Mary
said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?” The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing spoken by God is impossible.” Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” The angel departed from her.
Luke 1:34-38
Luke 1 [29.] But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and give birth to a son, and will call his name ‘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 the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
Luke 1 [34.] Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
Luke 1 [35.] The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”
Luke 1 [38.] Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” The angel departed from her.
Luke 1 [39.] Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She called out with a loud voice, and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”
Meaning:
Gabriel had told Mary that she would conceive and bear a son, call him Jesus, and that he would reign on David’s throne forever (Luke 1:26-31; Luke 1:32-33). These verses record Mary’s question, the angel’s answer and Mary’s response.
- “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
Mary’s question is different from that of Zacharias. When he heard that his elderly wife would bear a son, he asked, “How can I be sure of this?” and was struck silent for not believing (Luke 1:18-20). Zacharias asked for proof; Mary asked how it would happen. She did not doubt that God could do it, but she was a virgin, pledged to Joseph but not yet living with him, and she wanted to understand.
- “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
The conception of Jesus would be a direct creative act of God. The language recalls the beginning of creation, when the Spirit of God was over the waters, and the glory of God in the wilderness, when “the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and Yahweh’s glory filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34). The same presence that filled the tabernacle would now rest on Mary. Matthew records the angel telling Joseph, “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20).
- “the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God”
Because of this conception, the child would be holy and would be the Son of God in a unique sense. He would be fully human, born of a woman, and yet his origin would be from God himself. The psalm of the Messiah had said, “You are my son. Today I have become your father” (Psalm 2:7).
- “Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age”
The angel gave Mary a sign she could check. Her relative Elizabeth, who had long been called barren, was already six months pregnant. Mary did not ask for a sign, but God graciously gave one, and Mary soon went to visit Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45).
- “For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”
The PIB footnote gives another rendering: “For everything spoken by God is possible.” Either way, the angel’s words echo the Lord’s question to Abraham when Sarah laughed at the promise of a son: “Is anything too hard for Yahweh?” (Genesis 18:14). Jeremiah prayed, “there is nothing too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17), and Jesus later said, “all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). What God speaks, he is able to do.
- “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”
Mary’s answer is humble, willing and brave. The word “servant” means a female bond-servant, one who belongs to her master. She surrendered herself completely to God’s plan, even though it would cost her. A pregnancy before the wedding could bring shame, suspicion and the loss of Joseph, and under the law it could even put her life in danger. Yet she trusted God with her reputation and her future. Her words recall young Samuel’s reply, “Speak, Yahweh; for your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:10), and they foreshadow her Son’s prayer in Gethsemane: “not what I desire, but what you desire” (Mark 14:36).
The Significance of Luke 1:34-38
- Bring your questions to God
Mary asked how God’s promise could be fulfilled, and God answered her. Believers may bring honest questions to God. What matters is the heart behind them: a desire to understand and obey, not a demand for proof before trusting.
- Say yes to God’s word
Mary’s “let it be done to me according to your word” is a model for every disciple. God’s plans often come at a cost, but the one who calls is faithful. Like Abraham, Mary was “fully assured that what he had promised, he was also able to perform” (Romans 4:21).
Cross-References:
Genesis 18:14: "Is anything too hard for Yahweh?" God’s question to Abraham about Sarah’s son.
Jeremiah 32:17: "there is nothing too hard for you," Jeremiah’s prayer of faith.
Mark 10:27: "all things are possible with God." Jesus on what God can do.
Matthew 1:20: "that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." The angel’s word to Joseph.
Conclusion: Mary asked how she could bear a child while still a virgin. Gabriel answered that the Holy Spirit would come on her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her, so that her child would be holy, the Son of God. He pointed to Elizabeth’s pregnancy as proof that nothing spoken by God is impossible. Mary humbly surrendered herself as the Lord’s servant, saying, “let it be done to me according to your word.”
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible