Believers can pursue God’s favor by faithfully following Him each day.
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David.
The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And the angel came to her and said,
“Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”
29 But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be.
30 Then the angel told her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”
Joseph
The husband of Mary and the earthly father of Jesus was one of two men named Joseph in the New Testament.
He was a carpenter by trade.
He demonstrated genuine love and concern for Mary (Matt. 1:18-25)
and was open to God’s leadership on multiple occasions.
After the Christmas narratives, Joseph does not appear again in the Gospels.
Many scholars believe he died before Jesus initiated His public ministry.
Describe Nazareth and the relationship between Joseph and Mary.
Emphasize how Luke made a point to describe Mary as a virgin in verse 27.
28) Greetings, favored woman:
This translates two Greek words related to the noun charis, which means “grace” or “favor.”
The first word expresses a direct address to someone with whom the speaker is on good terms.
The second word (from charitoo) identifies one who has received a benefit or blessing.In the fourth century, the Latin Vulgate rendered it “full of grace,”
which many have taken to mean Mary had become a dispenser of grace.
However, this concept is not supported by the Greek wording.
Charis and its related words speak of a gift freely and generously bestowed.
Mary had not asked for this gift, and favored indicates that God had chosen her by His own initiative to receive this grace.29) Deeply troubled: The Greek wording suggests being greatly agitated or unsettled.
It could carry the idea of fear or alarm.
Luke had used the same word earlier to describe the terror experienced by Zechariah (Luke 1:12).
The angel’s words left Mary wondering, which suggests confusion.
As one might expect, Mary was unsettled by the angel’s appearance and message. But she was also open to hearing more about what God had planned.