26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, 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 conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him 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 Jacob’s descendants 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 on 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 unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Read Luke 1:26-38 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Tucked away in Jesus’ birth story, specifically in the angel’s visit to Mary, we find an interesting deviation from what normally happens when angel’s visit. While the message the angel brought to Mary was very unique, what I find fascinating is how the angel opens the conversation with Mary – because it is different from most of the other angel visits.
Usually what happens when an angel visits is that the person is probably shocked and the first words from the angel’s mouth are something like “Fear not” or “Don’t be afraid”. While the angel does say this to Mary, this part of the message is left for after the initial greeting. In Mary’s case, the angel begins by saying, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (v. 28)
What the angel says is among the highest compliments you can give someone. Receiving the message directly from an angel that says you are “highly favored” and that “the Lord is with you” is both incredibly encouraging, while also being a little overwhelming. Mary’s response is likely the response we would have to these words. Luke tells us how she responded: “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.” (v. 29)
Mary is a little worried because she knows this sort of greeting only comes before a big challenge. Perhaps because the angel sees concern and hesitation in Mary, he decides to then follow up by saying, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.” (v. 30)
What really stands out in how Luke includes this order of events is that unlike most people, it would seem like Mary was only afraid after hearing the angel’s greeting. Perhaps the angel appeared a split second before beginning to talk, but when we look at how Luke describes this (and he likely interviewed Mary personally to get this event in detail), we don’t see any fear from Mary about the angel’s presence – only concern over what the angel’s message was.
Mary stands out as a role model for us because in this passage, while she was a little concerned with how the angel opened the conversation, she was willing to hear the message God had for her.
God has a message for each one of us. While we likely won’t get a personal visit from an angel to share the message in detail, God does offer to share it through the Holy Spirit. All we must do is be open and willing to listen for it when it comes.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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