29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a]the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. Luke 1
Six months previously Gabriel had appeared to Zecharaiah and Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, was now pregnant. Surely there was no way that Mary would not have heard about this amazing angelic appearance. No way that the whole family would not have marvelled and rejoiced and wondered at the news. And had to help poor old Zechariah in his new found inability to speak. Mary must have already been so excited at the thought that God had visited her family members - and Gabriel reminds her of the miracle that God has already done. But she seems to miss the central point. The part where she is told that Jesus is going to be King over the people of Jacob forever. His reign shall never end.
Both Mary and Joseph can trace their lineage back to the royal line of the house of David so it might not be outwith the bounds of possibility that a child they bore could become king. However, how could an earthly king reign forever? Mary doesn't focus on this impossibility, instead she asks how it is that she can bear a son when she is not married. And she is told that she will be overshadowed by the power of the most high.
Dynamis. The greek word for power. Dynamite. Explosive power.
I wonder what Mary actually experienced when 'it' whatever 'it' was, happened to her. I'm betting she knew about it. I don't suppose she went to sleep one evening and woke up the next morning pregnant. I don't think the shadow of the dynamite power of God passing over you would go unnoticed somehow. I'll bet she felt something incredible. Something undeniable that she could hold onto for the three or four months before her pregnancy became obvious.
' I am the Lord's servant' or another translations says ' I belong to The Lord body and soul'. You don't lie to an angel. You don't exaggerate or talk yourself up in front of someone who can see right through you and who knows your very thoughts. When Mary said it, she meant it. She was a good girl, a devoted lover of her God. She was about to became the very first person in whom the Lord God lived. The prototype of all those who followed after her, who were willing to say to Him ' You can have my body, my soul, my spirit and my whole life to do with as You will' The miracle of the incarnation.
Lord Jesus,
when Mary invited You into her life she became host to the miracle of the incarnation. When we invite you into our lives no less of a miracle happens. You come to indwell us by Your Spirit. You are able to do this for us because she agreed to do that for You. We are so thankful that she was prepared to be a mother to your Son and thankful that You were willing to give Him up from your presence in heaven to become part of the human race for us.
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