Church Fathers Commentary Luke 1:30-33

"And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." — Luke 1:30-33 (ASV)

When the angel saw that Mary was troubled by this unusual greeting, in which he called her by name as if he knew her well, he told her not to be afraid, as it is written: And the angel said, Fear not, Mary.

Greek Expositors: It is as if he said, “I did not come to deceive you, but rather to bring deliverance from deception. I did not come to rob you of your inviolable virginity, but to prepare a dwelling for the Author and Guardian of your purity. I am not a servant of the Devil but the ambassador of the One who destroys the Devil. I have come to form a marriage treaty, not to devise plots.”

Thus, he was careful not to let her be harassed by distracting thoughts, so that he would not be considered a servant unfaithful to his trust.

St. John Chrysostom: But one who finds favor in the sight of God has nothing to fear. Hence it follows, For you have found favor with God. But how can anyone find it, except through humility? For God gives grace to the humble.

Greek Expositors: The Virgin found favor with God because, by adorning her soul in the bright robes of chastity, she prepared a dwelling pleasing to God. Not only did she keep her virginity inviolate, but she also kept her conscience unstained. Since many had found favor before Mary, the angel went on to state what was unique to her: Behold, you shall conceive in your womb.

By the word “behold,” he indicates speed and immediate presence, implying that the conception is accomplished at the very moment the word is spoken.

You shall conceive in your womb, to show that our Lord took our flesh upon Himself from the Virgin's own womb and of our own substance. For the Divine Word came to purify human nature and birth, and the very beginnings of our generation.

And so, without sin and human seed, passing through every stage as we do, He is conceived in the flesh and carried in the womb for nine months.

But since it also happens that the spiritual mind is given, in a special way, the ability to conceive the Divine Spirit and bring forth the Spirit of salvation, as the Prophet says, the angel therefore added, And you shall bring forth a Son.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But not all are like Mary, who, when they conceive the word of the Holy Spirit, also bring it to birth. For some bring forth the word prematurely; others have Christ in the womb, but not yet fully formed.

Gregory of Nyssa: While the expectation of childbirth fills a woman with terror, the sweet mention of her offspring calms her, as is added, And you shall call his name Jesus. The Savior's coming banishes all fear.

The Venerable Bede: Jesus is interpreted as “Savior” or “Healing.”

Greek Expositors: And the angel says, You shall call—not “His father shall call”—for He is without a father regarding His earthly birth, just as He is without a mother regarding His heavenly origin.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But this name was newly given to the Word in keeping with His birth in the flesh, as the prophecy said, You shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord has named.

Greek Expositors: But as this name was also held by the successor of Moses, the angel, implying that He would not be like Joshua, adds, He shall be great.

St. Ambrose of Milan: It was also said of John that he shall be great, but of John as a great man, and of Christ as the great God. For the power of God is poured out abundantly; the greatness of the heavenly substance extends widely. It is neither confined by place, nor grasped by thought, nor measured by calculation, nor altered by age.

Origen of Alexandria: See then the greatness of the Savior, how it spreads over the whole world. Go up to heaven and see how it has filled the heavenly places; direct your thoughts down to the abyss and see that He has descended there also. If you see this, then you will see fulfilled in very deed, He shall be great.

Greek Expositors: Taking on our flesh does not in any way diminish the loftiness of the Deity, but rather exalts the lowliness of human nature. Hence it follows, And he shall be called the Son of the Highest.

It does not say, “you shall give Him the name,” but “He shall be called.” By whom? By His Father, who is of the same substance as Himself, for no one has known the Son but the Father. The One who has infallible knowledge of His Son is the true interpreter of the name that should be given to Him, when He says, This is my beloved Son.

For He is indeed this from everlasting, though this name was not revealed until now. Therefore, the angel says, “He shall be called,” not “He shall be made” or “begotten,” because before all worlds, He was of the same substance as the Father. It is He, therefore, whom you shall conceive. You shall become His mother; your virgin shrine shall enclose Him whom the heavens could not contain.

St. John Chrysostom: But since it seems shocking or unworthy to some people that God should inhabit a body, I would ask: is the sun, whose heat is felt by every body that receives its rays, in any way stained in its natural purity? How much more, then, does the Sun of Righteousness, by taking upon Himself a most pure body from the Virgin’s womb, not only escape defilement but also reveal His own mother in greater holiness.

Greek Expositors: And to make the Virgin recall the prophets, the angel adds, And the Lord God shall give to him the seat of David, so that she would know clearly that He who is to be born of her is the very Christ whom the prophets promised would be born of the seed of David.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The most pure descent of Christ, however, did not proceed from Joseph. For both Joseph and the Virgin had sprung from the very same lineage, and it was from this line that the Only-Begotten took the form of a man.

St. Basil the Great: Our Lord did not sit on the earthly throne of David, as the Jewish kingdom had been transferred to Herod. The seat of David is that on which our Lord reestablished His spiritual kingdom, which will never be destroyed. Hence it follows, And he shall reign over the house of Jacob.

St. John Chrysostom: Here, “the house of Jacob” refers to all those Jews who believed in Him. For as Paul says, For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

The Venerable Bede: Or by “the house of Jacob” is meant the whole Church, which either sprang from a good root or, though formerly a wild olive branch, has yet, as a reward for its faith, been grafted into the good olive tree.

Greek Expositors: But to reign forever belongs to God alone. Hence, though because of the Incarnation Christ is said to receive the seat of David, yet as God Himself, He is acknowledged as the eternal King. It follows, And his kingdom shall have no end—not only because He is God, but also because He is man. Now indeed He has the kingdom of many nations, but finally He shall reign over all, when all things shall be put under Him.

The Venerable Bede: Let Nestorius, then, cease to say that the Virgin’s Son is merely a man and to deny that He was taken up by the Word of God into the unity of the Person. For when the angel says that the very same one who has David for His father is also called the Son of the Highest, he demonstrates the one Person of Christ in two natures. The angel uses the future tense not because Christ did not exist before Mary, as the heretics claim, but because in the one Person, the man shares with God the same name of “Son.”