Luke 1.26 In the sixth month, 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 be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name 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 the house of Jacob 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 upon 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 barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

A college English class was instructed to write a short story in as few words as possible. The instructions were that it had to include Religion, Sexuality and Mystery. One student, a girl, was the only one who received an A+ for her response. Remember the story had to include religion, sexuality and mystery. This is what she wrote: “Good God, I’m pregnant, I wonder who did it.”

Yes I am considering using that story tomorrow! Luke tells a different sort of divine pregnancy mystery:

Verse 26, by mentioning the timing of Mary’s pregnancy compared with Elizabeth’s, along with the same angel who had appeared to both families, connects Mary and Elizabeth, John and Jesus. John and Jesus probably sawe one another several times each year, and their ministries overlapped several times as John prepared the way for Jesus.

sixth month not the 6th month of the calendar, but the 6th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy.

angel Gabriel Angels do not operate on their own; they serve at God’s direction. Gabriel did not have any authority or ability to go places on his own; he only went and spoke at God’s command. Have a look at Gabriel’s Old Testament history sometime.

Local readers would know of Nazareth; describing its location in Galilee is meant for readers not familiar with Palestine. In verse 27, virgin and betrothed tell us that Mary and Joseph were in the traditional engagement period set up by their families, who no doubt had arranged their marriage. The word translated virgin means either a woman who has not had intercourse, or a young, unmarried woman, carrying the implication of virginity. No sexual contact was to happen during betrothal; so strong is the tradition of Joseph NOT being Jesus’ father that Matthew (13:55) quotes the Nazareth rumor mill calling Jesus “Mary’s son,” implying not that Mary slept with Joseph, but with another man. Had Joseph been clearly known as the boy’s father, Jesus would have been referred to as “Jesus, son of Joseph” – a Jewish boy is never named as his mother’s son.

The advantage of being born into Joseph’s family is that Jesus was qualified as a descendant of David, an important piece of royal destiny which would prove significant as the story of Jesus’ life unfolded, starting below at verse 32.

In v. 28 The angel went to her literally reads “went in to her” meaning that the visit happened indoors, where Mary was staying likely in her family home.

Mary is highly favored because God has chosen her to mother the Messiah. Mary is not picked because of a special virtue which she had. She is just like any other Jewish girl being married off by her family at the typical early-to-mid teen age. God chooses an ordinary girl from an ordinary village to bear an extraordinary child. God chooses Mary and his Spirit is with her; thus she is highly favored.

Mary was greatly troubled (29) at the angel’s greeting, no doubt startled by this supernatural event. After all, she was just a nice, proper Jewish girl about to be married to a righteous man. Her life was going according to plan. What was this angel-visit all about?

Gabriel responded by attempting to calm Mary, assuring her of God’s plan. (30) Try and notice how often people in the gospels are assured by angels and Jesus that they should not be afraid. Fear is a reality we create; yet a state of mind we can leave by hearing God’s word, being assured of God’s plan.

Mary hears news both wonderful and life-shattering, that her plan for her life is about to be derailed, but that God’s plan is far better. She’s been blessed by God, chosen to mother the savior, the God-in-flesh baby.

All this means that she must wait to see the end of it all. The short-term will be a severe mix of glory and pain. In the coming months and years, she’ll experience the joy of childbirth and the pain of a changed life and ruined reputation. Her relationship with Joseph will be tested; her personal faith even more so as Jesus lives his extraordinary life and is executed while Mary watches.

But the waiting and pain will be more than worth it; in her innermost being, Mary knows this. So she makes the only choice she can, to accept the choice which God has made for her, to be God’s servant, to wait out all of God’s doings in her life and in in her Son’s.

Jesus/salvation will be his name (31), named as the earlier Israelite savior Joshua. His greatness would be told of throughout history and eternity, as would his identity – God’s Son, King over Israel forever (32-33).

Mary asks the obvious question in verse 34, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Gabriel answers with a clear proclamation of the nature of Jesus’ birth. Remember the angel’s role, to say that which God wants to be made known. The message from God in 35-37 is clear; this birth is a miracle from God.

The miracle is explained in two ways – first, what it is not, and second, what it is.

The thing happening to Mary is not natural or physical, for as Mary confesses in 34, the sex required for conception had not occurred, not with Joseph, not with anyone. Jesus is not the son of Joseph or of any man.

He is the Son of God. His conception and birth are both supernatural and spiritual. To accomplish this God sent His presence, the Holy Spirit. The angel visited Mary to prepare her heart for a visit from God, who would supernaturally cause her to become pregnant with Jesus.

Gabriel compares Mary with her cousin Elizabeth, whose pregnancy was also helped along by the Spirit, though in a different way. For nothing is impossible with God. (37) The point is clear, all this is from God and not from any human design.

What remains? Only Mary’s response, to wait upon God as His servant:

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”

What’s our response when the world is rocked, when it’s not yet clear how things will turn out?

I waited patiently for the Lord /He inclined and heard my cry / He brought me up out of the pit /Out of the miry clay / You set my feet upon a rock / And made my footsteps firm / Many will see, many will see and hear / I will sing, sing a new song / How long to sing this song?

“40″ by U2 (watch performance below from Chicago)

run to Sunday!