Tuesday, December 18, 2018 – Luke 1:31-33

The Announcement of the Birth of the Son of Man to Mary, Pt. 4

The Babe’s Eternal Kingdom Announced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQYd2-2UjX0

Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org

www.facebook.com/GraceDoctrine

The Gospel of Luke

 

II. The Identification of the Son of Man with Men, Luke 1:5-4:13.

      

     B. The Announcement of the Birth of the Son of Man, Luke 1:26-56.

In vs. 31-33, we have a wonderful description of who and what Mary’s baby will be. Gabriel announces the babe’s eternal reign and kingdom.

Vs. 31

Luke 1:31, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”

Here, we see the main message of grace Gabriel brought to Mary, that seems to be an adaptation of the Greek LXX text of Isa 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

The name of this child was of great importance. Mat 1:21, includes the purpose clause, “for He will save His people from their sins.” The meaning of the name Jesus, which is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Joshua that means, “the Lord saves,” as “Jesus,” IESOUS, Ἰησοῦς means, “Savior.” It also emphasizes our Lord’s humanity, as is appropriate, since we are talking about His human birth; God being born as a man. Therefore, by name and title, Mary’s baby boy would be the God-man and Savior of the world.

In the next two verses, Gabriel predicted 5 things about Mary’s son. Five is the number of “grace.”

Vs. 32

Luke 1:32, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.”

1. He will be great.

Here, we have more superlatives for our Lord and another title. “He will be great,” is HOUTOS EIMI MEGAS. Usually, MEGAS is a superlative related to something like power, authority, an emotion, spatially, influence, fame, etc. But here, it stands alone; signifying that in all aspects, Jesus would be great. Given the further descriptions of Him related to His deity and earthly kingship in these passages, we see His greatness as God and as the King of Israel and the entire world, Titus 2:13.

Titus 2:13, “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”

Further, Jesus is referred to as the “great high priest,” Heb 4:14; 10:21, and the “great shepherd of the sheep,” Heb 13:20.

Heb 4:14, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”

Heb 13:20, “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord.”

This may also be a reference to the Messianic prophecy of Micah 5:4, installing the Messiah as the supreme heir to the Davidic throne.

Micah 5:4, “And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth.”

2. He will be called the Son of the Most High.

“Will be Called,” Is the Future, Passive, Indicative of KALEO, does not just mean here “called by men,” but understanding it in its Passive form as including the OT idea where a name expresses the character or existence of something. Thus, Jesus was not simply thought to be the Son of God, He is the Son of God.

“The Son of the Most High,” is the Nominative Noun HUIOS and the Superlative Genitive Noun HUPSISTOS. This title, in contrast to John as prophet, is Luke’s first note that Jesus will be unique in His relationship to God. Gabriel affirmed both the deity and the humanity of Jesus. As Mary’s son, He would be human; as Son of the Highest, He would be the Son of God. Luke declares the hypostatic union of Jesus Christ.

HUIOS means, “son, offspring, or descendant.” Here it speaks of Jesus being the offspring and son of God Himself. Since it will be God the Holy Spirit who adds the necessary 23 chromosomes to Mary’s 23 chromosomes, vs. 35, allowing her to conceive, Jesus is legitimately the Son of God, cf. Psa 2:7-9; cf. Psa 89:26-29.

Psa 2:7-9, “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You. ⁸Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ⁹You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware’.”

In addition, the fact that her baby was to be called the “Son of the Most High,” pointed to His equality with YHWH; The Lord God. In Semitic thought, a son was a “carbon copy” of his father, and the phrase “son of” was often used to refer to one who possessed his “father’s” qualities. Therefore, Jesus was the offspring or Son of the God, The Most High! As such, He is heir to the Heavenly Throne while in His humanity. Since He is already one with God, He is already the Most High! But, in His humanity, He is also qualified to sit upon the heavenly throne of God.

HUPSISTOS, ὕψιστος that means, “the highest or most high,” is used in classical Greek literature to denote the highest of all heights. In Scripture, it is used as a reference to heaven, the abode of God or to designate the name of God, as the Hebrew ELYON, “Most High,” also did. Here, it is used by Gabriel in the naming and veneration of God, the God of the heavens as “The Most High”, cf. vs. 35, 76, who is above all rule and authority, Eph 1:21; Mat 28:18; Col 1:16.

Eph 1:21, “Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”

It is used by another angel, albeit a fallen one, when Jesus is identified as the Son of God in Mark 5:7; Luke 8:28. We will also see this word when worship is expressed by the angelic hosts at the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:14. Cf. Acts 7:48; 16:17; Heb 7:1.

Mark 5:7, “And shouting with a loud voice, he said, ‘What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!’”

3. He will be given the throne of His father David.

In this passage, we not only see Jesus’ heavenly reign, but we see His earthly one as, “the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.” Here, we see that Jesus is also the “son” of David, as David is his “father,” PATER. Notice that Jesus has two fathers. The first is God the Father from heaven. The second is king David from earth. Another way to say it is that He has dual “sonship,” which means He has dual “heirship.” Not only is He qualified to sit upon the heavenly throne of God, He is qualified to sit upon the earthly throne of David, as the King of Israel. It tells us Jesus will have human roots in the house of David, the royal line of Israel which shows His humanity and qualifies Him to be Messiah.

