Luke 1:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

NIV: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.

NASB: And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

CSB: Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.

NLT: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.

KJV: And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

NKJV: And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.

The angel Gabriel is delivering his second announcement of a miraculous birth in this chapter (Luke 1:11–13; 19). The first was to tell an aging priest and his wife (Luke 1:5–7) that they would finally have a son. Now, the angel has come to a virgin—a woman who has never been intimate with a man (Luke 1:34)—to tell her she, too, will conceive. Mary's willingness to obey God does not remove all possible questions, of course. She trusts that the angel's words are true, but will ask how—meaning, in what way—God will accomplish this task.

The answer is that her conception will be from the Holy Spirit, rather than from intercourse (Luke 1:35). The result of that conception will be Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God (Luke 1:32–33).

Such news corresponds to Old Testament prophecies. Mary has never had intercourse, and yet she will bear a son (Isaiah 7:14). That child will be born to a woman in the family of king David (Luke 3:23–38), whose husband will also be in that line (Matthew 1:1–17), as predicted (2 Samuel 7:12–16; Isaiah 9:6–7). This role is a profound honor (Luke 1:28), though it mostly involves Mary's faithful submission, rather than any extraordinary work of her own (Luke 1:38).

Luke 1:26–38 relates how a virgin learned she would miraculously bear the Son of God. The angel Gabriel comes to Mary, who is engaged to a man named Joseph. Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear a son, to be named Jesus. He will be the Promised One long awaited by the people of Israel. Since Mary has never been intimate with a man, God will miraculously conceive the child. Gabriel is the same angel who predicted the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:13), and he informs Mary about this happy occurrence for her relative, Elizabeth. Mary responds in submissive faith. A parallel account is found in Matthew 1:18–25.

The angel Gabriel predicts two miraculous births. The first is a son born to Zechariah and Elizabeth: an older, childless priest and his wife. Because Zechariah initially doubts this message, he is temporarily made unable to speak. Their child will be known as John the Baptist, a powerful herald of the Messiah. The Promised One whom John will proclaim is the second birth predicted by Gabriel. He tells an engaged virgin, Mary, that God will miraculously conceive His Son in her. The two women meet and rejoice over their blessings. John's arrival sets the stage for Luke's familiar account of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Luke was a travelling companion of the apostle Paul (Acts 16:10); his book of Acts is a direct "sequel" to the gospel of Luke (Acts 1:1–3). Those two books make up more than a quarter of the New Testament. Luke begins by explaining how his orderly approach is meant to inspire confidence in Christian faith. His work is based on eyewitness interviews and other evidence. The first chapter details the miraculous conceptions of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Chapter 2 continues with Jesus' birth.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.