Having announced the birth
of John the Baptist, Luke in verses 26-38 introduces us to Mary, the cousin of
Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. The angel Gabriel who visited Zacharias
earlier now appears to Mary, a godly young virgin betrothed to Joseph, a
carpenter. Her encounter with this archangel had forever changed both her life and
destiny dramatically. We need to know that in biblical times, a betrothal was an
engagement that’s as good as a marriage, though the couple had not stayed
together. To break a betrothal would be as good as a divorce.
From Matthew 1 and Luke 3,
we will see that both Mary and Joseph were descendants of King David, who ruled
Israel approximately 950 years earlier. His throne was usurped by the Herods,
thus ending the Davidic succession centuries before. However, God had promised
David that his throne would never cease. The coming of Jesus was a fulfilment
of that promise. Hence the vessels that would be instrument for the coming of Jesus
the Messiah, the God incarnate, must be from the line of David. Here’s why
Jesus was acknowledged many times in the Gospel as the descendent of King David.
One such example is found in Luke 18:38, where the blind man addressed Jesus as
the Son of David. Jesus, we know, is the lawful heir to the throne of Israel, for
He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. .
Bear in mind that some six
months had passed since Elizabeth had conceived. Now Gabriel was sent to Mary.
His opening words to Mary was that God had favored her highly and she was
indeed blessed among women. Mary was perplexed and wondered what kind of
greeting that was. Gabriel then assured and told her she was indeed God’s favored
one, for she was chosen by God as the instrument to bear Jesus, His Son. From
here the archangel’s message focused on Jesus, who would soon be conceived. In verses
31-33, Gabriel described Jesus’ greatness and glory. In verse 33, he went on to
make known that Jesus is the Son of the Most High and He shall sit on the
throne of David, and His Kingdom will never end. This tells us that He is infinitely
greater than King David. In verse 35, we are told the immense power involved in
bringing about this birth of the Son of the Most High. The Holy Spirit shall
overshadow Mary and bring about the supernatural conception. This conception
would be without human involvement. And Gabriel’s parting words to Mary were, “With
God nothing is impossible,” as he also told Mary of Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy.
Though perplexed, Mary did
not question God’s choice or power. Her simple response was, “Behold, the bond-slave of the Lord;
may it be done to me according to your word.” The response of Mary to the whole
encounter leaves us with many lessons. It is not possible to exhaust all the lessons
we can learn. Here are a few: if we are to be true disciples of Jesus, the heart
of Mary must be our model. We must cultivate a humble heart that’s receptive to
God and His Word. We must also intentionally nurture a reflective heart that
would continually meditate on the Word of God. And like Mary, we must maintain
a believing heart that will trust God absolutely. And finally we must cultivate
a submissive heart that dares to respond to God, asking that everything in our
life be done according to His Word!
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