Welcome to Chapter 3 of Saints, Sinners, and Scandals
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Scripture: Luke 1:38
“Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word.”
When Grace Finds the Unlikely
When God sent His messenger to announce the birth of the Messiah, He didn’t choose a queen or a prophetess. He didn’t appear in the temple courts or seek out a religious leader. Instead, He sent the angel Gabriel to a teenage girl in a small town called Nazareth in an area that experienced severe Roman oppression after the people there rebelled. It was a place so despised that people joked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46).
This unassuming commoner was named Mary—or more accurately, Miriam, after Moses’ sister. The name in Hebrew means “rebellious” or “wished-for child” depending on the context. Curiously, both of those meanings refer to Nazareth’s reputation and Mary’s future.
God often writes His most important stories in places the world ignores. And Mary, an ordinary girl with extraordinary faith, became the vessel of incarnation.
A Message in the Midst of Normal Life
According to Luke 1:26–38, six months after Gabriel visited Zacharias in the Temple, he was sent to Mary in Nazareth. Unlike Zacharias, Mary wasn’t in a sacred space offering incense. She was likely going about her daily chores—cleaning, cooking, or weaving cloth. Gabriel didn’t descend in a beam of light; he walked into the room. No thunder. No tremors. Just divine interruption.
“Greetings, highly favored one. The Lord is with you.”
Luke says Mary was greatly troubled. She wasn’t terrified by the angel’s appearance, as Zacharias was. She was confused by the words. “What kind of greeting is this?” she wondered. What had she done to deserve divine visitation?
Nothing. And that’s the point.
When Fear Meets Faith
Gabriel told her not to be afraid—just as he had told Zacharias. And then he spoke words that would alter the world:
“You will conceive in your womb, and give birth to a son, and shall name him Jesus.”
He would be the Son of the Most High. He would inherit David’s throne. His Kingdom would never end.
Mary had only one question: “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
Her question, unlike Zacharias’s, wasn’t disbelief—it was logistics. She wasn’t asking if it would happen. She was asking how. She believed the promise but wanted to understand the process.
Gabriel explained: The Holy Spirit would overshadow her. The power of the Most High would surround her. The child would be called the Son of God.
As astounding as this message was, it carried with it a myriad of problems: what would her family say, how would she be treated in her town... what would Joseph do?
And then, in keeping with God’s mercy, Gabriel gave her a lifeline: “Your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age.”
This was more than proof. It was provision. Elizabeth would become Mary’s safe haven.
A Teenage Girl’s Courage
Mary could have resisted. She could have asked for time to think, for a sign, for a safer plan. She knew what this meant. Pregnancy outside of marriage could lead to public disgrace, rejection by her fiancé Joseph, or even death by stoning.
But Mary didn’t delay. She didn’t negotiate.
“Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word.” Mary’s faith and discernment led her to call herself “the handmaid of the Lord.” In Jewish culture, when a wife could not bear children, her handmaid would bear a child for the family. Mary immediately knew her place, not as the “wife” of the Lord, but a humble substitute.
Mary offered her body and her future to God with full awareness of the cost. And then, Luke tells us, she “arose and went with haste” to the hill country—to Elizabeth’s house. It’s one thing to say yes to God. It’s another to act on it immediately.
Mary didn’t wait to be found out. She didn’t have all the answers, but she knew who would understand better than anyone else could. She moved toward the one person who could be her lifeline.
The Power of Faithful Support
Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (Luke 1:39–56) reveals something beautiful and often overlooked: God didn’t just give Mary a promise. He gave her a companion.
Elizabeth, long barren and now miraculously pregnant, was Mary’s lifeline. Their shared experience of divine conception wasn’t just miraculous—it was human. Who else could believe her? Understand her? Support her?
And when Mary walked into Elizabeth’s home, Elizabeth’s unborn child—John the Baptist—leapt in her womb. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth declared:
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
Mary hadn’t told her anything yet. But Elizabeth already knew.
And in that moment of confirmation and understanding, Mary found her voice—and sang.
The Magnificat: A Revolution in Song
Mary’s song, called the Magnificat for the Latin word “magnify,” echoes Hannah’s song from 1 Samuel 2. But it isn’t just poetry—it’s protest, prophecy, and praise.
“My soul magnifies the Lord…
He has scattered the proud…
He has put down the mighty from their thrones…
He has filled the hungry with good things.”
This wasn’t a gentle lullaby. It was a declaration of divine reversal. The oppression would be lifted. The rulers would be brought low. The humble would be exalted. Mary was carrying not just a child, but a revolution.
In the context of Roman occupation and Jewish yearning for deliverance, these words were electric. Dangerous even.
And they came from a teenage girl in hiding.
Lessons from the Girl in Nazareth
1. God Doesn’t Wait for You to Be Qualified
Mary had no credentials. No platform. No power. And that made her the perfect candidate. God isn’t looking for the impressive—He’s looking for the willing.
2. You Can Ask Honest Questions
Mary’s question wasn’t punished. God welcomes our questions as long as our hearts are open. Doubt that seeks understanding is different from disbelief that resists truth.
3. Favor Doesn’t Mean Easy
Mary was “highly favored,” but her path would be hard. The favor of God often leads into discomfort, not away from it. But it also comes with divine presence and provision.
4. Your Song Matters
Mary’s song was shaped by history, Scripture, and her own experience. She didn’t just react to life—she interpreted it. Her voice still speaks because she sang from the depths of her soul.
From Mary to Us
Mary’s story reminds us that faith doesn’t always come with clarity. That obedience often means risk. That favor isn’t about ease—it’s about being part of something bigger than yourself.
You don’t have to be experienced, eloquent, or educated to say yes to God. You just have to be willing.
When God interrupts your life with unexpected news, when the plan you had is replaced with something you don’t understand—will you resist? Or will you say, like Mary, “Let it be to me according to your word”?
Reflection and Application
What is God asking of you that feels too risky or too uncertain?
Like Mary, you may not know all the steps. Say yes anyway.
Who in your life is your “Elizabeth”?
Seek out those who can affirm your calling and walk with you through confusion and change.
Have you made space for a song?
Take time to reflect on what God is doing in your life—not just in your circumstances, but in your soul. Write or speak your own Magnificat.
How do you respond to divine interruption?
Do you treat unexpected change as a threat or as a possible invitation to something holy?
A Final Word
Mary is often portrayed as meek and mild. But the girl from Nazareth was fierce with faith and inner strength. Her yes shook the foundations of heaven and earth.
You may feel small. You may feel unqualified. But if you say yes to God, your story can carry eternity.
Because courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s faith that speaks anyway.