“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

Isaiah 7:14
When we peek in on Mary, we find her among a people mostly cynical about the promises of God. They were ruled by Romans, divided by religious groups, and jaded by the corruption in Caesar’s palace and among the religious establishment. In some respects, this setting sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

If the Jewish people hadn’t lost hope, they had at least grown apathetic about it during generations of apparent silence from God. Yet into a dark world where many had lost heart, God broke in to announce the coming of the Savior through a young girl named Mary. His eternal plan of redemption would be initiated in the most unlikely of circumstances. What a surprise to Mary and her family!

But it was no surprise at all in the realm of heaven where God assigned Gabriel the awesome duty of making the announcement He’d planned long ago, before the world even began (see 1 Peter 1:20). Gabriel visited Mary exactly “when the fullness of time had come” (Galatians 4:4), when God’s plan from all eternity would reach into our world and into our lives.



Scripture Focus

Isaiah 9:6-7

Insight

Mary, from David’s line, would marry Joseph, a son of David, to bear in her womb the eternal Son of David!

Bible In A Year

  • Hosea 4-6
  • Proverbs 12
  • James 4-5

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