Luke 1:34-38

Luke 1:34-38

And Mary said to the angel, “How is this, since I do not know a man?”  And replying, the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will cast a shadow over you; therefore the holy one who is being born will be called the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth your kinswoman, even she has conceived a son in her old age and this month is the sixth month to her who was being called barren.  For every word will not be impossible with God.”  And Mary said, “Behold the slave of the Lord!  May it come to me according to your word.”  And the angel went away from her.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Mary is admittedly confused.  After all, as most modern translations indicate, she is a virgin.  As the Greek text boldly declares, she has never known a man – or more precisely the intimacy of a man.  Yet the angel once more takes the focus off of her and puts the focus back upon God where it should rest.  How will this happen to Mary?  The Holy Spirit will come upon her.  The power of the Most High will cast a shadow upon her.  We don’t know the actual details of how god makes it happen.  But we do hear from Gabriel that God is the reason why.

Why is it important to see the continued focus upon God as we shift through the early stories in Luke’s Gospel?  What does this tell us about Luke and his research as he investigated the truth to write back to Theophilus?

Second Thought:

Gabriel gives us another really neat catchphrase regarding God.  Every word is not impossible with God.  There are two really neat dynamics that come out of this verse – neither of which come out as strongly in the manner which this verse is often translated.  {Nothing will be impossible with God.}

• First, notice that Gabriel is claiming that every word is not impossible with God.  It is one thing for actions to be possible or impossible.  But words can be said without needing proof.  Words are simply thoughts, not necessarily actions.  Promises can always be made even if we do not intend to keep them.  But this is not true with God.  With God, even every word is not impossible!
• Second, Gabriel gives us the statement as a double negative.  Gabriel could have said, “Every word is possible.”  But Gabriel actually says, “Every word is not impossible.”  What this does is to show us the assumed position of human beings when it comes to understanding God’s power.  Human beings are limited by our ability to conceive the idea in our mind.  When we see things that we cannot understand, we doubt.  We are natural skeptics.  Therefore, Gabriel gives us the warning that we need to be careful of our human nature.  Like Mary here – and Zechariah before her – we tend to doubt what we cannot understand.  With God, we need to remember that every word is not impossible.

Do you believe in God’s ability to do everything?  Are you able to live out that belief?

Third Thought:

Mary gives us an incredible display here in this passage.  After receiving this news, look at how Mary responds.  First of all, she calls herself a slave.  There is no greater statement of submission and humility than to accept the status of slave.  Second, notice that Mary calls upon the word of the Lord to happen as the Lord pleases.  She is truly submitted and humble before the Lord.  She does not to spin or twist or contort the desire of the Lord.  She submits as a slave and simply asks that the will of the Lord happen.

Are you submitting to the will of the Lord?  How do you know?  How do you display this in your life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 1:39-45