Mary lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. She was engaged to Joseph, a man from David’s family. In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary.
Mary had not yet begun married life with Joseph. Gabriel came to her not in a royal court or at the temple but in Nazareth. His first words did not give Mary a task. He greeted her as one who had received favor and announced that the Lord was with her.
Gabriel greeted her as one who had received grace and told her that the Lord was with her. Mary was deeply troubled by the greeting. She tried to understand what his words could mean.
The greeting itself disturbed Mary, and she considered its meaning before answering. Gabriel responded to her fear by repeating that she had found favor with God. Only then did he announce the conception, birth, and name of the child.
The angel told her not to be afraid. He said that she had found favor with God and would conceive and give birth to a son. She was to name him Jesus. He would be great, the angel said, and would be called the Son of the Most High. God would give him the throne of David.
Gabriel said that he would reign over Jacob’s family forever and that his kingdom would never end. Mary asked how this could happen, since she had not lived with a man. The angel answered that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her. The child would therefore be holy and would be called the Son of God.
Gabriel also told Mary that her relative Elizabeth had conceived a son in old age. Elizabeth, who had been known as unable to have children, was already in her sixth month. Nothing, the angel said, would be impossible with God.
Elizabeth’s pregnancy was not a sign Mary had requested. Gabriel offered it after answering her question about how the promised birth could take place. Elizabeth’s old age and Mary’s life before marriage presented different human circumstances, yet both stood beneath the angel’s declaration that God’s word would not fail.
The child’s future reached beyond Mary’s household. He would receive David’s throne, reign over Jacob’s people, and possess a kingdom without an end. Mary did not claim to understand how every part would happen. Her response identified her as the Lord’s servant and entrusted the outcome to the word she had heard.
Mary answered that she was the Lord’s servant and asked that it happen to her as the angel had said. Then the angel left her.