00:00Before she became the mother of Jesus, who was Mary?
00:04Long before the angel Gabriel appeared, Mary was a young Jewish woman living in Nazareth, a small town in Galilee.
00:13She was betrothed to a man named Joseph from the family line of King David.
00:18The Bible does not tell us much about her childhood, her parents, or what her daily life was like.
00:24But one important detail stands out.
00:27When the angel Gabriel finally appeared to her, he greeted her with these remarkable words.
00:34Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you.
00:40This tells us that Mary was specially favored by God, even before she understood the extraordinary role she would receive.
00:48She was not introduced as a queen, a wealthy woman, or a powerful leader.
00:53She was an ordinary young woman from Nazareth.
00:57Chosen for an extraordinary purpose.
01:00And perhaps the most beautiful part of her story is this.
01:04Before the world knew her as the mother of Jesus, God already knew her.
