The gospel is more than eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus Christ; it is an invitation to an intimate relationship with God. Alistair Begg helps us to understand the heart of the gospel message by pointing us towards the miraculous birth of Jesus.

“God has not come to a noble family, to a princess in a regal environment, but has come to a nondescript slip of a girl and to a place that is really kind of a backwater province of the Middle East.”

Mary was chosen by God to conceive the savior of the world so that we could have an intimate relationship with Him. Alistair reflects on Mary’s Song of gratitude in Luke 1:52-53,

“When she sings concerning the nature of what has happened to her, she actually sings about that very point. She says that ‘He has brought down the mighty from their thrones, and He exults the humble. The rich He has sent away empty and yet He fills the hungry with good things.’”

The gospel message clearly has a selfless nature, and yet, today’s culture is often preoccupied with the desires of the flesh.

“God’s interest in things is so vastly different from our own. Those of us who have become preoccupied with wealth or by status, then we find this quite alarming.”

“At the same time, many who have embraced and are the beneficiaries of these things, will often testify to the fact that they haven’t provided the satisfaction that they thought they may, and that they are actually hungry people, not physically hungry, but they’re spiritually hungry.”

“Mary gets to the very heart of it in explaining that God is this kind of God, He operates in this way, and with these people.”

For further understanding, Alistair describes his relationship to the Queen of England verses His relationship with Jesus Christ.

“I have dual citizenship and retain a loyal respect for her majesty, but she’s inaccessible; she’s behind gates whether she’s in her residence in Scotland, in Edinburgh, in Balmoral or certainly down in Buckingham Palace, and she’s far removed from me.”

“Yet, when we think of this amazing story of the incarnation, it is that the King of the Universe has stepped down into time in the person of the Lord Jesus. He has actually come and stepped through the boundary that exists between ourselves and Him, and made it possible for us to enter into a relationship with Him.”

The greatest gift of all was given to us through Mary two thousand years ago; an intimate, personal relationship with God that is available to each and every person on earth. Alistair says this is a great truth to keep in mind when sharing the gospel with others.


Alistair Begg has served as the Senior pastor at Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio since 1983. He was born and raised in Glasgow, Scottland and has degrees from Trent University, London School of Theology, and Westminster Seminary. His sermons are broadcast on the radio and can be heard on his website Truth for Life.

The heart of the gospel
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