Annunciation

Biblical Text

The Korean term for the Annunciation, sutae goji (受胎告知), means "announcement of conception." It refers to the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she would conceive Jesus, recorded in Luke 1:26-38.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, Gabriel goes to Nazareth in Galilee. There lived Mary, a virgin betrothed to Joseph, a descendant of David. Gabriel greets her, "Hail, thou that art highly favoured," and tells her that she will bear a son and call his name Jesus, and that this son will receive the throne of David and reign forever. Mary asks how this can be, since she has not known a man. The angel answers that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Highest will overshadow her. Mary responds, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38).

In a broader sense, the term is sometimes also applied to the scene in Matthew 1:18-25, in which the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream.

Background

In Jewish society of the time, betrothal is understood to have been more binding than engagement is today; even before a couple lived together, they were regarded as being in a relationship legally comparable to marriage. Joseph's intention in Matthew 1:19 to "put her away privily" reflects this custom.

The Greek word used in the angel's greeting, kecharitōmenē, means "one who has been favored with grace." The Latin Vulgate rendered it "full of grace" (gratia plena).

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Luke places this scene alongside the one immediately preceding it, in which the birth of John is announced to Zacharias (Luke 1:5-25). Zacharias does not believe and is struck mute, whereas Mary asks a question and then obeys.

The promise that the son will inherit the throne of David recalls the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7). Matthew presents the virginal conception as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 (Matthew 1:22-23). The church regards this event as the beginning of the Incarnation, and the Apostles' Creed confesses that Christ was "conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary."

Interpretations and Debates

• The virginal conception: Most denominations confess it as historical fact. Some within liberal theology have questioned its historicity, while fundamentalism and evangelicalism have upheld it as a core doctrine. Whether the Hebrew word almah in Isaiah 7:14 should be translated "virgin" or "young woman" is also a long-standing point of debate.
• Views of Mary: The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church treat the angel's greeting as one of the grounds for the veneration of Mary. The Catholic Hail Mary is likewise drawn from this greeting and from Elizabeth's greeting (Luke 1:42). Protestants honor Mary as an example of faith and obedience, but they regard the grace she received as coming from God and do not make her an object of veneration or prayer.
• Traditions outside the text: The story that Mary first heard the angel's voice at a well is understood to come from the apocryphal Protevangelium of James. Mary's age is likewise not stated in the text.

In Korean Churches

The Catholic Church observes March 25 as the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. By church tradition, the date was fixed by counting back nine months from Christmas. The Anglican Church of Korea also commemorates the day in its church calendar.

Most Protestant churches do not observe the day as a feast. They do, however, frequently preach on this passage around Advent and Christmas, and Luke 1:38 in particular is often cited in sermons on obedience. The scene also appears frequently in Sunday school Christmas pageants.