The Favored Mary

December 8th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Luke: 1:26-29 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.

The “sixth month” in v. 26 concerns Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the mother of John the Baptist. It was then that “the angel Gabriel” was again sent by God, this time in Nazareth of Galilee to a young virgin named Mary who was “engaged,” or betrothed, to “a man whose name was Joseph.” First-century betrothal entailed a formal agreement between the family of the bride and the family of the groom. The bride’s father would be paid a purchase price to accommodate the loss the father of the bride would suffer from the giving of his daughter. Though they would remain unmarried up to a year, a written agreement would guarantee their future marriage. There would be no sexual union during that time, for to do so would require a divorce (Matt. 1:19). Though unmarried, the parties during this time were considered husband and wife (Matt. 1:19-20, 24). Mary would have been no older than 15 years old and perhaps as young as 12.

Mary was pledged to be married to “Joseph, of the descendants of David” (v. 27). Joseph’s genealogy as one of David’s descendants is important since it was David and his line who was promised by God a perpetual house, kingdom, and throne (cf. 2 Sam. 7:12-17)—for eternity. Thus, David’s descendants were qualified as kings in Israel, David being from the kingly tribe of Judah—the son of Jacob, of Isaac, and of Abraham (Luke 2:4; 3:23-38; cf. Matt. 1:1-17; Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8). Joseph’s son, therefore, would be in line for the blessings promised to David. Hence, Mary, though humble, was pledged to be married to a man with a momentous legacy.

Mary was suddenly startled by the angel who entered her house saying, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Linking this phrase with Zephaniah 3:14 and Zachariah 9:9 where the daughter of Zion is bidden to “rejoice” (Gr. “greetings”) at the coming of salvation, Roman Catholic commentators see more than a simple greeting here. Quoting Sahlin and Laurentin, Marshal notes, “On this basis Mary can then be identified as the daughter of Zion.” Schürmann, however, argues that no Greek reader, like Theophilus to whom Luke wrote (Luke 1:3) would have understood the greeting in such a way. Grammatically, “favored one” is a perfect passive participle referring to the recipient of a completed action done by someone else. In this case, the someone else is God Himself—He who acted upon Mary to give grace. So, even if Mary was “full of grace,” she received it from God as His gift. She did not already possess it since the perfect passive verb clearly shows that she received it from God.

The Greek “greetings favored one” (chairō) in Latin is Ave gratia plena, preserved in “Ave Maria”—or “Hail Mary full of grace.” This rendering, however, misunderstands the meaning since it implies that grace is a substance with which one may be filled. This of course has led to the Roman Catholic dogma that Mary, having the substance of grace, is therefore a bestower of grace. Walter Liefeld says, “While Mary may have possessed a certain grace in her character above others, Ephesians 1:6 shows that the grace in view here is that which is given all believers apart from any personal merit.” So, having “found favor with God” (v. 30), Mary was simply a recipient of God’s grace (v. 28). As such, she worshiped God saying, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (v. 47), for even Mary knew that she was a sinner in need of salvation by God.

Food For Thought
The grace of God is a gift from God. If it is called “grace,” then it cannot be based on merit, for merit is something earned; grace is a gift given without merit. God sought out a young girl and bestowed His grace upon her. If you’re a Christian, God did no less for you! He sought you and granted you His salvation through your faith in Christ. So if Gabriel, or any other angel for that matter, ever appeared to you, he would greet you the same way he greeted Mary: “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you!” We recipients of grace are all part of the same family, and since our faith is a gift from God, none of us have anything to boast about other than that we are known by God and that we know Him personally through Jesus Christ our Lord.