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The Annunciation
.
By Whitney Hopler
The Christmas story begins with
an angel's visit
to Earth.
In the Bible, the encounter
between the Archangel Gabrieland Mary, known as the Annunciation,
was when God's archangel of revelation announced
to a faithful teenage girl that God has chosen her to give birth to a baby
destined to save the world — Jesus Christ.
Mother
of the World's Savior
Mary devoutly practiced her
Jewish faith and loved God, but had no idea of the grand plans God had for her
life until God sent Gabriel to visit her one day.
He also delivered some
incredibly startling news: God had chosen Mary to serve as the mother of the
world's Savior.
Mary wondered how that could be
since she was still a virgin.
But after Gabriel explained
God's plan, Mary showed her love for God by agreeing to serve him.
This event has become known in
history as the Annunciation, which means "the announcement."
The Bible records in Luke
1:26-29:
"In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s
pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a
virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who
are highly favored! The Lord is with you.' Mary was greatly troubled at his
words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.'
Mary was a poor girl who lived
a simple life, so she probably wasn't used to being greeted the way Gabriel
greeted her.
And for anyone, it would be
troubling to have an angel from heaven suddenly appear and begin speaking.
The text mentions Elizabeth,
who was Mary's cousin.
God had blessed Elizabeth by
allowing her to conceive a child despite the fact that she had struggled with
infertility and had passed her childbearing years.
Elizabeth and Mary encouraged
each other during their pregnancies. Elizabeth's son John would grow up to
become the prophet John the Baptist, who prepared people
for Jesus Christ's ministry on Earth.
Gabriel
Tells Mary Not to be Afraid
The
Bible's account of the Annunciation continues in Luke 1:30-33: "But the
angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You
will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 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, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants
forever; his kingdom will never end.'"
Gabriel encourages Mary not to
be afraid of him or his announcement to her, and he reiterates that God is
pleased with her.
Unlike the cute, cuddly cherubs sometimes portrayed in
today's popular culture, angels in the Bible appeared
impressively strong and commanding, so they often had to reassure the people to
whom they appeared not to be afraid.
It's clear from Gabriel's
description of what Jesus will do that Mary's son will be different from any
other baby that had ever been born.
Gabriel tells Mary that Jesus
will be the head of a "kingdom that will never end," which
refers to Jesus' role as the Messiah that the Jewish people were awaiting — the
one who will save all people worldwide from their sin and connect them to God
for eternity.
Gabriel
Explains the Holy Spirit's Role
Luke 1:34-38 of the Bible
records the last part of the conversation between Gabriel and Mary:
"'How will this be,' Mary asked the
angel, 'since I am a virgin?' 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 the Son of God. 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. For no word from God will ever fail.'
'I am the Lord’s servant,' Mary answered. 'May your word to me be fulfilled.'
Then the angel left her."
Mary's humble and loving
response to Gabriel shows how much she loves God.
Despite the difficult personal
challenge of being faithful to God's plan for her, she chose to obey and move
forward with God's plans for her life.
After hearing this, Gabriel
could conclude his mission, and he departed.
Whitney
Hopler
· Professional
writer and editor since 1994, in print and online
· Communications
director for the Center for Advancement of Well-Being at George Mason
University
Experience
Whitney
Hopler is a former writer for ThoughtCo. She has served as the religion editor
for a secular newspaper chain in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, as
well as an editor at Crosswalk.com and
The Salvation Army’s national magazines. Hopler has written for a variety of
national publications. She is the communications director for the Center
for the Advancement of Well-Being at George Mason University.
Education
Hopler
graduated with honors from George Mason University, where she studied
comparative religion. She has a certification as a professional technical
communicator from the Society for Technical Communications.
Publications
· "Dream
Factory," a novel with spiritual themes
ThoughtCo
and Dotdash
ThoughtCo is
a premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are
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https://www.thoughtco.com/annunciation-archangel-gabriel-124066
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