The Gospel According To LukeSample

Jesus’ Birth Announcement - Luke 1:5-56

It’s significant that Luke opened his gospel with an appearance of the angel Gabriel. Hundreds of years earlier, Daniel 9 stated that Gabriel had announced that Israel’s exile would last for hundreds of years. So long as they remained under God’s judgment, Israel would be in bondage. But in Luke’s gospel, Gabriel announced that the period of judgment was about to end. 

In Luke 1:5-25, Gabriel foretold the birth of John the Baptist. Gabriel visited the priest Zechariah in Judea, and told him that his barren wife Elizabeth would miraculously have a son. They were to name the boy John. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth, and would serve in the spirit of the great prophet Elijah to prepare the way for God’s salvation. At first, Zechariah doubted Gabriel’s message, so he was struck mute until his son was born.

Luke paired the announcement of John’s birth with Gabriel’s greater announcement of Jesus’ birth in Luke 1:26-38. Gabriel told Mary that God would miraculously generate a son in her womb, making God himself the child’s father. God’s son was to be named Jesus, meaning “Savior.” Moreover, he would inherit the throne of his ancestor David, meaning that he would be the Messiah, the great son of David who would bring the salvation of God’s everlasting kingdom to earth. 

Since Mary and Elizabeth were cousins, Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth in Judea to tell her she was pregnant with God’s son. We read about this visit in Luke 1:39-56. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, John leapt for joy in his mother’s womb, and Elizabeth was immediately filled with the Spirit so that she understood the significance of her baby’s reaction. Elizabeth blessed Mary, calling Mary’s son her own Lord. And in response, Mary sang her famous song of praise, often called the Magnificat, in Luke 1:46-55, expressing her great joy at the salvation that was coming through her child.