This coming Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Advent. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 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 Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, 33 and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 

In four short verses, the whole plan of salvation is outlined. God’s promise to King David given through the prophet Nathan, spelled out in 2 Sam 7:11–16, is to come to fulfillment in the child that Mary will carry, give birth, and become mother. Yet, what one hears depends upon the presumptions with which one listens. It would have been difficult to hear vv.32–33 and not surmise the pending restoration of the Davidic monarchy. The logic of the angel’s presentation is simple: Mary will conceive, bear, and name the child; God will give him the throne of David; as a consequence, the promised son (and his heirs?) will reign forever, etc. In other words, the partnership of human and divine previously lost through sin, will be restored.

Gabriel’s announcement creates a complex of expectations related to Jesus’ mission to “rule over the house of Jacob forever.” Luke’s language contains nationalistic, socio-political reverberations. When this is matched with similar material in the birth narrative, it is difficult to imagine that the anticipated redemption will be anything but a nationalistic restoration of Israel. Other possibilities are not yet excluded, however, and it behooves the reader to continue to listen to the narrative; how will Luke resolve the narrative needs introduced with these strong chords of eschatological anticipation?

According to the angel’s words, Jesus will be “Son of the Most High,” a designation synonymous with “Son of God” (see the parallel—vv.32, 35). What “Son of God” connotes in the context of this Lukan scene must be discussed in light of v 35. At this point, it is worth mentioning that Luke otherwise associates Jesus’ kingship/messiahship and sonship (cf. 4:41; 22:29, 67–70; Acts 9:20–22).

How Can This Be? 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” In response to this angelic announcement, Mary asks a question reminiscent of Zechariah’s query, “How can this be?” She had not had sexual relations with a man. Ultimately, the purpose of Mary’s question (v.34)—which leads to Gabriel’s answer (v.35) and the giving of a sign (v.36) and word of reassurance (v.37)—is to emphasize that all of this is God’s doing.

Gabriel’s response emphasizes that the baby would be born by the power of God. Like the presence of God in the cloud at the transfiguration (9:34), the Holy Spirit would come upon her and overshadow her. The child, therefore, would be God’s child, and he would be called the Son of God. As with all the annunciations in Scripture and in ancient biographical accounts, the purpose of the annunciation is to declare something vital about the identity of the child. The Lukan account repeatedly affirms that Mary’s son would be called “Son of the Most High” (v. 32a), son of David (v. 32b), and finally the title by which he would be most widely recognized, “Son of God” (v. 35).

It is not immediately clear how the objections of Zechariah and Mary differ, even if it is certain that the angel can distinguish one from the other. In both cases we subsequently learn what motivated these questions—in Zechariah’s case, unbelief (v.20); in Mary’s case, belief (v.45). One can also distinguish between Zechariah’s request for a sign (“How shall I know this?”) and Mary’s request for an explanation (“How can this be..?”). Zechariah asks for some sign to prove that this will be as announced and will come to pass. Mary simple questions, “How?” Her question simply states she is a virgin, and so “how” is a valid question.

But Mary receives a sign. The implication of v. 36 is that Mary did not know that Elizabeth was carrying a child also. The earlier reference that Elizabeth remained in seclusion makes this lack of communication plausible. The announcement of Elizabeth’s joy to Mary, therefore,  serves as a sign to her. If Elizabeth, who had been called barren, could bear a child, then Mary could be sure that what had been told to her would come to pass also.

Image credit: The Annunciation, Leonardo da Vinci, Uffizi Gallery Florence | PD