Luke 1:26-40Gabriel’s Announcement to Mary

Context

Situated in lower Galilee (distant from the Sea of Galilee and the town of Capernaum, which was so important in the career of Jesus), Nazareth was an unlikely home for Messiah's family.

Galilean towns tended to have populations in the range of five hundred to a thousand people. Nazareth, based on site surveys,

was smaller still.

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Context

It was not a place expected to produce great stirrings of messianic redemption. As Nathanael said to Philip, "Can there any good

thing come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). God has a way of choosing the small things for greatness.

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Context

"Mary," which in Hebrew appears as "Miriam" or "Maryam," was the most common Jewish name for women in our sources from

that time in the land of Israel. Luke emphasized in his manner of telling the story that she was

unmarried and a virgin, since this is a vital issue in understanding not only what happened to Mary but also the nature of Messiah

as the God-Man.

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Context

Jesus is called "Son of David" sixteen times in the New Testament. This is especially a title used by Matthew. Paul referred to Him, in good Jewish manner, as "made of the seed of David according to

the flesh" (Rom. 1:3). Of course, the long-awaited Messiah had to come from the line of

David according to numerous prophecies, such as Isaiah 11:1

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Context

Gabriel's greeting to Mary was a blessing, a statement of an important development coming from the divine hand.

As we read his words, the smallness of Nazareth, the young age of Mary, and the seeming insignificance of the scene all seem to

recede into the background. Yet we are now looking at the place where heaven meets earth.

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Context

Gabriel's greeting to Mary was a blessing, a statement of an important development coming from the divine hand.

Suddenly the smallness of Nazareth, the young age of Mary, and the seeming insignificance of the scene all seem to recede into the

background. Yet we are now looking at the place where heaven meets earth.

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Context

A blessing, prophecy, or psalm is often invoked in the Bible to show how significant an event was.

Gabriel was said to be one of the three angels who visited Abraham (Gen. 18:2), along with Michael and Raphael. Gabriel

was said to be the angel who overthrew Sodom. When Joseph was searching for his brothers, it was taught that the man who told

him where to find them (37:15-17) was Gabriel.

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Context

In Jewish literature, Gabriel is most frequently seen "as the emissary of God's strength. In fact, the Hebrew name Gavriel, or Gayer El, translates to 'God's might' or 'God's power'. . . always

known to be either the absolute strongest or among the strongest of the angels"

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Context

Based on similar angelic visits in Genesis and Judges, it is likely that Gabriel appeared simply as a man.

In her culture, it would have been very unusual to be greeted by an unknown man unless he was asking for her father.

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Luke 1:26

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

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Luke 1:26

During the sixth month after Elizabeth had conceived John the Baptist, the angel Gabriel, who had appeared to Zechariah in the

temple and had foretold the conception and birth of John the Baptist, was sent by God to visit the virgin Mary, who would soon

become the mother of Jesus the Messiah.

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Luke 1:26

Whereas John’s parents were of the tribe of Levi and lived in Judea, Mary and Joseph were of the tribe of Judah and they lived

north of Judea in land formerly occupied by the northern kingdom, called the Kingdom of Israel.

Since Elizabeth and Mary were related, Mary may also have had some Levite priests in her ancestry. Joseph, who would become

Jesus’ legal father, was of the house of David of the tribe of Judah.

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Luke 1:27

to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s

name was Mary

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Luke 1:27

Some Bible teachers state that the virgin Mary was probably only 12 or 13 years old when the angel Gabriel appeared to her;

however, just because some rabbis say a girl at that time could be engaged or betrothed to be married at the age of 12 and married

at the age of 13 is no indication that Mary was that young. Mary was probably younger than 20 years old, but the Bible does

not indicate her age.

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Luke 1:27

We can logically assume that God could have chosen an older girl for her sake as well as for the sake of her Son.

Mary would travel great distances for that historical period of time, and she would face hardships both before and after Jesus’ birth.

