31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give 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 categorized five items about Mary’s son:
-He would be “great.”
-He would “be called the Son of the Highest.”
-He would be given “the throne of His father David” (2 Sa 7:13-16).
-He would reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever.
-His kingdom would never end.
1:31
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son,
Mary would experience the miracle of a virgin birth. That idea must have staggered this young girl.
and shall call His name Jesus.
Gabriel named Mary’s son for her. The name “Jesus” means the Lord is salvation (Mt 1:21).
1:32
He will be great,
The angel told Mary that her son would “be great.” His greatness was unqualified or absolute.
and will be called the Son of the Highest;
Mary learned that her son would be God’s Son, the Messiah. He would be called “the Son of the Highest” or Most High, which points to His equality with Jehovah. Mary’s son would be the Son of God (Mt 5:9; Lu 6:35). Gabriel affirmed Jesus’ divine sonship.
and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
God would give Mary’s son a kingdom rule in the lineage of King David. The point is that Jesus will fulfill the unconditional covenant of David that one of the king’s sons would become the ultimate King (2 Sa 7:12-13). One of David’s descendants will sit on David’s throne.
1:33
And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
Jesus will rule over the house of Jacob (Israel) without end as the Messiah. Jesus will reign over Israel during the Millennium and continue to rule in eternity; that kingdom will be “forever.”
and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Jesus’ kingdom will have no end, an eternal kingdom (Isa 9:6 (LXX); Dan 7:14). David’s future son will rule forever. Mary would have understood that Gabriel was speaking of the Messiah by these five descriptions of her son.
PRINCIPLE:
Jesus one day will assume royal power over the world.
APPLICATION:
Jesus’ reign in the millennial kingdom will be the climax of human history. God appointed Adam and all following humans to be theocratic kings, kings representing God on earth. Jesus is the ultimate theocratic King. His kingdom will be the prime example of what God intended for man. Jesus, as the perfect human, will do what all previous theocratic kings failed to do—fully represent God on earth in time.
