Luke 1:26 - Meaning and Application

Here we are told all that is fit for us to know about the incarnation and conception of our blessed Savior, six months after John’s conception. The same angel, Gabriel, who had made God’s purpose known to Zacharias about his son, is sent here as well. The same great work of redemption that began there is now carried forward here.

Evil angels are not among the redeemed, and good angels are not the redeemers. Yet the Redeemer uses them as his messengers, and they gladly carry out his errands. They do so because they are humble servants of his Father and warm friends of his children.

We are now given an account of the mother of our Lord, Mary, from whom he was to be born. We are not to pray to her, but we should praise God for her. Her name was Mary, the same as Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron. The name means “exalted,” and truly she was highly honored above all the daughters of David’s line.

She was from the royal family, directly descended from David. She and her friends knew this, so she was known by the house of David, though she was poor and low in the world. By God’s providence, and through the care of the Jews, family records were kept so her descent could be traced. That mattered while the promise of the Messiah still had to be fulfilled, but such ancestry is no special advantage for those who are now low in the world.

She was a virgin, pure and unspotted, yet she was engaged to a man from the same royal line, Joseph, who was also of the house of David (Matthew 1:20). Christ’s mother had to be a virgin because he was not to be born in the ordinary way, but by a miracle. He had to share our human nature, yet not the corruption of that nature. Still, he was born of a virgin who was engaged, to honor marriage and keep that good order from being treated lightly. Marriage was an ordinance from the time of innocence, and the Savior’s birth should not bring it into contempt.

She lived in Nazareth, a city in Galilee, a far corner of the land with no great reputation for religion or learning. It bordered on Gentile territory, which is why it was called Galilee of the Gentiles. The fact that Christ’s relatives lived there hints that favor was being prepared for the Gentile world. Dr. Lightfoot notes that Jonah was born in Galilee, and Elijah and Elisha also spent much time there, and these were all well-known prophets connected with the Gentiles.

The angel was sent to her from Nazareth. No distance or lowly place can block God’s favor toward those he has chosen to bless. Gabriel brought his message to Mary in Galilee just as gladly as to Zacharias in the temple at Jerusalem.

The angel’s greeting to her was this: “Hail, you who are highly favored.” We are not told what she was doing when he came, but he surprised her with this greeting. It was meant, first, to give her a proper sense of herself. In most people that would not be needed, but in someone like Mary, who may have thought only of her low condition, it could be useful. It was also meant to prepare her for great news from heaven, not from earth.

The greeting also showed honor and goodwill. She was dignified by God’s choice of her to be the mother of the Messiah. In this honor she was set above Eve, who was the mother of all living. Some have taken the old Latin phrase “full of grace” to mean she had more inward grace than anyone else. But the meaning here is simpler than that. It speaks of the special favor shown her in being chosen to conceive and bear our blessed Lord. Since he was to be the seed of the woman, some woman had to bear this honor, not because she earned it, but because God freely chose her. “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight.”

The angel also said, “The Lord is with you.” Though poor and ordinary, and perhaps thinking about how she would support a family in marriage, she had God’s presence with her. This same word strengthened Gideon’s faith, “The Lord is with you” (Judges 6:12). With God on our side, nothing should be thought impossible, whether it is a hard duty or a great blessing. These words may also have reminded her of Immanuel, “God with us,” whom a virgin would conceive and bear (Isaiah 7:14). Why could that virgin not be she?

Then the angel said, “Blessed are you among women.” This means more than that people would think well of her. It means she truly was blessed by God in this special way. She herself later said, “All generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). Compare this with Deborah’s words about Jael, another woman who was honored greatly among her sex, “Blessed above women be Jael” (Judges 5:24).

Mary was deeply troubled by this greeting. When she saw the angel and the glory around him, she was disturbed at the sight, and even more by what he said. If she had been proud and eager for worldly greatness, she would have welcomed such words. But instead she was confused, because she knew nothing in herself that deserved or promised such things. She kept thinking about what kind of greeting this could be. Was it from heaven or from men? Was it meant to fool her, trap her, make fun of her, or did it mean something serious?

I do not think she imagined for a moment that this greeting was ever meant to be used as a prayer, as it later was for many ages in the corrupt and anti-Christian state of the church, even being repeated ten times for every one Lord’s Prayer in the church of Rome. Her careful thinking here gives a helpful lesson to young women when they receive attention or greetings. They should consider where such words come from and what they are meant to lead to, so they can respond wisely and stay on guard.

The angel pauses for a moment, but when Mary’s distress only grows, he goes on with his message (Luke 1:30). Since she has not answered him yet, he reassures her: “Do not be afraid, Mary. I have come to tell you that you have found favor with God, more than you realize.” Many people think they enjoy God’s favor more than they truly do, but Mary really has it.

Those who have found favor with God should not give way to anxious fear. If God is for you, it does not matter who is against you. If he has shown you mercy, you do not need to be shaken by the world’s disapproval.

Though Mary is a virgin, she will have the honor of becoming a mother: “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus” (Luke 1:31). In Eden, Eve was told that her honor as the mother of all living would be mixed with sorrow, since her desire would be for her husband and he would rule over her (Genesis 3:16). Mary receives the honor without that added shame or burden.

