Question: How was Mary chosen by God to birth his only Son?
Answer: I should say up front that the Bible does not specifically say why Mary was chosen, but there are some clues we can look at that will help us narrow down the possible answers and bring us to a reasonable conclusion.
The first clue we have on God’s choice is found in Luke chapter one:
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[c] the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God.”
38“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38, NIV)
The angel Gabriel called her “highly favored” and a virgin. He also says Mary “found favor with God.” In response we see Mary saying, “I am the Lord’s servant,” which tells us a few things about her. First, she is humble and completely surrendered to God. This is a must for any service, never mind something as important as being the mother of Christ. Second, she must have lived a good life in God’s eyes to become “highly favored.” Third, we see she is a virgin. This leads to the next clue we have.
In the Old Testament we have many prophecies about Jesus. One of the more famous ones is: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel,” (Isaiah 7:14, NIV). That is where the requirement that the mother of Christ would have to be a virgin comes from, which Mary filled.
Next, the Christ had to be born of a specific family line. There are many prophecies that relate to that, including Isaiah 37:31, Isaiah 11:10, Isaiah 11:1-5, Isaiah 16:5, and many, many others. Mary and her husband Joseph both fulfilled this requirement. Also Christ had to be born in Bethlehem, which we read in Micah 5:2.
Mary lived a life that allowed her to be chosen. In addition, in Mary and Joseph was the fulfillment of the many prophecies about where, to whom and when the Christ would be born, and that is why she was chosen.
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