Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!” Luke 1:28 WEB
The physician Luke, a companion of Paul, begins the first chapter of his gospel account with the reason for his writing. As a scholarly man, Luke carefully investigated matters and questioned eyewitness accounts passed down by others concerning Jesus’ fulfillment of scripture. He knew the apostle Paul and the acts of the apostles but was not himself a first hand witness to the ministry of Christ. Luke, therefore, writes an orderly account of the gospel message as presented to him by reliable sources.
Before relating Mary’s encounter with an angel and her status as highly favored, Luke first explains how an angel of the Lord came to Zechariah to foretell the birth of his son, John the Baptist to his wife Elizabrtth in her old age. John subsequently led a repentance ministry that prepared the population for the ministry of Jesus.
Similarly, Luke describes an encounter Mary, the mother of Jesus, has with an angel in the sixth month of Elizabth’s pregnancy. Calling her “highly favored,” the angel informs Mary that she will conceive and give birth to a son who will be called the Son of the Most High. Incredulous, Mary questions the angel asking how this could be possible. The angel replies in Luke 1:35, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. NIV”
Let It Be Done
The appearance of the angel troubles Mary, but she accepts the unusual event with grace. Mary’s response is recorded in Luke 1:38 as, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word. WEB”
With these two angelic encounters, Luke relates more than the highly favored status of Mary. He established in writing an account of the virgin birth of our Lord. This fulfills prophecy from Isaiah 7:14 which reads, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. WEB” The word Immanuel means, “God with us.”
Prayer: “Father God, thank you for the faithful who recorded the gospel story of Christ. Thank you for making my salvation possible. Help me to share the truth of your word. In Jesus’ name – Amen”
Yesterday’s Devotional: Shepherd the Assembly
