The Gospel According to Luke opens w/ the purpose of the book, addressing its intended audience. I've previously written about it here on my personal blog:
http://wilsonleungsworld.blogspot.com/2007/04/according-to-luke.html
Reading Luke 1, I was struck by the incredible parallelism between Zechariah and Mary's separate encounters with the Archangel Gabriel.
Compare Zechariah and Mary’s Encounter w/ Gabriel
| What | Zechariah | Mary | Comment Z. = Zechariah M. = Mary |
| Angel Appears | 10And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. | 28"Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." | Gabriel doesn’t say anything to Z., but does to M. when he 1st appears. |
| Reaction | 12Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. | 29But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. | Likewise, Z. is troubled by the angel’s appearance, whereas M. is perplexed at what he said. |
| Angel says | 13Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. "You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15"For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb. 16"And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17"It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah,TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
| 30"Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."
| Z. and M. both get “Do not be afraid.”
God hears and answers Z’s petition, whereas M. did not petition anything, yet God found favor in her.
Gabriel proceeds to foretell the lives of John and Jesus. |
| Response | 18"How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years." | 34"How can this be, since I am a virgin?" | In v18, “for certain,” is not in the Greek, but added for clarity.
Z. asks how he will know it will be true, whereas M. asks how it will happen. Fine distinction, but it is supported in Gabriel’s response… |
| Angel says | 19"I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20"And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time." | The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36"And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37"For nothing will be impossible with God."
| Let me try to paraphrase the Gabriel’s response to Z. and to M.:
To Z.: You will know this for certain b/c I am archangel of God and have been sent by God. (He appeals to the authority of the master.)
To M.: Gabriel answers by explaining how it will come to be since that is what Mary asked!
Pretty simple! |
| Response | Elizabeth 25"This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men." | 38"Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." | Interestingly, Z. doesn’t get to reflect on what has occurred; at least it is not recorded by Luke. So, as Z. was muted due to doubt, he’s also muted in the Scriptural record. Rather, Elizabeth reflects on God’s blessing, not Z.
M.’s response is of such beautiful total submission to God. And, the final clause, “may it be done to me according to your word” – really shows that she never doubted Gabriel’s word! |
In the Old Testament, Abraham/Sarah, Isaac/Rebekah, and Jacob/Rachel were not able to have children until the Lord allowed it. As Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were the beginning of the original covenant to form the Israelite nation - a physical kingdom, so John (the forerunner) and Jesus (the King) is the beginning of the new covenant to begin the spiritual kingdom of God. This "new beginning," so to speak, starts are off in similar yet different fashion. Zechariah and Elizabeth, who are advanced in age, are not able to have children until God allows it per the Holy Spirit; echoing the travails of the patriarchs.
Then the pattern changes! Before, God gave child(ren) to couples who were previously unable to have children. Now, He gives a child to a couple that is not even yet married, though betrothed, and the woman has not even "known" a man. Yet again, it is achieved by the Holy Spirit. Whereas the former O.T. couples and Zech./Elizabeth petitioned God to have children, Mary and Joseph in no way asked for a child before marriage. In fact much has been made of the fact that Joseph, and Mary too, were likely to be seen in disgrace by common folk in that she was pregnant before marriage! (Boy, what an age and society we live now. How far we strayed!)
And so, God ushers in His kingdom on Earth by breaking the pattern w/ the birth of His son.
Putting myself in that time, in that place, in their shoes... reflecting on what I knew about the patriarchs, I hope I would have surmised that the birth of this baby Jesus was something the Israelites, and the world, has never seen and will never seen again- The virgin birth- of the Messiah no less.
I'm amazed by Mary's attitude. Romans, Galatians, Philippians, Titus, Jude, James, 2 Peter, and Revelation open w/ the writer referring to himself as a bond-servant of Jesus Christ. But it was Mary, the mother of the Jesus, who is the 1st in the N.T. to choose to be eternally bonded as servant to her own son, the Son of God. Luke 1:38 is the key application verse: "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word."
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