LUKE 1:26-56
NASB
26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin [a]engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the [b]descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was [c]Mary. 28And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, [a]favored one! The Lord [b]is with you.” 29But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
34Mary said to the angel, “How [a]can this be, since I [b]am a virgin?” 35The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the [a]holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age;
and [a]she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37For [a]nothing will be impossible with God.” 38And Mary said, “Behold, the [a]bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
39Now [a]at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43And [a]how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45And blessed is she who
[a]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her [b]by the Lord.”
46And Mary said:
“My soul [a]exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 “For He has had regard for the humble state of His [a]bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 “AND HIS MERCY IS [a]UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
51 “He has done [a]mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the [b]thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.
53 “HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant, [a]In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his [a]descendants forever.”
56And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
1:27 [a]Or betrothed; i.e. the first stage of marriage in Jewish culture, usually lasting for a year before the wedding night. More legal than engagement [b]Lit house [c]Gr Mariam;
i.e. Heb Miriam; so throughout Luke 1:28 [a]Or woman richly blessed [b]Or be 1:34 [a]Lit will [b]Lit know no man 1:35 [a]Lit the holy thing begotten 1:36 [a]Lit this is the sixth month to her who 1:37 [a]Lit not any word 1:38 [a]I.e. female slave 1:39 [a]Lit in these days 1:43 [a]Lit from where this to me 1:45 [a]Or believed, because there will be [b]Lit from 1:46 [a]Lit makes great 1:48 [a]I.e. female slave 1:50 [a]Lit unto generations and generations 1:51 [a]Lit might [b]Lit thought, attitude 1:54 [a]Lit So as to remember 1:55 [a]Lit seed
NLT
26In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28Gabriel appeared to her and said,
“Greetings,[*] favored woman! The Lord is with you![*]”
29Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33And he will reign over Israel[*] forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
34Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
35The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age!
People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37For the word of God will never fail.[*]”
38Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
39A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? 44When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.
45You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
46Mary responded,
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
50 He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.
51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful.
55 For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.
[1:28a] Or Rejoice. [1:28b] Some manuscripts add Blessed are you among women.
[1:33] Greek over the house of Jacob. [1:37] Some manuscripts read For nothing is impossible with God.
Any serious study of Jesus’ birth merits an accurate understanding of the one who bore Him. Unfortunately, more confusion surrounds the mother of the Christ child than the baby Himself! Thanks to the artist’s brush, the sculptor’s chisel and mallet, the author’s pen, and the well-meaning imagination of preachers, we know more about the Mary of dogma and legend than the real Mary of Scripture.
The Roman Catholic Church has not helped the situation by adding several unbiblical doctrines to its teaching on Mary. These include:
“Immaculate Conception,” the notion that Mary was born without a fallen sin nature, free from original sin.
“Perpetual Virginity,” which insists that Mary remained a virgin her entire life.
“Bodily Assumption,” the belief that Mary never succumbed to death but was taken directly into heaven in bodily form.
By adding one Mary-exalting dogma to another, the Roman Catholic Church now regards Mary as a co-mediator (or “mediatrix”) alongside her Son, Jesus Christ. In the words of Pope John Paul II, “In union with Christ and in submission to him, she collaborated in obtaining the grace of
salvation for all humanity.”[18]
Protestants during the Reformation and through the first several centuries afterward reacted sharply to Catholic errors, pushing the
pendulum too far to the other side. Fearing excessive veneration for Mary, they virtually ignored her, leaving many of us today ignorant about this remarkable woman of God. Fortunately, Luke took great care to preserve her perspective regarding her role in the greatest event in history. We learn all we need to know about Mary by observing her response to a most
unusual visit and her subsequent journey to Judea to visit her close relative Elizabeth.
— 1:26-27 —
Luke’s account of Gabriel’s visit to Mary emphasizes the link between the forerunner and the Christ in three ways. First, this second segment (1:26- 56) parallels the structure of the first (1:5-25). Second, Luke established the time of this episode as “in the sixth month,” referring to Elizabeth’s
pregnancy. Elizabeth withdrew from the public for five months; in the sixth month of her pregnancy, her close relative, Mary, experienced something extraordinary. Third, he reveals the name of the angel early in the narrative, emphasizing the fact that the same messenger that came to Zacharias came to Mary as well.
Luke emphasizes Mary’s virginity by using the term parthenos [3933]
twice in the same sentence. Some argue the word indicates merely a young girl eligible for marriage, not necessarily one untouched by a man. But the ancient Greeks prized virginity and used the term quite literally. For
instance, Artemis, the goddess of Ephesus, was categorically and zealously virginal. Greeks and Romans looked to Artemis to protect chaste young men and women. Moreover, she symbolized the cultic power of virginity, representing “young and budding life and strict innocence.”[19]
Consequently, a young, unmarried woman was called a parthenos. To be anything other than virgin before her wedding would have been
unthinkable, even in pagan society.
At the time of the angel’s visit, this virgin was “engaged” to a man named Joseph (1:27). Jewish custom in Israel divided the process of marriage into three stages. First, the choice of a mate. A suitable match would be proposed (typically by parents). The couple and their families would take time to become acquainted and approve the match, after which they entered a formal agreement. This contract often included a dowry.
Once the contract had been signed and sealed, usually in a synagogue, the couple entered the second stage: betrothal.