Gospels Part 080
Mary is stunned when she hears the shocking birth announcement from the angel Gabriel. But it’s not just the words that affect her. Like other biblical figures, she experiences an astonishing and bewildering encounter with a being from another dimension!
Continuing with our story today in Luke 1:28-29, Gabriel appears to Mary:
“The angel came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you’” (New English Translation [NET])!
Mary was indeed highly favored. Among Israelite women of that day, no higher honor could be bestowed than to give birth to the promised Messiah. And now Mary is told that she will have that honor!
Luke 1:29: “But she was greatly troubled by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting” (NET).
Mary has the same reaction Zechariah had when the angel Gabriel appeared to him. They were both “troubled,” from a Greek word meaning greatly upset, alarmed, filled with fear, or deeply disturbed. You might think of some of the reactions of other individuals in the Bible who encountered angels. Some fell on their faces. Some fainted dead away. Some were terrified!
No doubt these encounters were disturbing to those involved! It’s one thing to merely read about such encounters, but something entirely different to actually experience meeting an angel face to face! From the biblical descriptions, these angelic appearances could be compared to a window opening into another dimension, and people must have felt overwhelmed by this power and energy pulsing through from this spirit world to ours. It clearly disorients and terrifies people who experience that! And the angel Gabriel tells Mary the same thing he’d told Zechariah six months earlier:
Luke 1:30: “So the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God’” (NET)!
This was a frightening experience, and the first thing the angel tells her is, “Do not be afraid!” That’s the same thing Gabriel told Zechariah when he appeared to him in the temple (Luke 1:13). There would have been no need for Gabriel to say this to Zechariah and Mary had they not been highly alarmed at his appearing. So, Gabriel comforted and encouraged them both. And then Gabriel says to her:
Luke 1:31: “Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus” (NET).
Likely, her mind is spinning. The angel quotes in part from Isaiah 7:14, a prophecy that she has heard from childhood that a virgin would miraculously conceive. But the latter part of Gabriel’s message is slightly different. Rather than the son being called Immanuel— “God with us”—she is told to name Him Jesus.
The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, or Yeshua as it was likely pronounced then, meaning “God saves.” So, the angel tells Mary that she is to name her son “God saves.”
Of course, both Immanuel and Jesus are packed with profound meaning. Jesus was indeed Immanuel, meaning “God with us.” We covered this in detail in our previous discussions of the opening verses of John 1, where he tells us that the Being who became Jesus of Nazareth both was God and was with God in the beginning, and that same Being came to earth as a flesh-and-blood human being. And His name Jesus, meaning “God saves,” perfectly sums up His mission and reason for coming to earth as God in the flesh—so that He and God the Father can carry out Their plan to offer salvation to all human beings who have ever lived!
We see throughout God’s Word that He calls things what they are. Satan means “enemy” or “adversary,” and that’s exactly who he is and what he does. In contrast, Jesus is the Immanuel, “God with us,” through whom “God saves.” That’s exactly what He is and what He does—for which we should be incredibly thankful!
We’ll dig deeper into Gabriel’s amazing message next time.
© 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.
Course Content
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.
