  Do you have your celebrations prepared? 

   Christmas is celebrated on December 25^th because early church fathers believed the crucifixion happened on March 25^th, which is, based on the date of Passover, a strong possibility.  Added to this, the ancients held a cyclical idea about human life, that the day one is conceived would also be the day one dies.  March 25^th, was understood to be the date of Good Friday, when Jesus died, and so also the date of the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel told Mary she would be the mother of God’s Son, and the Christ was miraculously conceived in her womb.  Nine months later is December 25^th.  And so tonight, we get to sing a Christmas carol.  Which is cool. 

   Also cool is this: the book of Job gives us a microcosm of the entire Biblical narrative.  Both share an idyllic beginning, the man and the woman in the Garden of Eden in Genesis, and Job’s wonderful life, full of blessings, described in chapter one.  Then Satan intervenes.  In the Garden he took on the form of a serpent to successfully tempt the woman and the man to sin.  In Job the evil one responded to the Lord’s praise of Job with a challenge: Allow me to ruin Job’s life, God, and he will curse You to Your face.

   Suffering and confusion result, but a promise sustains the faithful, the promise of the Seed of the woman Who would come and defeat Satan.  Job believed this promise, handed down to him, father and mother to children, through the generations.  The fulfillment of this promise forms the central narrative of the Bible.  But first comes a long period of confusion, and a struggle to be faithful, and the plague unfaithful preachers.  Job had his worthless friends, who were sure Job was hiding some sin that was the cause of his suffering.  God’s people had to deal with false prophets, preachers who pretended to speak for the Lord, but who in reality were proclaiming “Peace, peace!” when there was no peace.  False prophets consistently denied that Israel’s problems were due to their sins, and that God was going to punish them for them. 

   Like Job, God’s chosen people were often perplexed and persecuted, and looked forward to the chance to meet God face to face, to ask why they were suffering, and above all, to be delivered.   

   In both stories, the desired meeting finally happens, but the mystery is only increased.  God’s Way is so much greater than our understanding.  But His way is true and good.  And so the longed-for appearance of God on the scene was good news, for Job, for Mary, and for us.  God’s appearance to His people leads to their final restoration, at the end of Job, and at the end of the book of Revelation. 

   The book of Job describes in the story of one man the broad arc of the Biblical narrative.  There are certainly lots of details missing, necessary truths about salvation.  Job can’t replace the whole Bible.  But the thrust of things in Job matches the overall thrust of things in the Bible.   

   Chapter 38 of Job then is the Annunciation and Christmas rolled into one.  God shows up to respond to Job’s questions, and also to deliver His chosen one.  But the meeting does not go how Job expected.

   Job expected to debate with God, to lay out his case and compel God to see his point.  But, the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: ² “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?  ³ Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.  ⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?  Tell me, if you have understanding.

   Job believed the Lord was his Savior, but he failed to understand how much greater God is than the wisest man, how much of God’s Way is beyond human comprehension.  God comes and shows Job all that he could never understand, just in the Creation.  Job can only repent in dust and ashes. 

   Still, God’s arrival is the best of news for Job.  God corrected him, to be sure.  The Lord asks Job 70 questions, seven the number of divine perfection, times 10, the number of the Law.  In this full examination, Job came to understand better and accept his limits.  But, he was also restored.  Job was God’s beloved child, and so Job was restored.  His understanding was faulty, but his faith in God was vindicated.   

   Job repents of seeking to know unknowable things, and God forgives and restores him, doubly.  His suffering is removed, and he received double back of all that he lost.  Before Satan attacked he had 7,000 sheep, now 14,000.  3,000 camels, now 6,000.  He had 10 children, and he received 10 new children. 

   Wait, why not 20 children?  Because the first 10 sons and daughters were not truly lost to Job, he would be reunited with them in the resurrection!  The end of Job includes a promise of a heavenly reunion with all the faithful departed.      

   Mary and Job both ask famous questions.  Job asked “how is it possible that God’s righteous followers, those who are trust in promises and so are declared righteous by God, still face suffering?”  Mary asks “how is it possible that a virgin should conceive a son?” 

   Through Job’s question we begin to learn that salvation only comes through suffering, that the cost of the Fall into sin is suffering, not just for wicked unbelievers, but also for the restoration of believers.  Job is among the first Old Testament saints who suffer in order to foreshadow the Savior, the Suffering Servant who would one day come and redeem the world: by His stripes, we are healed. 

