Her Wonderful Privilege

Gabriel adds: “Have no fear, Mary, for you have found favor with God; and, look! you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you are to call his name Jesus. This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and 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 1:29-33.

Amazed and perplexed, Mary asks: “How is this to be, since I am having no intercourse with a man?” Gabriel answers: “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.”

She Becomes Joseph’s Wife

A virgin is to supply Jesus’ human body, for such a birth was foretold. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22, 23) But why is a betrothed virgin required? In order to provide an adoptive father who can convey to the child the legal right to King David’s throne. Both Joseph and Mary belong to the tribe of Judah and are descendants of King David. So the heirship rights of Jesus will be doubly established. (Matthew 1:2-16; Luke 3:23-33) This is why the angel later assures Joseph that he should not hesitate to take Mary as his legal wife, although she is pregnant.​—Matthew 1:19-25.a