What is the Christmas Angel?

What is the significance of Angel Gabriel?

Christians believe that the Christmas Angel, or Angel Gabriel, was an archangel (an angel of high rank), who was sent by God to give three messages to people on earth. Let’s explore each of those messages separately:

Angel Gabriel’s message to Daniel

Angel Gabriel was first mentioned in the Bible when his message to Daniel is described in Daniel 8:16. At the time of the message, it is believed that Daniel was living in Babylon where Jewish people were in exile. Despite being treated badly because of his religion, Daniel remained very faithful to God. In the lead up to this, Daniel had been having various visions of a ram and a goat that he couldn’t make sense of. So, God sent Angel Gabriel to explain and interpret these visions. Gabriel explained that one of the horns in Daniel’s vision represents ‘a fierce looking King’ - Daniel 8:21-23. Gabriel explains the strength of this King, but doesn’t tell him that it’s Jesus who he’s speaking of.

Angel Gabriel then arrived in Daniel 9:22, in response to Daniel’s prayer. It was then that Angel Gabriel told Daniel about what was to come, and revealed that Jesus would be sent by God, and then killed in the future. It is thought that Angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel again, but it’s not clear because he isn’t specifically named.

Angel Gabriel’s message to Zechariah

Zechariah's encounter with Angel Gabriel was in a temple, where he went to burn incense before God. He appeared in front of him, at the side of the altar where the incense was burning. Angel Gabriel revealed the news that his wife Elizabeth would bear a son called John. Zechariah was in disbelief because he and his wife were quite old, and had assumed that Elizabeth couldn’t have children. Angel Gabriel explained that John would prepare the way for Jesus. This is believed to have come true, as John grew up to be none other than John the Baptist, who baptised baby Jesus after he was born.

Angel Gabriel’s message to the Virgin Mary

Angel Gabriel, or the Christmas angel, is maybe best known for his delivery of information to the Virgin Mary, where he revealed that she was to bear the son of God, Jesus Christ. Mary was a religious woman, and was picked by God to carry Jesus. These are the words that revealed Angel Gabriel’s news to the Virgin Mary:

‘You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end’ - Luke 1: 31-32.

After announcing this exciting information to the Virgin Mary, Angel Gabriel explained that her pregnancy of Jesus Christ would be a virgin birth, caused by the Holy Spirit. Mary was of course very devoted to God, so she replied with:

‘I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled’. - Luke 1:38.

Angel Gabriel then left, and wasn’t mentioned in the Bible again by name. Due to the large part that Gabriel plays in the Christmas story, he became also known as the Christmas Angel.

Facts about Angel Gabriel.

• Gabriel is Hebrew for ‘God is my strength’.
• The opening lines of the famous prayer ‘Ave Maria’ were the words said by Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary.
• Gabriel is one of only two angels mentioned in the protestant Bible, the other being Micheal.
• Gabriel appeared as a man, so to Daniel, Zechariah and Mary, he wouldn’t have looked like an angel.
• Gabriel is shown to have wings in lots of paintings, but he is not described in this way in the Bible.

How learning about Angel Gabriel fulfils the curriculum aims

Learning about Angel Gabriel will allow your pupils to…

• Understand that there are common beliefs in multiple religions;
• Connect similarities and differences between different religions;
• Understand Angel Gabriel’s current cultural significance due to the part that he played in the Christmas nativity story;
• Learn about the key stories of the Bible;
• Understand the source of wisdom that was believed to be sent from God;
• Discuss and question the role and significance of messengers in the Bible;
• Question their own understanding of the Christmas story;
• Study sacred texts and the meanings behind the verses in the books of Luke and Daniel;
• Study interpretations of quotations from the Bible.

Help your pupils to understand the significance of Angel Gabriel as part of the Nativity story, in the video below.

Our related resources.

Check out our range of resources that will make teaching this topic a whole lot easier…

• Here we have a brilliant Lesson Pack that has everything you need to teach your pupils about Mary and Joseph’s story.
• Introduce the nativity story to your pupils with our illustrated PowerPoint.
• Help your pupils to understand the order of events with our handy Nativity Sequencing Cards.
• Bring the nativity story to life with our wonderfully illustrated Stick Puppets.
• Widen your pupils’ vocabulary with our Nativity Word Bank.