THE ARCH ANGEL GABRIEL VISITS THE VIRGIN MARY
Luke1:26-33 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came unto her and said, “Hail thou that art highly favored and the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.” And when she saw him she was troubled at his saying and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, “Fear not Mary, for thou hast found favor with God.” And behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. And he shalt 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 and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of His Kingdom, there shall be no end.
Sixth months have passed since Gabriel’s meeting with Zacharias In the Temple. God now sends Gabriel to meet with a young virgin who is living in Nazareth, is espoused to Joseph but the marriage has not been “consummated”, to seek her permission to “bring forth a son” who shall be called “the Son of the Highest”. Mary is “troubled” by Gabriel’s words. Mary is very young – a teenager, and here she is being told that not only is she “highly favored” but “the Lord is with her”. Gabriel also tells Mary that she has “found favor with God,” and as a result, she will “bring forth a son”, named Jesus and her son will ”reign over the house of Jacob, forever.”
MARY AGREES TO BECOME THE MOTHER OF OUR LORD
Luke 1:34-38 Then Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man”?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 that shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God, nothing Is impossible. And Mary said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word,” and the angel departed from her.
Gabriel explains to Mary that in order for her to become Impregnated, the “Holy Ghost”, must first “come upon” her. The Greek word translated “come upon,” is “eperchomai,” which means to supervene or enter into Mary, prior to “the power of the Highest,” over shadowing her. Our Lord had to be born without sin. He could not be conceived in an egg from the seed line of Adam. The Adamic seed line carries sin in it. As David stated in Psalms 51:5: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. ”Mary’s egg also had sin. The “Holy Spirit,” had to intervene and superimpose itself and cleanse and purge Mary’ s egg of any and all sin, prior to the “Power of the Highest”, our Lord God Almighty, writing His perfect DNA into Mary’s “perfect” egg. In so doing, the Immaculate conception of our Lord, in the Virgin Mary would be complete. Gabriel also tells Mary that her “cousin” Elizabeth has “also conceived a son.” and is now completing the sixth month of her pregnancy. The Holy Spirit is providing us with the precise timing of the conception of our Lord, in the Virgin Mary.
Zacharias completed his duties in “the course of Abia,” in the third week of June, and then returned to his home in the hills of Judah and Elizabeth conceived in the latter part of the month of June. Six months later, Mary would conceive in the latter part of the month of December. Is Scripture telling us the day we celebrate our Lord’s birthday, December 25th, is the actual date He was conceived? It would be just like our Heavenly Father to have us celebrate the birth of His Only Begotten Son on the exact day He was actually conceived. If our understanding of these dates is correct, then our Lord would have been born, some nine months later, in the latter part of the month of September, which would be during the Feast of Tabernacles, the last great feast of the year.
As the Bible repeatedly shows us, God does everything In His Perfect Time. Jesus died at the time of the first feast of the year – the Feast of Passover. What could be more appropriate then His being born at the time of the last great feast of the year — the Feast of Tabernacles.
In verse 38 Mary responds to Gabriel, “Be it according to thy word.”As soon as Mary makes that statement, the “angel departed from her.” Our Heavenly Father is a lawful God. Mary had to give her consent, before her impregnation could take place. Mary agreed to becoming our Lord’s mother, knowing full well that she would be subject to man’s law, which could very well result in her being stoned when she was found to be with child and Joseph was not the father. Regardless, Mary agreed and Gabriel departed. The covenant was now complete. The Son of God would be born as the Son of man, out of the womb of the Virgin Mary.
MARY CONCEIVES AND GOES TO STAY WITH ELIZABETH
Luke 1:39-45 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah. And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. And It came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spake out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb”. And whence is this to me, that the mother of our Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
Immediately Mary Is Impregnated she goes “with haste” to the house of Elizabeth. This is a relatively long journey, from Nazareth to the city in the hills of Judah – more than 100 miles. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost”. Since the “babe,” John the Baptist was in her womb, he too was filled with the Holy Ghost, precisely as Gabriel had prophesied when he met with Zacharias in the Temple and told him that John, “shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” These two women, Mary and Elizabeth, one a teenager and the other in her later years, were both carrying *’babes” impacted by the Holy Ghost – one filled with the Holy Ghost and the other cleansed through the Holy Ghost.
Is It any wonder that Elizabeth, being filled with the Holy Ghost, instantly recognizes Mary is to be “the mother of our Lord”, and knows that the “fruit” Mary Is carrying In her womb, Is “blessed.”Elizabeth also bears witness to Mary that all the “things which were told her from the Lord,” by the Arch Angel Gabriel, will come to pass, “there shall be a performance of those “things.”The faith levels of these two women is impeccable. They both love our Heavenly Father and their desire to serve Him in all things is wonderfully apparent.