Home About Bible Studies Documents Charts Maps Contact Links

THE ADVENT OF THE MESSIAH
PART III
THE ANNUNCIATION

• Previous  • Advent Study List  • Next

It was fitting then, that just as death entered the world through the pride of our first parents, the entry of Life should be manifested by the humility of Mary.
St. Bede, The Gospel of Luke


the Church of the Annunciation:
The church is built over the Grotto of the Holy Family;
the site believed to be Joseph's home and workshop.

+ + +

Biblical passages are from the New American Bible Revised Edition unless designated NJB (New Jerusalem Bible) or LXX (Septuagint Greek Old Testament translation). LORD or GOD in all capital letters in the NABRE refers to the divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh). The answers to the questions are at the end of the lesson.

Luke 1:26-38 ~ The Annunciation
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 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." 34 But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" 35 And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God." 38 Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

It was the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy when God sent the angel Gabriel to a Jewish virgin named Mary. Notice how St. Luke's Gospel links the priestly family of St. John the Baptist to the family of Mary of Nazareth. The ancients did not count with the concept of a zero-place value; therefore, it was the fifth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy as we count.
Question 1: How were the families related? See Luke 1:5, 36.

Notice how many similarities there are between the birth narratives of John the Baptist and Jesus in the Gospel of St. Luke 1:1-24 and 1:26-56:

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
St. Luke makes a clear statement of Mary's virginity, using the Greek word parthenos, "virgin," twice in this passage. The same Greek word for "virgin" was used in the prophecy of the Old Testament Greek translation of Isaiah 7:14 when Isaiah prophesied the birth of the Davidic messiah, saying, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel." Immanuel/Emmanuel means "God with us." St. Matthew quoted this same verse as fulfilled in the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:23).

Mary was betrothed to a man named Joseph. A betrothal was the first stage of an arranged marriage and usually lasted a year (Mishnah: Ketubot, 5:2). The betrothal involved a ketuba, a formal contract in the presence of witnesses, in addition to the payment of the mohar, the "bride price" (see Malachi 2:14). The second stage was when the bridegroom came to take the bride to his house. At that time, there was a seven-day marriage feast with the consummation of the union on the first night (Genesis 29:27; Judges 14:18; Tobit 8:20, 27). The betrothal gave the groom legal rights over the girl, and breaking the betrothal contract was impossible without a rite of divorce.¹ Mary and Joseph were in the first stage of the marriage arrangements at the time of the Annunciation.

Question 2: In Hebrew, the name of Mary's betrothed in Hebrew is Yosep, which means "let him add" (increase). Who else in the history of the covenant people had the same name? See Genesis 30:22-24; 37:5-11; 40:5-23; 41:14-32; Matthew 1:19-21; 2:13, 19-20.

Question 3: In what three ways were the Old Testament Joseph and the New Testament Joseph alike? See Genesis 37:5-9; Matthew 1:19-21; 2:13-15, 19-20.

The Greek word angelos means "messenger." The same term is used in the New Testament Greek translation to identify both spiritual messengers (cf., Matthew 1:20, 24; 2:13, 19; Luke 1:11-38; Acts 5:19; Revelation 1:1) and human messengers (cf., Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27; 2 Corinthians 12:7). Gabriel was the same messenger God sent to tell the priest Zechariah about the future birth of St. John the Baptist (Lk 1:11-20).

The Greek word archangelos means "chief messenger" and usually translated as "archangel." The Church identifies Gabriel as one of the seven Archangels. The word archangelos only appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Jude verse 9. There are only three angels (spiritual messengers) named in the Bible. In addition to Gabriel, spiritual messengers are named in Tobit 12:15; Daniel 10:13; Luke 1:11, 19; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Jude verse 9; Revelation 8:2-4:

1. Gabriel (Hebrew = "God is my warrior"): Daniel 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26.
2. Michael (Hebrew = "who is like God?" The only angel identified by name as an archangelos in Scripture): Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude verse 9 (named as the Archangel Michael); Revelation 12:7.
3. Raphael (Hebrew = "God heals"): Tobit 12:15.

