Over the next few days, I will be breaking down and analyzing the Christmas story, from the point Mary found out she was pregnant to the wise men bringing Jesus the gifts. Today we are going to start with Gabriel telling Mary about Jesus…
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on 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. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.’” - Luke 1:26-37
Besides the Old Testament prophecies of Jesus’ birth, verses 26-37 of the first chapter of Luke introduce us to the Christmas story. We start out in verse 26 with the setting- place (Nazareth) and time (the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy). We are given a familiar name, Gabriel. Gabriel was the angel who told Zechariah that Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist.
We are introduced to Mary, a virgin. She was young and not yet married, but was planning to marry Joseph. No one is quite sure how old Mary was when she was told this news, but many believe she was in her younger teenage years. Although she was young and a commoner, God still chose her for this amazing job.
Gabriel greeted Mary by saying she was “highly favored.” Now I would be confused enough if an angel came up to me, but if he said I was highly favored, I probably would think something was up! She was startled by his greeting and was starting to worry. Gabriel replied to this saying “do not be afraid,” and he continues to tell her she has been favored by the Lord. After reassuring Mary, he tells her the news, “you will conceive and give birth to a son.” He explains that this child will do miraculous things and that he is the son of God. Of course, Mary is shocked and confused. She is a virgin and does not understand how this is possible. Although she is unsure of what is going to happen, she humbly accepts this because she is the Lord’s servant.
I love this part of the story because not only did God choose someone young to do His work, she accepted it with an open heart and open mind. And even though she was scared, she still did this.
Prayer
Dear God, I am very excited for the coming of Your son, our Savior. Help me learn from Mary to accept jobs with a grateful heart. Amen.
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