Daily Devotional Monday 25th December 2023
by William Moody
Luke 1:26–38
Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed1 to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”2 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “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 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 to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”3
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born4 will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant5 of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Footnotes
[1] 1:27
That is, legally pledged to be married
[2] 1:28Some manuscripts add Blessed are you among women!
[3] 1:34Greek since I do not know a man
[4] 1:35Some manuscripts add of you
[5] 1:38Greek bondservant; also verse 48 (ESV)
The angel Gabriel comes to give to Mary startling news. Mary is told she will have a Son who would be great, who would be King. But even more amazing is the truth that He would not be of human origin but from God. (v35)
Mary is very fearful (v29). Often when God comes to bless us wonderfully, we can be very concerned as we pass into unknown waters. We need to learn to trust God more and not let the unknown hold us back from fitting into His plans for us which are full of love and grace.
Mary discovers that her Son will be called Jesus, which is the Greek version of Joshua and means ‘Jehovah saves’ (v31). Gabriel, in order to reassure Mary of God’s power in these things, points out what is happening to Elizabeth, an elderly lady who was now expecting her first baby. How can this be? The answer is simple (v37), ‘For with God nothing will be impossible.’
Is there some way in which God wants to use you for a privileged role? Don’t let the fear of the unknown cause you to miss out in being used for the Lord’s glorious work. Let us remember, that to be involved in the Lord’s work is not an unwelcome burden, but it is to be highly favoured.
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