In addition to Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, there are also believed to be four other archangelos. Gabriel is not designated an archangelos in the Scripture. However, he identifies himself as one of the angles who stand before God's heavenly throne, and he is one of the seven Archangels (together with Michael and Raphael) identified in the apocryphal Book of Enoch, 20:1-7; 71:3.² His position on the right side of the Altar of Incense (Luke 1:11) as well as his declaration: I am Gabriel who stand in God's presence (Luke 1:19), indicates that he is one of the seven "chief angels" who are privileged to stand to the right of the heavenly Incense Altar in the heavenly Sanctuary before the throne of God. See Revelation 8:2-4 and the prayer to St. Michael in the liturgy of the Tridentine Solemn High Mass of the Latin Rite, which mentions St. Michael standing to the right in the heavenly Sanctuary.³ One of the archangelos will have the honor of announcing the Parousia (the Second "Coming") of the Lord Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:16; CCC#s 671-674; 1038; 1040).

Question 4: How many months after Gabriel's announcement to Zechariah did the same angel appear to a Jewish girl named Miriam (Mary)? Where did Mary live? See Luke 1:36-37. Remember the difference in how the ancients counted without the concept of a zero place-value as opposed to modern counting of days, hours, months, and years, which is why Scripture records that Jesus was in His tomb three days from Friday afternoon/early evening to Sunday morning.

Mary's Hebrew name is "Miriam." Biblical scholars dispute the etymology of her Hebrew name, but some believe it is related to the Egyptian word mrjt, meaning "beloved" (Fr. McKenzie, Dictionary of the Bible, page 580). It was the name of Moses's older sister, who was born in Egypt. Moses's sister Miriam watched over and protected her baby brother as he floated down the Nile and into the arms of an Egyptian princess in Exodus 2:1-10. Scripture identifies Miriam as Israel's first cantor and prophetess. At the time of the Incarnation, Moses's sister, Miriam, was remembered as one of the most important women in the history of Israel (Exodus 2:4-9; 15:20-21; Numbers 12:1-10; 20:1).

Miriam's relationship with God's prophet Moses can be compared to Mary's relationship with Jesus: Miriam loved and supported Moses since he was an infant. She helped and encouraged Moses in His ministry and shared in his sufferings. Mary of Nazareth was dedicated to God's supreme prophet, Jesus. She loved and supported Jesus from His birth to His Cross. As prophesied by Simeon in Luke 2:34, Mary suffered with her son.

Mary and Joseph were from the village of Nazareth in Galilee, 15 miles west of the Sea of Galilee and 20 miles from the Mediterranean Sea. Galilee is the region in northern Israel that surrounds a large lake known not only as the Sea of Galilee but also by the Roman name, the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1). Nazareth is in the lower Galilee, just north of the valley of Jezreel. Located on one of the major trade routes, Galilee became a crossroads connecting Egypt to Asia, giving the region a mixed population of Israelites and Gentiles. Its diverse population earned Galilee the Biblical title gelil haggoyim, "the region of the nations" (Isaiah 8:32). In the division of the Promised Land among the twelve tribes of Israel, portions of the Galilee went to the tribes of Zebulun, Naphtali, Asher, and Issachar (Joshua 19:10-39). It was the first territory within Israel to be attacked, conquered, and depopulated by the Assyrians in the 8^th century BC (2 Kings 15:29). The Prophet Isaiah prophesied Galilee would be the first region where the Messiah would begin the promised restoration of the covenant people (Isaiah 9:1-6/7; quoted in Matthew 4:13-16). It was another prophecy that Jesus fulfilled (Matthew 4:12-17 quoting Isaiah 8:23-9:1; Mark 1:14; Luke 4:14-15; John 1:43; 2:1-11).

These significant verses are prophecies of the future deliverance of Israel. For example, Isaiah 7:14 promised that a virgin of the House of David would give birth to a child known as "God with us." The prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-6 concerned the promised restoration of Israel after the conquest of the Northern Kingdom and the disbursement of the ten tribes into the Gentile world by the Assyrians (prophecy fulfilled in 722 BC). The promised restoration was to begin in Galilee. The other prophecies promised a Davidic Redeemer-Messiah and heir to the eternal Davidic covenant who would bring His people a new and everlasting Covenant with the God of Israel. Jesus son of Mary, son of David, Son of God, fulfilled all these prophecies.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem ("house of bread") in Judah, about five miles south of Jerusalem (Luke 2:1-7), but He grew up in the village of Nazareth in Galilee. The etymology of the place name Nazareth (Nazaret) as netzer, "shoot" or "branch" relates to Jesus's mission as the Messiah. The 8^th century BC prophet Isaiah wrote: A shoot [geza] will spring from the stock of Jesse, a new shoot [netzer] will grow from his roots. On him will rest the spirit of Yahweh (Isaiah 11:1-2a NJB). Jesse was King David's father, and both men were ancestors of Jesus (Ruth 4:21-22; Matthew 1:1, 5-6; Luke 3:31b-32).

