The Annunciation Explained

Annunciation means announcement. When Gabriel came to Mary, he announced who her baby would be. Every part of his message was about Jesus, and every part was a promise God had made long before.

Good news. Gabriel told Zacharias he was sent “to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings” (Luke 1:19). Glad tidings means good news. Gabriel brought Mary the best news of all.

The name. “And shall call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). Jesus means the Lord saves. An angel told Joseph why: “He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

Great. “He will be great” (Luke 1:32). Many people are called great for a while, and then they are forgotten. Jesus is great forever.

God's Son. He “will be called the Son of the Highest” (Luke 1:32). The Highest is God. Jesus is the Son of God. He did not begin when He was born. He was with the Father before the world began (John 1:1).

The first promise. Right after the first sin, God told the serpent that the woman's Seed would come: “He shall bruise your head” (Genesis 3:15). Many Christians see this as the first promise of Jesus.

A promise to David. God told King David, “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:13). Gabriel said God would give Jesus “the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:32).

Isaiah's Child. “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). Isaiah called Him “Mighty God” and “Prince of Peace.” No ordinary king has names like those. This Child is more than a man. Jesus is God the Son.

Peace that grows. Isaiah went on: “Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David” (Isaiah 9:7). His rule and His peace keep growing forever.

A Branch from Jesse. “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1). Jesse was David's father. The forever King would grow from David's family tree.

No end. “Of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33). Daniel saw a kingdom “Which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14). Every other kingdom in history has fallen. This one never will.

Promises kept. Hundreds of years passed after those promises. People wondered if God had forgotten. Then Gabriel came to Nazareth, and God's promises began to come true.

The night He was born. An angel told the shepherds, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

Every knee. One day “every knee should bow” and “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:10-11). The baby Gabriel announced is the King of all.

What we learn. Gabriel's message tells us who Jesus is: Savior, Son of God, and forever King. God keeps every promise He makes, even when it takes a long time.

What to do. This week, thank Jesus each day that He is your Savior and your King. Ask Him to help you obey Him in one thing at home or at school.

Mary asked Gabriel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (Luke 1:34). She was not married yet. Gabriel's answer shows us how God's own Son became a baby.

The Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). God the Holy Spirit would do it.

No human father. Jesus had a human mother, Mary. He had no human father. God was His Father, and Joseph cared for Him as His dad on earth.

Isaiah knew. About seven hundred years earlier Isaiah wrote, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). A virgin is a young woman who is not yet married.

God with us. Immanuel means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). In Jesus, God came to live with His people.

The Word became flesh. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Then “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Flesh means a real human body.

Holy from the start. The angel called Him “that Holy One” (Luke 1:35). Jesus never sinned, not even once (Hebrews 4:15). That is why He could be our perfect Savior.

Fully God, fully man. Jesus did not stop being God when He became a man. He was both at the same time. Nobody else has ever been like Him.

He made Himself low. Jesus, “being in the form of God,” took “the form of a bondservant” (Philippians 2:6-7). A bondservant is a servant. The King of heaven came as a little baby.

Why a man? Only a man could die in our place. Jesus “shared in the same” flesh and blood as we have, “that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14).

Why God? Only someone without sin could pay for the sins of others. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

He understands. Because Jesus became one of us, He knows what it is to be tired, hungry and sad. We have a High Priest who can “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15).

Too hard? Long ago the Lord asked, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). Gabriel told Mary, “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37).

What we learn. God did the impossible to come close to us. Jesus became one of us so that He could save us.

What to do. Thank God this week that He came to be with you. Tell a friend or someone in your family what Immanuel means.