Who He Is

"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."

Luke 1:32

Jesus was a child born, even conceived, under great expectations. I mean, every mother has high hopes for her children, but Mary was given the highest of standards for her firstborn son. Do you ever wonder if she ever wondered if she was up to the task of raising such a child? Do you think she had feelings of being overwhelmed as this mysterious angelic messenger revealed to her the nature of that which was being quickened in her womb?

He will be great, the angel said. The Greek for great is megas. Jesus was going to be the mega-baby of all eternity. And that wasn't a reference to his size. The greatness of the Christ-child was a measure of His rank and stature among other babies born, among other children raised, among other men who would walk and talk with him on a daily basis. Jesus' greatness was about his personal eminence in ability, virtue, authority and power. His birth, his very existence, was one defined by great moment and importance. He would be a most excellent human being, highly esteemed. He would be stately and splendid. He came to be God's preeminent blessing upon all of creation.

He will be called the Son of the Highest. Mary had not yet asked her question about the logistics of this foretold birth, but the angel told her right up front whose baby she would be carrying. The child birthed from her womb would be the very Son of God; in fact, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. Not only was this child to be great and the son of God, he was the heir of David as well. On her mother's side, Mary was a Levite, the daughter of priests. On her father's side, she was a descendant of kings. David's throne had not held an heir in six centuries, but the promises of God to that great king were recorded in the chronicles of the kingdom. God's promise to David was that he would always have a throne, and an heir to sit upon it. Now God was fulfilling in the ultimate way His millennium-old promise to King David, an heir whose kingdom would never pass away.

This was no ordinary conception, and this was no ordinary child. His was the brightest light in the panorama of God's universe. His was the greatest story that would ever be told!