26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary is a sore subject for a lot of people. She is worshiped and prayed to in Catholic churches. She is all but exiled in many non-catholic churches because of how the catholic churches see her. Realistically we should look at her as God has called her, “Favored one.” She is the favored one that the Lord chose to bear Jesus as her son. What an honor that is for a young woman to be called that and chosen to be the mother of the Messiah! We need to recognize that for sure; but, this should not go any further into worship or prayer to her. That is idolatry in every sense of the word.
- He will be called Jesus
- He will be called the Son of the Most High
- He will receive the Throne of David
- He will reign forever
- His Kingdom will have no end
- He will be called Holy – the Son of God
These 6 things are what Gabriel states about the child that Mary is to conceive. What an amazing thing for Mary to hear! She wants to know how it will happen so Gabriel explains this to her. She is also told that her relative Elizabeth will bear a child in her old age. Her last reply is simply that she is a “servant of the Lord.” What an amazing reaction to an amazingly scary thing. Here is a young woman who is set to be married to Joseph (v.27) and yet is told she will have a child now. That could not have been an easy thing to think about. Yet through all of her thoughts and feelings she has two things to say: “How”; and, “I am the servant of the Lord.” God does not always give us the how, but we should always respond as Mary did here.
The prophesies of Gabriel are astounding. All of these things have come to pass …
- He will be called Jesus
Mark 1:24 … A demon called Him “Jesus of Nazareth.”
- He will be called the Son of the Most High
Mark 5:7 … A demon calls Jesus the “Son of the Most High.”
- He will receive the Throne of David
Luke 20:41-47 … Jesus asks the people how the Christ can be David’s son, when David calls Him Lord? This is denoting that the Messiah would come from the line of David, and yet, He would reign as Lord on the Throne of David.
- He will be called Holy – the Son of God
John 1:34 … John the Baptist states that he “has seen and borne witness that this [Jesus] is the Son of God.”
- He will reign forever
- His Kingdom will have no end
These two are speaking of the Kingdom of Christ that is to come and has come in many ways. Jesus stepped down from the throne, became a man, and as a sinless man died for our sins that we may be with Him forever. That is the Gospel. That is the Good News that Christ has given to us. The resurrection of Christ is the power. If Jesus were to die and not be raised then there is no power in His death, it is in His resurrection. Revelation 22:5 speaks of Christ regning forever Isaiah 9:7 speaks of His Kingdom having no end.
It is very clear that Gabriel, when speaking to Mary, is talking about her conceiving the Messiah, the Holy One of God, who will reign forever. He is telling Mary that she will be the mother to the Son of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment