Why was mary puzzled by gabriels announcement

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

The visit lasted about three months, after which time Mary returned to Nazareth. The real embarrassment of her position she had now to meet. At the home of her cousin she had been understood; her condition had served to confirm the testimony of Zacharias and Elisabeth; but how would her word be received at her own home? And especially, how would she be regarded by her espoused husband?

Now the Jewish law provided for the annulment of a betrothal in either of two ways—by public trial and judgment, or by private agreement attested by a written document signed in the presence of witnesses. Joseph was a just man, a strict observer of the law, yet no harsh extremist; moreover he loved Mary and would save her all unnecessary humiliation, whatever might be his own sorrow and suffering. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus : for he shall save his people from their sins.

It was beyond question that the Messiah was to be born within the tribe of Judah and through the line of descent from David, and, being of David He must of necessity be of the lineage of Abraham, through whose posterity, according to the covenant, all nations of the earth were to be blessed.

Two genealogical records purporting to give the lineage of Jesus are found in the New Testament, one in the first chapter of Matthew , the other in the third chapter of Luke.

These records present several apparent discrepancies, but such have been satisfactorily reconciled by the research of specialists in Jewish genealogy. The all important fact to be remembered is that the Child promised by Gabriel to Mary, the virginal bride of Joseph, would be born in the royal line.

A personal genealogy of Joseph was essentially that of Mary also, for they were cousins. Joseph is named as son of Jacob by Matthew, and as son of Heli by Luke; but Jacob and Heli were brothers, and it appears that one of the two was the father of Joseph and the other the father of Mary and therefore father-in-law to Joseph. Our Lord, though repeatedly addressed as Son of David, never repudiated the title but accepted it as rightly applied to Himself. In all the persecutions waged by His implacable haters, in all the false accusations brought against Him, in the specific charges of sacrilege and blasphemy based on His acknowledgment of the Messiahship as His own, no mention is found of even an insinuation that He could not be the Christ through any ineligibility based on lineage.

Genealogy was assiduously cared for by the Jews before, during, and after the time of Christ; indeed their national history was largely genealogical record; and any possibility of denying the Christ because of unattested descent would have been used to the fullest extent by insistent Pharisee, learned scribe, haughty rabbi, and aristocratic Sadducee.

The rights of the royal Davidic family were unrecognized; and the ruler of the Jews was an appointee of Rome. Had Judah been a free and independent nation, ruled by her rightful sovereign, Joseph the carpenter would have been her crowned king; and his lawful successor to the throne would have been Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. The One, thus announced, was Emmanuel, even God who was to dwell in flesh with His people, d the Redeemer of the world, Jesus the Christ.

John the Baptist Regarded as a Nazarite. A Nazarite, the name signifying consecrated or separated, was one, who by personal vow or by that made for him by his parents, was set apart to some special labor or course of life involving self-denial.

See page The Nazarite, during the term of his consecration, was bound to abstain from wine, grapes, and every production of the vine, and from every kind of intoxicating drink. He was forbidden to cut the hair of his head, or to approach any dead body, even that of his nearest relation. In the strictness of his life, John the Baptist is to be credited with all the personal discipline required of Nazarites whether he was under voluntary or parental vows or was not so bound.

Circumcision, while not exclusively a Hebrew or an Israelitish practice, was made a definite requirement through the revelations of God to Abraham, as the sign of the covenant between Jehovah and the patriarch. Genesis — Circumcision was a binding condition; and its practice therefore became a national characteristic. If b , what does this imply for Protestants about a Mary, and b the uniqueness of the manner of greeting as relates to other angelic visitations in Scripture if any.

Mary's place in scripture is very clearly that of a woman greatly blessed by being chosen to perform a quite unique service, but not to be promoted into a unique office. Gabriel's greeting underlines this, 'Highly favoured, among women'. She remains among women, as one of them, and is highly favoured. Jesus never addresses Mary as mother.

He calls her, 'Woman,' when she speaks to him in Cana at the wedding and he calls her, 'Woman,' from the cross when making provision for her with John. When Mary slips in her words and speaks of, 'Thy father and I,' she receives a mild rebuke from the twelve year old boy, 'Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business '. And the unnamed men rose up from thence.

