4  The Divine  Announcement  to Mary  (Luke 1:26–33)

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 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 name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (1:26–33)

Christmas is arguably the most widely celebrated of all the world’s holidays, involving more people and nations than any other. But at the same time, it is perhaps the most misunderstood of all the major holidays. Other holidays honor famous people or commemorate significant historical events (as, for example, Presidents’ Day, Independence Day, and Veterans’ Day do in the United States). Christmas, however, honors a divine person and remembers a divine event; it does not celebrate human achievement, but divine accomplishment. Santa Claus, crowded shopping malls, office parties, alcohol consumption, gift giving, holiday decorations, and family get-togethers do not reflect the true meaning of Christmas. There is nothing man-made about the Christmas story. It is the most miraculous, compelling narrative in history, as the Holy Spirit relates the dramatic story of Jesus Christ’s birth. Those who truly celebrate Christmas do so by remembering the profound reality that God sent His only begotten Son to die for the sins of all who put their faith in Him.

Although the most complete accounts of Christ’s birth appear in the gospels of Matthew and Luke (Matt. 1:18–2:12; Luke 1:26–2:20), they are not the first biblical references to the coming of God the Son. After Adam and Eve’s disobedience plunged the human race into sin, God promised that one called the seed of the woman would come (Gen. 3:15) to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). In his prophecy concerning his sons, Jacob said about Judah, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh (the one to whom it belongs; i.e., the Messiah, the true King, the Lion of the tribe of Judah [Rev. 5:5]) comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples” (Gen. 49:10). Moses had in mind the future coming of Messiah when he told the people of Israel,

Psalm 2:6–9 records God’s promise that His Son, the Messiah, would come to rule the world:

Isaiah predicted that “a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14). He further wrote concerning this amazing child,

Isaiah also predicted in detail Messiah’s sacrificial death as a substitute for the sins of His people (52:13–53:12); Daniel predicted the time of His coming (Dan. 9:25–26); Micah the place of His birth (Mic. 5:2). The Old Testament is replete with other prophecies concerning His life and ministry (e.g., Pss. 40:7–8; 110:1, 4; 118:22, 26; Isa. 8:14; 11:2, 10; 28:16; 61:1–2; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 9:9; 12:10; 13:7), so much so that on the road to Emmaus the risen Christ chided His followers for failing to recognize their significance and applicability to Him:

The promise of a Savior, for centuries the hope of the faithful, believing remnant of Israel, continued its realization with Gabriel’s second appearance, this time to a young woman. Luke’s simple, unadorned, unembellished account of Gabriel’s announcement to Mary emphasizes the divine character of Christ’s birth. It reveals the divine messenger, the divine choice, the divine blessing, and the divine child.

THE DIVINE MESSENGER

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, (1:26)

As noted in the chapter 2 of this volume, Gabriel’s appearance to Zacharias had broken four centuries of revelatory silence. Astonishingly, just a short while later in the sixth month (of Elizabeth’s pregnancy) the angel Gabriel was once again sent from God with a revelation that would be the most significant birth announcement the world has ever known, heralding the most monumentally significant event in human history—the birth of the only Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gabriel delivered this crucial message from God not to Jerusalem as might be expected, but to a city in Galilee called Nazareth. To call Nazareth a city (as the NASB translation does) is somewhat misleading. Nazareth was by no stretch of the imagination a city in the modern sense of the word; it was actually a small village of only a few hundred people. (The Greek word translated city actually refers to a population center as opposed to a rural area, regardless of size.) For the benefit of his Gentile readers, who may not have been familiar with Palestinian geography, Luke noted that Nazareth was in Galilee, about seventy-five to one hundred miles north of Jerusalem.

So obscure and insignificant was this tiny hamlet that it is not even mentioned in the Old Testament, the Talmud, or the writings of Josephus. (Despite the claims of some skeptics, however, archaeological evidence proves that Nazareth did in fact exist in Jesus’ day [cf. E. M. Blaiklock and R. K. Harrison, eds., The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1983) s.v., “Nazareth;” Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998), 102–103].) Nazareth was not on any of the major trade routes; all the important roads bypassed it. It was well off the beaten path, far from the important centers of Jewish culture and religion. Moreover, Galilee, where Nazareth was located, was known as “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isa. 9:1; Matt. 4:15) because of its proximity to Gentile regions. God’s choice of Nazareth to be Jesus’ birthplace reveals that He is the Savior of the world, not of the powerful and elite of one nation only, but of all “those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks” (1 Cor. 1:24; cf. Isa. 11:10; 42:6; Luke 2:32; Acts 10:34–35; 13:48–49; Rom. 15:9–12).

THE DIVINE CHOICE

to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. (1:27)

The angelic announcement of John the Baptist’s birth came to an elderly priest in the temple at Jerusalem (1:11–13), but the announcement of Jesus’ miraculous birth came to a young girl in a small, insignificant village.

