In particular, Israel’s king was vested with the honorific role as God’s son. He represented the people of Israel before God and ruled over them on God’s behalf. In the book of 2 Samuel, God did not allow David to build a temple for him, but instead gave him an even better promise. Not only would David’s son build a house for God, but God would establish the throne of David’s kingdom forever: “I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me” (2 Sam 7:14). The psalm sung at coronation ceremonies of a king’s accession likewise reflected the same understanding of the privileged status of Israel’s king: “[The lord] said to me, ‘You are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession’” (Ps 2:7–8; cf. Ps 89:26–29). God’s promise to David became the basis of the dominant strand in Jewish messianic expectations that the Messiah would be a king descended from David.35
Given this background, the implication of Gabriel’s words to Mary is obvious. Betrothed to Joseph the Davidide, Mary will carry in her womb the Davidic Messiah. Mary has not misheard the angel’s message, but her concern is logical and practical: “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”(1:34). Mary expects this conception to occur at once or at least in the near future, not when she finally has sexual relations with her husband.36 Her question is different from that of Zechariah (1:18). Zechariah wanted proof that his old and barren wife would really bear a son. To Mary, if Joseph has no part in her impregnation, what other option can there be? Puzzlement, not doubt, lies behind her response (cf. 1:45).
Mary’s pregnancy will happen through the power of the Most High (1:35a). The verbs, “will come upon you” (epeleusetai) and “will overshadow you” (episkiasei), are mutually interpretive. Neither carries a sexual connotation. In the wilderness, God’s presence overshadowed the tabernacle (Exod 40:35). In this mysterious yet divinely empowered conception, the Holy Spirit will create the baby in Mary’s womb. The exact mechanism is not revealed, but the creative role of the Spirit in human life is foundational to Jewish thought (Job 33:4; Ps 104:30; Eccl 11:5). As divine Son of God, Jesus is holy because he is born of the Holy Spirit (1:35b). At the same time, Jesus the human Messiah is holy in that he is set apart for a life dedicated to God’s service.
In contrast to Zechariah asking for a sign (1:20), Gabriel offers Mary a sign without being asked. Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy, now progressing well and visible to all, signifies that God’s power defies human limitation (1:36–37). The repeated mention of “the sixth month” ties the story of Mary’s conception to that of Elizabeth (1:26, 36). The two mothers are kinswomen of each other. This fact, not disclosed until now, makes the double miracle all the more notable. Translated in the NRSV as “nothing will be impossible with God,” the Greek actually reads “the word (rhēma) of God will not be disabled” (1:37). This is reminiscent of God’s response to a laughing Sarah upon hearing that she would bear a child, “Is anything too wonderful for the lord?” (Gen 18:14). If God’s word came to fruition in Sarah and Elizabeth, so it will in Mary. The pericope closes with a calm, submissive consent of Mary to the will of God, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word (rhēma)” (1:38). With that note of deference on Mary’s part, the angel departs.
There are many literary features tying the two annunciations together. The parallelism in form, down to specific wording, is remarkable. The same angel appears to both Zechariah and Mary (1:19, 26). Gabriel tells both of them not to be afraid (1:13, 30). Both respond to the message with a question (1:18, 34), and both are given a sign to prove the veracity of the angel’s word (1:20, 36). Both births are miraculous, and both infants have clearly delineated roles in God’s purposes. At every turn, the parallelism also shows a step up from John to Jesus. As miraculous as it is for God to open the womb of Elizabeth for John’s conception, the way in which Mary becomes pregnant has no human precedent. The kingly status of Jesus also surpasses that of John, who even with the spirit and power of Elijah is at best the forerunner of the Messiah. Jesus is point-by-point superior to John even as both participate in the same saving mission of the one sovereign God.
Song of Mary (1:39–56)
Having received a sign from Gabriel, Mary embarks on a journey from Nazareth of Galilee to the hill country of Judah, near Jerusalem, to pay Elizabeth a visit (1:39–40). The Greek words meta spoudēs can be translated as “hastily” or “eagerly.” Either would fit Mary’s disposition, given the situation. One might wonder how a young teenager could make that journey of seventy to eighty miles, over a course of three to four days, safely or readily, as ancient travel could be slow and dangerous. Perhaps she joins a caravan or she has a chaperone. The author does not elaborate, except that the next scene places her in the home of Elizabeth. At the least, this visit reflects Mary’s faith in Gabriel’s words, for she would not have been privy to Elizabeth’s pregnancy since her relative has sequestered herself from public view (1:24).
Upon Mary’s arrival, both Elizabeth and her unborn child respond with divinely inspired expressions of joy. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, and Gabriel has already pronounced the same concerning her child “even before his birth” (1:15). The repetitions between verses 39 and 45 underscore the intensity of the emotions: Mary’s greeting (1:41, 44), the leaping of the child in Elizabeth’s womb (1:41, 44), and the blessing of Mary are all mentioned twice (1:42, 45).37 The sense of joy, implicit in Elizabeth’s loud cry and John’s leaping, is carried from the anticipation of John’s birth to that of Jesus (1:14, 44). More rejoicing will take place when each baby arrives (1:58; 2:10).
Whether it is Elizabeth blessing Mary or John greeting Jesus with his joyful jolt, the elder is acknowledging the younger. Mary has yet to tell Elizabeth the purpose of her visit, let alone the angel’s message, but the latter is already blessing “the fruit of [her] womb” (1:42; cf. Deut 28:4). We suppose the filling of the Holy Spirit has resulted in Elizabeth’s prophetic utterances. Elizabeth blesses Mary, not only for her role as the mother of Israel’s Messiah, but especially for her trust in God’s fulfillment of everything the angel has said about her and the destiny of her child (1:45). Noteworthy is Elizabeth’s humility. Being much older and married, her social status is higher than that of Mary, a teenager living under her father’s roof. Yet Elizabeth deems herself unworthy to receive a visit from “the mother of [her] Lord” (1:43). Even before his birth, Jesus is called “Lord,”38 a title used of God himself in the OT. By addressing Jesus with an elevated title, Elizabeth trades places with Mary, lifting the latter’s status above her own.
Mary appropriately attributes the honor bestowed upon her to God’s benevolence. The Song of Mary is poetic in form with its requisite parallelism and chiasm. While Moses, Miriam, Deborah, and Asaph all sang of God’s mighty deeds,39 in content Mary’s Song is more reminiscent of that of Hannah, who praised God for answering her prayer for a child (1 Sam 2:1–10). This song is a collage of themes and phrases found in various Psalms and other OT passages, which articulate Israel’s experience and understanding of YHWH as mighty savior and promise keeper.
Although Mary begins the song with her personal blessedness (1:46–49), in the second half she expands the recipients of God’s goodness to all Israel (1:50–55). She testifies to the favor that God has bestowed upon her, not for self-elevation but to declare what God has done and will do for his people as he has for her. God is the main actor in this song and the subject of the active verbs: “he has looked . . . has done . . . has shown strength . . . has scattered the proud . . . has brought down the powerful . . . [has] lifted up the lowly . . . has filled the hungry . . . [has] sent the rich away . . . has helped” (1:48, 49, 51–54). God saves by enabling a reversal of conditions, for God is merciful, God remembers, and God is powerful.
First, God