An older girl could probably deal with these hardships easier than a very young girl. Mary would probably travel 90 to 100 miles (a 3 or 4 day journey at least) to visit Elizabeth before John’s birth and then travel back to Nazareth. She would travel about that same

distance again when she traveled to Bethlehem with Joseph (a 3 or 4 day journey at least) immediately before the birth of Jesus.

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Luke 1:27

The name “Mary” means “bitter, flower.” The name “Joseph” means “May he (God) add (sons).” Though tradition seems to teach that Joseph was a much older man than Mary, the Bible does not tell us his age either; so he may have been close to

Mary’s age.

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Luke 1:27

Jesus declared that He was the root of (or the foundation of or the beginning of or the life-giving means of sustaining) the House of

David as well as a descendant of the House of David, saying “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star”

(Revelation 22:16).

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Luke 1:28

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

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Luke 1:28

The angel Gabriel did not appear to Mary in a way that would frighten her. We are not told that he appeared to her in a dream.

He may have simply knocked on the door of her home and greeted her.

For the Lord to be with you is an indication that the Lord will help you. Mary may have wondered what God wanted and why she

would especially need God’s help.

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Luke 1:29

But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be

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Luke 1:29

Mary’s first response to the angel was perplexity or confusion. She had no idea what the angel might want or what message God had

sent the angel to bring her. As far as we know, nothing in her previous experience had

prepared her to expect a meeting with an angel. She had a brief moment to wonder why God favored her and an angel had

appeared to her.

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Luke 1:30

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary,

for you have found favor with God.

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Luke 1:30

Perhaps the initial appearance of the angel did not frighten Mary, but perplexity could lead to fear. The angel came to give her a

message, and he did not want her to be frightened by his message or by him.

God intended to bless her and give her the opportunity to serve Him.

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Luke 1:30

To comfort and encourage her, the angel mentioned twice that she was favored.

God had His own reasons for “favoring” Mary above all other women, but surely He had prepared her mentally, physically,

morally, and spiritually in advance to be the mother of His Son; just as He had prepared Moses in advance to save His people from

bondage in Egypt.

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Luke 1:30

In fact, instead of being distressed, Mary needed to know that she was favored by God. "Favor" and "grace" are related words.

Was Mary favored because she was a fitting person to be the mother of Messiah or was this favor beyond what any person

could deserve? Most likely both are true.

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Luke 1:31

And now, you will conceive in your womb and

bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.

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Luke 1:31

Mary had found favor with God because God had chosen and prepared her to be the mother of Jesus before she was born, as

the psalmist so eloquently declared about himself and all of God’s chosen ones: “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you

knit me together in my mother's womb” (Psalm 139:13).

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Luke 1:31

Gabriel's words to Mary in Luke 1:31 are almost identical to those of the angelic visitor to the wife of Manoah, the mother of

Samson (Judg. 13:3).

A number of people in the Bible were named before birth: Ishmael, Isaac, Isaiah's son, and John the Baptist, to name a few

(Gen. 16:11; 17:19; Isa. 8:1, 3; Luke 1:13).

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Luke 1:31

That name Jesus is derived from the Old Testament name Joshua, which itself is derived from the expression “The Lord saves.”

As Joshua was the leader of Israel in taking the land that God had promised, so Jesus will lead the greater fulfillment of God’s

promise to save.

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Luke 1:31

The Bible does not say that Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit before she was born (as the Bible teaches about John the Baptist),

but God would now enter Mary’s life to prepare her to serve as the mother of the Son of God. Mary already had the moral,

spiritual, mental, and physical qualities but now His Spirit would overshadow her.

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Luke 1:32

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 ancestor

David.

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Luke 1:32

The greatness of Messiah is explained in terms from the Old Testament, drawing the mind of the reader to the origins of the

Messiah concept.

The king from whose line Messiah would come was David. Before David was born, prophecies about him also looked ahead to

Messiah (Gen. 49:10; Num. 24:17).

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Luke 1:32

In the temple, the angel Gabriel told Zechariah some things about John’s future ministry; after John’s birth, the Holy Spirit filled

Zechariah and directed him to give his newborn son the title “the prophet of the Most High” (Luke 1:76).

