MARY'S SON - OUR SAVIOR AND SOVEREIGN

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 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. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:31-33 NKJV).

In v. 31, the word "behold" demands attention. It is the Greek word "eidon" and means look, perceive, pay attention because something very important was about to be revealed. The most important event in the world since the creation of man was about to be revealed.

A Savior was born – “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. His name reveals who He is. He would be called Jesus, Jehovah is Salvation” (v. 31). Jesus, the Greek rendering of Joshua was a common name in that day, but this was no common Child. He was sent of God to redeem fallen man. He came that He might provide the means of our salvation. When Adam sinned in the Garden, all who came after him were born in sin and at enmity with God. The holiness of God demanded that there be a perfect sacrifice to provide atonement. Countless sacrifices had been made, but they could never fully atone. The Lord Jesus came for our salvation; His sacrifice was sufficient enough to atone.

A Son was Born – “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest” (v. 32a). Mary was to bear a Son, but He was a special Son. He was the Son of the Highest. He was the very Son of God, the only begotten of the Father. The fullness of time had come and the Messiah was to be born. The One that generations had longed to see was about to enter the world. The plan and will of God was about to be confirmed and carried out in the birth of His Son. The greatest moment of all time was about to take place in the birth of the Lord Jesus. The One who created the world was about to humble Himself in the form of a man. Mary was about to look into the eyes of God in the flesh, the Savior of the world.

A Sovereign was Born – “And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of His father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (vv. 32b – 33). The Lord Jesus will be given a place of prominence here upon the earth. He will reign upon the throne of David and over the house of Jacob forever. The King of kings and Lord of lords was to be born in Bethlehem. As He walked upon this earth, the Lord Jesus was despised and rejected of His own. The first time He came as a humble babe, the sacrificial Lamb. However, He will return the second time as the Mighty God, the Lion of the tribe of Judah to establish His kingdom in righteousness and judge sin and Satan. Most in our day continue to reject and dismiss the Lord Jesus. One day the world will see Him as He is. One day all will bow the knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

(Adapted from Mattoon's Treasures)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“The Son of God became the Son of Man that He might change the sons of men into sons of God!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Favored One

In Luke 1:28 we read, “And having come in, the angel said to her, rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women” (NKJV).

Favored One is the Greek word charitoō (χαριτόω = khar-ee-to'-o). It means to cause one to be the recipient of a benefit. In classical Greek charitoō means to endue with grace. It is from the Greek root char meaning things which produce well-being. Hence the idea of grace, favor, beauty, thankfulness, gratitude, delight, kindness, expression of favor, good turn, benefit.

In the Septuagint charitoō is also linked to charis and denotes the kind expression of one person to another through assistance and help. In the New Testament, Luke uses charitoō to mean the bestowal grace or favor upon Mary. The only other NT use of charitoō is by Paul in Eph. 1:6 where he states, “to the praise of the glory of His grace (charitoō), by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.” The idea in Ephesians is that God has extended His favor or grace to all believers in Christ. Further, the word “favored” is in the perfect tense which speaks of the abiding nature of this bestowal of grace. This emphasizes the fact that Mary is the recipient not the bestower of grace as others teach.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – The Lord Jesus would be a child born which speaks of His humanity and a Son given which speaks of His Deity (Isa. 9:6)

New Testament Fulfillment – Luke 1:31-32; John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16

Did You Know…

In the Bible, it states that the Father bears witness of the Lord Jesus (John 5:37; 8:18; 1 John 5:9).

Bible Quiz

What sign were the shepherds supposed to look for when searching for the baby Jesus?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: Who refused to fight against the Canaanites unless a woman went with him? Barak (Judges 4:6-8).

Names of the Lord Jesus Found in the Bible

“Branch”

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth!” (Jer. 23:5 NKJV).

1. Meaning – The Lord Jesus is the shoot from David’s line.

2. Insights – The Lord Jesus is the offshoot of the line of David, and paradoxically, also the root. He is the Vine on which we depend for life and nourishment.

3. Related Titles – Nazarene /Netzer means Branch in Hebrew (Matt. 2:23); Shoot (Isa. 11:1, 10; 53:2); Root of David (Rev. 5:5); Vine (John 15:1).

Stories of Favorite Christmas Carols

Angels We Have Heard On High

The French carol Les anges dans nos campagnes, now known as Angels We Have Heard on High, is completely anonymous. In A.D. 129, Telesphous, Bishop of Rome, ordained that, “In the Holy Night of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior, all shall solemnly sing the Angel’s Hymn.” With that proclamation the ‘Angels Hymn’' became the first Christmas hymn of the Christian church. Its most common English version was translated in 1862 by James Chadwick, and its most memorable feature is its chorus Gloria in Excelsis Deo! Which h is Latin for Glory to God in the Highest. It has always been printed with no known lyricist or composer. Further, many years ago shepherds in the hills of southern France had a Christmas Eve custom of calling to one another, singing Gloria in Excelsis Deo, each from his own hillside. The traditional tune that the shepherds used may have been from a late Medieval Latin chorale. It became the magnificent chorus of Angels We Have Heard on High.