Whose Son is He?

Luke 1:34-35

 

 

In Matthew's gospel, chapter 22 and verse 42, Jesus asked the Pharisees a question.  That question has been voiced in every generation since.

 

Matthew 22:42: "Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David."

 

Wait.  How’s that?  He’s the son of God, and the son of Mary.  I know he’s not the son of Joseph.  But why David?

 

The Jewish religious experts were actually right, in part.  They recognized and believed that the Messiah would be a human who was a member of the lineage of the royal family of King David, a descendant of David.  And that is certainly affirmed by the angel Gabriel in verse 32 where it says, speaking of Jesus, that the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.  It was true.  Humanly speaking the Messiah would be a human being born into the line of David.

 

But that's as far as they went.  So they were wrong that He was to be only the Son of David.  You will notice that Gabriel tells Mary that Jesus, in verse 32, will be called the Son of the Highest, Most High being the equivalent of the Hebrew El Elyon, God Most High.  And the end of verse 35, "…shall be called the Son of God."

 

They clearly affirmed that the Messiah would be the Son of David, but they considered any claim to be the Son of God blasphemous.  When Jesus claimed to be the Son of God they accused Him of blasphemy.  And this false perception led them to their rejection and execution of Jesus Christ.  In spite of that rejection, the Son born to Mary in David's line was also God's Son.  He was the God-Man, Son of David through Mary, Son of God through the Holy Spirit.

 

John said in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God…and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.

 

It is critical for us to understand the incarnation.  A real incarnation of God demands a virgin conception.  And so this is a central truth of Christianity.  On this the whole structure of Christian theology and the gospel is built.  If Jesus had a human father, He was just a man.  If He was just a man, there is no gospel, there is no Savior, there is no salvation and, in fact, the prophets and Jesus lied.

 

If this is to be the God-Man, then it must be God and Man coming together to produce this life, and that is exactly what the New Testament says.

 

Three things indicate to us that there was expectation of this, that there was every reason to believe and expect a virgin conception for the Messiah.

 

First of all, the Old Testament promised it.  Way back in Genesis 3:15, God said that Satan would be crushed in the head by the seed of the woman.  And we all know that a woman has no seed, but there would be a woman who had a seed without the aid of a man. There was only one, and that was Mary.

 

Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

Jeremiah 31:22: "…the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man."

Psalm 2:7: “…the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”

 

Clearly the Old Testament promised a virgin-born Son and a Son who uniquely was born as the Son of God.

 

Secondly, the doctrine of the Trinity provides for it.

God is one and yet in three persons.  Therefore a member of that Trinity who was eternal, always pre-existing, could come into the world in human flesh.  And that's precisely what happened.  And the second member of the Trinity, the Son came into the world in flesh. He was the pre-existing, eternal Word that John wrote about who was with God in the beginning and was the Creator of everything that exists. So the doctrine of the Trinity provides for that.

 

Thirdly we see that the prophets prophesied it. The Old Testament says that God alone is the Redeemer, God alone is the Holy One, God alone is the great Almighty King, God alone is the object of worship and God alone is to be the subject of all adoration.  And yet the prophets all said that the Messiah was also the Redeemer, the Holy One, the King of kings, the Father of eternity, the Prince of peace, the object of worship and the subject of adoration.  We can only conclude if that's only true of God, then the Messiah must be God.

 

So the Old Testament promises a virgin-born Messiah, the Trinity provides for it and the prophets prophesied of it.

 

Supplication

Back in our text: Here is this 13-year-old girl. She was literally shaken to the core of her being over this encounter with an angel and what the angel said to her.

 

v. 34        In response to the astonishing truth that's been given to her, she asks the question, how?  It is not that she doubts, it is not that she doesn't believe.  She does believe. She just doesn't understand how it can happen.

 

She also understood that the angel was NOT saying to her, you're going to get married to Joseph and when you come together with Joseph you're going to have a child.  She knew that would not be anything miraculous.  She knew the angel was saying, you're going to have a Son and you're going to conceive that Son before your marriage ever takes place.  And she said, "How can this happen?  How is this possible to be pregnant while a virgin?" 

 

Strategy 

Verse 35          The angel graciously answers her question with a very simple explanation. The Holy Spirit will come upon you.  The Holy Spirit is mentioned in connection with the birth of Christ six times; three times in chapter 1 and three times in chapter 2 of this gospel.  We shouldn't be surprised at this.  The Holy Spirit is identified in creation.  The Spirit of God moves upon the face of the waters, and begins the creative process.

 

The Holy Spirit, who was the original agent of creation, will again become an agent of creation, this time in the womb of this young girl. 

 

In a parallel statement to enrich our understanding, the angel then says, "The power of the Highest will overshadow thee."  The Holy Spirit is the same as the Most High.  Most High, by the way, is in the Hebrew El Elyon, God Most High. 

Overshadow is a verb - episkiaz. 

There are three times in the New Testament where the transfiguration is described.  There was an appearance of the Shekinah glory and it overshadowed them.  It uses the same verb.  It means to surround, to encompass, or to influence.

 

God Himself, the Creator of the universe, will come and surround and overshadow and influence with creative power the womb of Mary.  That's what the angel said.  That's the divine strategy to produce in her womb this child.  It will not happen through the normal human process. A creating influence of God moves into Mary's body.

 

And for that reason, the end of v. 35 says that he “shall be called the Son of God."

