The birth announcement by the angel Gabriel to Mary parallels the announcement he made to Zechariah in the previous episode. Luke intends for Jesus and John to be compared in these two panels and for the reader to see that Jesus is demonstrably greater than John. The step-parallelism of the two annunciations, therefore, serves a christological purpose. John’s conception is remarkable, but Jesus’ conception through the creative power of the Holy Spirit is miraculous.
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