‘An angel of the Lord appeared to him (Joseph) in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit, and she will bring forth a Son, and YOU SHALL CALL HIS NAME JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins’, Matthew chapter 1 verses 20-21.

JESUS is the Greek form of JOSHUA, which means, ‘JEHOVAH IS SALVATION’. The angel then gave the primary purpose for Christ’s coming into the world: ‘for He will save His people from their sins’.

For Mary, one so young and inexperienced in natural and spiritual matters, Gabriel’s words must have seemed unbelievable when he said to her: ‘Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women! . . . . Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God’, Luke chapter 1 verses 28 & 39. It is little wonder that Luke goes on to record, ‘But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was’, verse 29. In spite of her inexperience, she did not dismiss the message without giving it the consideration it deserved. We might well ask ourselves as to whether we give the Word of God the consideration it deserves in our lives!

We can excuse Mary for her following question to the angel : ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’, Luke chapter 1 verse 34. Gabriel was promising a unique event – a virgin birth! Naturally speaking, it was not possible for this promise to come to pass! Have you ever asked the question as to how the life of Christ can possibly be in you? The message from God is that what is impossible for men, is possible with Him. We can receive new life from above, through faith in JESUS, the Saviour.

To be continued