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It is so easy to read the Christmas story, year after year, and not see anything new. But the other day I took the time to read the footnotes in the NET Bible and began to see it from a little different angle. When I was a young girl I loved microscopes and magnifying glasses; they illuminated and revealed things I would not have otherwise known existed. Maybe as a young child you took a magnifying glass outside, like I did, and started examining the grass to see what lived there, or held it at just the right angle over a dry leaf to see if you could burn a hole in it. That is what footnotes and commentaries do when we are reading the Bible. They can help us discover things we would not have otherwise known, and bring the details into sharper focus. But it takes patience and a willingness to read slowly what you are looking at.
Luke 1:26-29 (NET) says, The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Greetings favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. ”
I have always focused on Mary and her reaction to the angel’s words, not the words themselves. This time several phrases stood out to me, so I decided to dig deeper to broaden my understanding of what was going on in the story.
The phrase favored one means she is a “recipient of God’s grace” (1:28, NET footnote). Mary ponders what this greeting might mean, and the angel tells her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (1:30). The footnote says, “found favor with God” is a common expression in the Old Testament that means “God has chosen to act on this person’s behalf.”
The first time I read the verse I read it exactly opposite, because I think that is how we see it in our minds. We see Mary being chosen to act on God’s behalf to bring His son into the world. And she was; but “God’s choice of Mary to bear his child springs not from any inherent merit that she possesses.”[1] She is the object of God’s unmerited grace, just as we are.
God has chosen Mary to bear His son, and the description of who Jesus will be in verses 32-33 is astounding. But this is not what grabs Mary’s attention. It is the fact that she will “become pregnant and give birth to a son” (1:31). She doesn’t understand how this is going to happen—she is a virgin (1:34).
The angel answers her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God” (1:35).
I love the word picture drawn for us here. The Holy Spirit will come upon her, and His power will overshadow her. The word overshadow sounds so safe, and the word power sounds so strong. The footnote says, “The phrase will overshadow is a reference to God’s glorious presence at work”, and the following verses were cited as cross-references: Exodus 40:34-35; Psalm 91:4.
In Exodus, God’s presence had been accompanying the Israelites in the wilderness as a cloud by day. Moses and the Israelites had just completed the work of building the tabernacle: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34, NET).
In Psalm 91, the psalmist is describing God’s power to protect and describes God as covering his children with his wings that they might find safety there. He then compares this to his faithfulness and says it is like a shield or a protective wall (Psalm 91:4, NET).
As I sat pondering the richness of these two verses in Luke, I couldn’t help but see the parallel in our lives. We too are chosen by God to bear His son, and called to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). But how? The same way Mary would—through the power of the Holy Spirit whose glorious presence lives in us and is continually at work in our lives.
And so I pray, with Peter, this prayer for you this Christmas:
May grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord! I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:2-3, NET).
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Merry Christmas!
[1] Darrell Bock, Luke Commentary, 1:30.
Kim Prothro
Kim fell in love with Jesus and studying God's word in the eighth grade. That eventually led to a dream of attending seminary which she did after her children were grown. She graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2013 with a Masters in Theology and was part of the original group of women who founded Womenary in 2008. She has been a past professor for Womenary and is currently the Director of Soul Care at Living Well Holistic Counseling and Wellness Center. Kim can be contacted at kim.prothro@gmail.com. 
