Luke 1:38

38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant^[a] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. ” And ¹the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:38 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 1:38

And Mary said, behold the handmaid of the Lord,
&c.] In which words she expresses her obedience of faith; she owns herself to be the handmaid of the Lord, and desires to obey him, and be submissive to him as such; and tacitly acknowledges her meanness, and great unworthiness:

be it unto me according to thy word;
she assented to what the angel said should be unto her; she earnestly desired it might be, and firmly believed it would be; she set her "Amen" to the angel's message:

and the angel departed from her;
to the heavenly regions from whence he came; to his great Lord and master, that sent him; having dispatched the business he came about, and which he was accountable to him for.

Luke 1:38 In-Context

36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

37 For nothing will be impossible with God. ”

38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. ” And the angel departed from her.

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah,

40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

Cross References

• 1. 1:38 [Judg. 6:21; Acts 12:10]

Footnotes

• [a] 1:38 Greek 'bondservant'; also verse 48