The connection to the Hebrew word netzer as a Messianic title may be what St. Matthew was referring to when he wrote that prophecy was fulfilled when Joseph decided to settle in Nazareth after the holy family's return from Egypt. Matthew wrote in 2:23: He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazorean." There is no prophecy in Scripture in which this phrase appears, but it could be a reference to Isaiah's prophecy of "the branch."

Luke 1:28 ~ And coming to her, he said, "Hail favored one! The Lord is with you."
The angel's first words to Mary were not the same first words he spoke to Zechariah (compare Luke 1:13 to Luke 1:28). When an angel greets a mortal human, his first greeting is usually one of assurance: "Don't be afraid" (see Genesis 21:17; Judges 6:23; Daniel 10:12; Luke 1:12; 2:10; Revelation 1:18), but the archangel was himself overcome to be in the presence of this mortal woman, chosen to bear in her womb God Incarnate. The poor English translation of Gabriel's enthusiastic greeting to Mary in the New Jerusalem is: Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favor! The New American Catholic Bible isn't much better with: Hail, favored one! Other English translations that render this phrase "Oh, favored one" are also not an accurate reflection of the Greek text.

In Luke 1:28, the announcement in Greek is Chare, kecharitomene [kah-ray kay-kah-ree-toe-may-nay]. Gabriel's greeting began with a salutation, chare, which can be translated as "Hail." This was a greeting, in an era when the identification of one's social status was paramount, and was commonly given to one of equal rank but more often a greeting to one who was superior in rank. The word "chare" is better translated as "Awesome one." Gabriel did not greet Zechariah with the same degree of respect and status (Luke 1:12). The angel continued by addressing Mary with a title that was a past perfect participle of the Greek noun charis, meaning "grace": kecharitomene = "has been graced" (Fitzmyer, Gospel of Luke, page 345).

A past perfect participle indicates a condition that existed in the past and continues in the present. Gabriel addressed Mary by a title identifying her condition as having always having been in a state of grace. A more literal translation of the greeting is, "Awesome one who has been perfected in and continues in grace." The most common rendering of this phrase in most Bible versions is "full of grace," from St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate translation. However, "full of grace" is not what Gabriel said in the Greek past perfect kecharitomene. "Full of grace" in Greek would be pleres chariots, as used for Christ in John 1:14 and for St. Stephen in Acts 6:8. Mary's title, kecharitomene, indicates a state which is beyond filled. In addressing Mary with this title, the angel signified that she possesses, and has always possessed, a plentitude of divine grace (Keating, Catholicism and Fundamentalism, page 268-69). That Mary was greatly troubled at what was said by the angel's greeting (Luke 1:29) is evidence that someone of her humble station had received a highly unusual greeting.³

Question 5: How does Gabriel's greeting for Mary, using a perfect past participle, validate the Church's doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary?

The fathers and doctors of the Church taught what Pope Pius IX expressed in the encyclical Ineffabilis Deus: "... this singular, solemn and unheard-of greeting showed that all the divine graces reposed in the Mother of God and that she was adorned with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit" (Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus; and Paul VI, Creed of the People of God).

This singular condition meant that Mary was never subject to the curse of original sin and was preserved from all sin. The theologically explosive words of the angel Gabriel constitute one of the critical text sources that reveal the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception:

• CCC# 490: "To become the mother of the Savior, Mary 'was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.' The angel Gabriel, at the moment of the annunciation, salutes her as 'full of grace.' In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace."
• CCC# 491: "Through the centuries, the Church has become even more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: 'The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.'" (quoting Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus).

Also, see CCC # 492-493; 722.

Gabriel continued his greeting by adding: "The Lord is with you."  More than a greeting, these words affirm Mary's unique condition in her relationship with God. St. Augustine explained the depth of Gabriel's words when he wrote: "He is more with you than he is with me: he is in your heart, he takes shape within you, he fills your soul, he is in your womb..." (Sermon on the Nativity of God, 4). At the end of verse 28, some early Greek texts include the words: Blessed are you among women, an exultation St. Elizabeth later made during Mary's visit in Luke 1:42.

