The King Is Coming!
30 January 2014
Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. - Luke 1:30-33
Looking once again at this amazing angel visitation, we find the angel Gabriel treating Mary in a loving and friendly manner. He calls her by name to calm her fears and pronounces the greatest blessing to her that anyone can hear, she has found favor with God! Nothing in man can please God, so this favor came straight from God's love for her and His desire to bless her!
In fulfillment of the prophecies of the Isaiah, the Messiah will be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). That virgin is Mary. Luke is diligent to record that the angel shouts "behold" before he tells Mary that she will give birth to a son. This adds further evidence that this birth will be like no other. Mary had never been intimate with a man and would remain so until after Jesus is born. Jesus will be born of a pure virgin.
More marvelous details about this baby are proclaimed by Gabriel as well:
- His name will be Jesus. This means "Jehovah is Savior," not "Jehovah will send a savior." His name means that He is Jehovah God, and He has come to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
- He shall be great! - Isaiah says that his name will be Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)! These titles show that Jesus didn't come to try and save anyone. He came to save and finished the work!
- He shall be called the Son of the Highest. Jesus has always existed as the eternally begotten Son of God (see my blog regarding John 1:1-18). He does not become the Son of God when He is born of Mary, because He has always been the only begotten of the Father. Gabriel is simply telling us that the name of the Eternal Word will be applied to the flesh of this baby because the two shall be one. Jesus is fully God and fully man!
- Jesus will inherit the throne of David and His reign will be forever. Notice this doesn't say that Jesus is coming back to reign later. When He raised from the dead, Jesus ascended to the true spiritual throne of David and began reigning immediately (Hebrews 1:3-8). He has always reigned, but He is now declared to be King before men (Romans 1:4)
The final bullet point above may seem strange to some who have been taught something different about the return of Jesus Christ. However, the message of the angel Gabriel has always been that Jesus's kingdom would commence when He comes the first time.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. - Daniel 2:44
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. - Daniel 7:14