Luke 1:35-38 contains one part of the Christmas story that many people reject and the reasons for this is discovered in their concept of God and of fallen humanity. God through Gabriel had revealed His mind and heart to Mary and she simply and heroically accepted God at His word without hesitation or rebellion and in so doing she become an example to us all and the opposite of the first woman, Eve. The only truly joyous life is one lived in subjection to the will of God even when we don’t fully understand it! And with Gabriel’s announcement, and interpretation we are simply told that he departed from Mary and left her to wait for the fulfillment of his words.
All of this sets the response of “Gabriel’s Interpretation” and as I see this his response it answers two challenges with the virgin birth: Practical and Moral!
1. Practical: “How was it accomplished practically?”
Here Gabriel gives Mary three specific things:
a. The Agent the “Holy Spirit”
b. The Method as “overshadowing her”
c. The Outcome, “the Holy One…the Son of God”
The question I believe that Mary asked was: “How can a child be born from just a woman without the equal accompaniment of a man?” Or “Can a woman get pregnant all by herself without the seed of a man?” The simple human biological answer to that is NO! Gabriel in his answer gives Mary how this will be accomplished as it will require “supernatural interference” by the “Holy Spirit” who will accomplish this by “overshadowing her” which will result in the child being, “the Holy One who is to be born…” and He will be known as “Son of God”! I don’t believe that there is much to investigate in the Agent “The Holy Spirit” but the method is quite interesting as the word “overshadow” is a Greek word that means to “envelope in darkness with the excess of light”.
Perhaps we might say, “Blinded by the light”. I am immediately reminded of the account in creation in Genesis 1:1-3 when we read that in the “Beginning” when God created the heavens and the earth, that the earth was without form and void; and “darkness” was on the face of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters when God said, “Let there be light” and there was light, and it was good. Jesus in John 8:12 calls Himself the “Light of the world”.
That is the answer of Gabriel to Mary and I’m content with the answer as my theology and philosophy with regards to God doesn’t require that my finite intellect will ever be sufficient to understand the infinite wisdom and methods of God apart from what He has given us in His Word! And if that is true in the small things how much more true is that in the incarnation of the Person of Jesus? My interpretation isn’t meant to replace or even explain the miraculous supernatural work of God, it is only what the Greek words say!
2. Moral: Though Mary didn’t raise this question as I don’t believe she understood it enough to raise it. The moral question looks like this:
How can a child born of just a sin-stained woman be able to escape the constant and continuous sinfulness of all of humanity? Wouldn’t this child, even born without the seed of a man, still inherit original sin and total depravity? How could this child escape the contamination and consequences of sin that has persisted through 100% of humanity?
I think it is wonderful, even glorious that Gabriel’s answer address these questions even though she didn’t ask them! Gabriel’s answer to the moral question is, “Therefore also, the Holy One who is born will be called the Son of God.” Gabriel’s answer to the moral questions is that by that by same act of the Holy Spirit utilizing the same “energy of light overshadowing darkness” that body describe in the quotation of Hebrews 12:5 where we read, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me”, that this body was “prepared for Jesus” by which He would be known as the Son of God would be free from contamination of the sin nature in the human nature as Gabriel announces that this child shall be Holy!
This was accomplished because the child was placed in the womb by the act of the Holy Spirit and because of this same act of God the child will be free from contamination! The truth of the virgin Birth and the “Immaculate conception” was declared by Gabriel. God is not hindered or limited by the ordinary, He can and does only wondrous things and because of this He alone does the extraordinary.
Mary’s act of surrender and submission in verse 38 which must be interpreted in light of human wisdom with regards to the person of Jesus. She only held a naturalistic philosophy which could never have fully understood this truth! She does what we must, surrender to it and not try to place our obedience in human wisdom and intellect. Her reply says this, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” To deny the so called “supernatural” origin of Jesus, is to make Him only natural and in so doing imprisoned within the walls of our fallen humanities limitations. If Jesus is limited by fallen humanities knowledge of Him then He “cannot be” God the Son, Son of God, Lord, or Savior.