Luke 1:26 says, And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, The angel Gabriel was once again sent by God, this time to the city of Nazareth. Angels go where God sends them, and so should we as followers of Christ. Verse twenty-seven adds, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. Gabriel was to go to a specific virgin, Mary, who was espoused to Joseph, of the house of David. God chose Mary, just as He chooses each person today to come to Him for salvation and for the task that He has for them to do. Verse twenty-eight continues, 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. Gabriel spoke to Mary, telling her she was highly favoured and that the LORD was with her. He also said that she was blessed among women. So far, Gabriel had not said why this was true. Some people deify Mary, but she was just as human as any other woman. Verse twenty-nine states, And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. Mary was troubled by Gabriel's greeting. She wondered what it meant. We are not told that she was troubled by the appearance of an angel, but only by what he said. He may not have looked that much different than any man she hade met, since we are told we may often entertain angels unaware. Verse thirty adds, And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. The angel Gabriel told Mary to not be afraid, because she had found favour with God. As Christians, when we first encounter Jesus Christ, we likewise have no reason to fear. Verse thirty-one declares, And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. If Mary was confused by the greeting of Gabriel, I am sure she was now becoming even more confused. Gabriel told her she was going to have a baby son, and even told her what to name Him. Since Mary was a vigin and still not married, this would have tended to raise a lot of questions and doubts. When God calls us to do something that seems impossible today, we may be filled with the same questions and doubt, though we shouldn't be. Verse thirty-two adds, 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: Mary was a simple young woman, and Gabriel told her that her Son was going to be called the Son of the Highest and given the throne of His forefather David. I would imagine that by now her questions would be growing. Verse thirty-three continues, And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Gabriel continued by saying that her Son, Jesus, would reign over the house of Jacob forever, and that His kingdom would have no end. Jesus' kingdom would be everlasting and without end. This will never change. Verse thirty-four says, Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? Mary asked how this was possible because she was still a virgin. I am sure that this would be the first guestion asked by any woman in her position, if it were not written off as just crazy talk. Verse thirty-five states, 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. The angel Gabriel told her that God was going to cause it to happen, and that her Son Jesus would be called the Son of God. I am sure that by now Mary was really filled with questions, especially considering her status as an unmarried woman in that day. God may at times call us to do things that seem impossible and maybe even dangerous to us in the eyes of the world, but we need to move ahead in faith. Verse thirty-six adds, 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. For proof we might say, Gabriel told Mary that her cousin Elisabeth who was old was now in the sixth month of her pregnancy. Evidently Mary did not yet know this. Verse thirty-seven continues, For with God nothing shall be impossible. We need to claim this promise today as followers of Christ. With God, nothing shall be impossible. Verse thirty-eight declares, And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Mary may have still had questions, but she turned herself over to God and said let what the angel had said to her happen. Ultimately, this is all that we can do as Christians, and that is to heed God's call for us to do whatever He has for us to do. We do not need to look to the worldly impossibility of it happen, but need to remember that with God, nothing is impossible.
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