Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a remarkable woman. Her fascinating story, recorded in Luke 1:26-38, begins with an abrupt interruption to her life and plans when an angel from God suddenly burst onto the scene:
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
During the 6th month after Elizabeth conceived, the angel Gabriel visited her cousin Mary. This was likely in mid to late March. King David of Israel lived about 1,000 years before the parents of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Both could trace their family tree back to him. Jesus would be a LEGAL descendant and heir of David through Joseph. He would be a PHYSICAL descendant of David through Mary. It is significant that the angel was sent to a town in Galilee. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-2 which predicted the coming of a savior to Israel:
In the future he will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, even to Galilee of the nations.
Mary is actually an English transliteration of the name Maria or Miriam, a good Jewish name, after the sister of Moses. Mary was a true virgin, just as Isaiah had prophesied when he said:
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means God is with us)
Mary and Joseph were betrothed. Despite what you may have heard, a betrothal was not the same as an engagement in modern society and Mary was almost certainly not a teenager when the angel visited her. As they entered their teen years, Jewish youths were considered to be bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, sons and daughters of the commandments who were expected to know right from wrong and were responsible for their actions, but they were not considered to be fully adult until the age of 20. There is neither Biblical evidence to suggest nor logical reason to believe Mary would have been engaged before she reached adulthood. In fact, the first and second century church stood strongly against child marriage. Mary was likely in her early 20’s when she became betrothed to Joseph.
To be betrothed meant that the couple had already agreed to a marriage covenant. The groom would present the Ketubah, or marriage contract, to the young woman and her father and then pour 3 cups of wine. If the father agreed to the proposal, he would drink from the cup. If the young woman agreed, she would signify her consent by drinking from the cup. The groom would also drink and seal the agreement. After the covenant was made, they were already considered legally married. Then the husband would go and prepare a place for them to live together and when it was ready, he would come and get his bride and take her home to consummate the marriage. A wedding feast would follow. But those plans were about to be interrupted.
And the angel came to her and said: “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you” But Mary was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting it 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.
The angel Gabriel suddenly showed up and told Mary she had found favor with God and would be the mother of our Lord. Since this was probably in the latter half of March it lines up with the beliefs of the early church that the Messiah was born on December 25. More importantly, He would be named Jesus and called the Son of the Most High. He would be God. The word translated favor is the Greek word for grace, charis. It conveys the meaning of its Hebrew equivalent, chesed, which is translated as lovingkindness, tender mercies, and steadfast, faithful love. When Mary was scared and troubled, the angel comforted her by telling her how much God loved her. She was to give her son the name Jesus (Iesous) which is the Greek version of the Hebrew word Joshua (Yeshua) meaning Yahweh is my Salvation. Gabriel's message was in reference to the prophecy of Isaiah 9:7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, the Christ. After Gabriel’s prophetic recitation, Mary inquired:
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…For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary Said: “I am the Lord’s servant, May it be done to me according to your word.”
Mary's response was truly remarkable. She was a WILLING
servant of God. Mary gave her whole-hearted consent to be part of God's
plan. Jesus was to be both truly God and truly man. This teaching is
called the Hypostatic Union. Jesus, in the incarnation was a literal, physical,
blood descendant of Mary and by extension, David. But He was also still God,
truly divine, having been conceived through the Holy Spirit.
Mary Visits Elizabeth (Luke
1:39-56)
After becoming pregnant, Mary hurried to her cousin Elizabeth's home in the
hill country of Judah. Elizabeth and Mary exchanged encouraging greetings full
of hope and faith. John, who would later be called, "the
Baptist," jumped in Elizabeth's womb when he heard Mary's voice. Notice
the affirmation that life begins at conception? In response, Elizabeth enthusiastically
exclaimed:
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. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what He has spoken to her.
These women believed every word the angel had spoken and they sang and prophesied over each other. Elizabeth professed that Jesus would be Lord. She understood that Jesus was the promised Messiah who would provide salvation. She proclaimed that Mary had been blessed and applauded her faith. This is how believers are supposed to greet one another and rejoice together. Mary's subsequent song of praise provides a sermon in itself.
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.
Mary experienced exceeding joy in God her Savior, just as the name Jesus indicates. Savior comes from the word sozo, which means to rescue and heal, to restore and make whole. This describes the deep and powerful work that Jesus accomplishes in our souls when He comes into our lives. She believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah and her soul magnified God.