The implication of Mary's state of blessedness in the context of salvation history, as expressed by the phrase "Blessed are you among women," is that God exalted Mary over all women ever born. She is more blessed than all the mothers of the children of the covenant (women like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, or Hannah) because she was chosen to be the Mother of God. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, called her "the mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43).

Luke 1:29-33 ~29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 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."

After the angel's initial greeting, Mary's fear prompted the angel to reassure her with the words angels often use when coming into the presence of frightened humans: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God" (Luke 1:30). Mary's fear does not imply any imperfection in her but instead her natural reaction to an encounter with the supernatural and a reflection of her humility.

In Luke 1:30-33, Gabriel told Mary that she had God's favor. He chose her to be the Mother of the Son of God, who was also the heir of King David and the promises of the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:12-29; 23:5; 2 Chronicles 13:5; Psalm 89:3-4, 26-29; Sirach 45:25/31). The Jews of Mary's generation were looking for the fulfillment of the prophets' prophecies concerning the Davidic Messiah (Isaiah 7:14; 9:1-6; Jeremiah 23:5-7; 31:31-34; 33:14-17; 50:5; Ezekiel 34:23-24). You will recall from earlier in this lesson that in Matthew 1:20-24, when an angel appeared in a dream to Mary's betrothed, Joseph of Nazareth, to prepare him for the great honor of being a foster parent to the Son of God, Matthew quoted Isaiah 7:14 as a fulfillment passage (Matthew 1:22). St. Matthew also quoted the Isaiah 9:1-6 prophecy in Matthew 4:13-16.

These significant verses are prophecies of the future deliverance of Israel. For example, Isaiah 7:14 promised that "the virgin" of the House of David would give birth to a son known as "God with us." The prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-6 concerned the promised future restoration of Israel after the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom and disbursed the ten northern tribes into the Gentile world (prophecy fulfilled in 722 BC). The promised restoration was to begin in the Galilee (Is 8:23-9:6). And the other prophecies promise a Davidic Redeemer-Messiah who would shepherd His people into a New and Eternal Covenant (i.e., Jeremiah 23:5-6; 31:31-34; 33:14-15; 50:5; Ezekiel 34:23-24; 37:24-25). Jesus, son of Mary, son of David, Son of God, fulfilled all these prophecies.

34 But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" 35 And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
Notice that Gabriel didn't rebuke Mary as he had rebuked Zechariah (Luke 1:20). Mary asked a very practical question considering her virginity; she was not expressing a lack of faith or an unwillingness to cooperate in God's plan. God is not an impatient or overbearing Father who discourages questions from His children seeking to understand His will for their lives.

The angel told her that the Spirit of God would "overshadow" her. The "shadow" of God is symbolic of the presence of the Almighty. Other events in the Old Testament when God's presence was expressed as an "overshadowing" occurs in Exodus 25:15-16, 40:34-35, and 1 Kings 8:7.

1. In the Exodus experience, when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai, a cloud overshadowed the mountain (Exodus 25:15-16).
2. When God took possession of the Ark of the Covenant in the dedication of the desert Tabernacle, a cloud overshadowed the Sanctuary containing the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 40:34-35).
3. The crowd in Jerusalem witnessed the same phenomenon when God took possession of the Ark in the Holy of Holies during the dedication of the Temple of God in Jerusalem that King Solomon built (1 Kings 8:7).

In the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament Bible (first made in c. 230 BC and used in the 1st century AD), the Greek verb used to describe the divine "overshadowing" of the Sanctuary and the Ark of the Covenant in Exodus 40:34-35 is the same Greek word, episkiazein (from the verb episkiazo), used to describe:

1. The Holy Spirit's "overshadowing" of the Virgin Mary in Luke 1:35 (Septuagint Old Testament translation; Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon, page 242).
2. The same Greek word appeared in the Transfiguration experience (Matthew 17:5 and Luke 9:34) when the three Apostles heard the voice of God coming from a cloud that cast its shadow over those assembled on the mountain.
3. The same word appears in Acts 5:15 when St. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, approached the sick, and as his shadow fell over them, they were healed.

The shadow of God is the gentlest manifestation of His Divine Presence; how tenderly He overshadowed the Virgin Mary to change all human history!

