Jesus' Birth Foretold
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 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 father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered 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 called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
- Luke 1:26-38
In this passage, the angel Gabriel presents himself to Mary—a young, simple, wonderful girl who is “highly favoured" by God. The Greek captures it best—kechariomene: she was a special recipient of His grace. She had no dramatic accomplishments to earn favour, and was probably around sixteen years old.
Gabriel predicted 5 things about Mary’s son:
- He will be great
- He will be called the Son of the Most High (Mary would have known the significance of “Most High”)
- He will be given the throne of David
- He will reign over the house of Jacob forever
- His kingdom will never end
Yet, Mary did not seem surprised that the Messiah was to come, or at these things He was going to do. She didn’t doubt Gabriel but in verse 34, she asks how this would be possible since she was a virgin.
He assures her “nothing is impossible with God “(1:36), and as a sign, He points her to her relative Elizabeth who was older and barren. He mentions she is six months pregnant with John the Baptist. God has this all.
Mary enthusiastically submits (1:38) to God's plan in perfect peace, expectant that God will do what He says He will do.
And Westside, that is my prayer for you and for yours this Christmas season: that you would experience and feel God's amazing peace. He’s got you and He’s got this!
Rest in it.