Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

- Sixth month, into the year following Zechariah being visited by Gabriel

- February - March

- Continuing and connecting story of Zechariah and Elizabeth with Mary

- Good Chance Theophilus has never heard of Galilee or Nazareth - Galilee is in the North, part of the lost tribes, multiple rebellions against Rome, mixture of Greek/Romans and Jews

- Nazareth, home town of Jonah -

-John 1: 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

- The perfect participle tells us that the betrothal had taken place some time before and was now in force. But we should understand this in the Jewish way: the Jewish betrothal was public and had vows that constituted virtual marriage and needed only that the bridegroom should come at the set time, take his bride, celebrate, and live with her. That is why a betrothed maiden could be called a wife (Matt. 1:20), and her betrothed man her husband - Lenski 60

- Descendant of David thought in Luke 3, the genealogy goes through Nathan, not Solomon.

- The leagage of this family Matthew’s Gospel and Luke’s Gospel, the family this Son will be born, live in, is of the house of David

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

-kecharitōmenē, lit. “having been given grace” or “having been treated graciously”

-“full of grace” (gratia plena)

Craig L. Blomberg, Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey, 2nd Edition (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2009), 239.

Craig L. Blomberg, Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey, 2nd Edition (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2009), 239.

- Eph 1:6. 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved

- O favored one, did she do something to be favored, or is she favored because God is with her

- Job, God was with him, he was favored

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

- Again the angel sharing and giving peace with his greetings

-Doubles down, cause of God bestowing favor over her

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31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

- Not one word is said about Joseph as being the father of this son which Mary is to bear; we have only the mention of the Lord and of God!

- Mary is directed on what to Call Jesus, not explained … just like Zechariah

A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to St. Luke (26–38. The Annunciation of the Birth of the Saviour)

The same wording is found Gen. 16:11, of Ishmael, and Is. 7:14

-There is no question of who Jesus is He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High

- News, discovery of the mosaic in the prison in Israel, in Megiddo - inscription God Jesus Christ

-House of Jacob - Genesis 49:9-10

9  Judah is a lion’s cub;

from the prey, my son, you have gone up.

He stooped down; he crouched as a lion

and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?

10  The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

until tribute comes to him;

and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

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

- This would mean a miracle would have to happen… with Zechariah and Elizabeth the issue was old age, many Old Testament same issue Old Age

-This goes beyond anything she could do or be a part of

- Affirming that Mary was faithful through her betrothal

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.

- The conception was a miracle

- he shall work the conception by his almighty power; and this shall occur when, like the Shekinah (Exod. 40:34–38), the power shall overshadow Mary

- He says that Mary’s son shall be called “God’s Son,” not that he shall call himself “God’s Son.”

- mention of the Holy Spirit, power of the Most High, Son of God … you don’t see Mary questioning how is God three

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.”

- February - March, If Mary is with Child, March - April, - Whats 9 nine months from this point?

- Your relative, maybe Mary like Elizabeth is a daughter of Aaron

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.

-This is holy submission, mighty confidence, blessed readiness—all this in one so young whereas the saintly old Zacharias, while serving in the Sanctuary itself, stumbled at far less.

--But instead of trying to exonerate her as initially less skeptical than Zechariah, we should recognize that she was being promised something entirely unprecedented in Jewish history.

Craig L. Blomberg, Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey, 2nd Edition (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2009), 239.

Luke (Contemporary Significance)

God can do great things through those who entrust the journey with him to his care. That means when God leads, the saint must simply reply, “May it be according to your will.”

Luke (Contemporary Significance)

On the other hand, Mary reflects the proper response of anyone who has been called by God with no credentials other than availability and a responsive heart. She is the Lord’s servant, and so are we, if we know him. God’s servants have the right attitude and perspective to accomplish great things for him if they say: “Use me as you will. I will not refrain from serving because I do not feel qualified or usable.” Behind the availability to service is an attitude that trusts God for direction and enablement. God has called all believers to minister to the body (Eph. 4:7–16), and he does not call us to a task he will not prepare us to perform.