| |
Book: Luke
 Print ( PC Only )
Luke 1:26-38 JESUS The Son Of The Highest
I. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God.
A. This would be the sixth month after Gabriel had come
to Zacharias to inform him that his wife in her old
age would have a child that would be great in the sight
of the Lord, who would be filled with the Holy Spirit
from his mother's womb, who would go forth in the spirit
and power of Elijah, to make the people ready for the
coming of the Lord.
B. Somehow it seems that God put into Gabriel's hands the
preparations for the birth of the Son of God.
1. It was Gabriel who came to Daniel some 550 years
earlier to inform him of the year the Messiah would
come. 483 years after the commandment went forth to
restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
2. It was Gabriel who came to Zachrias to inform him
that his wife would bear the forerunner of the
Messiah.
3. Now Gabriel is telling Mary that she has been chosen
to be the mother of the Messiah.
C. "Unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth."
1. Nazareth was a city with a bad reputation.
a. In years to come when Jesus begins His public
ministry, when Philip found his friend
Nathanael, he said come with me I have found
the Messiah, He is Jesus of Nazareth. He
responded, "Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth?"
b. Mary and Joseph lived in the village of
Nazareth, and there Jesus will grow up though
He will be born in Bethlehem, yet He will
always be known as Jesus of Nazareth. His
name will be associated with a city of bad
reputation.
c. When He is grown he will be accused of
keeping company with sinners and publicans.
d. However we will hear Him saying that He did not
come to call the righteous but sinners to
repentance.
II. The person to whom the angel Gabriel is sent, Mary.
A. She is a virgin. The Greek word is parthanos which can
mean nothing else.
1. In Isaiah there is a prophecy where God said that He
would give a sign, "Behold a virgin shall conceive
and bring forth a son and call His name Emanuel,
which means God with us."
2. She is espoused to a man named Joseph.
a. In those days marriage was usually by
arrangement. Many times the arrangement was
made while the children were very small.
b. As they grew up and the time of the wedding
approached, one year before they were married
they would go into a period that was called the
espousal. The espousal was an official
relationship of commitment, and could only be
broken by a writ of divorcement. It was a year
of preparing themselves for each other.
3. She is of the house of David as is Joseph, however
her lineage goes through Nathan the son of David
whereas Joseph's goes through Jeconiah and Solomon.
4. The virgins name was Mary.
B. What the angel said concerning Mary.
1. She was highly favored.
a. Very highly favored for she had been chosen by
God from all of the women who ever lived to be
the instrument to bring the Messiah into the
world.
b. Enough insights are given to us in the
scriptures to cause us to know that God made a
good choice.
2. The Lord was with her.
a. She had a beautiful and deep devotional life
as is manifested in what is commonly termed the
Magnificat of Mary recorded in the latter part
of this chapter.
3. She was blessed among women.
4. She was to conceive in her womb and bring forth a
Son, whom she was to name JESUS. Joshua.
C. Concerning her Son JESUS, the angel Gabriel said:
1. He shall be great.
a. Paul tells us that God has given to Him a name
that is above all names that at the name of
Jesus, every knee shall bow, and every tongue
shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the
glory of God the Father.
b. Peter said that there is no other name given
among men, whereby we must be saved.
c. His name implies His mission. Savior.
2. He shall be called the Son of the Highest.
a. Son of the highest is equivalent to the Son of
God.
b. For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son.
3. The Lord God will give unto Him the throne of His
father David.
a. This clearly identifies Him as the Messiah.
b. He will be the branch out of the stem of Jesse.
c. He will sit on the throne of David to order it
and to establish is in judgment and
righteousness forever.
4. He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever.
5. And of His kingdom there shall be no end.
III. Mary's perceived difficulties. How shall this be seeing I am
a virgin.
A. Her's was not a question of doubt only of method.
B. The angel responded as to method.
1. The Holy Spirit shall come upon you. The Child was
to be born by the agency of the Holy Spirit coming
upon her.
2. The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.
a. The Highest is a reference to God the Father.
b. Her life is to be overshadowed by God the
Father.
3. Thus the Holy One that was to be born of her would
be called the Son of God.
4. The angel added, "For nothing shall be impossible
with God."
a. Later Jesus Himself is to say, "For with God
all things are possible.
b. Difficulty must always be measured by the
capacity of the agent doing the work. When God
is the agent, any talk of difficulty is
manifestly absurd.
IV. The response of Mary, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it
unto me according to thy word."
A. A sweet, quiet acquiescence to the will of God.
B. This surrender to the will of God will be costly in terms
of personal suffering.
1. First of all the man she is engaged to will not
understand her pregnancy, and will doubt her story
at the beginning.
2. There will be whispering among the people as to her
sudden pregnancy.
a. When Jesus was speaking to the Pharisee's they
accused Him of being born of fornication.
b. So all of her life a cloud of suspicion will
hang over her.
3. When she came to the Temple to present her Son Jesus
to the Lord, a devout Godly man named Simeon will
prophesy to her that a sword would pierce through
her own soul.
4. She was to watch this perfect child and man, whom
she loved more than here own life, as He is mocked,
despised, and rejected by the Jews, and then be hung
upon the cross to die.
C. I believe that she somehow understood this as she said,
"Be it unto me according to thy word."
|