 

v. 35        “that holy thing” 

Your kids may be cute and cuddly but they are not holy.  They are unholy.  They are fallen.  They are depraved.  The seeds of every conceivable iniquity is in their heart.  The greatest challenge you have is to lead that depraved child to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

 

All humans are born in sin.  David said, "In sin did my mother conceive me." He wasn't talking about an illicit affair. He wasn't talking about some adulterous thing.  He wasn't saying he was an illegitimate child.  He was saying from the time of conception I was a sinner.

 

God created Him sinless from conception. That baby in the womb of Mary was untouched by sin. 

 

Hebrews 1:3: "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person…”

 

Listen to what the Father said to the Son in…

Hebrews 1:8: "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever…”

 

This is God's Son, yet this is God Himself in human form.  Jesus said it again and again. I and the Father are one.  It was for this that the Jews executed Him.  Even Satan and demons called Him the Son of God.  That's the strategy.  The Son of God will be born by an act of divine creation.

 

The Sign

Mary doesn't ask for a sign, but God strengthens her faith in giving her one anyway. 

Verse 36          Your barren old relative is having a miracle birth.

So this relative becomes a sign for her.  That miracle was a miracle of conception.  It wasn't a virgin conception, it was just that God allowed two old people who had been married all those years and now were not only barren but beyond the capability of having children, to conceive and have a child. 

Hey Mary: You don't need to wonder about it, you can go and visit your relative.  And verse 39 says she did immediately, she went with haste.  I mean, this was overwhelming to her and she would...she wanted to know what it was like to be pregnant under miraculous conditions. And so she entered the house of Zacharias, verse 40 says, and greeted Elisabeth.  And she witnessed another miracle as John the Baptist, in utero, leaps at hearing that Mary is carrying the Messiah.  Yes, Mary was the first to carry the gospel!

 

But this was the sign that God was able to do miracles, that God could do the humanly impossible.  And this conception anchored faith.  She had the faith. She wasn't doubting. But this was just an anchor for her faith.

 

Sovereignty

Verse 37 is just dropped in there, "Nothing shall be impossible." 

 

Luke is such a wonderful historian.  This time he's pretty subtle because verse 37 is actually borrowed from Genesis 18:14: Is anything too hard for the Lord?  It’s about the birth of Isaac, another miracle birth to a 100 year old man, Abraham, and his much younger wife…he really robbed the cradle…Sarah is only 90.

 

Gabriel takes Mary back to Genesis 18, back to Abraham and Sarah. 

 

[Jeremiah 32:17 says, "Nothing is too difficult for Thee."]

 

God, whose power has no limit, God who is not bound at all by the laws of nature which He has created, as if He were chained by His own creation, God who is omnipotent, all powerful and without limitations can do anything He wants to do.  He created the entire universe and upholds it.  This snapshot of Abraham and Sarah reminds her that God has done it in the past.  He has demonstrated that nothing is impossible when it comes to conception…He did it in Abraham and Sarah's case, did it again in the case of Zacharias and Elisabeth.

 

Submission

Mary knew the Old Testament.  I think she also knew another story.  There was another miracle conception in the Old Testament. Do you remember it?

 

Hannah was barren.  But God gave her a child who was a marvelous, notable son named Samuel.  But she refers to herself three times as a maidservant. 

 

v. 38        Now what's the importance here?  She uses the word bond slave, which is the word doul in the Greek.  And it is the same word used in the Septuagint every time Hannah referred to herself as a maidservant. It may indicate Mary's familiarity with the wonderful miracle that God gave to Hannah by which she conceived Samuel.  And Mary sees herself also as a slave to God's purposes as a servant.  She is standing in the tradition of Hannah and submitting and following Hannah's example of being a willing slave to this incredible unfolding purpose of God.  Submission is what characterizes this young girl.  She sees herself not as somebody special, but as a bond slave.

 

Down in verse 48 she says it again.  She understood the implications.  Imagine her telling her family she’s pregnant, bringing chaos, confusion, and everyone thinking the same thing: how did this happen?  Joseph, what's he going to think?  She leaves that to God.  She doesn't say, "Well before I say yes to this deal, who's going to explain this to Joseph?  Who's going to explain this to my mother and my father?  Who's going to explain this to my friends and my neighbors?  Who's going to explain this to the righteous people?  Who's going to explain this to the parents of Joseph?  Wait a minute, there's a lot at stake here.  Who's going to explain to everybody that sees me that...and knows I'm not married..."  She doesn't ask any of that, she says, "You just do what You want, Lord, I'm Your slave.  I leave the rest to You."

 

Mary left all of that to God.  You can take care of all the details, I submit.

 

Boy, that's just pure, clean faith, isn't it?  She just rested in God's purpose. 

She didn’t consider herself the queen of heaven.  She said, "Behold the bond slave of the Lord."  She presented herself as a gift for the Lord to use.  She was a simple, humble little girl who was given a privilege. And as a servant she responded and said, "Let it be done to me according to your word."

 

And what do we learn from this that we can take with us?  God's promises will be fulfilled. They were in Mary's life.  God's power has no limit.  It was demonstrated in her life.  And God's people are always His instruments.  That's what we learn from Mary.  God uses human instruments who are willing. 

 

Whose Son is He?  Let’s allow Mary to answer.  “He’s the Son of God.”