Questions to Consider
Have you ever wondered how Jesus arrived on planet earth? Or what his birth has to do with his death? Or what his birth has to do with heaven? Have you ever considered why you have to obey him to truly be his follower? Or whether you have to believe in the virgin birth of Jesus to be a Christian?
These are important questions and we’ll try to answer them this morning. As we continue looking at Luke chapter 1, we come to the passage where the birth of Jesus is prophesied, what’s commonly called “The Annunciation,” or the announcement of Jesus’ birth.
Doctor Luke continues his narrative with great literary skill and symmetry. The section we’re studying today (1:26-38) is paradoxically parallel with the section we studied last week (1:5-25). There are many similarities between the announcement of John and Jesus’ birth, but also significant differences. Luke wants us to compare John with Jesus, but he also wants us to see that Jesus is demonstrably greater than John.
Luke tells us that a virgin named Mary will conceive a son and that he’ll sit on David’s throne as Israel’s Messiah. The main point of this text is that a virgin will give birth to a king.
Why does Luke include the account of the virgin conception of Jesus? Because the virgin conception helps us see the uniqueness of the One conceived. God could’ve become a man any way he wanted, so the virgin conception isn’t necessary, but it’s fitting that God’s King came into the world in this way.
In our text today, we’ll see an unexpected grace (vv. 26-30), a royal son (vv. 31-33), a supernatural conception (vv. 34-37), and a humble faith (v. 38).
An Unexpected Grace
First, in verses 26-30, we see an unexpected grace. Notice the unexpectedness of this event. Luke sets the scene by noting several paradoxical parallels between this scene and the one before it. Whereas Gabriel met Zechariah in Jerusalem, the capital city, in the temple while all the people were worshipping (vv. 5-11), he comes to Mary who’s in “a city of Galilee named Nazareth” (v. 26).
It’s hard to overstate how insignificant Nazareth was at that time. It was “nowheresville.” Nazareth isn’t mentioned in the Old Testament, intertestamental literature, by the Jewish historian Josephus, or in the rabbinic literature. It was a small, poor, nondescript village. One writer describes it like this:
“First-century Nazareth never would have made its way onto a list of the top-ten most desirable places to live in ancient Israel. It was a small farming village in Galilee, far removed from the hustle and bustle of Jerusalem. Ninety miles north of Jerusalem, Nazareth was culturally, religiously, and politically isolated from the capital city. Because it was north of Samaria, it was also more ethnically diverse, a region inhabited by Gentiles and Jewish descendants.”[1]
Jews outside of Nazareth looked down on people from there because of their unpolished accent and lack of culture. This is why Nathanael says, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn. 1:45) No one would’ve guessed that the Messiah would come from Nazareth.
Luke is setting the stage for Gabriel’s announcement that Mary’s son will be the King of Israel, already underscoring the humility of this King. He’d come from nowhere for people who feel like nobodies. Aren’t most of us from ordinary places? Not many of us come from the centers of power and glitz and glamor and wealth, meaning that Jesus came for people just like us (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26-29).
But notice another contrast Luke is setting up. Whereas Gabriel first went to a respected male priest, he now comes to a lowly female teenager (v. 27).
Luke points out Mary’s virginity twice before he tells us her name. He’s assuming we understand the rules of marriage back then. But we don’t! So here they are. Jewish girls would usually be given in marriage after reaching puberty at age twelve or thirteen, so Mary is likely around that age. Her father has already agreed that she marry Joseph and has paid the bride price, but Joseph had not yet taken her to live with him. This means that when Gabriel comes to Mary, she’s legally bound to Joseph but is still a virgin living in her childhood home waiting for the marriage ceremony.
Compared to Zechariah, she’s a nobody waiting to marry somebody. She was a common woman about to have an uncommon experience.
Reversals
“The angel Gabriel was sent from God” to a nobody living in nowheresville Nazareth. All this is initiated by God. Gabriel “was sent from God.” God isn’t entering this story, he’s making the story. And he’s up to something in these paradoxical parallels. Luke is showing us that the Lord’s work is all about reversals.
