A fear not of God
Fear Not, Mary
A young woman in Nazareth, engaged but not yet married, is going about an ordinary day when the angel Gabriel stands before her with a greeting so weighty that she is troubled and turns it over in her mind. Before he tells her anything else, before the news that will reshape her whole life, he speaks her name and tells her not to be afraid.
“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.”Luke 1:30
The moment
Mary's fear is layered and very human. There is the sheer terror of an angelic visitation, a presence from heaven breaking into a village kitchen. But there is more underneath. She is a betrothed virgin, and the message about to come will make her pregnant before her wedding, exposing her to shame, to Joseph's possible rejection, even to the severity of the law. Gabriel's greeting has told her she is highly favored, and favor from God has never meant an easy life. To be chosen is to be set apart for something costly. The fear is real because everything ordinary and safe about her future is about to be handed over to God's purpose.
Why we need not fear
Gabriel steadies her with the reason for the favor, not a favor that will spare her from difficulty but a favor that means God has looked on her with delight and drawn near. Fear can be set down because the One whose messenger stands before her is not against her but for her, and the child she will carry is the proof. She is not being used and discarded; she is being invited into the very center of God's rescue of the world. When the Almighty says you have found favor with Him, the fear of what people might do loses its final power, because the verdict that matters has already been spoken in her favor.
How Christ answers this fear
The very answer to Mary's fear is the child forming within her. Gabriel calms her by pointing to Jesus, whose name means the LORD saves, the Son of the Highest who will reign forever. Mary's private fear of shame and danger is swallowed up in the enormous mercy she is being asked to carry, for the salvation of every frightened person is knitting together in her womb. The One who says fear not to Mary is announcing the coming of the One who will say fear not to storms, to the dying, to the grieving. Her yes to God, spoken through fear, becomes the doorway through which fearlessness itself enters the world in flesh.
Questions people ask
Why was Mary afraid in Luke 1?
Mary was troubled first by the appearance of the angel Gabriel and by his unusual greeting. Beneath that lay a real human fear: as a betrothed virgin, the announcement of a pregnancy could bring shame, Joseph's rejection, and legal danger. Gabriel tells her not to fear because she has found favor with God, who is drawing near to her, not against her.
What does it mean that Mary found favor with God?
Favor means God looked on Mary with grace and delight and chose her for a central role in His plan of salvation. It did not mean an easy path; the calling would be costly. It meant God was for her and near to her, so the fear of what the calling might bring could be set down under the greater weight of His grace.