Gospels Part 079
Gabriel, whom we read about earlier appearing to the priest Zechariah, is the angel tasked with delivering divine announcements from God to human beings. Now he delivers a shocking message to a young Jewish woman named Mary.
The next chapter of our story begins on page 4 of A Harmony of the Gospels: The Life, Ministry and Teachings of Jesus Christ:
Luke 1:26 (New English Translation [NET]): In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
This is the same angel Gabriel who appeared to the priest Zechariah in the Temple and told him that he and his elderly wife Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptizer, the messenger who would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. It seems that Gabriel is the angel tasked to bring important announcements to human beings. He has already appeared to Zechariah, now he appears to Mary, and very shortly he will appear to Joseph, Mary’s husband-to-be.
We see here that in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Gabriel tells Mary that she will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Messiah. As we covered in the background message on Luke, this author is very specific and provides a lot of detail in what he writes to us. Continuing in Luke 1:27, we read:
“. . . to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary (NET).
Her name in Hebrew was Miriam, which was the name of the sister of Moses and Aaron as recorded in the book of Exodus. This Miriam was one of the most famous women in Israelite history. Both archaeology and written history show that this was the most common name for Hebrew women in the first century, which is why we see six or seven different Marys mentioned in the New Testament. These include:
- Mary the mother of Jesus, the most famous Mary.
- Mary Magdalene, from the town of Magdala near Capernaum, a dedicated follower of Jesus.
- Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus, who were all faithful friends of Jesus.
- Mary, mother of James and Joses, sometimes called “the other Mary.” She may also be the Mary who is mentioned as being the wife of Clopas in John 19:25, or this Mary may be a different individual.
- Mary, mother of John Mark, author of the Gospel of Mark (Acts 12:12).
- Mary of Rome, mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:6.
The Mary in our story was a virgin engaged or betrothed to Joseph, a man named after the biblical patriarch Joseph of the book of Genesis. Luke, like Matthew in his genealogy, emphasizes that Joseph is a descendant of King David as foretold in Bible prophecy.
In that time, a betrothal period lasted about a year. It wasn’t technically a marriage yet because the marriage had not been consummated. Betrothal was much like our modern engagement practice; the major difference was that betrothal was a binding legal agreement that could be broken only by a divorce. If something happened during that betrothal period that caused one of the parties to break it off, they would have to get a legal divorce from the other person even though they had not yet been technically married.
In the culture of that time, men would typically marry at about age 20 after they had been grounded in the study of the Hebrew Scriptures and had learned a trade and were able to adequately support a wife and family. Girls typically married in their mid-teens once they could physically bear children and become mothers.
These ages may sound surprisingly young to us today—and we would definitely advise against marrying that young—but why did they marry at that age? Remember that this was a very Bible-believing and scripturally grounded Jewish culture. And what is the first command given in the Bible? “Be fruitful and multiply . . .” (Genesis 1:28). So as soon as a girl was physically ready for motherhood, she was considered eligible for marriage, and her family would begin looking for a husband for her. And most marriages were arranged in those days, which is still the typical way it’s done in much of the Middle East to this day.
© 2026 Scott Ashley. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
UYA Team | uya@ucg.org
United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of the young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.
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Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