What do I mean? By comparing the holiness of the temple to the simplicity of a village and by comparing a respected priest to a young girl, Luke is showing us that God’s plan will reverse our expectations. Throughout Luke, we’ll see the upside-down nature of God’s kingdom, where the first are last and the last are first, where the weak are strong, where the lowly are lifted up, and where the dead come back to life. These contrasts between John and Jesus’ annunciations are just a foretaste of even greater reversals to come.
“O Favored One”
Now let’s consider the “grace” part this unexpected event. Verse 28 says that Gabriel calls her, “O favored one.” The Latin Vulgate used by many Catholics emphasizes Mary’s grace, translating this verse, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” But this title in Greek indicates that she’s received favor from someone else, that she’s the recipient of grace, not a source of grace.
Gabriel’s greeting, however, emphasizes grace Mary has received, not grace she has. He says again in verse 30 that she has “found favor with God.” She’s an object of God’s grace, not a dispenser of God’s grace. This is why we don’t pray to Mary. She has nothing for us because she’s just like us, a sinner in need of grace.
That a young girl from humble circumstances should receive special favor from God reminds us that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6, 1 Pet. 5:5). Mary points this out in her song (1:48, 52). This means that God’s grace isn’t limited to forgiveness but includes God calling her into something great that he’s doing.
One of God’s graces in your life is his entrusting you with the callings he’s given you, as a single person or spouse, parent, child, friend, employee, employer, or church member. These “graces” are from God and for God.
A Royal Son
The result of this unexpected grace toward Mary will be a royal son (vv. 31-33). The grace Mary will receive is the gift of a son. Gabriel says seven things about this son.
First, Mary, an unwed virgin, will conceive and bear a son (v. 31a). Second, his name will be “Jesus” (v. 31b). “Jesus” comes from the name “Joshua,” which means “The Lord saves.” Matthew’s account tells us why he’ll be named Jesus: “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (1:21). Mary’s baby boy will save his people “from their sins.”
Third, this boy “will be great” (Lk. 1:32a). Gabriel said John would be “great before the Lord” (v. 15), but Jesus will be “great” with no qualification. This word is only used in the Old Testament to describe God himself. Deuteronomy 10:17, “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God.” Gabriel is saying that Mary’s son will be the great God of Israel.
Jesus will be great and, at the Last Supper, he clarifies for us what it means to be truly great (22:25-27). Greatness in God’s economy comes from serving others, as Mary’s baby boy will show us when he lays down his life for his friends. Let me encourage men in our church to find ways to serve, to use your gifts to serve others. Serving others is never convenient, but it’s the pathway to true greatness.
Fourth, he’ll be called “the Son of the Most High” (1:32b). This is another way of saying “Son of God” (v. 35). Others were called “sons of God” before: angels (Gen. 6:2-4; Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7), the people of Israel (Ex. 4:22-23; Deut. 14:1; Hos. 1:10), and kings (Ps. 2:6-9). But no one had been called a son like Jesus would be at his baptism (Lk. 3:21-22).
Fifth, the Lord will “give to him the throne of his father David” (1:32c). This promise comes from 2 Samuel 7. King David wants to build the Lord a house but the Lord says he’ll build him a house instead. He says David will have someone from his line sit on the throne of Israel forever (vv. 12-16).
The sixth and seventh things Gabriel says about Jesus in verse 33 parallel what the says at the end of verse 32. Mary’s son will rule over Israel forever and his kingdom will never end.
Gabriel is saying that Jesus won’t be just another Jewish monarch in a long line of failures, and he won’t come to give his people temporary deliverance. Rather, he’ll come as “the eternal monarch of an everlasting kingdom.”[2]
Gabriel is saying that the second person of the Trinity who’s existed eternally will become a human and occupy David’s throne. Mary’s son will be God’s Son and the eternal King of Israel. This baby will be the preexistent Son of God and the royal Son of David at the same time.
A Supernatural Conception
Can you imagine what Mary must’ve been thinking as she heard this? We actually don’t have to imagine because verse 34 tells us. She says, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Gabriel answers by telling her that she’ll experience a supernatural conception (vv. 34-37).
