The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ: Episode 05

Rev. Sun Myung Moon: The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ
Chapter 1: Jesus’ Birth and Youth, The Annunciation, Page 10-13

The Annunciation

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end. “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth, your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. (Luke 1:26-40)

 

Mary, when she was engaged to Joseph, received from the Archangel Gabriel the surprising message that the Messiah would be born through her. (Luke 1:31) In those days, if an unmarried woman became pregnant, she could be killed. But Mary accepted the will of God with absolute faith, saying, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Mary immediately left her home and journeyed to consult with the priest Zechariah, who was her relative and was highly respected. Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth, with the help of God, was pregnant with John the Baptist. She said to Mary, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:42-43) With these words she testified to the coming birth of Jesus. In this way, God let Mary, Zechariah, and Elizabeth know about the birth of the Messiah before anybody else. All of them had the absolutely crucial mission of following the will of God and serving Jesus. Zechariah’s family let Mary stay in their house. Jesus was conceived in the house of Zechariah.

Elizabeth and Mary were cousins on their mothers’ side. But according to God’s providence, they were considered sisters, with Elizabeth as the elder (Cain) and Mary as the younger (Abel). Mary received Elizabeth’s help in the presence of Zechariah. Through this cooperation, Zechariah’s family, on the national level, indemnified the lack of unity between mother and son with Leah and Rachel in Jacob’s family. (Genesis 29-30) This allowed Jesus to be conceived. For the first time in history, there could be born on earth, free of satanic accusation and through a prepared womb, the seed of the Son of God. In this way, the only begotten Son of God, the owner of the first love of God, was born for the first time in history.

 

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. Matthew. 

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (1:18-21)

 

Mary had to achieve something that could not be understood by common sense, nor easily tolerated under the law of those times. Mary, Elizabeth, and Zechariah had been spiritually moved. They followed the revelation that came from God, and unconditionally believed that it was the will and desire of God.

Although the Son of God could be born on earth, he needed a wall of protection to grow up safely in the satanic world and fulfill the will of God. God had hoped that these three people in the family of Zechariah would establish that protective foundation. There are many points to consider with regard to how seriously the three had to dedicate themselves to protecting and serving the Son of God, and how long they should have been united

In the Bible it is recorded, “And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her home.” (Luke 1:56) After that, there is no biblical record of any further communication between Mary, Elizabeth, and Zechariah. From the time Mary left Zechariah’s house, difficulties began for Mary and Jesus. The family of Zechariah should have been the wall of protection for Jesus until the very end … .

Because Mary made up her mind to give her life for the mission of God, God cooperated to help her. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him not to fear taking Mary as his wife. Joseph was also a man of God, and where another man might have dismissed this as but an absurd dream, he took it seriously. He turned his back on the external appearance of the situation and accepted it as God’s will. He took Mary as his wife, knowing that she was carrying a child that was not his. Do you think that as a matter of course he asked her whose baby it was, since after all he had saved her life? Could she reply that she conceived through the Holy Spirit and expect Joseph to accept it? 

But Joseph was a righteous man. He believed in the revelation of God and defended Mary, saying the pregnancy was his responsibility. Mary may have been ridiculed for becoming pregnant during her engagement, but she had avoided death by stoning. Joseph, who loved Mary, protected her this way in the beginning. However, there was a great deal of anguish deep in his heart.

View of the Principle of the Providential History of Salvation
April 16, 1996
Day of the Victory of Heaven
October 4, 1979