Mary also agreed with the prophetic declaration of Elizabeth saying surely she WOULD be called blessed. Yet she immediately recognized that God had done this wonderful thing for her and promptly pivoted to reflect attention away from herself and toward Him. She proclaimed His name as Holy and set apart. She reminds us that His mercy endures through the ages toward those who honor and respect 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.
Mary foresaw Jesus’ victory in life and in death and resurrection. She spoke prophetically with words full of faith as if Jesus had already conquered his enemies, proclaiming the victory of the cross before Jesus was even born. He would accomplish the great work God sent Him to do.
Just as Mary prophesied, the arrogant religious leaders of Israel would indeed be scattered as the city of Jerusalem would eventually fall. Jesus took authority away from them and gave the inheritance of His kingdom to the humble. He entrusted His disciples with the leadership of the church. He gave spiritual power and authority to build His Kingdom to His followers. This passage also indicates that the spiritual enemies of God would be defeated. The people of Israel likely expected Him to conquer earthly kings, but He defeated Satan and evil spiritual powers first to establish His spiritual Kingdom. Jesus gave his disciples power over demons and the forces of evil. Jesus would defeat spiritual enemies in high places. Strongholds, places where evil had taken control and darkness reigned would be broken and shattered as the whole earth shook when Jesus was crucified on the cross. Jesus will come again to defeat physical enemies, but only after showing grace to allow them time to repent. Mary prophesied something Jesus would also say directly Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. The next part of her song continues with this theme.
He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
Jesus fed the 5,000 and on another occasion he fed 4,000, but he also gave people spiritual food and drink. Still today, He nourishes our souls. The rich young ruler couldn’t have this gift because he valued earthly treasure more than heavenly treasure. Jesus is the bread of life. He is living water for our souls. He promised that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness would be filled—satisfied.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering His mercy to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as He spoke to our ancestors.
Mary recognized that this moment was the fulfillment of God's
promises to Abraham. God had kept His word and she would be a part of it. After
about 3 months, just before John was born, Mary returned home.
Seems a little strange that she would stay so long and then leave before seeing
the baby....
Joseph and Mary Reunited (Matthew 1:18-25)
While Luke’s account of the events leading up to the birth of Christ focuses on Mary, Matthew’s account focuses on Joseph and in so doing, provides us with a more complete picture. The two accounts harmonize perfectly.
The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way. After his mother Mary had been betrothed 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.
In this account, Jesus is referred to as The Christ, this is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah. Christ or Christos means anointed. He is the one God has chosen to save His people. Joseph is called righteous, or just. He was a fair and virtuous man who followed God’s commandments and took the necessary steps to atone for sin according to the Law of Moses. Joseph was in a right standing with God. Even though he might not have initially believed her, he showed mercy and great kindness to Mary. I believe his decision to put her away quietly led to her trip to visit her cousin Elizabeth in the privacy of the hill country, away from prying eyes.
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.
An angel appeared to Joseph, telling him it was ok to take Mary home to live with him as his wife and affirming the good news that she was indeed with child by the Holy Spirit. Just like he had done with Mary, the heavenly messenger immediately calmed Joseph’s fears. He added to the words spoken to Mary, explaining the reason for Jesus' name which means Yahweh is Salvation. He came to save us from our sins.
Matthew explains that this happened in order to fulfill the prophecy from Isaiah that:
A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel.” Which is translated God is with us.
Jesus would be fully God and fully man. God was reaching out to us, desiring a relationship with us. God was coming to earth to walk among us, just as He promised He would.
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.
Joseph believed the angel and honored the prophecy. He immediately took Mary to be his wife. I have wondered why Mary visited the very pregnant Elizabeth, stayed for a few months and then left right before the baby was born. I believe this is because Joseph came and joyfully whisked her away to the home they would share together. Since their marriage covenant had already been sealed, Joseph had the right to take Mary into his home any time he wanted to, so there is no reason to believe there was any sort of scandal. Mary was only in her first trimester at the time and not showing in loose fitting, modest ancient clothing and they departed from their home in Nazareth to travel before Mary gave birth, so no one would have been able to count up the months of her pregnancy. Because of Joseph’s discretion, it would always be assumed that Jesus was his son. (John 6:42, Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3) He did not formally consummate their relationship until after Jesus was born, after which time they grew their family continuing to have other children together.
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