The Messiah is Coming
Today’s passage: Luke 1:26–80
Focus verse:“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.” (Luke 1:31)
Six months later the angel, Gabriel, makes a return visit to earth. This time it’s to see Mary, a young girl, a virgin. Luke makes sure we don’t miss her purity. He mentions her virgin status three times. Though engaged, she’s waiting until she’s married.
The exchange between Gabriel and Mary unfolds much like what happened between him and Zechariah. Gabriel’s arrival startles Mary—as it would any of us.
Then he tells her not to freak out—yeah, like that’s possible when an angel shows up. Again, he shares news of a pregnancy, the name to give the baby, and all the remarkable things this child will grow up to do.
The virgin Mary will have a baby. This son, Jesus, is God’s Son too. A descendant of Judah, he’ll continue the rule of King David in a never-ending kingdom. This is what everyone’s been waiting for, what the Old Testament prophets talked about for centuries.
What’s Mary’s response? It’s almost the same as Zechariah’s.
Whereas he says, “How? We’re old.” Mary says, “How? I’m a virgin.”
Gabriel saw Zechariah’s understandable question as a sign of doubt and struck him mute to teach him a lesson. However, Gabriel reacts differently to Mary.
He explains: “The Holy Spirit will supernaturally impregnate you.” The result of this spiritual union will produce a virgin birth. It’s the spiritual superseding the physical—what is unseen controlling what is seen.
Then he drops some more shocking news. Elderly Elizabeth, as in Elizabeth-too-old-to-have-a-baby, is pregnant. If God can work a miracle in Elizabeth’s aging body, he can certainly make a miracle in Mary’s pure body.
Frankly, Gabriel’s explanation of a supernatural conception and virgin birth doesn’t help a lot. Mary, like us, knows what it takes to make a baby. Never before—and never since—has a supernatural conception like this taken place.
Personally, I’d have more questions. But not Mary. With grace and faith, she accepts Gabriel’s astounding declaration as fact.
She simply responds, “May it be so.”
Questions:
When God throws us a curveball, how do we respond?
Does logic or faith guide our reaction? Can it sometimes be both?
[Discover more in these prophesies about Jesus in Psalm 145:13 and Isaiah 9:7.]
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Read more about the book of Luke in Dear Theophilus: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke, now available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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