The angel Gabriel told Mary about Jesus, and why Jesus would be called “the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32).

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Luke 1:32

Having the “throne of his ancestor David” meant Jesus would be the long expected and prophesied Messiah whose reign would

never end.

This had been the prayer of Mary.

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Luke 1:33

He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

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Luke 1:33

Mary did not know or understand all that the angel meant when he declared these facts about Jesus’ future, about the Son she

would bear.

The “house of Jacob” included all of the 12 tribes of Israel, not just the tribe of Judah, even though the northern kingdom, which was

called the Kingdom of Israel, had been destroyed in 722 BC.

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Luke 1:33

Perhaps the angel used the term “house of Jacob” so no one would mistake his meaning and try to distinguish the Kingdom of Judah from the destroyed Kingdom of Israel (Jacob’s name had

been changed by God from Jacob to Israel).

Because Jesus would live forever after His death and resurrection and sit at the right hand of God the Father, His kingdom would

never end.

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Luke 1:34

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since

I am a virgin?”

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Luke 1:34

Mary realized immediately what seemed wrong with the announcement she received from God: how could a virginal

maiden conceive?

Though Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, she was not married yet and she had never done anything toward the

conception of a child. Therefore, she wanted to know what she was to do in order to conceive her child, Jesus the Messiah.

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Luke 1:34

The angel would tell her that the only thing she needed to do was receive this blessed gift of God. She was not to seek an earthly

husband to be the physical father of Jesus.

She, of course, married Joseph, who became the legal father of Jesus and who would help care for and raise Him in a godly home.

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Luke 1:35

The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will

come upon you, and the power of the Most

High will overshadow you; therefore the child

to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of

God.

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Luke 1:35

Gabriel's answer is in poetic form, like the Psalms, using parallelism. The Spirit would come upon Mary, and the power of

the Highest would overshadow her. The Spirit had come upon people many times—on prophets, judges, and kings.

Yet the overshadowing of God's power on a person is a unique expression. The meaning seems to be that God would cause a

conception inside Mary.

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Luke 1:35

The angel told her what would happen, but he did not give her (nor do the gospel writers give) much specific information or

details about how she would receive the blessed gift of a baby, who would be the Son of God.

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Luke 1:35

Any supernatural medical explanation would have been beyond her comprehension and the comprehension of those she might tell

(including us today). The conception of the true Son of God was totally unlike the myths of the Greek gods in classical or modern fiction.

Jesus is fully divine and fully human. He is not half divine and half human. Both natures operate simultaneously. Many errors in

understanding Jesus happen when people omit one in preference for the other.

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Luke 1:36

And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age

has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth

month for her who was said to be barren.

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Luke 1:35

The angel then gave Mary information that she could use to help her during this time of dramatic change in her life.

She would visit Elizabeth, who in her old age would give Mary much wise advice and confirm for her what the angel had told her.

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Luke 1:35

The Bible often requires two witnesses to confirm a legal fact, and filled with the Holy Spirit Elizabeth would serve as a second witness for Mary that the angel’s appearance was real and Mary’s child was the Son of God. Elizabeth would also serve as a second witness for

Joseph and Mary when Mary told Joseph about the angel’s appearance to Zechariah and to her and the miraculous birth of John;

thus confirming for Joseph that his own angelic dream about Jesus and His mother Mary was an authentic revelation from God.

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Luke 1:35

Some historians think the movement started by John the Baptist continued for a time into the early days of the church. It is

possible that some of his disciples did not accept Jesus as the Messiah proclaimed by John.

Perhaps Luke was careful to include the parallels and show the greater role of Jesus from the beginning in order to teach

followers of John the Baptist faith.

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Luke 1:37

For nothing will be impossible with God.” .

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Luke 1:37

In the context of Luke 1:36, it was not impossible for God to give supernaturally the boy Isaac to Sarah and the boy Samuel to Hannah through natural human means in their old age; therefore, it was not impossible for God to use natural means to supernaturally give the boy John to Elizabeth in her old age. It would not be impossible for God to give Mary a Son who did not have a physical human father,

and God would do so in a way fitting for this Holy Child.

