Giving Mary Assurance

Have you ever wondered why the angel told Mary why her relative, Elizabeth, was excepting a child in her old age? That is a question I have been thinking about lately. Recently my family was watching The Nativity Story, and as I was watching Mary getting the news from Gabriel about her giving birth to Jesus, that question came to mind.

Why was Mary given assurance by hearing about Elizabeth? The most obvious one is that she is a virgin. She is betrothed, arranged to be married, to Joseph. She is also a teenager probably 14-years-old. So when the angel came told Mary she was with child, I am sure she must have thought if she hit her head or daydreaming. The angel told her that hey, even Elizabeth, your relative (cousin) is expecting their first son and she is old, well beyond child-bearing years.

Mary was given assurance that is not impossible with God. As Christians, we know this is nothing new that God allowed an old woman give birth to a son. Sarah gave birth to Issac when she was 90. I don't think Elizabeth was that old, but we know see was beyond child-bearing years (see Luke 1:7). The angel gave that assurance to Mary about what God was going to do, then submitted to God's plan. "And Mary said, 'Behold, I am the servant[f] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word'" (Luke 1:38).