Luke 1:30-33 30And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace with God. 31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus. 32This one 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.”
Gabriel responds to Mary’s shock with the same words he spoke to Zechariah. In both appearances, the same literary pattern is followed. First is the calming exclamation, Do not be afraid. This is following by the name of the person. Third is the reason why the person should not be afraid. In the case of Mary, the fact of her being favored with God is repeated again. Fourth, the announcement is given. This is followed by the person’s reaction in the form of a question. The difference between Zechariah and Mary is how they react to Gabriel’s news. Zechariah questioned it with doubt, but Mary questioned it with faith. Each response led to different outcomes for the person.
Verse 31 is well-known and wonderful for us today because of Christmas pageants, but for Mary, it would have been a great shock. This annunciation is similar to the angel’s word to Hagar about the birth of Ishmael in Genesis 16:11. The child born to Mary would be special and unique in all of human experience. Gabriel gives several reasons why this child would be special and unique. First, the birth of a son fulfills the messianic prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. Second, just like God gave Zechariah John’s name, the name Jesus was given by God to Mary and also Joseph in his dream recorded in Matthew 1:21. The Hebrew form of the name is Yeshua, which was a common name at that time and reflected back to the Old Testament hero Joshua. The name means “The Lord saves.” Jesus would be born as Savior and become Savior through his life, death, and resurrection.
Third, the boy’s identity would be the Son of the Most High, a clear reference to God (1:76; 6:35; 8:28). The significance of this is more than Mary conceiving a son through the agency of God. The early church came to understand this to mean that Jesus was God incarnate, divine, and the second person of the Trinity (see the Apostle’s Creed). God himself came to dwell among people (John 1:14). Jesus was not a human adopted by God but God come in human form.
Fourth, he would come in the Davidic line and be the king. What got Jesus crucified was the accusation of being “King of the Jews.” This designation was in fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7:14. Many Jews of that time expected the Messiah to come as king and restore the fortunes of Israel as a nation. They hoped the Messiah would throw off the heavy yoke of the occupying Romans. Jesus did not come to set up a political, earthly kingdom but to usher in the all-powerful kingdom of God that would do an even more significant thing by changing the human heart.
And fifth, King Jesus would have an eternal reign. This part of the announcement fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 9:7. Jesus’ reign did not start as his ascension or in the future at his coming again but at his birth. The kingdom he brought with him is God’s eternal kingdom that was breaking into human experience. There are many prophecies in the Old Testament that look to the future of the Messiah’s eternal kingdom (2 Samuel 7:13, 16; Isaiah 9:7; Psalm 89:3, 28; 132:11; Micah 4:7; Daniel 7:14). These powerful words of declaration contain the hopes of the Jews of that time and meet the deepest human needs of all people of all times.
For older posts, click here.