Anchor My Faith

Title: Jesus, Son of the Most High God (Luke 1:32-33)

Gabriel had just told Mary that she would conceive a baby boy to be named Jesus, and now he continues by providing a brief summary of his life: “He 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32 – 33 ESV). To understand the meaning of “He will be great,” we need to look at Isaiah 9:6 – 7 (ESV): “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” Jesus shall be distinguished by being set apart from others by his power, wisdom, and dominion, both on earth and in heaven.

Jesus will be called or known as the Son of the Most High God. He is the Son, not by creation or by some other means, but by nature, being the eternal Son of God. Jesus is of the same nature as God and is equal to him. When Jesus was born in the flesh, he did not then begin to be the Son of God because he has been the Son of God from all eternity. We must understand that to us a child is born, who we know as Jesus, but at the same time a Son is given.  Jesus is fully God and fully man.

When we covered the genealogies, we saw that Jesus was a descendant of David, the king of the Jews, and thus a son of David. Since Jesus descended from him as a man, then is a literal sense he has a right to the throne of his father David. David was seen as a type of the Messiah. This one who was to come will be given the throne of his father David to establish a kingdom that would last forever. His rule was described to be over the house of Jacob, which was the name by which the ancient people of God were known. This is to say that he would rule over his people forever. In future lessons we will find great difficulty on the part of many to understand which kingdom and who would be part of it.

Whether his reign is on earth or in heaven; whether the kingdom is on the earth or in heaven, it will have no end. What that kingdom will be and who will be part of it will be covered in many lessons much later in our study.

Prayer

Father, this lesson introduced a kingdom that Jesus would establish. How that is done, what that kingdom will be and who will populate it is an extremely important concept of the Christian faith. It has and will continue to divide people over its meaning and its importance, particularly since we will find that entrance to it is through Jesus and that he is the ruler or king over it. Father, there is some very important work ahead of us to grasp the full meaning of this.