Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
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The Questions
1) What does “in the sixth month” refer to in this passage?
2) Why does Luke tell us Mary was a virgin and betrothed to man in the house of David? Why does it matter?
3) Why is Mary troubled at what the angel said to her?
Luke 1:26-38
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Original Intent
1) What does “in the sixth month” refer to in this passage?
When we ask a question of a passage, our first response should always be to examine the broader context first. Verses were not meant to tell a story all on their own. The first part of chapter 1 details the account of the angel Gabriel’s visit to Zechariah as he foretells the birth of John the Baptist. In verse 24, we see Elizabeth has conceived with John and has been carrying him for five months, but has told no one. Then, in verse 26, Luke uses the phrase “in the sixth month” as he transitions to Gabriel visiting Mary. This phrase “in the sixth month” is a reference to how far a long Elizabeth is in her pregnancy. John, Jesus’ cousin, and Jesus were six months apart in age.
2) Why does Luke tell us Mary was a virgin and betrothed to a man in the house of David? Why does it matter?
There are over 300 prophecies found within the Old Testament that point to the birth of Christ, the coming Savior. When God established Jesus, His Son as the answer to the world’s problem of sin, He already knew exactly how His birth would happen. Thousands of years before Jesus was ever born, prophets were telling the world about a coming Messiah as the Holy Spirit led them to speak His truth. One such passage is Isaiah 7:14, which specifically states Immanuel “God with us” would be born of a virgin. In Isaiah 9:6-7, we are told a child will be born from the ancestry of David. It is important Joseph was of the lineage of King David in order to fulfill this prophecy. Luke is informing the reader Jesus’ birth is happening just as He said it would. Only God could know those details, orchestrate them all, and speak through prophets about these specifics for centuries before they occurred. Luke does not offer these details for the sake of details, although he was a meticulous writer when it came to details. He tells the reader these things because it is the fulfillment of prophecy, pointing his audience towards the unfailing, unchanging faithful character of God. The chances of one person perfectly fulfilling only eight prophecies are 10 to the 17th power. Imagine the odds of stacking silver dollar coins 2 feet deep across the entire state of Texas, then asking one person to find the one coin with a black mark on it by choosing only one, single coin. Those are the odds of 1 person fulfilling just 8 prophecies! Yet, Christ perfectly fulfilled all 300 prophecies made about Him! Truly, none is like the Almighty God!
3) Why is Mary troubled at what the angel said to her?
We are not given clear indication about why Mary is troubled. Given the situation, an angel of the Lord is speaking with her and has just called her, “favored one”. I am sure there is uncertainty about what is happening. We need to remember Mary is a young teenager. Scripture does tell us she is pondering, wondering, discerning why the angel has come to visit and why he greeted her in this way.
Everyday Application
1) What does “in the sixth month” refer to in this passage?
I think when we read this verse in isolation, we may want to attribute a date from the calendar to this timeframe, but as we read it in context, we can see Luke continuing his thought as he transitions from Elizabeth to Mary. These two were six months a part in their pregnancies, and as we continue to read Luke, we find Mary visiting Elizabeth. We are told of the sweet encounter when Elizabeth sees Mary for the first time in verses 39-44. There is a special bond between Mary and Elizabeth that goes beyond family relation. Although simply a marker of time, it leads to a connection within the book of Luke between Mary and Elizabeth that is created only by a coming Messiah who would save His people. As you live in your everyday moments, let this small detail remind you of a God who works mighty things in the midst of small things, even things like due dates!
2) Why does Luke tell us Mary was a virgin and betrothed to man in the house of David? Why does it matter?
Mary was part of God’s plan all along. Thousands of years before Gabriel spoke to Mary, God set in motion a plan to save the world by sending His Son. Only and infinite, perfect God could possibly pay for the sin of finite mankind once and for all with a single sacrifice. This God would need to live the human life flawlessly on behalf of man, and then take on our punishment in our stead. This is precisely how God determined to rescue us! Throughout history we see God use the unlikely, the undesirable, and the lowly to bring about His glory. God chose a teenage girl in a society that values age and wisdom, God chose a girl to carry out His most intimate of plans in a society that gave no value to women, and God chose a peasant to bear His Son which made no worldly sense. God’s plan does not always make sense, but it is always perfect! Take heart there exists no chaos where God cannot bring perfect order and work for our good and His glory!
3) Why is Mary troubled at what the angel said to her?
I think about what my response would have been if an angel had stood before me as a young, teenage girl. Sometimes when we read the Bible, we have read or heard the story so many times we forget it is a real historical account that includes real people. We aren’t reading an elaborate, fictitious story about a young woman whose life is changed forever in a moment of time, but rather a real story about God, the Creator of the Universe encountering His people in a very real way. Mary is troubled I’m sure because maybe she does not understand, maybe she questions if this is really happening, or maybe she wonders “why me?”. In her wondering and troubled heart, she does not demand an answer, or throw a fit, but rather submits with joy as she trusts God with her fears. Although we question God at times over what He is doing or how things will ever work out, there is joy found in simple, trusting submission! Mary did not have all the answers, but she knew the truth of the situation and what God had called her to in that moment. She would be the mother of the Jesus: the Savior of the World, the Son of the God Most High, Emmanuel, God with Us!
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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“ The chances of one person perfectly fulfilling only eight prophecies are 10 to the 17th power. Imagine the odds of stacking silver dollar coins 2 feet deep across the entire state of Texas, then asking one person to find the one coin with a black mark on it by choosing only one, single coin. Those are the odds of 1 person fulfilling just 8 prophecies! Yet, Christ perfectly fulfilled all 300 prophecies made about Him! Truly, none is like the Almighty God!” This paints such a vivid picture of the incredible fulfillment Jesus was to the prophecies! Glory to… Read more »
I love this!! It speaks volumes to the plan that God had all along–from the beginning.