In Exodus 40:34, God overshadowed the Sanctuary that held the Ark of the Covenant when His presence came to dwell on it (Exodus 25:10, 21-22). The New Covenant Church has recognized a connection between the Virgin Mary and the Ark of the Covenant since the days of the early Church Fathers.
Question 6: According to Hebrews 9:4, what were the three items later placed in the Ark of the Covenant when it resided in Jerusalem Temple?

The comparison between Mary's womb and the description of the contents of the Ark of the Covenant from Hebrews 9:4:

* "Branch" is a prophetic title for the Messiah in the books of the prophets: Isaiah 4:2, 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12.

The sacred Ark of the Covenant, upon which God's presence rested, was last seen just before the destruction the Jerusalem Temple when Jeremiah took it, hiding the Ark and the Tent of the desert Sanctuary in a cave on Mt. Nebo in 387/6 BC (2 Maccabees 2:1-8). The Prophet Jeremiah foretold that the time would come when the Ark of the Covenant would no longer have any significance for the covenant people (Jeremiah 3:16). But would the faithful remnant of Israel, who became the New Covenant Church of the people of God, be deprived of a sacred vessel associated with the very presence of God? No! The Virgin Mary became the Ark of the New Covenant!

It was the Holy Spirit's role to prepare Mary for the Incarnation of the Messiah:

1. The Holy Spirit prepared Mary in advance for the Incarnation of the Son by infusing her with His grace at the moment of her conception: "By the Holy Spirit's power and her faith, her virginity became uniquely fruitful" (CCC # 723).
2. In preparing Mary, the Holy Spirit fulfilled God the Father's promise for the salvation of humanity and the defeat of Satan's power over human beings: I shall put enmity between you and the woman (Genesis 3:15)
3. In Mary, the Holy Spirit manifested God the Son enfleshed. He then became the Son of God within the womb of a woman who is both a fruitful mother and ever-virgin. Mary became the "burning bush" of a definitive Theophany. Filled with the Holy Spirit, she made the Word visible in the humility of His flesh through her DNA (see Genesis 3:15; Jeremiah 31:22, 31-34; CCC 723, 2776).

The result was two-fold:

1. Through the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit began to fulfill God's plan to bring humanity into communion with God the Son.
2. The Holy Spirit made Mary the Ark of the New Covenant because, like the Ark of the Old Covenant, where the Presence of God dwelled, the Presence of God the Son indwelled in Mary's womb.

God gave Jeremiah a prophecy associated with the promise of a "new covenant": For Yahweh is creating something new on earth: the Woman shall compass a man (Jeremiah 31:22b, 31-34, IBHE, vol. III) is the Hebrew translation of Jeremiah's prophecy that is often wrongly rendered in our modern translations. The "something new" was a reversal of the old creation when the first virgin, Eve, came from the body Adam (Genesis 2:21-23). At the beginning of the new creation, Jesus, the second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), came from the body of the second Eve, the Virgin Mary. What made this event "new" is that this time the woman who held a man-child in her womb was a virgin, and the man-child was God-enfleshed. The Church has always viewed the Virgin Mary as the New Covenant Ark.

In Luke 1:31-33, the angel Gabriel told Mary: you shall name him Jesus. The Greek text of the New Testament renders his name Iesous, but this was not the name His family and friends called Him. Jesus's Hebrew name was (in old Hebrew) Yah'shua; in Jesus's time, His Hebrew name had evolved into Aramaic as Yehoshua. An angel told Joseph the significance of the child's name in a dream: She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The angel's statement to Joseph is a wordplay on Jesus's Hebrew name. His name means "Yahweh saves," or "Yahweh is salvation," or even more literally, "I AM saves," the same Hebrew name as Moses's successor, Joshua (Numbers 13:16).⁵

Jesus's Hebrew name is theophoric, a compounded name that includes the name of a deity. In this case, Yah is a prefix for Yahweh (God's Divine Name). "Yah" is a short form representing the Tetragrammaton, YHWH, the name God revealed to Moses: the "I AM" of the burning bush in Exodus 3:13-15. The name "I AM saves" or " Yahweh saves" signifies the very name of God present in the person of the second person of the Most Holy Trinity made man for the redemption from all of humanity's sin. As St. Peter would testify: There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved" (Acts 4:12). The words LORD or GOD in capital letters in Biblical translations represent the Divine Name YHWH, Yahweh with vowels (ancient Hebrew was written only in consonants).