Though she lives in poverty and obscurity, she will be the mother of the Messiah. Her son will be named Jesus, which means Savior, the kind of Savior the world needs, not merely the kind many Jews expected. He will be very closely joined to the upper world, for he “will be great” and “will be called the Son of the Most High,” meaning the Son of God, who is the Highest. He is truly and fully great, and he is God over all, blessed forevermore (Romans 9:5). Those who are God’s children, even by adoption and new birth, are truly great too, so they should strive to be truly good (1 John 3:1-2).

He will also be greatly honored in this world. Though he is born in the humblest possible way and appears as a servant, “the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32). Mary is reminded that she belongs to David’s family. So it is not impossible that she could bear the heir to David’s throne, even after the royal line had long seemed cut off. His people may not grant him that throne or recognize his right to rule them, but God will give him that right and set him as king in Zion.

His kingdom will be spiritual. He will reign over the house of Jacob, not merely over Israel according to the flesh, because many of them did not receive him and did not remain his people. His true kingdom is the spiritual house of Israel, the people who belong to the promise. His kingdom will also be eternal. He will reign forever, and his kingdom will never end, unlike David’s temporary earthly rule. Other crowns do not last from one generation to the next, but Christ’s kingdom endures (Proverbs 27:24). The gospel is God’s final way of dealing with us, and we should expect no other.

Mary then asks a reasonable question about the birth of this promised child: “How will this be, since I have not known a man?” (Luke 1:34). She knows the Messiah must be born of a virgin, and if she is to be his mother, she wants to know how it will happen. This is not unbelief. It is the question of someone who wants more light and understanding.

The angel gives her a full answer (Luke 1:35). She will conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit, whose work is to make holy, and who will set her apart for this purpose. The Holy Spirit is called the power of the Most High. If she is asking how this can happen, that is enough to answer the difficulty, because a divine power will do it.

She must not ask more about the exact manner of it. The Holy Spirit, as the power of the Most High, will overshadow her, just as the cloud covered the tabernacle when God’s glory took possession of it. That language shows that the mystery is hidden from curious inspection. Even the ordinary forming of a child in the womb is a mystery in nature. No one knows the way of the spirit, or how the bones grow in the womb (Ecclesiastes 11:5). We were made in secret (Psalm 139:15-16). But the forming of Jesus was a far greater mystery: God was made known in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). It was a new thing created in the earth (Jeremiah 31:22), and we should not try to be wiser than what Scripture reveals.

The child she will bear is called a holy thing, and that is why he must not be conceived in the ordinary way. He must not share in the common corruption and pollution of human nature. He is spoken of as “that holy thing,” something never before seen, and he will be called the Son of God. He is the Son of the Father by eternal generation, and his human nature is formed by the Holy Spirit as a sign of that truth. His human nature had to be produced in a way fitting for the one who would be united to the divine nature.

The angel gives Mary another reason to trust the promise. Her relative Elizabeth, though old, is pregnant too (Luke 1:36). A season of wonders has begun, so Mary should not be surprised. God is already showing his power in her own family. He often goes from one wonder to another. Though Elizabeth was from Aaron’s line on her father’s side (Luke 1:5), she may have been from David’s line on her mother’s side, since those families often married among themselves. That would be a fitting sign of the coming union of kingship and priesthood in the Messiah.

Elizabeth is now in her sixth month, though she had been called barren. This, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, may have prepared the world to believe something even greater, namely that a virgin could bear a son. Earlier cases of long-barren women having children were already against nature, and they helped prepare people for this greater work of God.

So, even in the birth of Isaac, Abraham saw Christ’s day and ahead of time pictured the miracle in Christ’s birth. The angel strengthens Mary’s faith with this same truth, and ends with a great and certain statement for everyone, “With God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37). If nothing is impossible for God, then this event is not impossible either. That is why Abraham did not doubt God’s promise, because he trusted God’s power fully (Romans 4:20-21). No word from God should seem unbelievable to us, as long as no work of God is beyond his power.

Mary then agrees to God’s will for her (Luke 1:38). She shows herself, first, as a believing servant under God’s authority: “I am the Lord’s servant.” In effect, she says, “Lord, I am ready for your service, and I am at your disposal to do what you command.” She does not raise objections about the risk to her marriage or the harm to her reputation. Instead, she leaves the outcome with God and submits fully to his will.

She also shows herself as a believing expectant of God’s favor. She is not only willing for it to happen, but humbly asks that it may happen: “Let it be to me according to your word.” A favor like this was far too great for her to treat lightly or with indifference. What God has promised, we should ask him for in prayer. In prayer, we should add our own “amen,” or “so be it,” to his promise. We should say, “Remember your word to your servant, because you have given me hope in it.” Like Mary, we must shape our desires by God’s word and base our hope on it. “Let it be to me according to your word,” yes, exactly so, and no differently.

After that, the angel left her. He had finished the task he was sent to do, so he returned to give his report and receive further instructions. Meeting with angels was always brief and temporary, and soon ended. In the life to come, it will be steady and lasting.

It is commonly thought that at that very moment the virgin conceived by the overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit. But since Scripture wisely says nothing more, we should not be too curious about it, much less certain where the text is silent.