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Luke 1:26-38

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

26. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27. To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name [was] Mary. 28. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, [thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee: blessed [art] thou among women. 29. And when she saw [him], she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37. For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:26-38 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Luke 1:26

Theological / Devotional

The sixth month. [The Annunciation, Luke 1:26-38. See The Nativity; a Suggestive Chronology of Christ’s Birth.] That is, the sixth month after the appearance of Gabriel to Zacharias (v. 11), and Elizabeth’s conception (v. 24), as specifically stated by the angel (see v. 36).

Gabriel. See on vs. 11, 19.

Nazareth. An obscure Galilean town not mentioned in the OT or the Talmud, or included by Josephus in a list of 204 towns of Galilee (see on Matt. 2:23). The childhood and youth of Jesus, the period on which the Scriptures are comparatively silent, were spent in a locality concerning which historical records are largely silent. Here, in a small community, Jesus was free from the rabbinical influence of larger Jewish centers, and also from pagan Greek culture that pervaded “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Matt. 4:15). The common attitude of the Jews toward Nazareth is reflected in the retort of Nathanael to Philip: “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46), and of the Pharisees to Nicodemus, “Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet” (John 7:52). See illustration facing p. 512.

The fact that Luke locates both Mary and Joseph as living in Nazareth and specifically calls it “their own city” (ch. 2:39) is evidence of the historical accuracy of the gospel narrative. Had he, or others from whom he had received his information (vs. 1-3), invented the story, they would have sought to have Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem throughout the narrative of Christ’s conception and birth, rather than in a city of Galilee, particularly in view of the unfavorable reputation of Galilee in general and of Nazareth in particular. The fact that Matthew does not mention Nazareth in connection with events preceding the birth of Jesus (see Matt. 1:18-25) bears witness also to the independent nature of the evidence recorded in the two Gospels. Had there been collusion between the various gospel writers, with an intent to deceive, they would have taken greater care to give their accounts at least the semblance of superficial similarity — which is not the case. Luke’s explanatory statement that Nazareth was “a city of Galilee” may be evidence, as some think, that Luke was writing for nonresidents of Palestine, who would be unfamiliar with so obscure a town.

By SdaBc