At first glance, Mary’s question seems a lot like Zechariah’s back in verse 18. But they’re actually very different questions. Ancient people didn’t know about modern embryonic science, but they knew how babies were made. Mary knows she hasn’t been sexually active with Joseph so she doesn’t understand how she could possibly conceive a son, so she asks, “How will this be?”
If Joseph isn’t part of the process of conception, she wonders how she can conceive. Mary’s concern is logical and practical. Zechariah, on the other hand, wanted proof that his barren wife could have a son. As one commentator says, “Rather than demanding to see, Mary simply states her inability to see.”[3]
Mary’s question is, “How will this be?” Zechariah’s question is, “How can this be?” Mary’s question is the result of confusion and holy curiosity. Zechariah’s question is the result doubt and unbelief, which is why he wanted a sign. Mary assumes what Gabriel has said will happen and simply wants to know how.
There’s a difference between questioning God and asking God a question. When we’re confused or disoriented, it’s not about going to God with the exactly right words, but with the right heart. Mary had the right heart, Zechariah did not.
The Life-Creating Spirit of God
In verse 35, Gabriel tells Mary how she’ll conceive a son even though she’s a virgin. He says that the Holy Spirit will “overshadow” her and she’ll conceive. This word is used to describe how the cloud of God’s presence “overshadowed” the tabernacle after it was completed and God’s presence filled it (Ex. 40:34). The glory of God’s presence will descend on Mary, who’ll become like a new tabernacle where God dwells.
Luke doesn’t give us the mechanics for how the Spirit will cause Mary to conceive, but it’s clear that the Spirit will cause her to conceive. From the beginning, God’s Spirit was the agent of his creative power. In Genesis 1:2, God’s Spirit was hovering over the waters as God began to form and fill the earth, and the Spirit was at work when God created man and breathed the breath of life into him making him a living being (2:7). The life-giving Spirit of God is going to create life within a virgin’s womb. The Father sent his Son into the world by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Then in verse 36, although Mary hasn’t asked for a sign like Zechariah did, the angel gives her one anyways. Gabriel’s statement in verse 37, “For nothing will be impossible with God,” is an echo of the Lord’s word to Sarah back in Genesis, “Is anything too hard for the Lord” (18:14). But unlike Sarah, Mary’s pregnancy won’t come as a result of the natural means of procreation. One scholar explains:
“Under the old covenant, God merely catalyzed the natural mechanisms of natural sexual reproduction by opening the wombs of older or barren women. However, this young, betrothed woman had never attempted to procreate. The conception of Jesus is no mere enhancement of the normal means of procreation, no divine fertility treatment. This conception by the Holy Spirit was a direct act of divine creative activity.”[4]
Do You Have to Believe in the Virgin Birth to Be a Christian?
Over the last two thousand years, people have denied the virgin birth of Jesus. Many today who call themselves Christians deny it. Some popular teachers have minimized it, saying that it’s a doctrine that can be removed without affecting anything.[5]
I’ll start by saying that if you deny the virgin birth you deny something that Christians have confessed for thousands of years. As we read in The Apostles Creed this morning, “I believe in Jesus Christ…who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” The virgin birth is a doctrine long believed by the church. This is why our Statement of Faith, the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, basically repeats The Apostles Creed, saying, “Jesus Christ…was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” You have to believe in this doctrine to be a member of our church, but do you have to believe this to be a Christian?
My answer is yes, denying this doctrine means denying Christianity. This doesn’t mean that you have to know about the virgin birth before you become a Christian. But it does mean that if you don’t believe this upon hearing it or seeing it in Scripture, then you’re denying something that the Bible clearly teaches, and there are serious implications in doing so. Dr. Al Mohler explains:
“If Jesus was not born of a virgin, who was His father? There is no answer that will leave the Gospel intact. The virgin birth explains how Christ could be both God and man, how He was without sin, and that the entire work of salvation is God’s gracious act. If Jesus was not born of a virgin, He had a human father. If Jesus was not born of a virgin, the Bible teaches a lie.”[6]
What Dr. Mohler is saying is that if we reject this doctrine we surrender the authority of Scripture, undermine the divine nature of Christ, and compromise the integrity of the gospel. If Jesus had a human father, he inherits original sin from Adam like the rest of us and can’t be a sinless substitute.
