Anchor My Faith

Title: Mary is Chosen to be the Mother of Jesus (Luke 1:29-31)

God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary “And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”” (Luke 1:28 ESV). This is where we left them at the end of the previous lesson, wondering how Mary responded to the greeting. Let us continue with the narrative and see: “But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be” (Luke 1:29 ESV). Luke reports that Mary was troubled or maybe she was disturbed or perplexed at what Gabriel said. His appearance was so unexpected, so sudden, and so extraordinary. Mary, being God’s choice, was greatly honored, but it filled her with anxious thoughts over what to make of it. She needed to know what she was chosen for.

Gabriel knows that she is not quite ready to hear what she was chosen for: “And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:30 ESV). Gabriel is trying reassure her that there is nothing to be afraid of because she has favor with God and he will be with her through what lies ahead for her. Something that we don’t understand very well here in the west is that when God chooses one and gives an assignment, it may not come with safety and comfort. It may come with a fair amount of suffering; possibly even the loss of life. This is clearly seen in many parts of the world.

Gabriel now continues with his message to her and now tells her what she was chosen for: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31 ESV). This assignment must have laid very heavily upon Mary, to realize that she was to become pregnant, somehow, outside of marriage; in that culture that could result in death. What was Joseph going to think and what about many others? This announcement was not taking Mary down a path of safety.

When Gabriel announced to Zechariah that Elizabeth would give birth to a boy, he also gave the name that was to be given to him. The same is true here. Gabriel told Mary that she would give birth to a son and he was to be named Jesus. Don’t miss the point that she would give birth to Jesus, so somehow she is protected through her pregnancy.

Gabriel continues with his message by describing the life of Jesus. We will start the next lesson at that point.

Prayer

Father, it is clear that you chose Zechariah and Elizabeth to give birth to John who was to have a special assignment. It is also clear that you chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus who was to have a very special assignment. Is it not possible that you choose everyone who is to become a believer because you have a special assignment for them also? I am afraid we have allowed our focus to drift from being chosen and given an assignment to complete, to a focus on ourselves to do what we desire. As a result, kingdom work suffers and we fall short and miss your blessing.