Mary gets the news
Luke 1:26-56
We do not know how old Mary was for certain. We know she was young and unmarried but she was betrothed, or engaged. Betrothal was a serious agreement and could not be broken as simply as “calling it off”. It was a legal and binding arrangement and could not be broken without a divorce. Mary would have been surprised by the angel Gabriel and his greeting was a bit alarming. Angels do not appear everyday and to have one pop up in front of you would have been shocking. Mary knew the OT scriptures well enough to know Gabriel was talking about the Promised One; the Anointed One, The Messiah, the One who would redeem Israel. But first she had something she wanted to clear up with the angel. She knew for a fact it was impossible for her to become pregnant because she had not “been” with a man. With Gabriel’s answer to her, she would have recalled the opening verses of Genesis and the story of Creation, when The Spirit hovered over the waters. With this explanation we see God is doing another remarkable Creation; Not of Christ Himself since He was and is and always will be, but of a baby Jesus, a human body wrapped around deity.. After this very brief explanation, Mary makes a statement which should be taken up by all of us: Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. She did not ask for more information, she did not ask for time to ‘pray’ about it, nor did she ask what people were going to think about her. She said Yes Lord. In Mary’s Song of Praise vs 46-55 she expresses great concern for the poor and downtrodden. She magnifies the focus on God who is no respecter of wealth or social position and and she anticipates the preaching and the ministry of her Son who would be a friend to the poor and needy. In her song, vss 46-55 Mary uses OT quotes or makes reference to 1 Samuel, Psalm, Isaiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Malachi, Deuteronomy, Daniel, Job, Ezekiel, Micah and Genesis. Ahem… Can you say I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you Psalm 119:11? Come to think of it…maybe that is part of the reason Mary found favor with God.
