Day 7 - Luke 1:28-33
06 Dec 2023
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“And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called 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 for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
It is an understandable instinct for Christians to want to rush through the events of these chapters and to draw attention to what happens at the end of the gospel account. We rightly want to focus on the cross and the resurrection. We may be concerned that by just thinking about the coming of Jesus into the world, we will forget why he has come.
It would be a mistake to rush too quickly on. Jesus entered into our world as a man “for us and for our salvation”. Every detail of his incarnation matters. There is much to wonder at as we consider that the creator and sustainer of all humbled himself and became flesh in a virgin’s womb. As the voice cries out in Isaiah 40, the great comforting message we are to hear is “Behold your God!” Look at who Jesus is. Be amazed at what he does in becoming flesh.
It would also be a mistake to overreact to wrong views of Mary to underplay her role in these chapters. As Gabriel says, she is highly favoured by God. This emphasises the grace she has been shown by the Lord in being given this amazing role to become the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. She doesn’t distribute grace - now or then - but she has received God’s grace in abundance.
The baby Mary will conceive will be God’s king. He is the one promised in the covenant with David, whose throne will last forever. He will be called a Saviour. That is what the name “Jesus” literally means.
He is the Son of the Most High. That phrase has a double meaning. He is literally God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. But he is the perfect King of God’s people - the Israelite Kings were called son’s of God. The cross and resurrection are the means by which Jesus will establish his kingdom and rule. We can’t end the story before we get there. But he is God’s chosen king even before then.
The incarnation tells us about what kind of king Jesus is. He is a king willing to humble himself. To become small and helpless for the sake of his people. As we see this, we notice that the means of Jesus coming into the world becomes like a foretaste, a trailer of how he will establish his kingdom. If the one who “did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped” did not shun a virgin’s womb, then it is no surprise that he will be willing to even go to death for us.
It may not be a surprise, but it is still something to worship him for. Behold your God.