Knowing The Word in Advent, Luke 1:34-38

God The Spirit, God The Son, The Incarnation

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 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. 36 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. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 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.

Comments

While Zechariah disbelieved what Gabriel says to him, Mary was puzzled. She knew her biology and that the only one who can make her pregnant was Joseph. There could not be another way. Then Gabriel explained she will conceive through the power of the Holy Spirit who will “overshadow” her. She would not have sexual relations with a man or with God. Instead, Jesus would be conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit. He would be holy because he would not inherit the corrupted nature of Adam that all human beings have. He would be the Son of God.

What Mary heard from Gabriel about her pregnancy was astounding, and then he added to it telling her that her cousin Elizabeth was also expecting. She who was beyond childbearing years would have a son, and all of this was part of God’s plans. He could do anything he wanted, and he was doing.

Mary immediately submitted to God. Her response may seem natural in our eyes, but as we see in contrast to Zechariah, it was not. This was humble, obedient heroism. Yet to be married to Joseph, Mary might be in trouble. The penalty for pregnancy outside of marriage was death according to Deuteronomy 22:23-24: “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.” At this point, Mary could not be sure she would not suffer or perhaps die. Yet she recognized God’s will and accepted it. This was her quiet, obedient, humble heroism. Gabriel’s mission was accomplished, and he disappeared.

Application

Mary trusted the promises of God and obediently submitted herself to his plans. Do you trust the promises of God in your life? Where do you need to work on your obedience?

Prayer

Lord God, as Mary humbly accepted your word, your promise about her pregnancy, grant me the wisdom and strength to follow her example of trusting obedience. I desire to love you and obey your every command and promise, but I need your Spirit to lead me. Thank you for granting this request.