(a) Describe the Lukan account of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus. (b) In what two ways is the Lukan account different from that of Matthew?

Answer Details

(a) The Lukan account of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:26-38)

• In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to Nazareth in Galilee.
• He came to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; the virgin's name was Mary.
• Gabriel greeted her, Hail, O favoured one, the Lord is with you. Mary was greatly troubled and wondered what kind of greeting this was.
• The angel said, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. He announced that she would conceive and bear a son and call His name Jesus.
• He would be great and called the Son of the Most High; God would give Him the throne of His father David, and He would reign over the house of Jacob forever, of whose kingdom there would be no end.
• Mary asked, How will this be, since I have no husband? The angel answered that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her; therefore the child would be holy, the Son of God.
• Gabriel gave her a sign, telling her that her relative Elizabeth had also conceived a son in her old age, for nothing is impossible with God.
• Mary responded in humble submission, Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. Then the angel departed.

(b) Two ways the Lukan account differs from that of Matthew

1. The recipient of the announcement. In Luke the angel appears to Mary and announces the birth to her, whereas in Matthew the angel appears to Joseph in a dream.
2. The manner and setting. In Luke the announcement is made before conception by the named angel Gabriel in a waking visit; in Matthew it is given after Mary is found to be with child, through a dream, to reassure Joseph and tell him not to divorce her.