She is described first of all as a virgin. Parthenos (virgin) refers to a person who has never had sexual relations, and would never be used to describe a married woman. In Jewish practice, girls were usually engaged at the age of twelve or thirteen and married at the end of a one-year betrothal period. The betrothal, arranged by the parents, was a more binding legal arrangement than a modern engagement. Only death or divorce could sever the contract, and the couple could be referred to as husband and wife. If her betrothed husband died, the girl would be considered a widow. The couple did not live together or have sexual relations during the betrothal period. During that year the girl was to prove her faithfulness and purity, and the boy was to prepare a home for his bride-to-be. When the year was up there was a seven-day wedding feast (cf. Matt. 25:1–13; John 2:1–11), after which the couple began their life together as husband and wife. Only then was the marriage consummated.

This particular virgin was betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. Though just an ordinary carpenter, he was by lineage one of the descendants of David, Israel’s greatest king, from whose loins the Messiah would come (2 Sam. 7:12, 16; Ps. 89:35–36; Jer. 23:5; Matt. 22:42; Mark 10:47; Acts 2:30; 13:23; Rom. 1:3). Matthew’s genealogy of Christ traces His ancestry through Joseph (1:1–17), showing that he descended from David, thus Jesus is also “the son of David” (Matt. 1:1). Although Joseph was not Jesus’ natural father, his adoption of Jesus made Him legally part of David’s lineage. The genealogy in Matthew thus establishes Christ’s claim to the throne of David as Joseph’s legal heir.

Luke simply reports that the virgin’s name was Mary. Unlike the commendation of Zacharias and Elizabeth that he recorded earlier (1:6), Luke ascribed nothing to Mary except her status as a virgin; he added nothing that would set her apart as a noteworthy young woman. Though she must have been righteous and obedient (as her testimony in vv. 46–55 proves), perhaps the Holy Spirit was avoiding anything that might make the Romish “Mary cult” any worse, if that were possible.

Like Joseph, Mary also traced her ancestry back to David; as noted in the exposition of 3:23–38 in chapter 21 of this volume, Luke’s genealogy of Jesus records His ancestry through His mother. Thus Jesus inherited from His adoptive father, Joseph, the legal right to David’s throne, while His physical descent from David came from His mother, Mary. In every legitimate sense—both legally and physically—Jesus Christ was the Son of David and born to be Israel’s true King.

THE DIVINE BLESSING

And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.” (1:28–30)

The phrase coming in clearly implies that Mary was in her house, apparently alone, when Gabriel appeared. She was undoubtedly doing the normal domestic chores of a twelve- or thirteen-year-old Jewish girl. The angel’s first word to her was the common, everyday salutation “Greetings,” or “Hello.” Since Zacharias panicked when Gabriel appeared to him (cf. the discussion of Gabriel’s appearance to Zacharias in chapter 2 of this volume), his low-key introduction and immediate statement of blessing was likely intended to calm and reassure Mary.

By addressing her as favored one, Gabriel indicated that Mary had nothing to fear, but was to become the recipient of God’s grace. There was nothing intrinsically worthy about her that set her above other believers, as if she was perfectly holy; like all people, she was a sinner (cf. Job 25:4; Ps. 14:1–3; Eccles. 7:20; Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:12, 23) in need of God’s grace (Acts 15:11; 18:27; Rom. 3:24; 5:15, 17; Eph. 1:7; 2:5, 8; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:7). The salutation has been confiscated to form the basis of the familiar Roman Catholic prayer known as the Ave Maria (“Hail Mary”). The erroneous premise of that prayer, based on the Latin Vulgate’s rendering of favored one as gratia plena (“full of grace”), is that Mary has been granted and possesses fullness of grace, which she then bestows on others. In his encyclical Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, Pope Pius X, in a bizarre distortion of truth, has called Mary not the recipient of grace, but the “Dispensatrix [dispenser] of all the gifts that Our Savior purchased for us by His Death and by His Blood; the supreme Minister of the distribution of graces; the distributor … of the treasures of His merits.” Pope Leo XIII agreed, declaring in his encyclical Octobri Mense that “Mary is the intermediary through whom is distributed unto us this immense treasure of mercies gathered by God.” Pope Pius IX’s encyclical Ineffabilis Deus cited the Catholic Church’s belief that Mary is “the seat of all divine graces … adorned with all gifts of the Holy Spirit … an almost infinite treasury, an inexhaustible abyss of these gifts.” Summing up the Catholic view that Mary is the mediator of all graces Ludwig Ott writes, “Since Mary’s Assumption into Heaven no grace is conferred on man without her actual intercessory co-operation” (Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma [St. Louis: B. Herder, 1954], 209).

