ELL Bible Study: Luke 1:26-38 — God’s Message to Mary

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it, although I also have a Sunday School lesson on Luke 1:26-38 that may work better for native English speakers.

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Luke 1:26-38 Printable Discussion Questions

Lesson Icebreaker Question

Can you share about a time you received surprising or important news? How did it make you feel?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn about how God sent an angel to Mary. The angel gave Mary an important message about a baby named Jesus. We will see how Mary trusted God, even when she was afraid.

Vocabulary List

Vocabulary List Using the ERV Bible Translation

Afraid — Feeling scared or worried.
Ancestor — A person in your family who lived long ago.
Angel — A messenger from God.
Anything — Any thing at all.
Baby — A very young child.
Call — To give someone or something a name.
Came — Moved from one place to where someone is.
Confused — Not sure what is happening or what something means.
Cover — To place something over something to protect or hide it.
David — A famous king of Israel in the Bible.
During — At the same time something happens.
Elizabeth — The wife of Zechariah in the Bible.
Engaged — Promised to marry someone.
Everyone — All people.
Family — A group of people related by birth or marriage.
Forever — For all time; without end.
Gabriel — The name of an angel who brings messages from God.
Great — Very big, good, or important.
Greetings — A friendly word used when you meet someone.
Happen — To take place or come to be.
Have a Baby — To give birth to a child.
Holy — Very special and pure, belonging to God.
Holy Spirit — God’s Spirit who helps and teaches people.
Jacob — The son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham in the Bible.
Joseph — The man who cared for Jesus like a father.
King — A man who rules a country or group of people.
Kingdom — A land or people ruled by a king.
Listen — To pay attention to sounds or words.
Lord — A name showing respect for God.
Marry — When a man and a woman become husband and wife.
Mary — The young woman chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus.
Mean — To show or explain what something is.
Month — About four weeks of time.
Most High God — A name for the one true God who rules over everything.
Name — A word a person is called.
Old — Having lived many years.
People — A group of men, women, or children.
Pleased — Happy with someone or something.
Power — Strength or ability to do something.
Pregnancy — The time when a baby grows inside a woman.
Pregnant — When a woman is going to have a baby.
Relative — A person in your family.
Rule — To be in charge of people and make decisions.
Sent — Made someone go to a place to do something.
Servant — A person who works for someone else.
Something Else — Another thing; an extra piece of information.
Special — Different in a good way; important.
Still — Continuing or happening now.
Thought — Believed or guessed something in your mind.
Very — Used to show that something is stronger or bigger in amount.
Virgin — A woman who has not married or been with a man.
Went Away — Left and went to another place.
Wondered — Thought about something with curiosity.

Vocabulary List Using the GNT Bible Translation

Afraid — Feeling scared or worried.
Ancestor — A person in your family who lived long ago.
Announce — To tell people something important.
Angel — A messenger from God.
Blessed — Loved and helped by God.
Birth — The time when a baby is born.
Deeply — In a strong or serious way.
Descendant — A person in a family who comes after someone else.
End — The time something stops.
Give Birth — To have a baby.
Great — Very big, good, or important.
Gracious — Kind and loving.
Happen — To take place or come to be.
Holy Child — A special baby from God.
Holy Spirit — God’s Spirit who helps and teaches people.
King — A man who rules a country or group of people.
Kingdom — A land or people ruled by a king.
Left — To go away from a place.
Lord — A name showing respect for God.
Marriage — When a man and woman become husband and wife.
Meant — The idea or meaning of something.
Message — Words sent from one person to another.
Month — About four weeks of time.
Most High God — A name for the one true God who rules over everything.
Never — Not ever; at no time.
Peace — Calm and quiet without fear or fighting.
Power — Strength or ability to do something.
Pregnancy — The time when a baby grows inside a woman.
Pregnant — When a woman is going to have a baby.
Promised — Said you would do something for sure.
Reason — The cause for something happening.
Relative — A person in your family.
Rest — To be upon or stay with.
Sent — Made someone go to a place to do something.
Servant — A person who works for someone else.
Son of the Most High God — A name for Jesus, showing he is God’s Son.
Troubled — Feeling upset, afraid, or having problems.
Virgin — A woman who has not married or been with a man.
Wondered — Thought about something with curiosity.
Young — Not old; having lived for a short time.

Summary of the Passage

This passage tells a very special part of the Bible. It is about a young woman named Mary who lived in a town called Nazareth. Mary was engaged to marry a man named Joseph. One day, God sent an angel named Gabriel to visit Mary. Angels are special messengers from God. When Gabriel came, he told Mary to have peace. He also told her that God was with her and has blessed her.

Mary felt afraid and confused. She did not understand what the angel meant. But Gabriel told her not to be afraid because God had chosen her for something wonderful. The angel said that Mary would have a baby boy and name him Jesus. This baby would be very great and be called the Son of God. The angel said that Jesus would be a king like David from long ago, and his kingdom would never end.

Mary asked how this could happen because she was not married yet. The angel explained that the Holy Spirit would come to her and that God’s power would make this possible. Gabriel reminded Mary that her older relative, Elizabeth, was also having a baby, even though she was very old. Then the angel told her that nothing is impossible for God.

This passage shows us that God can do wonderful things, even when it seems impossible. It also teaches us about trusting God, like Mary did, even when we feel afraid or do not understand everything.

Read The Passage

Most English learners should use the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), or the Good News Translation (GNT). If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions.

Text from the ERV Bible Translation

The Virgin Mary
^26-27During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to a virgin girl who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee.
She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David.
Her name was Mary.
²⁸The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord is with you; you are very special to him.”
²⁹But Mary was very confused about what the angel said.
She wondered, “What does this mean?”
³⁰The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, because God is very pleased with you.
³¹Listen! You will become pregnant and have a baby boy.
You will name him Jesus.
³²He will be great. People will call him the Son of the Most High God, and the Lord God will make him king like his ancestor David.
³³He will rule over the people of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
³⁴Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen?
I am still a virgin.”
³⁵The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High God will cover you.
The baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God.
³⁶And here’s something else: Your relative Elizabeth is pregnant.
She is very old, but she is going to have a son.
Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant now for six months.
³⁷God can do anything!”
³⁸Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant.
Let this thing you have said happen to me!”
Then the angel went away.
Luke 1:26–38 (ERV)

Text from the GNT Bible Translation

The Birth of Jesus Is Announced
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth.
27 He had a message for a young woman promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Her name was Mary.
28 The angel came to her and said, “Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!”
29 Mary was deeply troubled by the angel’s message, and she wondered what his words meant.
30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you.
31 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was,
33 and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end!”
34 Mary said to the angel, “I am a virgin. How, then, can this be?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God’s power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God.
36 Remember your relative Elizabeth. It is said that she cannot have children, but she herself is now six months pregnant, even though she is very old.
37 For there is nothing that God cannot do.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary; “may it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.
Luke 1:26–38 (GNT)