Luke 1:26-38 Angel Gabriel
What do we know about Gabriel? The name Gabriel means “strong one of God” (the -el at the beginning or end of many Hebrew names refers to God). He appears in Scripture twice in Daniel, and twice in Luke. We know that he has the appearance of a man, but causes fear when he appears. We know that he spends almost all of his time standing in the presence of God.But if there's one thing we've learned about angels as we've traveled through the Bible, it's that the important thing is not the man, but the mission and the message. In fact, the word "angel" means "messenger". What is Gabriel's mission? What is Gabriel's message? In the Old Testament the angel Gabriel was twice sent to Daniel, first to give him a message from God and, then, to help him understand the message (Daniel 8:16, 9:21). This is his second of two appearances in the New Testament, the first being to Zachariah announcing the birth of John the Baptist. When Zacharias was at the altar of incense in the Holy of Holies,(Luke 1:5-25) Gabriel appeared and told him that in their old age, he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son, who would go as a forerunner to the Messiah.So far, we've seen that Gabriel's mission and his message is always Messianic. And now, as we look at our portion of Scripture this morning, we see Gabriel's mission climaxing by announcing the Messiah Himself - conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. In Isaiah 7, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, king of Judah, saying:Isa. 7:14 "...The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.Sure, the Messiah must be born from a virgin. Now the name Jesus is quite interesting. It was the most common name of the day, much like the name "John" is today. It was the Greek version of the Hebrew name "Joshua". Yehoshua - meaning "Yahweh is salvation". When Joseph
was thinking about divorcing Mary, an angel appeared to him in a dream, saying:Matt. 1:20-21 "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.What is not obvious in the English is the statement that it is God Himself in Mary's womb. The angel said, "You shall call His name 'Yahweh is salvation', because it is He who will save His people." That baby inside of Mary is Yahweh Himself! God said in Isaiah that the virgin will call His name Immanuel, "God with us." Truly, Jesus Christ was, and is, God with us.
What do we know about Gabriel? The name Gabriel means “strong one of God” (the -el at the beginning or end of many Hebrew names refers to God). He appears in Scripture twice in Daniel, and twice in Luke. We know that he has the appearance of a man, but causes fear when he appears. We know that he spends almost all of his time standing in the presence of God.But if there's one thing we've learned about angels as we've traveled through the Bible, it's that the important thing is not the man, but the mission and the message. In fact, the word "angel" means "messenger". What is Gabriel's mission? What is Gabriel's message? In the Old Testament the angel Gabriel was twice sent to Daniel, first to give him a message from God and, then, to help him understand the message (Daniel 8:16, 9:21). This is his second of two appearances in the New Testament, the first being to Zachariah announcing the birth of John the Baptist. When Zacharias was at the altar of incense in the Holy of Holies,(Luke 1:5-25) Gabriel appeared and told him that in their old age, he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son, who would go as a forerunner to the Messiah.So far, we've seen that Gabriel's mission and his message is always Messianic. And now, as we look at our portion of Scripture this morning, we see Gabriel's mission climaxing by announcing the Messiah Himself - conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. In Isaiah 7, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, king of Judah, saying:Isa. 7:14 "...The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.Sure, the Messiah must be born from a virgin. Now the name Jesus is quite interesting. It was the most common name of the day, much like the name "John" is today. It was the Greek version of the Hebrew name "Joshua". Yehoshua - meaning "Yahweh is salvation". When Joseph
was thinking about divorcing Mary, an angel appeared to him in a dream, saying:Matt. 1:20-21 "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.What is not obvious in the English is the statement that it is God Himself in Mary's womb. The angel said, "You shall call His name 'Yahweh is salvation', because it is He who will save His people." That baby inside of Mary is Yahweh Himself! God said in Isaiah that the virgin will call His name Immanuel, "God with us." Truly, Jesus Christ was, and is, God with us.
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