The Angel Visits Mary
Nothing Is Impossible with God
Luke 1:26–56In a small town called Nazareth, a young woman named Mary is going about her ordinary day. She is engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. Nothing about this day seems special — until suddenly, an angel named Gabriel appears right in front of her.
Mary is frightened. But Gabriel speaks gently. 'Do not be afraid, Mary,' he says. 'You have found favor with God.' Then Gabriel tells her something that no one in all of history has ever been told before. She will become pregnant and give birth to a son. She is to name Him Jesus. He will be great, and He will be called the Son of the Most High God. God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David, and His kingdom will never, ever end.
Mary's mind is spinning. She asks a very honest question: 'How can this be, since I have not known a man?' She is not yet married. This seems impossible.
Gabriel explains that the Holy Spirit will come upon her, and the power of the Most High will overshadow her. This child will be holy — the Son of God. Then Gabriel tells her something wonderful: her relative Elizabeth, who was thought to be too old to have children, is already six months pregnant! 'For nothing will be impossible with God,' Gabriel says.
And Mary believes. She says, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.' With those words, the most important event in all of history begins. The eternal Son of God enters the world as a tiny human baby growing inside Mary. This is the incarnation — God Himself taking on flesh and blood.
Mary goes quickly to visit Elizabeth. The moment Elizabeth hears Mary's greeting, the baby inside her leaps for joy. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and cries out, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!'
Then Mary breaks into a beautiful song of praise. She sings about how God is mighty and holy, how He lifts up the humble and fills the hungry. She sings about how God has remembered His covenant — the promise He made to Abraham and to all his children long ago. Every word she sings is true, because God has been keeping this promise for thousands of years, and now, at last, the Messiah has come.
God is not far away, watching from a distance. He has stepped into His own creation. The promised King is coming — and He is already here.
Christ in This Story
Gabriel's announcement fulfills God's covenant promises stretching all the way back to Abraham, David, and the garden of Eden — Jesus is the promised Messiah, the eternal King from David's line. The incarnation — God the Son becoming fully human — is the hinge point of all history, the moment every sacrifice, prophet, and promise was pointing toward. Mary's son is not just a great teacher or a good man; He is 'the Son of the Most High,' God dwelling with His people in the most personal way imaginable. Nothing about His birth is ordinary, because nothing about His mission is ordinary: He comes to accomplish what no one else ever could — the full redemption of God's people.
Historical Context
Nazareth in the first century was a small, relatively obscure village in the region of Galilee, probably home to only a few hundred people. It sat away from major trade routes, which is part of why some people later dismissed it — 'Can anything good come from Nazareth?' (John 1:46). The fact that God chose an unknown young woman in an unimportant town is entirely consistent with the biblical pattern of God working through the humble and lowly rather than the powerful and famous.
Engagement (betrothal) in first-century Jewish culture was legally binding in a way quite different from modern Western engagements. A betrothed couple was considered married in a legal sense, though they did not yet live together. Breaking a betrothal required a formal divorce, and a betrothed woman who became pregnant would have faced serious social and legal consequences. Gabriel's visit to Mary comes before she and Joseph have come together, which is precisely what makes the virgin conception both miraculous and socially costly — underscoring just how much God was asking of this young woman and how completely she trusted Him.
✦ This story also appears in the Quran
For parents: This biblical account has a parallel in the Quran (Islam's holy book), but the two versions differ in important ways. The Quran retells many Old and New Testament stories — sometimes similarly, sometimes with significant changes in detail, meaning, or theology.
This is a great opportunity to help your children know the biblical account well, so they can recognize differences if they ever encounter them. The Bible is our authoritative source; where the Quran diverges, we hold to what God's Word says.
Let's Pray
Heavenly Father, thank You for keeping every promise You ever made, and for sending Jesus just as You said You would. Thank You that nothing is impossible for You — not even becoming a baby to save people like us. Help us to trust You the way Mary did, and to praise You for the great things You have done. Amen.