That false, unbiblical view of Mary is an integral part of the Roman Church’s practice of Mariolatry (the veneration and worship of Mary), which blasphemes the Lord Jesus by worshiping another. In reality Mary was a humble, redeemed sinner. She was not sinless from her conception until her bodily assumption into heaven, as Catholic dogma maintains, since as Jesus Himself declared, “No one is good except God alone” (Luke 18:19; cf. Rom. 3:10). Nor is Mary the co-redeemer of the human race, since sinners are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24; cf. 1 Cor. 1:30; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:13–14; Heb. 9:12). She does not hear and answer prayers or intercede for anyone, since there is “one mediator … between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). The teaching of Roman Catholicism that “there is no surer or more direct road than by Mary for uniting all mankind in Christ and obtaining through Him the perfect adoption of sons, that we may be holy and immaculate in the sight of God” (Pope Pius X, Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum) is utterly false and blasphemous. The exalted, quasi-deified Mary of Roman Catholic dogma is far removed from the humble, unassuming “bondslave of the Lord” (Luke 1:38) revealed in Scripture. Gabriel’s pronouncement to Mary, “the Lord is with you,” speaks of God’s enabling of her (cf. Judg. 6:12). It reinforces the truth that Mary was a recipient of God’s grace, not the dispenser of it to others. Only God gives grace to sinners, as Scripture indicates continually (cf. Rom. 3:24; 1 Cor. 1:4; Eph. 2:8, and the repeated use of the phrase “the grace of God”).

Realizing that she was an unworthy sinner (in verse 47, she called God her Savior, and only sinners need a Savior), Mary was very perplexed at Gabriel’s statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. It was not just his appearing to her that caused Mary’s consternation, but what he said to her. Very perplexed translates a form of the verb diatarassomai (“greatly troubled, disturbed, or confused”), a more intense form of the verb translated “troubled” in verse 12, where it described Zacharias’s reaction to Gabriel’s appearance. Mary was perplexed because she knew that she was a sinner, and did not understand why God had favored her. But Mary’s genuine humility manifested her true righteousness (cf. Pss. 34:2; 138:6; Prov. 3:34; Isa. 66:2; Matt. 18:4; 20:26–28; Luke 14:11; James 4:6). All genuinely righteous people are distressed and terrified in God’s presence (or, as in this case, one of His holy angels), because they are acutely aware of their sin (cf. the reactions of Isaiah [Isa. 6:5] and Peter [Luke 5:8]). Gabriel’s appearance and greeting unnerved Mary; nothing in her brief life could have prepared her for this astonishing event.

Seeking to calm her, Gabriel said to the frightened girl, “Do not be afraid, Mary.” His explanation, for you have found favor with God, reassured Mary that she had nothing to fear; Gabriel had come to her with a message of blessing, not judgment. Like Noah, Mary had “found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8). God had sovereignly chosen to use her to help carry out His redemptive purposes. The issue was not her merit or worthiness, but God’s sovereign grace which, like all His ways, is ultimately beyond human understanding (cf. Deut. 29:29; Ps. 36:6).

THE DIVINE CHILD

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (1:31–33)

After Gabriel’s greeting, Mary for the first time heard what the gracious work of God in her life was going to be. If his greeting had perplexed her, she must have been dumfounded at what he said next. Mary knew of only one way that she could conceive a son—through sexual relations with a man. She also knew that she had not had such relations, as her question in verse 34, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” indicates. The concept of a pregnant virgin was utterly inconceivable to her; an impossibility, a contradiction in terms like a married bachelor, or a square circle.

Nevertheless Gabriel’s stunning announcement, in words fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy of Messiah’s virgin birth (Isa. 7:14; cf. Matt. 1:23), was that Mary without the seed from a man would conceive in [her] womb and bear a son. That staggering promise of a divine miracle was far beyond her understanding or any human comprehension.

Then, with breathtaking brevity, in one vast, glorious revelation Gabriel succinctly summarized the entire ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ: His saving work, righteous life, deity, resurrection, ascension, glorious return, and kingdom rule. He began with the command to name Him Jesus, the name that was the Greek form of the common Hebrew name Yeshua (“Yahweh saves”), which introduced the reality of Messiah’s saving work. God is a saving God, and it was “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10; cf. 2:11, 30, 38; Matt. 1:21; 1 Tim. 1:15; cf. John 12:27; Rom. 8:3–4; 2 Cor. 8:9) that Jesus Christ came into the world. His saving work is the central theme of the New Testament (cf. Matt. 11:28–30; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 5:31; 13:23, 38; Rom. 5:1–2; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:25; Rev. 1:5). In obedience to the angel’s command, Mary and Joseph named their newborn Son Jesus (Luke 2:21).

