The physical incarnation of God’s word took place during an encounter between the angel Gabriel and a Jewish virgin named Mary. Their conversation, recorded in the Gospel of Luke, has been replayed in so many church dramas and films, that it is easy to overlook its details. “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son,” Gabriel said. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will overshadow you.” The future tense indicates Mary had not yet conceived. Yet immediately after the angel’s departure, a few verses later, Mary is spoken of as pregnant. This leaves one obvious moment when the word of God became flesh in Mary’s womb and Mary said, “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. At that moment, the word of God came alive in a young girl’s womb.
As soon as she believed the words of the angel and replied, “May it be done to me according to your word” in that one miraculous moment, the whole world changed and a new human life was added to the Earth’s population. His name was Jesus, and he was alive then and there because of Mary’s words. The Bible word “”angel simply means messenger. When a messenger delivers God’s word to an unbeliever, that unbeliever is called upon to believe in his heart and confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord. At that moment, Jesus comes alive in a human heart. It’s the miracle of Mary’s incarnation all over again.
Here’s the verse that I love, “And the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth.” Hope was born at that moment.