“Look! Jehovah’s Slave Girl!”

1, 2. (a) Mary received what greeting from a stranger? (b) In what way was Mary at a crossroads?

MARY looked up, wide-eyed, as the visitor entered her home. He did not ask for her father or her mother. He was there to see her! He could not be from Nazareth; of that she was sure. In a small town like hers, strangers stood out. This one would stand out anywhere. He addressed Mary in a way that was altogether new to her, saying: “Good day, highly favored one, Jehovah is with you.”​—Read Luke 1:26-28.

A Visit From an Angel

5. (a) What can we learn about Mary from her reaction to Gabriel’s greeting? (b) What vital lesson can we learn from Mary?

⁵ Mary’s visitor was no mere man. It was the angel Gabriel. When he called Mary “highly favored one,” she was “deeply disturbed” by his words and wondered about this unusual greeting. (Luke 1:29) Highly favored by whom? Mary did not expect to be highly favored among men. But the angel was speaking of the favor of Jehovah God. That mattered to her. Still, she did not proudly presume that she had God’s favor. If we strive for God’s favor, never haughtily assuming that we already have it, we will learn a vital lesson that young Mary fully understood. God opposes the haughty, but he loves and supports the lowly and humble.​—Jas. 4:6.

6. The angel held out what privilege to Mary?

⁶ Mary would need such humility, for the angel held out to her an almost unimaginable privilege. He explained that she was to bear a child who would become the most important of all humans. Gabriel said: “Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule as king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom.” (Luke 1:32, 33) Mary surely knew of the promise God had made to David more than one thousand years earlier​—namely, that one of his descendants would rule forever. (2 Sam. 7:12, 13) So her son would be the Messiah whom God’s people over the centuries had been hoping for!

7. (a) What did Mary’s question reveal about her? (b) What can young people today learn from Mary?

⁷ What is more, the angel told her that her son would “be called Son of the Most High.” How could a human woman produce God’s Son? Really, how could Mary produce a son at all? She was engaged to Joseph but not yet married to him. This question Mary put into frank words: “How is this to be, since I am having no intercourse with a man?” (Luke 1:34) Note that Mary spoke of her virginity without a trace of shame. On the contrary, she treasured her chastity. Today, many youths are eager to cast off their virginity and quick to ridicule those who do not. The world has certainly changed. Jehovah, however, has not changed. (Mal. 3:6) As in Mary’s day, he values those who adhere to his moral standards.​—Read Hebrews 13:4.

8. How could Mary, though imperfect, produce a perfect offspring?

⁸ Although she was a faithful servant of God, Mary was an imperfect human. How, then, could she produce a perfect offspring, the Son of God? Gabriel explained: “Holy spirit will come upon you, and power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason also what is born will be called holy, God’s Son.” (Luke 1:35) Holy means “clean,” “pure,” “sacred.” Normally, humans pass on their unclean, sinful state to their offspring. In this case, though, Jehovah would perform a unique miracle. He would transfer the life of his Son from heaven to the womb of Mary and then use his active force, or holy spirit, to “overshadow” Mary, shielding the child from any taint of sin. Did Mary believe the angel’s promise? How did she respond?

Mary’s Response to Gabriel

9. (a) Why are skeptics wrong to doubt the account about Mary? (b) In what way did Gabriel strengthen Mary’s faith?

⁹ Skeptics, including some theologians of Christendom, have a hard time believing that a virgin could give birth. For all their education, they fail to grasp a simple truth. As Gabriel put it, “with God no declaration will be an impossibility.” (Luke 1:37) Mary accepted Gabriel’s words as truth, for she was a young woman of great faith. However, that faith was not gullibility. Like any reasoning person, Mary needed evidence on which to base her faith. Gabriel was prepared to add to her store of such evidence. He told her about her elderly relative Elizabeth, long known as a barren woman. God had miraculously enabled her to conceive!

10. Why should we not assume that Mary’s privilege presented no fears or hardships?

¹⁰ Now what would Mary do? She had her assignment before her and had evidence that God was going to do all that Gabriel had said. We should not assume that this privilege presented no fears, no hardships. For one thing, she had her engagement to Joseph to consider. Would their marriage proceed when he found out about her pregnancy? For another thing, the assignment itself may have seemed a daunting responsibility. She was to carry the life of the most precious of all of God’s creatures​—his own beloved Son! She would have to care for him when he was a helpless infant and protect him in a wicked world. A weighty responsibility indeed!

11, 12. (a) How have even strong, faithful men sometimes responded to challenging assignments from God? (b) What did Mary reveal about herself in her response to Gabriel?

¹¹ The Bible shows that even strong, faithful men have sometimes hesitated to accept challenging assignments from God. Moses protested that he could not speak fluently enough to act as God’s spokesman. (Ex. 4:10) Jeremiah objected that he was “but a boy,” too young to take on the task God had assigned him. (Jer. 1:6) And Jonah ran away from his assignment! (Jonah 1:3) What about Mary?

¹² Her words, so full of simple humility and obedience, resonate for all people of faith. She said to Gabriel: “Look! Jehovah’s slave girl! May it take place with me according to your declaration.” (Luke 1:38) A slave girl was the lowliest of servants; her life was entirely in the hands of her master. That is how Mary felt about her Master, Jehovah. She knew that she was safe in his hands, that he is loyal to those who are loyal to him, and that he would bless her as she did her best with this challenging assignment.​—Ps. 18:25.

13. If doing what God asks of us seems difficult or even impossible, how can we benefit from Mary’s example?

¹³ Sometimes God asks us to do what may seem difficult, even impossible, in our eyes. However, in his Word he gives us ample reasons to trust him, to place ourselves in his hands, as Mary did. (Prov. 3:5, 6) Will we? If we do, he will reward us, giving us reasons to build even stronger faith in him.