Having these two “fathers” means He has two reigns; a heavenly one and an earthly one. This statement by Gabriel was in fulfillment of the prophecies concerning David’s Son’s eternal rulership, 2 Sam 7:12-13, 16; Isa 9:6-7; 11:1-5; Jer 23:5; Dan 7:27.

2 Sam 7:12-14, “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ^14aI will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me.”

2 Sam 7:16, “And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”

Isa 9:6-7, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

Isa 11:1-5, “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. ²The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. ³And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision by what His ears hear; ⁴but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. ⁵Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, and faithfulness the belt about His waist.”

Jer 23:5, “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land’.”

His birth is the beginning of fulfilling the Davidic covenant God made with David; he would have a son to be King and sit on a throne forever. Because He was the son of Joseph in a legal sense, as specifically mentioned by Luke in vs. 27, Jesus is also the son of David. David as His “father,” emphasizes Jesus’ legitimate role as the Messianic heir to David’s throne. Matthew was content to confine the angel’s message to one of salvation, but Luke’s version includes strong statements validating Jesus’ right to sit on the throne of David, thus establishing Him as the Messiah. As such, God is fulfilling His kingdom promises to the people of Israel, Isa 9:1-7; 11-12; 61; 66; Jer 33.

Therefore, both phrases of vs. 33, provide a type of parallelism reinforcing that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise made to David in 2 Sam 7:13. Whereas Jesus’ legal lineage through Joseph gave Him the right to sit on the throne, His relationship as the Son of God makes this reign eternal. In not so subtle of terms, Luke is identifying Jesus as God, the King, the Most High, and as the rightful heir to the prophetic eternal throne of David.

Today, Jesus is enthroned in heaven, Acts 2:29-36, but is not on David’s throne. One day, Jesus will return and establish His righteous kingdom on earth, and then these promises will be fully fulfilled.

Vs. 33

Luke 1:33, “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

4. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever.

No human ceremony crowned Him King except the mocking ceremony at His trial and crucifixion, Mark 15:16-20, 26, 32. Yet, God pronounced Him King at His birth and will reveal His royal splendor when He returns to rule the world. So, here we see the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant that God made with Abraham, that he would have a people and nation forever.

Mat 1:1, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

“Reign over,” is the Future, Active, Indicative of the root Verb BASILEUO, βασιλεύω with the Preposition EPI that means, “to reign over, to rule as king, to have authority over, or govern.” The NT uses it to declare God’s sovereign authority over all other rulers and powers. Ultimately, all rebellion and evil will be overthrown, and God will reign in righteousness unopposed, forever.

“Kingdom,” is the Noun BASILEIA, βασιλεία that means, “kingdom, domain, rule or reign.” This is the object of that which is ruled over; the kingdom. Although the main emphasis here is on the eschatological (future) kingdom or throne of David, Jesus’ kingdom includes the here and now of the earthly, as well as the spiritual kingdom lived within your soul. And as stated, it will exist forever and ever.

This rulership and kingdom is over, “the house of Jacob,” HO OIKOS IAKOB, which in essence means, the Hebrew people and nation of Israel. As Jacob, who is also called Israel, was the Son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham, Luke 3:34; Mat 1:2. This phrase is only used here in the NT. It is an OT phrase referring to the nation of Israel as a whole, Gen 46:27; Ex 19:3; Psa 114:1; Isa 2:5; 14:1; Jer 2:4; 5:20; Ezek 20:5; Micah 3:9.

Ex 19:3, “Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel.”

Interestingly, when the name “Jacob” is used, it typically is reflecting his humanity and sinfulness, or that of the people of Israel. When “Israel” is used, it typically represents the spiritual life, or that of the people, cf. Gen 32:28; 35:9-12; Acts 2:36; Heb 8:8, 10.

Acts 2:36, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Therefore, using “the kingdom of Jacob,” also emphasized Jesus’ humanity and His earthly reign that will last forever. As we know from Scripture, entrance into Jesus’ kingdom only comes to those who believe in Him as their Savior. Only by being born again can one enter this Kingdom, John 3:3-5. So, the Cross of Jesus Christ, where in His humanity He took of the sins of the entire world, is also in view.

John 3:3-5, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ ⁴Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?’ ⁵Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God’.”

When Jesus began to minister, He associated His message with the Messianic expectations of the people, as He picked up on John’s announcement that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” cf. Mat 3:1-2; 4:17. Jesus announced that the time of fulfillment had come when He was preaching the gospel, Mat 4:23f.; 2:28.

5. His kingdom will never end.

Gabriel also made an announcement of prophetic fulfillment, when he states that Jesus’ kingdom will be “forever” and “have no end.” “Forever,” is EIS HO AION, literally, “to the ages,” and “will have no end,” is EIMI OUK TELOS that describes the time aspect of the promised Kingdom of Israel and David that Jesus Christ would reign over. We could also say, “for all of eternity,” cf. 2 Sam 7:13, 16; Psa 89:36-37; Dan 2:44; 7:14, 18, 27; Mat 28:18; Heb 1:8; Rev 11:15.

Conclusion:

In the grace plan of God for the salvation of the entire world, He did something fantastic. He sent His Son into the world so that:

1. He would be great.

2. He would be called the Son of the Most High.

3. He would be given the throne of His father David.

4. He would reign over the house of Jacob forever.

5. His kingdom would never end.

These are all titles and superlatives related to Jesus the Savior that fulfill God’s promises to Israel and to mankind.