Luke 1:31 is the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she will become pregnant and bear a son, and that she is to name him Jesus. The verse means that God is initiating the birth of Jesus through a young woman in Nazareth, and the name itself points to his mission of salvation. The words are spoken by the angel Gabriel to Mary, a young woman engaged to a man named Joseph.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and give birth to a son, and will call his name ‘Jesus.’
Luke 1:31 (WEB)
What Luke 1:31 Means
The phrase “you will conceive in your womb” tells Mary plainly what is about to happen to her body. The angel is not hinting at something vague or symbolic. A real pregnancy is coming, and it will be her own. Mary is told this before it happens, which means the child’s coming is God’s plan and not an accident of human circumstances.
The words “give birth to a son” follow with the same directness. The child is a boy, and his arrival is described as a certainty rather than a possibility. Gabriel speaks in the future tense as if the outcome is already settled in heaven, which is what Christians have long understood the verse to teach about God’s purposes.
The instruction to “call his name Jesus” is the final piece. In Mary’s world, naming a child was a parent’s act of claiming and identifying him. The name Jesus, a form of the Hebrew name Joshua, means “the Lord saves.” The verse does not promise a painless life for Mary or for her son. It does promise that God is doing something saving through this child, and that the name tells the story of what he came to accomplish.
The Context of Luke 1:31
The Gospel of Luke is traditionally attributed to a companion of Paul, a physician who wrote for a Gentile audience and who carefully investigated the events he describes. His account opens with the birth of John the Baptist and then turns to Jesus, so that readers see the two births side by side. Verse 31 belongs to the account of Jesus’ conception, which Luke presents as the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel.
Just before the verse, Gabriel greets Mary as one “highly favored” and tells her “Don’t be afraid,” and just after it he describes the son as “great,” “the Son of the Most High,” who will reign on David’s throne forever. Read in that setting, the naming in verse 31 is not a small domestic detail. It is the opening move in a larger announcement that God is keeping his covenant with David and bringing a king whose reign has no end.
Key Phrases in Luke 1:31
Matthew 1:21
She shall give birth to a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”
(WEB)
Matthew records the angel’s words to Joseph, explaining that the name Jesus is given because he will save his people from their sins. Reading the two accounts together strengthens the link between the name and its purpose.
Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
(WEB)
Isaiah’s prophecy of a virgin bearing a child named Immanuel is one of the Old Testament passages Matthew cites in connection with Jesus’ birth. It helps show how Luke’s announcement fits within the longer story of God’s promises.
A Short Prayer From Luke 1:31
Lord God, you chose to bring your salvation into the world through a young woman who did not expect it. Give me the same openness to hear your word when it arrives unexpectedly in my life. Help me trust that you are at work even when I cannot yet see the shape of what you are doing. Thank you for the name of Jesus, which tells me that you save. Let that truth steady me today, and let me rest in your faithfulness. Amen.
