Lk.1:37 – The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God.”

In this passage Mary is experiencing something that no one had experienced in hundreds of years, she is being totally consumed by the Holy Spirit. This passage says that the Holy Spirit overshadowed her. This is a description of the manifest presence of God, the episkiazo, the shining cloud of glory coming upon Mary. In a sense Mary became a type of the New Testament Church beginning on the Day of Pentecost when all the people of the world would become candidates of being overshadowed by the Spirit of God. The prophetic power of God was also on display through this young Jewish woman as seen in Luke 2 where she prophesied about the coming Savior and the blessing resting on her life. Adam Clarke described this supernatural power that came upon Mary in his comments on this passage.

“This conception shall take place suddenly, and the Holy Spirit himself shall be the grand operator. The power, δυναμις, the miracle-working power, of the Most High shall overshadow thee, to accomplish this purpose, and to protect thee from danger. As there is a plain allusion to the Spirit of God brooding over the face of the waters, to render them prolific, Gen. i. 2, I am the more firmly established in the opinion advanced on Matt. i. 20, that the rudiments of the human nature of Christ was a real creation in the womb of the virgin, by the energy of the Spirit of God.”

Not only was Mary anointed with the Holy Spirit, she also experienced something absolutely astounding. She conceived in her womb without having a relationship with a man. She conceived the Messiah, the Son of God, by the power of the Spirit that had come upon her. The impossible became possible by the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of God’s word. What she had said, “be it done to me according to Your Word”, was fulfilled by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We all face impossible situations in our lives especially if we are endeavoring to follow God’s purpose and plan for our life. We can see anything happen, all things become possible, as we surrender to God’s word and allow His Spirit to overshadow us.