Our mistake is that we think that God would surely choose the truly important people to carry out his will. You know, the Spiritual Superstars. The A listers of holiness. Surely he would not choose a teenage girl from a poor little dusty village to be the mother of the Messiah. And if this village was the place, well, surely he would call upon the most important person; a holy woman all full of wisdom and spiritual aptitude. Wouldn’t she be the rock star of religious piety? Wouldn’t she be the epitome of purity; living in the Most Holy Place and fed by angels (one of the spurious gospels suggests this outrageous scenario)? What is it about us that rejects the choice of a poor girl from a obscure village who was engaged to a poor carpenter?
Luke 1:26-38 is the birth announcement of Jesus. Now that sounds significant, doesn’t it? And it is. This is the coming of the Messiah; the breaking in of the New Age. Once again the angel Gabriel is sent to announce the good news. You remember Gabriel don’t you? The “man of God”; one of the angels who stand in the presence of God; one of only two angels for whom we are given a name. Gabriel’s appearance upon the scene automatically informs us that this is something big. He comes to the village of Nazareth – the place that had zero expectations of anything ever happening there. He comes to a virgin who is engaged to a descendant of David. This is important. Joseph is not Jesus’ biological father, but Mary being engaged to him makes him the legal father. And the Messiah must be a descendant of David (cf. 2 Samuel 7: 13-16; Psalms 89 and 110). In this culture young women were engaged as early as the age of thirteen. This engagement lasted at least a year and was legally binding. It took a divorce to end it. If there was unfaithfulness the punishment was death (cf. Deuteronomy 22:23f).
Gabriel appears and he said, “Rejoice o one who is highly favored!” Oh, I know most translations have something like “Greetings” or “Hail”, but there is this formula in the Bible that is followed here: rejoice + some kind of favored status or address + reason for the favored status (cf. Joel 2:21). So, be full of joy Mary because the Lord has favored you by being with you. Mary is deeply troubled by this greeting and she tries to reason through its meaning. Gabriel helps her along by telling her not to be afraid (so her confusion was mixed with a healthy dose of fear); that she had found favor with God and will be the mother of the Messiah. Well, he doesn’t actually come out and say “Messiah,” but there can be no mistake: His name is Jesus – the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Joshua which may mean “salvation” – and he will be the son of the Most High and he will be given the throne of David and not just for awhile – nah, forever! All of this adds up to Messiah.
As you can imagine this doesn’t clear up her confusion. How can this happen? Well, Mary, you are engaged. Joseph is a descendant of David. Just let life do what life does. Okay, some have seen a problem with Mary’s question here since there are some very simple and natural answers to her question. Maybe Gabriel’s words – words we may not have – helped her to understand that he meant right away. She knows enough about procreation to wonder how this could be true when she had never been with a man. Many have suggested that her question was one of curiosity and not of doubt. This may be the case since Mary was not rebuked like Zacharias was when he doubted.
Gabriel tells her that the Spirit will come upon her. The closest parallel to this phrase is found in Isaiah 32:15 which is a prophecy about the coming new age turning the unproductive wilderness into a fruitful crop field. It is also reminiscent of the Spirit floating over the waters at creation in Genesis 1:2. God is doing something marvelously creative here and the source is Spirit – not flesh. The power of the Most High will overshadow her. This is reminiscent of Exodus 40:34 where the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. This is about Spirit; glory of God; the coming of the Messiah. And when Mary hears this, she said, “Behold, the slave of the Lord, may it happen to me just as you said.”
Mary was a young peasant girl. She wasn’t a queen living in the Holy of Holies hand fed by angels. God chose a teenage girl from a dusty village to be the mother of the Messiah. And she said “Yes!” This is the wonder of the story. God works through the mundane to create his glory. His Spirit descends and the ordinary becomes extraordinary. God choose you right now. Now that is amazing! Peace, Walter