Church Fathers Commentary Luke 1:34-35

"And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God." — Luke 1:34-35 (ASV)

St. Ambrose of Milan: It was Mary’s role neither to refuse belief in the angel nor to accept the divine message too hastily. How subdued her answer is compared with the words of the priest. Mary then said to the angel, “How shall this be?” She says, “How shall this be?” He answers, “Whereby shall I know this?” He refuses to believe what he says he does not know and seeks, as it were, still further authority for his belief. She declares herself willing to do what she does not doubt will be done, but she is anxious to know how.

Mary had read, Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son. She believed, therefore, that it would happen, but she had never read how it was to take place, for this had not been revealed even to so great a prophet. Such a great mystery was not to be revealed by the mouth of a man, but of an angel.

Gregory of Nyssa: Listen to the chaste words of the Virgin. The angel tells her she shall bear a son, but she stands firm in her virginity, considering her inviolability more precious than the angel’s declaration. Therefore she says, Seeing I know not a man.

St. Basil the Great: The word “knowledge” is used in various ways. The wisdom of our Creator is called knowledge, as is an acquaintance with His mighty works, the keeping of His commandments, and the constant drawing near to Him. Besides these, the marriage union is also called “knowledge,” as it is here.

Gregory of Nyssa: These words of Mary are a sign of what she was pondering in the secrets of her heart. For if she had wished to be married to Joseph for the sake of the marriage union, why was she seized with astonishment when the conception was announced to her, since she might have been expecting to become a mother at that time according to the law of nature?

But because it was fitting that her body, presented to God as a holy offering, should be kept inviolate, she therefore says, Seeing I know not a man. It is as if she said, “Even though you who speak are an angel, it is plainly impossible for me to know a man. How then can I be a mother, having no husband? For I have acknowledged Joseph only as my betrothed.”

Greek Expositors: But notice how the angel resolves the Virgin’s doubts, showing her the unstained marriage and the unspeakable birth. And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you.

St. John Chrysostom: It is as if he said, “Do not look for the order of nature in things that transcend and overpower nature. Do you ask, ‘How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?’ On the contrary, it will happen to you for this very reason: that you have never known a husband.” For if you had, you would not have been considered worthy of this mystery—not because marriage is unholy, but because virginity is more excellent.

It was fitting for the common Lord of all both to share with us and to differ from us in His birth. In being born from the womb, He shared in common with us; but in that He was born without marital relations, He was exalted far above us.

Gregory of Nyssa: O blessed is that womb which, because of the overflowing purity of the Virgin Mary, has drawn to itself the gift of life! For in others, a pure soul will scarcely obtain the presence of the Holy Spirit, but in her, the flesh itself is made the receptacle of the Spirit.

St. Ildefonsus of Toledo: For the tablets of our nature, which guilt had broken, the true Lawgiver has formed anew for Himself from our dust without marital relations. He created a body capable of receiving His divinity, which the finger of God has carved—that is to say, the Spirit coming upon the Virgin. Moreover, the power of the Highest shall overshadow you. Christ is the power of the Most High King, who is formed in the Virgin by the coming of the Holy Spirit.

St. Gregory the Great: By the term “overshadowing,” both natures of the incarnate God are signified. For a shadow is formed by light and matter, but the Lord, by His divine nature, is light. Because, then, immaterial light was to be embodied in the Virgin’s womb, it is well said to her, The power of the Highest shall overshadow you. This means that the human body in you shall receive an immaterial light of divinity. This was said to Mary for the heavenly refreshing of her soul.

The Venerable Bede: You shall conceive, then, not by the seed of a man whom you do not know, but by the operation of the Holy Spirit with whom you are filled. There will be no flame of desire in you when the Holy Spirit overshadows you.

Gregory of Nyssa: Or, he says “overshadow you” because just as a shadow takes its shape from the character of the bodies that cast it, so the signs of the Son’s deity will appear from the power of the Father. For just as in us a certain life-giving power is seen in the material substance by which a person is formed, so in the Virgin, the power of the Highest has, in a similar manner, taken a fleshly substance from the Virgin’s body through the life-giving Spirit to form a new man. Hence it follows, Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you.

St. Athanasius of Alexandria: For we confess that what was taken from Mary was of the nature of man and a most real body—the very same, according to nature, as our own body. For Mary is our sister, since we have all descended from Adam.

St. Basil the Great: Hence also, St. Paul says God sent forth His Son, born not “by a woman” but “of a woman.” For the words “by a woman” might convey only a passing reference to birth, but when it is said “of a woman,” a communion of nature between the son and the parent is openly declared.

St. Gregory the Great: To distinguish His holiness from ours, Jesus is stated in a special manner to be born holy. For although we are indeed made holy, we are not born so, for we are constrained by the very condition of our corruptible nature to cry out with the Prophet, Behold, I was conceived in iniquity. But He alone is truly holy, who was not conceived by the joining of a fleshly union. He is not, as the heretics rave, one person in His human nature and another in His divine. He was not conceived and brought forth as a mere man who afterwards, by his merits, obtained divinity. Rather, with the angel announcing and the Spirit coming, first was the Word in the womb, and afterwards, within the womb, the Word was made flesh. From this it follows, shall be called the Son of God.

Greek Expositors: But observe how the angel has declared the whole Trinity to the Virgin by mentioning the Holy Spirit, the Power, and the Most High, for the Trinity is indivisible.