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Luke 1:37

In Jesus’ conception, the Holy Spirit would “overshadow” Mary. “Overshadow” is the term the angel used when he told Mary how she would conceive the Son of God, and “overshadow” is a term similar to the word used in the Bible when God descended over

the tabernacle after Moses set it up.

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Luke 1:38

Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the

Lord; let it be with me according to your

word.” Then the angel departed from her.

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Luke 1:38

Mary humbly submitted to the will of God by committing each new day to God using the very words that she spoke to the angel,

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord.”

Mary accepted her place as the domestic slave of God. Words for servanthood and slavery were interchangeable in the ancient

world.

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Luke 1:38

Mary could hardly have failed to realize that the role God demanded of her was difficult. She was being asked to bear the shame of

reproach and even the danger of punishment for conceiving an ostensibly illegitimate child.

Today, disciples of Jesus can say to God each morning with respect to the day ahead, “Let it be with me according to the Bible” or “Let it be with me according to your word” or “Tell me what to do and I will do

it, because I am your willing servant.”

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Luke 1:39

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country,

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Luke 1:39

Sometime after the angel spoke to her, Mary set out to visit Elizabeth and Zechariah. The Bible does not tell us the birthplace of John the

Baptist beyond the fact that he was born in a Judean town in hill country, which may have been near Jerusalem where Zechariah

served as a priest or it may have been close to the wilderness where John began his ministry.

Though Jesus was raised in Nazareth, He too would be born in a Judean town, Bethlehem, the city of David.

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Luke 1:39

where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

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Luke 1:40

Elizabeth would have been more than six months pregnant by the time Mary reached her. It seems that Mary probably stayed with Elizabeth until after the birth of John the Baptist, and perhaps a

little longer to help her and the new baby boy.

Her stay with Elizabeth for three months would have been both a spiritual and practical help to both of them, and Mary could learn

from experience more about how to care for a newborn baby.

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Luke 1:40

She would also hear the prophecy of Zechariah about John and Jesus, when God opened Zechariah’s mouth and he was filled with

the Holy Spirit.

She would have many things to tell Joseph when she returned to her home.

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Conclusion

The angelic appearance occurred when Israel was under the rule of the Roman Empire. The Romans conquered Judea in 63 BC;

about 20 years later, they consolidated their power further through King Herod the Great. He was a ruthless local ruler who

cooperated with Rome.

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Conclusion

The Romans were skilled administrators, but their rule over Israel was still oppressive. Most offensive of all, the Romans were

pagans—worshippers of false gods. Roman rule meant that the injustice and moral evils of that empire were sustained by

allegiance to false gods who represented that evil.

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Conclusion

The Roman Empire was not the first pagan kingdom to rule over Israel, of course. Before Rome, the Greeks held sway during a part

of the period of time between the Old and New Testaments. Before the rise of Greece, Persia was the great power. Before the

Persians there were the Babylonians, and before them the Assyrians. Israel’s history of being dominated by pagan empires

went back many centuries.

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Conclusion

Even so, the faithful of Israel clung to the ancient promise that God would not abandon His people. The God of all the nations of the earth had promised that He would restore His blessing to all the

nations (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18).

He had promised to Israel a king greater than David, a king whose throne would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:12, 13; Isaiah 9:6, 7;

Jeremiah 23:5–8). Through generations, God’s people held fast to their hope in God.

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Conclusion

Jesus’ conception began the climax of God’s saving plan. What God called Mary to do was unique. But the larger truth is that God

consistently does His work through the seemingly weak.

The child whom Mary bore was part of that pattern. Though all-powerful, He ministered among the weak and sick. Though

without sin, He willingly associated with sinners (Luke 5:30–32).

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Conclusion

We serve our mighty king not by lording it over people, but by serving them (Luke 22:25–27). We see God’s kingdom advance not in the rich, powerful institutions of the world, but as the Spirit of

God empowers His people from the inside.

Like Mary, will we trust the God who issues the call?

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