And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. Luke 1:31
Any list of the greatest events in human history would be controversial, because everybody has a different idea of which events were important, and of which important events were of greatest importance. Most of the lists would include the Great Reformation as launched in the 1500s by Martin Luther, The World Wars of the 20th century, the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg, the rise of the Roman Empire, and so forth. To this list, Americans would add the American Revolution, Britons would add the Battle of Hastings, Canadians would add the Charlottetown Conference, and the French would add the Storming of the Bastille. The list of world-changing milestones of history is indeed large. But there is one event that has had far more impact on humanity than all of those great events put together, even more impact than the initial event of the fall of mankind into sin in the Garden of Eden. The birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ stands unique and towers far above all other events of history. And in our text, we have Gabriel’s announcement of it. This is a great moment for Mary, far greater than she can grasp.
Even as our first parents were cast out of Eden, they were promised that the Seed of the woman would come. The Old Testament is a catalogue of lessons and illustrations that point forward to the coming Messiah. The desire of every woman who had an appreciation of God and His promises was that her womb would be used to bring forth the Saviour. And now, with Gabriel’s appearance, Mary is hearing the words that all of those other women longed to hear. She might well wonder why she was chosen for such a high honour. And she, being a virgin, certainly wondered how this birth was to occur. But the proclamation to her was the most wondrous message that she could receive. World history was about to change. Mankind’s ruin was about to receive a Remedy. After Gabriel uttered his great proclamation, everything would change. God’s program was unfolding in a spectacular way. At least, that’s the way we can see it from our perspective. But it would be some time before the impact of Gabriel’s words unfolded.
Mary had to receive the promise by faith. There is no doubt that she was chosen because she would receive the message, despite her initial questions. And there is no doubt that she became an ideal earthly mother for the Lord Jesus. But we must never lose sight, like the Catholics have, of Mary’s role as merely the vessel that God chose to give His Son to humanity. More important than Mary’s upcoming maternity was Jesus incarnation.
We are thankful for Mary’s role and her willingness to submit to God’s will. But we are forever grateful for the Lord Jesus role, and His submission to His Father’s will. -Jim MacIntosh