What did the angel say to Mary when he appeared to announce she would bear a son?

The Answer

The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, "Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God." He then told her she would conceive and bear a son named Jesus. Mary's response — "I am the Lord's servant" — is one of the most courageous statements of faith in Scripture.

Mary was young, unmarried, and powerless by every measure of her culture. She had no wealth, no influence, no reason to think she mattered to the grand story of God. And yet God chose her to carry the hope of the world.

Her response is breathtaking in its simplicity: "I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled." She did not fully understand. She could not see the road ahead. She simply said yes.

God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called. And the call rarely makes sense at first. If God is asking something of you that feels too big, too unlikely, too far beyond your abilities — you are in very good company. Say yes anyway. He has a history of doing extraordinary things through ordinary women who simply say, "Here I am."