December 9, 2024

Luke 1:26-33 (HCSB)
Gabriel Predicts Jesus’ Birth
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30 Then the angel told her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name 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. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.

Mark Stephens
There is an abundance of devotions that could be written for these verses. The task this week is to concentrate on Mary. As earlier in chapter 1, Gabriel brings a message from God. His message was clear to Mary: God has chosen her and will use her to bring one of the most important people that ever walked the earth to us. Gabriel startled Mary, and his message left her perplexed and understandably so. Many things must have been running through her head. Mainly, why me? That, in my opinion, is a sign of humility. She knew this wasn’t a menial assignment. God is good about choosing the most unlikely people. Next to Jesus, one of the most important things is that God found favor with Mary.
You might ask why, and there would be more than one answer. The family tree would be one; you could dig deep into that with all the begats. I like that God chose an ordinary, unlikely, and favored person to complete a great task. We should take note of that. I hope this week is a good one.