(30) “And the angel said unto her, fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. (31) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son – and thou shalt call His Name, Jesus. (32) 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: (33) And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever – and of His Kingdom there shall be no end. (34) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? (35)And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee – therefore also that Holy One which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” [Lk.1:30-35]
This significant portion of scripture brings forward Ten descriptive pure gospel declarations that when — put altogether – comprises the true purpose and substance of the whole Bible. It’s all about Christ! “He is our all and in all!”[see: Col.3:11] Our history – truly does become His Story! Let us look this month at the first six of these pure gospel descriptives and the last four next month.
First of all, from vs.30 – the God of Peace bears witness with young Mary of Nazareth that – just like Noah [see:: Ge.6:8] — she is a true recipient of God’s eternally saving grace. This is what Gabriel means when he says unto her – “thou hast found favor with God”. And, it is in this same way that the Spirit of God deals with each one His chosen sinner/children [see: Ro.8:16-17]. #2> From vs.31 He reveals to her that she has been chosen to be the Woman through whom the prophecies of Ge.3:15 and Is.7:14 – concerning Jesus Christ – would be fulfilled! [See those two texts] #3> The Angel Gabriel also announces that the Name of the miracle Son that she will give birth to – will be, Jesus. It is from Mt.1:21 that we are told that this same truth was revealed unto Joseph. The text says that he was told — in advance: “And she shall bring forth a Son – and thou shalt call His Name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins!” The Name Jesus, of course, means: Savior.
From vs.32 we have three more identifying pure gospel descriptive declarations concerning the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ: #4> “He shall be Great”; #5> “and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and #6> “and the Lord God shall give unto Him – the Throne of His father David”! In regards to #4, the scripture from He 4:14 and 13:20 plainly says: “Seeing then that we have – a Great High Priest – that is passed into the heavens – Jesus, the Son of God – let us hold fast our profession (or, more lit. our confession)”; And, “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus – that Great Shepherd of the sheep – (lit.) in the blood of the Everlasting Covenant…”.
And then — in regards to #5 and #6 – there is: Is.57:15 and Ps.132:11. As far as Jesus being described as the “Son of the Highest” – He is the Son of God the Father described in Is.57:15 which says: “For thus saith the High and Lofty One – that inhabiteth eternity – whose Name is Holy! I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit; to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” This describes the whole ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is none more exalted than He! God the Father is the One who declared of the incarnation of Christ from Ps.2:7> “Thou art my Son – this day have I begotten Thee.” And Jesus said from Jn.10:30> “I and my Father are One!” And #6, Ps.132:11-12 goes on to say: “The Lord has sworn in Truth unto David; He will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy Throne. (12) If thy children shall keep my Covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them – their children shall sit upon thy Throne for evermore!” In Christ – it has been forever done! Amen.
For Christ’s Glory Only! – John Carpenter