   Mary’s question was simple biology.  She understood where babies came from.  From Gabriel we discover that God was doing something new, that Mary’s pregnancy was the beginning of something entirely unique, that had never happened before and would only happen once.  A virgin conceived and bore God’s Son.  This birth unlike any other birth also brought suffering unlike any other suffering.  Mary would suffer, tremendously, but even more, her Son would suffer in a unique and redemptive way

    For both Job and Mary, God’s reply to their question is more or less that “I am God, I say so, and so this is how it is.”  God doesn’t explain suffering to Job, He delivers him from it.  The angel does not explain the mystery of how God could become a man, he just says God was going to do this thing.  This lack of explanation can be frustrating to us.  But, the reliability and power of God’s Word is also our great comfort.  When God says to you and me: “I forgive you all your sins,” we, with Job and Mary, can trust that Word, and rejoice, because what God says always happens! 

   The Mystery of God coming to us is too great for us to fully comprehend.  But it is not too great to be believed.  Like Mary did, whose faith in God’s Word of promise prepared her for her calling, which included great suffering. 

   The suffering of Job was obvious, first the loss of flocks, herds, servants, and most bitterly, his children.  Then suffering came to his body, with terrible boils.  What about Mary?  Well, no doubt her miraculous pregnancy leads to suspicion.  Who would believe her?  Would her fiancé?  Not at first, but thanks to an angelic visit to Joseph’s dreams, he believes and stays with Mary. 

   Still, Mary felt it necessary to go and hide at her cousins house in the hill country.  Was this to avoid prying eyes and rude questions?  Then, late in her pregnancy, she and Joseph have to journey to Bethlehem.  The birth was forever blessed, and filled with wonders, but 40 days later at the Temple, Simeon would speak of suffering.  Yes, the Child would be the deliverance of Israel and the light of the nations, but, he told Mary, a sword will pierce your soul too. 

   This was the deepest suffering of Mary.  Job was a great man of faith, but he was only righteous by faith, not on his own merits.  He was a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness, and he received it.  But Mary’s Son was truly righteous in His essence; in every thought word and deed He was without sin.  Jesus was truly innocent, truly righteous, and yet He suffered.  This is why He came, to suffer for the salvation of the world.  And Mary had to watch.  I don’t think she could look away from watching her grown-up, perfect Son get treated like the worst sinner ever.   

   Job’s suffering was ultimately resolved by God’s appearance.  The Lord confronted, corrected, and commissioned Job to intercede for his worthless friends.  And then Job was restored.   

   Mary’s suffering was also resolved by God’s appearance, it was fulfilled by Jesus, along with all the other suffering necessary for the whole world.  But Mary’s restoration took longer.  Thirty-three years she loved and watched her Son.  In the end, she saw Him rejected by His own people, unjustly accused, tortured and crucified.  Mary watched her Son die on that Roman cross. 

   But then, He appeared again.  In the Resurrection, Mary’s suffering and questions were finally resolved, once, and for all! 

   The God who showed up in a whirlwind to correct Job is the same God who took up residence for nine months in Mary’s womb.  In all of His appearances, He comes to take on our need, our suffering, our sorrow, and redeem them all, so that we can be restored.

    It is nine months to Christmas, when we celebrate the biggest baby reveal ever, the face of God found in a newborn, the Incarnation.  Holy Week is next week, when we celebrate the most important 8 days in all of history.  Christmas and Holy Week are coming.  Have you prepared your celebrations? 

   Relax, God has prepared the best celebration, for you.  By all means, plan your own add-ons.  Bake a ham, or a brisket, host your friends and family.  Do whatever wonderful things you want to add to the celebration. 

   But first and most importantly, gather around the celebration of Jesus, for this is the greatest celebration,  

 the family gathering God invites you to join,   

where you can hear Him tell you of His love for you, again,  

where you will be reminded of what He did to remove your sin,  

where you can take your place at His table, to be fed by your High Priest,

who made Himself your Sacrifice.   

The only God and Savior has come, for Job, for Mary, and for you.                         

Your God and Savior is here, as He promised, wherever His people gather in His Name.  He is present to deliver forgiveness, freedom and wisdom, to you.     

Your God and Savior will come again, visibly, one more time

not in a whirlwind, with Words of correction,  

not as a baby, born to suffer.

No, some day soon Jesus will come as your Victor King, riding the clouds of glory, to take you and all His chosen home with Himself, to give you more than double your blessings, to bring you to live with Him, and with all the faithful of all time, including Job and Mary.  Rejoice in Jesus, God in flesh, come to save you, today, and forever and ever, Amen.