Gabriel then told Mary that her Son Jesus will be great (megas). Once again the understatement is striking. But all the synonyms that could be added, such as extraordinary, splendid, magnificent, noble, distinguished, powerful, or eminent, would be equally inadequate. It beggars human language to do justice to the majestic, glorious person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Adjectives and superlatives are not used because they are superfluous. His life will define great. And worshiping believers are always aware that language is inadequate to express the honor and glory of His person.

Unlike John the Baptist, whose greatness was qualified as being in God’s sight (1:15), Jesus’ greatness is unqualified. He is great in and of Himself; His greatness is intrinsic to His very nature as God, and is not derived from any source outside of Himself. Jesus Christ is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Eph. 1:21).

The true measure of Christ’s greatness may be seen in His sharing of God’s glory—of which God declared, “I will not give My glory to another” (Isa. 42:8). Referring to Isaiah’s vision of God’s majesty and glory (Isa. 6:1–10), the apostle John wrote, “These things Isaiah said because he saw His [Christ’s] glory, and he spoke of Him” (John 12:41). John could say that when Isaiah viewed God’s glory in the temple, he saw the glory of Christ, because He shares the Father’s glory. That glory, though veiled in His human flesh, was nonetheless manifested during Christ’s earthly life. John wrote, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14). And for a brief moment on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus’ majestic glory was unveiled to Peter, James, and John (Matt. 17:1–8).

Christ possesses the glory of God because as the Son of the Most High (cf. 1:35, 76; 6:35; Acts 7:48) He possesses the nature of God. Most High (hupsistos) is the Greek equivalent of the frequently used Old Testament title for God El Elyon (Gen. 14:18–20; Deut. 32:8; 2 Sam. 22:14; Pss. 7:17; 9:2; 21:7; 46:4; 47:2; Isa. 14:14; Lam. 3:35, 38; Dan. 4:17, 24; 5:18, 21). It is a title that refers to His position as the supreme sovereign ruler. To identify Jesus as the Son of the Most High is to affirm that He is of the same essence as God. In the words of the writer of Hebrews, “He [Jesus] is the radiance of His [God’s] glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3; cf. Matt. 1:23; John 10:30; Phil. 2:6–9; Col. 2:9).

This amazing Child would be God incarnate, perfectly righteous in everything He thought, said, and did. He would die as a sinless sacrifice, providing Himself as a substitute for sinners, offering His atoning death to save them from their sins. But that is not the end of the story. He would not remain dead, but would rise to reign. The culmination of Christ’s work will come when the Lord God gives Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end. As noted above, the Lord Jesus Christ was the rightful heir to the throne of His father David through His legal father, Joseph. Gabriel’s words emphasize both the Jewish character of Christ’s kingdom, since He will rule over the house of Jacob (Isa. 65:17–19; Zeph. 3:11–13; Zech. 14:16–21, as well as the rest of mankind; cf. Dan. 7:14, 27), and its eternality, since His kingdom will have no end (Rev. 11:15).

The promised kingdom is not limited to Christ’s present spiritual reign, as amillennialists advocate. The Bible teaches that Satan will be bound during the millennium (Rev. 20:1–3); yet now, as Peter warned, he “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Therefore, the present age cannot be the millennium. Nor does the church usher in the millennial kingdom, at the end of which Christ returns, as postmillennialists postulate. Jesus Himself posed the rhetorical question, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). (For a further discussion of millennial views, see Revelation 12–22, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 2000], 228–33).

The Lord Jesus Christ clearly did not establish His kingdom at His first coming. As John noted in the prologue to his gospel, “He came to His own [Israel], and those who were His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11; cf. 11:53; Matt. 9:34; 12:14; 21:37–43; Mark 6:3; 16:14; 1 Thess. 2:14–16). The Jewish people (particularly their leaders), “recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed” (Acts 13:27–28; cf. 2:23; 7:52; Matt. 27:22–23; Luke 23:13–24; John 19:12–16).

Jesus Christ rules spiritually in the heart of every believer (cf. Col. 1:13), and that spiritual rule will last forever because salvation is forever. But that does not preclude the future literal, earthly, millennial kingdom. During that blessed time, Jesus Christ, “the root and the descendant of David” (Rev. 22:16; cf. Isa. 11:1, 10; Matt. 1:1; Rom. 15:12), the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5), will sit on His glorious throne, judging the nations with a rod of iron (Ps. 2:9; Rev. 12:5; 19:15) for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4–5). At the end of that time, God will uncreate the universe and create a new heaven and earth that will last for all eternity. The apostle Paul wrote,

Gabriel’s message to Mary introduces the pivotal point in redemptive history. How people respond to the Child of whom Gabriel spoke will determine their eternal destiny. As Simeon would later say to Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel” (Luke 2:34), and the rest of the world as well. And as the Child Himself would warn, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24), since “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).