A messenger, malak , spoke to Moses out of a burning bush. An unnamed angel spoke to the unnamed wife of Manoah, Judges 13, and later ascended up in the flame of the altar.

A man strove with Jacob till the breaking of the day and would not tell him his name, but he called Jacob 'Isra-el' for Jacob had power with God and had prevailed. Daniel saw the appearance of a man and he heard a man's voice say, 'Gabriel, make this one to understand.

Later, Gabriel appears and says, 'O Daniel. And the greatest king upon earth, at the time, Nebuchadnezzar, saw four men in a furnace of flame, Daniel , and said, 'The form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God.

They rise like seven pinnacles over the rest of the comparatively trivial events recorded by humanity of its own history. And then, after Daniel and Malachi, comes silence.

Not a word, for four hundred years. Then comes not just an angel but an archangel. And not unnamed - this is Gabriel who announces to Zacharias, 'I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God - - and behold thou shalt be dumb! Michael is also called, apostolically by Jude, an archangel, Jude 9. John's visions indicate that Michael fights with the Lord's hosts, Revelation But Gabriel stands in God's very presence. There are three that appear significantly - two with personal names, Gabriel and Michael, and one who is only ever represented in ten descriptive terms, as Serpent, Satan, Diabolos, Antidikos, Poneros, Abbadon, Kategoros, Beelzebul, Apollyon, Lucifer, Animos and Drakon.

This one is defeated by Michael, once it is righteously proper to do so. Only to Mary is it said that 'The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the Power of the Highest shall overshadow thee,' and only - ever - of that within Mary was it, or could it be, said that, 'Therefore, also, shall that generated holy be called Son of God. These words, and the circumstances of them, stand out even against the background of the seven previous singularities recorded in scripture.

This event is breathtakingly momentous. The English translation is unsatisfactory, even in the AV which I, otherwise, greatly respect. The wording comparison in Matthew and Luke is just stunning, utterly stunning, and deserves to be further highlighted. This word is only used three times in the New Testament. It is used for Mary, and then twice in Ephesians To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made G us accepted G in the beloved.

Perhaps Mary had no context for the word Gabriel used and it puzzled her. Garbriel used a different word with a similar meaning in his next statement:. With this further explanation of why an angel would be addressing her in an unfamiliar, perhaps unprecidented manner, Mary settled into the conversation.

Unlike the priest, Zacharias, who disbelieved Gabriel, Mary only asked for clarification, so that she might understand what was about to happen to her. Mary humbly submitted herself to God and the role He gave her. She thus was used of God to prepare the Way for all to come into God's favor who believe on her son, the Son of God.

As such, she is called blessed, as both Gabriel text in question above and Elizabeth greeted her:. And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Luke For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. I am unsure of other instances in Scripture where an angel greeted a woman directly. If Mary was familiar with the pentateuch, is it possible that she was frightened by the possibility that the angel was there to do her harm?

The Protestant view would not tend toward the level of veneration for Mary as seen in the Roman Catholic Church, but does not discount the importance of her role as an instrument of God for seeing His plan of salvation brought to completion. The incarnation required a mother, and she was selected.

She bore the seed of the woman Genesis 3 to crush the serpent's head, though His heel would be bruised. Mary could be compared to John the Baptist, who also came to prepare the way for the Lord and announced, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. No one thought she could ever have a baby, but in three months she will have a son. Nothing is impossible for God!

Let it happen as you have said. Here is a word search based on this reading. The prophet Isaiah, when he meets God in the Temple, also sees angels. Read about it in Isaiah Preparation View the episode in advance. Ask the class: What did you like best about this episode? What made you smile? What did you find surprising? What would you say was happening in this episode?

What is it that the postman angel finds puzzling? What did Mary find in the parcel? Which part of this story made the biggest impression on you? Group work — what are angels? Hand out the following discussion starters to small groups.

Where have your ideas come from? Angels seem to be fond of singing. What do you think angel song sounds like? What style of music would best suit an angel? What do we mean? How can we tell the difference? Many people will say they believe in angels. Have you ever seen an angel? What sort of messages might they bring? Do you think it is possible to believe in angels but not to bother with God?