Church Fathers Commentary Luke 1:26-27

"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin`s name was Mary." — Luke 1:26-27 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: The angel was sent to Mary in the sixth month of John’s conception to announce that a Savior would be born. This was fitting, either because Christ’s Incarnation was to occur in the sixth age of the world, or because it was to serve the fulfillment of the law. This is why the text says, And in the sixth month... We should understand the sixth month to be March, on the twenty-fifth day of which our Lord is reported to have been conceived and to have suffered, just as He was born on the twenty-fifth of December. If we believe one day to be the vernal equinox and the other the winter solstice, it follows that He was conceived and born with the increase of light—He who lightens every man that comes into the world. But if anyone proves that before the time of our Lord’s nativity or conception, light began to increase or supersede the darkness, we would say that this was because John, before the appearance of His coming, began to preach the kingdom of heaven.

St. Basil the Great: The heavenly spirits visit us not as they see fit, but as the situation serves our advantage, for they are always looking upon the glory and fullness of the Divine Wisdom. Therefore, the text says, The angel Gabriel was sent.

St. Gregory the Great: It was not just any angel sent to the virgin Mary, but the archangel Gabriel. For this service, it was fitting that the highest angel should come, as he was the bearer of the highest of all news. He is therefore identified by a particular name to signify his effective role in the work. For Gabriel is interpreted, “the strength of God.” He who was coming as the God of strength, and mighty in battle to put down the powers of the air, was therefore to be announced by the “strength of God.”

Glossa Ordinaria: The place where he is sent is also added, as it follows, To a city, Nazareth. For it was foretold that He would be called a Nazarene (that is, the holy of the holy).

The Venerable Bede: It was a fitting beginning for humanity’s restoration that an angel should be sent down from God to consecrate a virgin for a divine birth, for the first cause of humanity’s perdition was the Devil sending a serpent to deceive a woman by the spirit of pride.

St. Augustine of Hippo: To a virgin, for Christ could be born from virginity alone, since He could not have an equal in His birth. It was necessary for our Head, by this mighty miracle, to be born in the flesh from a virgin, so that He might signify that His members were to be born in the spirit of a virgin Church. St. Jerome: And an angel is rightly sent to the virgin, because the state of virginity is always akin to that of angels. Surely, to live in the flesh but beyond the flesh is not a life on earth but in heaven.

St. John Chrysostom: The angel announces the birth to the virgin not after the conception, lest she should be too troubled by it, but he addresses her before the conception, not in a dream, but standing by her in visible form. Because the news she was to receive was so great, she needed an extraordinary, visible manifestation before the event itself.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Scripture has rightly mentioned that she was both espoused and a virgin. She was a virgin, so that she might appear free from any union with a man. She was espoused, so that she might not be branded with the disgrace of a tarnished reputation, since her swelling womb would otherwise seem to be clear evidence of sin.

The Lord would rather that people doubt His birth than His mother’s purity. He knew how delicate a virgin’s modesty is and how easily her reputation for chastity can be attacked, and He did not think the credibility of His birth should be established at the cost of His mother’s honor. It follows, therefore, that the holy Mary’s virginity was as untainted in its purity as it was unblemished in its reputation. Nor should this leave any room for the mistaken idea that virgins today have an excuse if the mother of our Lord herself seemed to be spoken of badly.

Furthermore, what fault could be assigned to the Jews or to Herod if they had persecuted what appeared to be an adulterous child? And how could He Himself say, I came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, if His own life had seemingly begun from a violation of the law? For a child born to an unmarried woman is condemned by the law.

This arrangement also gives greater credibility to Mary’s words and removes any cause for accusing her of falsehood. An unmarried woman who becomes pregnant might seem to be covering her guilt with a lie. An espoused woman, however, has no reason to lie, since for married women childbirth is the reward of wedlock and the grace of the marriage bed. Finally, Mary’s betrothal was meant to deceive the prince of this world, who, seeing she was espoused to a man, would have no reason to be suspicious of her child.

Origen of Alexandria: For if she had no husband, the thought would have quickly entered the Devil’s mind: How could she, who had known no man, be pregnant? It was right that the conception should be divine—something more exalted than human nature.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But it baffled the princes of the world even more. For while the malice of demons can quickly detect even hidden things, those who are preoccupied with worldly vanities cannot know the things of God. Moreover, a more powerful witness to her purity is brought forward: her husband. He could have been indignant at the injury and avenged the dishonor if he had not also acknowledged the mystery. Of him it is added, Whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.

The Venerable Bede: This last phrase applies not only to Joseph but also to Mary, for the Law commanded that everyone should take a wife from his own tribe or family. The text continues, And the virgin’s name was Mary.

St. Ildefonsus of Toledo: Mary, in Hebrew, means "star of the sea," but in Syriac it is interpreted as "Mistress." This is fitting, because Mary was found worthy to be the mother of the Lord of the whole world and the light of endless ages.