The virgin birth isn’t the whole gospel, but it’s one of the biggest bricks that supports the wall of the gospel. Removing it weakens the wall and often leads it to crumble. It’s worth asking, “If God can create a universe out of nothing, then why can’t he cause a virgin to conceive?”
The virgin birth means that Jesus came into the world because God sent him. He came on purpose and he came for people who would trust him, people like Mary.
A Humble Faith
And that brings us to our last verse and last point, Mary’s humble faith (v. 38). We have to understand the gravity of Mary’s situation to understand how great her faith was. Mary understood the potential consequences of getting pregnant before marriage. She could’ve lost her betrothed husband Joseph, and Matthew tells us that she almost did (Mt. 1:19). He would’ve known he wasn’t the father of the baby she carried. She knew that she could’ve been publicly shamed and tried as an adulteress according to the law of Moses (Lev. 20:10).
But Mary doesn’t mention any of these things. She doesn’t ask about hypotheticals or make excuses or protest that this is all unfair. Instead, she humbly says, “I am the servant of the Lord.” Like her soon to be son, she models complete surrender to the Lord, essentially saying, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Lk. 22:42). True faith, like Mary’s, follows the Lord even when it costs you something.
Jesus is Savior and King
One of the implications of Gabriel’s announcement is that Jesus came to rule as a King. Yes, he’s Savior, but he’s also Lord, and you can’t have one without the other. We can’t have half of him. We must take all of him or we get none of him.
If you invite me to your house and say, “Come in John, but stay out Sypert,” I wouldn’t know what to do because I’m John Sypert. I couldn’t even say, “This half is John and this half is Sypert” because I’m all John and all Sypert. I’m both so you either get all of me or none of me.
Sometimes we come to Jesus and we want the loving and helping Jesus, not the holy and powerful Jesus. If you come to him wanting the part of him that wants to help you through hard times but not the part that wants to correct how you think or live, you get no Jesus at all.[7]
Living under Jesus’ kingly rule is one of the main evidences that we know Jesus. Living under his rule means we take our cues from his word, not our thoughts, opinions, and preferences. It means we do life with his people by joining a local church and committing to them through thick and thin, working with our brothers and sisters to reveal Jesus’ kingdom in the church, neighborhoods, and to the nations.
It means we believe he has the power to do anything (v. 37). What does Jesus’ birth have to do with his death? The beginning and end of King Jesus’ story reveal God’s power over all things. His rulership means he can reverse anything, including death.
King Jesus can reverse a painful relationship, a strained marriage, a wayward child, a financial need, a hard heart, a stubborn addiction, an abiding loneliness, or a difficult job.
Jesus’ kingship will ultimately, eventually, reverse the curse itself as the resurrected One resurrects the whole universe, setting everything free from bondage and decay and sin and death and bringing about a new world where all the sad things are gone and there’s pleasures from his hand forevermore. King Jesus will one day bring the reversal that our hearts long for.
You can’t have Jesus as your Savior while denying him as your King. If you deny his kingship, you deny his power to save you. Does King Jesus rule your heart? What part of your life needs to come under his rule?
Every sacrifice we make for him will be worth it as soon as he steps out of heaven, comes back to the earth, and sets up a kingdom that will never end. In the promise of his birth is the promise of heaven for everyone who receives him (v. 33).
Jesus came as a supernatural embryo the first time. The second time he’ll come as a majestic King to rescue everyone waiting for him. Are you ready to meet him?
[1]Rhyne R. Putman, Conceived by the Holy Spirit: The Virgin Birth in Scripture and Theology (Brentwood, TN: B&H Academic, 2024), 70.
[2]Putman, 74.
[3]David E. Garland, Luke, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2011), 81.
[4]Putman, 77-8.
[5]What The Virgin Birth Means & Why Rob Bell Is So Tragically Wrong | Owen Strachan
[6]Must Christians Believe in the Virgin Birth?
[7]This illustration comes from Collin Hansen, Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2023), 32.