Jesus’ Birth Announcement (1:26-56)

Six months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel delivers another message. This time it is to a girl and not a priest. This time it is in a village and not the temple. However, the parallels between the two messages are many. At the same time, each parallel element is stepped up. Instead of a barren older woman becoming pregnant, a virgin is going to become pregnant. Instead of a baby destined to be a messenger of the Messiah, this baby will BE that Messiah.

In fact, this baby will be the son of God. There is no parallel to this idea of virgin birth in the Old Testament. Nor even in other cultures, where the idea of gods having children is not unheard of. In this case, we are not seeing a story about a god impregnating a woman. The Spirit of Go is going to generate a new human within the womb oof Mary. This is a miracle of creation, a new creation destined to save the fallen creation from its sin and rebellion against the Creator.

The announcement Gabriel brings is a birth announcement, however, it is also similar to the announcements of calling in the Old Testament. This is as much a call on the life of Mary as it is an announcement of the Messiah’s birth. She obediently submits to what God is about to do in her life.