Birth Announcement Part 1
Notes
Transcript
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”
But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be.
Then the angel told her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will 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.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”
Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?”
The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless.
For nothing will be impossible with God.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah
where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Then she exclaimed with a loud cry: “Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed!
How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me.
Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!”
And Mary said: My soul praises the greatness of the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
because he has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed,
because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and his name is holy.
His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him.
He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts;
he has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy
to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he spoke to our ancestors.
And Mary stayed with her about three months; then she returned to her home.
The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.
So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.
But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”
When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her
but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.