Every March 25th, Christians celebrate the Annunciation, which is when tradition teaches that the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that God had chosen her to be the mother of our savior. Luke 1:26-28 records,

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

At first she was troubled by this news, and it caused uncertainty. But, in the end, Mary’s response was humble and faithful:

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. ~Luke 1:38

Not Gabriel’s First Rodeo

But this wasn’t the first appearance of Gabriel in the Messiah’s birth narrative. He had only six months previously delivered a message to the priest Zachariah that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would soon conceive a son, John the Baptist: 

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him…[and] the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John…. I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.” ~Luke 1:11-20

Even further back, though–over 500 years back–Gabriel had been sent to the prophet Daniel to tell him about the coming Messiah. His first vision is recorded in Daniel 7:1-14, and Gabriel is given the assignment to explain it to Daniel:

‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’… (7:17-18)

‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. …
“‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’  (7:23-27)

An Everlasting Kingdom

There is a lot to say about this vision, but let’s keep our attention on the ultimate point: “His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.” He is telling Daniel that someday the Jewish Messiah will end all wars and he will sit upon the throne and be given power and sovereignty over all the nations. I talk about the audacious nature of this proclamation in my book, 500 Year Journey: 

“In the most general terms, God revealed to Daniel that the Jewish Messiah would rule the world someday. He would prevail over his enemies, and he would set up his kingdom forever in heaven and on earth. What an audacious claim! Remember that at the time of Daniel’s visions, the Jews were a conquered people. They were exiles and scattered throughout the region. They had no capital and no nation. Their national identity was defined by their faith that they were God’s chosen people, but they were being punished for disobeying his law. They weren’t living the dream at all. They were in the ultimate “time out,” and it was not pleasant or rewarding. There was nothing about them that shouted, ‘We will rule the world!'” (Piper, Corey. 500 Year Journey: How the Magi Knew When Christ Would be Born (p. 36). Morgan James Publishing. Kindle Edition.)

In a similar situation at the time of Mary, but with Romans now in charge instead of the Babylonians and Persians, Gabriel gives Mary the same message of hope:

“Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:30-33)

As bad as things might look sometimes, don’t forget that God has a plan and he is working it all out. Don’t lose hope!

Mary’s Song

Mary fully understood the significance of what Gabriel had told her once she humbly accepted the message. She then composed a song that shows how the annunciation fits within the historical context of God’s plan:

For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.” (Luke 1:49-55)

(By the way, John Michael Talbot and his brother Terry, wrote one of the greatest Christian songs ever, called The Advent Suite. It’s based on Mary’s song.)

The Coming Kingdom

So, the Annunciation is ultimately not so much about Gabriel or Mary, but about the one true ruler of this world, Jesus. May we never lose sight of God’s sovereign plan, and that he is working all things out. It may not seem like it at sometimes, but just like God gave Daniel hope in the midst of God’s judgement, and Mary good news at exactly the right time in history, so he, too, doesn’t want us to lose heart.  

As the Apostle’s Creed so eloquently describes:

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

500 Year Journey

My book 500 Year Journey further elaborates on these topics and, in particular, discusses Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy. Even though right now is not the Christmas season as traditionally celebrated, I hope you will explore these timeless topics with me. My book is not about Christmas, but about the birth of Christ, and my prayer is that it will be a blessing to you and help you to see that Jesus isn’t a myth or some psychological archetype, but the Truth. He is the Word become flesh, and the historical reality of his birth, ministry, death and resurrection are of upmost significance. Nothing in our world has more meaning to each of us, and I pray your heart will be open to his beauty and wonder.

Amen.