Mary was just a young girl of around 14 or 15 years of age, living in a world land that was under political control. She lived with her parents learning the things she would need to know to be a good wife. She was already betrothed to Joseph. She had a life that was planned out for her according to customs and traditions of her time. She must have been a girl that had a heart for God. Then one day she has an extraordinary visit.

"Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city if Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her ”rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"

Can you imagine what it must have been to be in the presence of one of God's greatest angels! Imagine all the thoughts going on in her head, the awe and fear.

"But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her." "do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

There are a couple of things here that can be mentioned. First Isaiah states in Is 7:14 "behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah was a major prophet 8th century BC. In 9:7 upon the throne of David- Heir to throne

We know that Joseph was the earthly father and his lineage is record in Matthew and traced to David through his son Solomon. In Luke, 3:23-38 the lineage of Jesus is listed and we find that Mary was a descendent of David through his son Nathan. David had 4 sons with Bathsheba.(1 Chronicles 3:5)

"Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed the, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Imagine the amount of faith the young Mary must have had to get this news and then to accept it. How would you have reacted? I would have had a million questions. I would have thought, what will Joseph do? (He could divorce her.) Or what will people say? (because the public could stone her, according to old Jewish law.) And then "Oh I will have disgraced my parents." But Mary accepted it. And she accepted it with Joy. Joy comes from trusting in God and finding peace in spite of life's circumstances.

"The fruit of righteousness, will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever."
Is 32:17

V 39 says "At the time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed :"blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!" "but why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
V 45:blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

We don't know if the angel told her to go or if Mary wanted the counsel and companionship of her cousin. But both of them were having these miraculous babies, a gift from God. Elizabeth was described and a women of righteousness, obedience and integrity. She would be a loving mentor to Mary. She would encourage her to do what she was asked to do. Elizabeth's hospitality during young Mary's early days of pregnancy would have been a time of great comfort to Mary.

V 46 And Mary said: My soul glorified the Lord
V 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
V 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant From now on, generations will call me blessed.
V 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me-holy is his name.
V 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation
V 51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
V52 He has brought down the rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
V 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
V 54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful V55 to Abraham and his descendents forever, even as he said to our fathers."

Joseph did take Mary as his wife, but not by consummate the marriage. The Bible states in Matthew that Joseph did not know her (intimately) until after the baby was born. We don’t know why Mary left before the birth of Elizabeth's baby, but we do know that Mary was going according to the plan of God.

So now Mary was back in Nazareth. The angel came to Mary in the town of Nazareth. I looked up the word Nazareth and it means "district of the pagans" mostly made of Gentiles. It was prophesized that Jesus would be a Nazarene The King of Kings was a small city. God doesn’t care where we were born, He will find us and call out to us. It doesn't matter who we once were, Jesus came to save the unsaved.

In Luke Chapter 2 the Cesar passed a decree that all the world (under the Roman rule) would need to register at their own city. That would be the male head of each family. "Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David., to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child." Did she half to go, no, but what young wife about to have a baby would want to be separated from her husband at a time like this. Plus prophesy stated that the heir would be from Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2 says “But you oh Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among The thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be the ruler of Israel. Whose going forth are from of old, from everlasting.

It would have been a cold and uncomfortable ride for the young pregnant Mary. They had to travel around 70 miles through all sorts of land. I am sure she wondered where her baby would be born. Yet I am sure she had the peace of God to get her through it all. I am sure that many things went through the mind of young Joseph. Each had a visit from the angel and knew that they were to follow God’s plan. God would protect them.

We all know that Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem. The King of the universe was born in the lowly, smelly stable with the animals. She wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger. A manger was a trough or container that livestock feed was placed in. What do you see here? Mary was first humble. Even though she was giving birth to the Son of God, she had her baby where she could. What other things can we see here? That she was resourceful, but putting her baby in a manger. She had him wrapped in cloth so that the baby Jesus was warm, dry and secure. Think about the birthing process. In those days like today, women were attended by family members or a midwife. As far as we know, Joseph was the only one there. He hadn't even known his wife yet and here he was assisting her birth. Do you suppose that they had all the guidance they needed by the heavenly Father?

Think about one more thing. The first visitors were shepherds. They were considered unclean and holy. Yet God sent the angels to them. The shepherds shared what the angels had told them. "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Ponder means to think. To consider, to appraise carefully. To meditate and reflect. So much would have been going through Mary's mind. The shepherds had confirmed what the Angel Gabriel had told her. Could she hear the angels in heave rejoicing in her heart. She treasured it all in her heart. To treasure is described as regarded as precious or valuable, to accumulate and save for future use, to value highly.

God did not call Mary because she was special. But having Jesus made her special because of how she responded to God's call. She was selfless, obedient, and humble. She did was she was asked to do. She went on to have more children with Joseph. At some point, Joseph died, but there are no details about it. Mary's supported her sonwas His follower all her life. She knew that He came with a purpose.... to redeem the world. I look forward to meeting her one day in heaven.