Son of Mary. Son of David. Son of God. from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

The competition for the greatest birth announcement has hit a fever pitch. It’s an interesting time when among the first 5 thoughts the expectant mother has when seeing the + sign is, “How will I tell my friends and family?” Soon thereafter, they start pinning, scrolling, googling, etc. In a moment of serious exegesis post–Turkey, I skimmed an article this week entitled, “20 creative birth announcements that will break Instagram.”

So the expectant wife and husband hire the guy or gal with one of those long white lenses. Unfortunately, since you can only afford 30 minutes, you have to carefully coach your husband on his dramatic role. You both practice your pose in the weekend ahead of the shoot. You then guilt your graphic design friend into turning that picture into a work of Internet art.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think expecting a baby is something that should be casually mentioned in the same way you tell the mailman you’re going out of town. I would question other things if you were that stoic about the matter.

However, the Pinterest competition is an exercise in futility. No one tops Gabriel. He’s the king of birth announcements. Though Mary’s not exactly pregnant just yet, it’s so certain she might as well be. Our text is about Gabriel informing her of this reality.

The glorious theological truths of this text come to us in the form of a narrative, so that’s how we’ll approach it. Note first,

I. Gabriel Greets

Verse 26 places us in a certain spot. So, we need to imagine ourselves here. It’s the sixth month. Now this isn’t June, but refers back to Elizabeth’s conception story concerning John the Baptist in our previous text. In verse 24, Luke notes that for 5 months Elizabeth kept herself hidden.

So, Luke’s not locating the story in a particular season of that year, he’s locating it in relationship to the previous story. If Luke were a film, along the bottom of the screen you might read: Six Months Later.

What happened? God acts. The angel Gabriel was sent from God. While there are various characters in this text, it’s important to point out here at the outset that what follows is the result of God’s hand. Gabriel’s not gone rogue; God sent him. One common difficulty with this passage is to elevate the role of––or point the spotlight on––the supporting characters within the narrative. And I think Luke carefully makes clear: this isn’t about Gabriel or about the one he greets. God set this scene.

Nonetheless, one of the supporting actors is this angel, Gabriel. This is the same angel who appeared to Zechariah a few months prior (last week for us). As Pastor Phil mentioned last week, the book of Daniel includes this same angel. He’s about as recognizable as the angelic get.

God sends Gabriel to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. You’ve heard of Nazareth, but it’s entirely likely Luke’s readers wouldn’t have. It’s under a hundred miles north of Jerusalem,[1] but really is more like a village than anything else. Some even dispute the use of the word “city” as a translation.

And that’s likely why Luke includes of Galilee in his description. I used to live in a small town called Sparta in Middle East Tennessee. But when I’m telling people that, I usually say something like “it’s halfway between Nashville and Knoxville” or “Have you heard of Cookeville?” If they have, then I point them to the smaller town of Sparta. That’s what Luke’s doing. They know Galilee, so he writes, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. This would be an unexpected locale. If there were a highway to heaven, many wouldn’t have thought it’d pass through Nazareth. Certainly few would expect to be touched by an angel there.

In the previous text about Gabriel visiting John the Baptist’s soon–to–be parents, Zechariah is a priest in the middle of a worship service at the most holy of places in Jerusalem. This week’s setting is much les[...]