Wednesday, June 10, 2020

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 1:26-38 comments: Gabriel speaks to Mary




Luke 1:26 ¶  And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27  To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28  And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29  And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31  And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34  Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36  And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37  For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38  And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Nazareth is not mentioned as such in the Old Testament. It is today called the, “Arab capital of Israel,” as it has a large Arab population. (1)


Gabriel now announces to Mary what she is going to be a part of. This will be the basis of the phrase only begotten Son of God in John. Even though Alexander the Great had himself declared the son of god or the gods and Roman Emperor Augustus even signed his decrees ‘deus fide’ or son of god, God only came to live on earth as a man one time, in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, not a king appointed by man or an emperor by virtue of his military conquests, but a poor Jewish carpenter’s son from a backwater of the Roman Empire who was the Son of God at the same time in that He was God in human flesh.

It is important to understand the meaning of sonship in the ancient world. The Jews understood that for Jesus to be declared the Son of God meant He was equal with God, invested with God’s authority.

John 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Philippians 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Indeed, Christ Himself will declare after His resurrection as He commands His disciples to teach the world about Him;

Matthew 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Mary is a virgin descended from David. The definition of a virgin is found in the passage in verse 34 but is originally found in the Old Testament in Genesis 24:16. Mary’s genealogy is in Luke 3, which we will discuss when we get to it.

Note that the prophecy Gabriel gives Mary is about Jesus Christ’s ultimate authority and kingdom, His kingship over all things temporal and spiritual.

Psalm 45:6 ¶  Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.

Daniel 2:44  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Daniel 7:14  And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed…27  And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Revelation 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Another more immediate prophecy is coming which will refer to the crucifixion and the sorrow it will cause Mary.

Verse 34 refers to the Holy Ghost coming upon and overshadowing Mary. This is not like the pagan mythologies where a god assumes the body of a person or animal to have sex hearkening back to the rebellious sons of God in Genesis, chapter 6. It is more of covering someone in a presence like a shadow. See in Acts how the word is used.

Acts 5:15  Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.

Think of it like the Spirit of God in Genesis 1:2 with God’s generative power manifested in creation.

Genesis 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

God, who creates all life, is ultimately responsible for all conceptions and births.

Genesis 30:2  And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

Psalm 29:9  The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.

Here, though, He does not use the procreative abilities of a man but empowers this woman to become pregnant without another human involved.

(1) Laurie King-Irani, “The Arab Capital of Israel,” Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 25, no. 3 (Spring, 1996), pp. 103-105. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2538265 (accessed 4.15.2015).

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