Question 7: How does Jesus's Hebrew name, Yah'shua, announce His destiny and mission?

Jesus is the promised son of David's line who will rule forever (Luke 1:32-33 and 2 Samuel 7:12-16). He is the one greater than Moses promised in Deuteronomy 18:17-18, and God's anointed who will lead His people across the great "river" of physical death into the true Promised Land of Heaven, as prefigured by Joshua who led the children of Israel across the Jordan River into the Promised Land of Canaan (Joshua 3:1-17).

Compare the angel Gabriel's promises to Mary concerning Jesus's destiny in Luke 1:31-33 and God's promises to King David concerning the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises of the Davidic Covenant:

Both Moses and Joshua are "types" of Christ. These men played an important role in God's plan for humanity's salvation. Their ministries prefigured the mission of the Messiah in leading His people in the "new exodus" liberation out of sin and death, and opening the way into the Promised Land of Heaven.

Typology is the method Christian students of the Bible use to understand the historical and theological relationships between people and events recorded in Sacred Scripture. Typology guides the Bible student to look at each event and person in salvation history as that person or event may be linked to what preceded in the Biblical record and linked to what will come after, uniting the reader to the divine mystery of the progression of God's plan for the salvation of humankind (CCC# 128-130). For example, see the comparison of Moses with Jesus and how Moses was a "type" of Christ:

See CCC# 129-130

Jesus became a new Moses and a new Joshua, who is also a Biblical "type" of Jesus the Messiah:

36 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God."
The angel told Mary that her kinswoman, Elizabeth, was six months pregnant. Most English translations use the word "cousin" when the exact nature of the relationship is unknown. The Greek word is a general term, which is more accurately translated as "kinswoman" or "relative" (Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. I, page 260).

After revealing to Mary the miracle that was also working in the life of her kinswoman Elizabeth, the angel Gabriel summed up his announcement of the birth of the Messiah and, at the same time, answered Mary's question in Luke 1:34 by the statement: for nothing will be impossible for God.
This same statement appears in Old Testament Scripture in Genesis 18:1-15. If Mary knew her Scriptures (and the numerous Scripture references in the Magnificat indicate that she did), she would have recognized this declaration. She would have made the comparison between its use in Genesis and her knowledge of God's divine intervention in her life and the miracle in the lives of her elderly relatives, Zechariah and Elizabeth.

In Genesis chapter 18, three divine messengers visited Abraham and Sarah, revealing that Sarah was to give birth to a promised son (promised in Genesis 15:4 and 17:16-17). Sarah expressed her amazement that, in her barren old age, she and her husband would conceive a child; at age 89, Sarah no longer had her monthly menstrual cycle, and Abraham was 99 years old. In response, the angel told her: Nothing is impossible for Yahweh (Genesis 18:14, NJB). A year later, when Sarah was 90 and Abraham 100, Isaac, their miracle baby, was born (Genesis 21:1-5). The repetition of basically the same declaration made to the father and mother of her people by another divine messenger must have reassured Mary. If God could make an old woman long past childbearing years fertile and give them a son, as He did with both Sarah and Elizabeth, He could give a virgin a child without the seed of a man (as prophesied in Genesis 3:15 = "from the seed of a woman" and Isaiah 7:14 = "the virgin ... will give birth to a son"). God had worked great miracles in the past for her people, and He was continuing to work out the salvation of humankind through other great acts of mercy.

Mary was now prepared to give her answer: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).
Question 8: How does Mary identify herself in the first part of her statement? What Old Testament heroine defined her relationship with God in the same way? See 1 Samuel 1:11. The Greek word for slave/servant is doule, the feminine of doulos, which indicates a male slave/servant. In the ancient world, almost all servants were slaves.

Then Mary completely submitted herself to the Lord with the words: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." At this moment in Mary's verbal ascent, the Incarnation took place as God the Holy Spirit overshadowed and enveloped the Virgin Mary. He is the same Spirit of God who moved over the face of the water of Creation, bringing life (Genesis 1:2-31). Now He came, bringing life to the Virgin's womb. The fruit of her womb was the work of God the Holy Spirit (CCC# 697). This worthy Virgin, conceived without the stain of sin, became the new Tabernacle of God and the Ark of the New Covenant (Revelation 11:19-12:1). This is the mystery Catholics reflect upon every time they pray the Angelus:

"The angel of the Lord announced unto Mary.
And she conceived of the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,
blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
Hail Mary, etc.
And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
Hail, Mary, etc.
Pour forth; we beseech Thee, O Lord,
Thy grace into our hearts,
that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son
was made known by the message of an Angel,
may, by His passion and cross,
be brought to the glory of His Resurrection;
through the same Christ our Lord. Amen"
(Key of Heaven, 1906).

Once God revealed His plan to her, Mary yielded herself in complete faithfulness and obedience, responding in perfect humility to God's will for her life. "Let it be done" is Mary's "fiat." In yielding herself to God, she became the first Christian and the model for all Christians of all generations throughout the ages (CCC# 967).

Commenting on this passage in his homily in Mexico City in January of 1979, Pope Saint John Paul II noted that there are four dimensions to Mary's faithfulness:

• First was her faithfulness in what John Paul referred to as the "search" when she humbly sought to understand God's plan for her and the world in her simple question: how can this be?
• The second dimension of her faithfulness was her "acceptance" when Mary's response was her simple fiat, "Let it be done."
• Pope Saint John Paul II noted that the third dimension was Mary's faithfulness in "consistency" in that she adapted her life in faithful obedience to God's plan of salvation. Mary faithfully submitted her life to God regardless of the cost to her personally.
•  Pope Saint John Paul II spoke of the fourth dimension of Mary's faithfulness when he said: "But all faithfulness must pass the most exacting text, that of duration. Therefore, the fourth dimension of faithfulness is constancy. It is easy to be consistent for a day or two; it is difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life. It is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm; it is difficult to be so in the hour of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole of life can be called faithfulness. Mary's 'fiat' in the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent 'fiat' that she repeats at the foot of the Cross" (Homily in the Mexico City Cathedral, 26 January 1979).

Take a moment to reflect on the typology between the events of the Incarnation and events in the Old Testament. Take, for example, the typological link between the Virgin Mary and the Church. The Church has always viewed Mary as a spiritual symbol of the Church as the virgin Bride of Christ. Like the Virgin Mary, the Church is "ever virgin" and yet a "fruitful mother" (CCC# 972). The Fathers of the Church also saw Abraham's servant, who was sent to find a virgin bride for Abraham and Sarah's son Isaac, as a symbolic "type" of God the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit's role in the Incarnation is like that of Abraham's servant, who was sent to secure a virgin bride for Isaac. Consider the main characters in the story (see Genesis 24:1-67), and does the Holy Spirit have a name? The Holy Spirit is the only person of the Holy Trinity without a personal name. In Genesis Chapter 24, the main characters in the story are the righteous father, Abraham, the unnamed servant, the virgin Rebekah, and the beloved son, Isaac.

The Church Fathers often referred to God the Holy Spirit as the "Unnamed Servant" in their writings. They saw the mission of the Holy Spirit to the virgin bride Mary as similar to the mission of Abraham's unnamed servant in Genesis 24 when he sought a bride for Abraham's "beloved son" (Genesis 22:2) Isaac and found her drawing water at a well (Genesis 24:11-18). Notice the comparison between the major players in the Genesis Chapter 24 narrative with the Most Holy Trinity, Mary, and the New Covenant Church. Also see CCC# 773; 829; 972. God the Holy Spirit is the unnamed servant who, sent by the Father, finds the faithful virgin bride, Mary of Nazareth, for the beloved Son.

Have you noticed in the Bible that a bride is always courted at a well?

1. Abraham's unnamed servant, sent to find a bride for Isaac, courted Rebekah at a well (Genesis 24:1-67)
2. Jacob met Rachel, his future bride, at a well (Genesis 29:1-18)
3. Moses rescued the Midianite maiden Zipporah at a well and later married her (Exodus 2:16-22).

It is an ancient tradition of Eastern Rite Christians that the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Messiah to Mary at the village well in Nazareth (see Protoevangelium of St. James, 9:1; Pseudo-Matthew, 9:1).

Mary's well in Nazareth is next to the Church of St. Gabriel.

Question for discussion or reflection: What is the Holy Spirit's mission in the New Covenant? How is His mission similar to the mission of Abraham's unnamed servant? See John 16:13, 14:26, and 15:26. The Church Fathers saw Mary as a symbol of the Church (CCC# 773; 829; 972).

Endnotes:

1. Mishnah: Ketubot; Fr. Fitzmyer, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to Luke, page 343; J. Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus, page 368.

2. A non-canonical book written sometime between the 4^th century BC and the turn of the era, it was widely quoted in the 1^st century AD. St. Michael is also identified as the leader of the Archangels in the non-canonical text, The Ascension of Isaiah, 3:16, and as the recording angel for the "Book of Life" in the same document, 9:19-23.

3. The Tridentine Mass is the Eucharistic liturgy according to the Roman Missal promulgated by the apostolic constitution Quo Primum of Pope Pius V on July 14, 1570. Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution, the Roman Missal revised the Tridentine (Etmy.  Latin from Tridentum, ancient form of "Trent, "referring to the Council of Trent) Mass by decree of Vatican II, April 3, 1969.

4. It is unlikely that the angel used the common Hebrew/Aramaic greeting, shalom. The word chaire as a greeting only appears four times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament Scriptures in Isaiah 3:14, Joel 2:21, and Zechariah 9:9 in an address to the covenant people announcing a prophecy concerning the restoration of Israel. The fourth time is in Lamentations 4:21 as an ironic greeting announcing the judgment on Edom, who will "drink God's cup of wrath."

5. Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon #2424 translates Iesous as "whose help is Yahweh." The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 3, page 773: "Jesus Christ is a composite name made up of the personal name "Jesus" (from Greek Iesous, which transliterates Hebrew/Aramean, Yesu(a), a late form of the Hebrew Yehoshua, the meaning of which is 'YHWH is salvation' or 'YHWH saves/has saved')."

Answers to the questions:
Answer 1: Zechariah's wife was a kinswoman of Mary. Zechariah and Elizabeth were descendants of the first High Priest, Aaron, the brother of Moses (Exodus 28:1; Luke 1:5). Therefore, as well as being a descendant of King David (Luke 1:32), Mary also came from a priestly bloodline.

Answer 2:He was probably named for the beloved son of Jacob/Israel and his wife, Rachel.

Answer 3:  They were alike in three ways:

1. They were both descendants of Jacob/Israel.

2. Joseph son of Jacob saved his family from famine by bringing them to safety in Egypt, and Joseph, the husband of Mary, brought his family to safety in Egypt.

3. Both Josephs received prophetic messages associated with dreams.

Answer 4: Scripture records it was six months after Zechariah's revelation that the angel Gabriel announced the Incarnation of the Messiah to a Jewish virgin in the Galilean village of Nazareth. However, it was five months, as we count today.

Answer 5: The past perfect participle, kecharitomene, is a Biblical text proof that Mary always existed in a state of grace, even at the moment of her human conception. God had "saved" her before her birth to prefigure the new birth that New Covenant believers would experience in the forgiveness of original sin in the Sacrament of Baptism. This is why Jesus said Baptism was necessary to become a candidate for Heaven in Mark 16:16. See CCC# 404-405.

Answer 6: Hebrews 9:4 lists the contents of the Ark of the Covenant as the tablets of the Ten Commandments (the word of God), a pot of mana, and the branch that was Aaron's staff, the sign of his priestly authority that came back to life and budded.

Answer 7: Since God alone can offer the gift of salvation and forgiveness of sin, the mission and destiny of God, the eternal Son, is to save humanity, just as His name suggests: "I AM saves"/ "I AM is salvation."

Answer 8: Mary humbly identified herself as God's female slave/servant. She defined her relationship with God with the same humility as Hannah, the mother of the Prophet Samuel when she petitioned God to give her a son.

Catechism references for this lesson:
Genesis 3:15 (CCC 70, 410, 489)
Isaiah 7:14 (CCC 497)
Luke 1:26-27 (CCC 488); 1:26 (CCC 332); 1:28-37 (CCC 494); 1:28 (CCC 490, 491); 1:31 (CCC 430, 2812); 1:32-33 (CCC 709); 1:32 (CCC 559); 1:34 (CCC 484, 497, 505); 1:35 (CCC 437, 484, 486, 697); 1:37-38 (CCC 494); 1:37 (CCC 148, 269, 273, 276); 1:38 (CCC 64, 148, 510, 2617, 2677, 2827, 2856)

• Previous  • Advent Study List  • Next

Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2008; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.