Jesus Called Son of the Most High

JESUS WAS THE SON OF THE MOST HIGH
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 1:32 32He will be great and will be called the
Son of the Most High. The LORD God will give him
the throne of his father David,
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Greatness OfJesus Christ
Luke 1:31-33
W. Clarkson
To Mary, as to Elisabeth, it was foretold by the celestialmessengerthat her
Son should be "great." There canbe no doubt that, after all that was then
said, Mary expectedunusually great things of the Child that should be born of
her. But how very far short of the fact her highesthopes have proved to be!
For to whateverexalted point they reached, the Jewishmaiden could not
possibly have attachedto the angel's words such meaning as we know them to
have contained. The greatness ofthat promised Child was threefold; it related
I. HIS DIVINE ORIGIN. He was not only to be her offspring, but he should
"be calledthe Sonof the MostHigh." And there was to come upon her and
overshadow her the Holy Ghost, the Powerof the MostHigh. He was to be not
only a son of God, but the Sonof God, related to the Eternal Fatheras no

other of the children of men had ever been or should ever be. He was to be
One that would in the fullest sense partake of the Divine nature, be one in
thought and in aim and in actionwith the Father(John 5:19, 23; John 8:28;
John 10:30; John 14:10, 11). He was to be "Godmanifest in the flesh."
II. THE WORK HE SHOULD ACCOMPLISH. "Thou shalt callhis name
Jesus;" and he was to be so calledbecause he would "save his people from
their sins" (Matthew 1:25). There have been "saviors ofsociety" from whom
this poor wounded world might well have prayed to be delivered, men who
tried to covertheir ownhideous selfishness under a fair and striking name.
What they have claimed to be, Jesus the Savior was and is. He saves from sin.
And to do that is to render us the very greatestconceivableservice, bothin its
negative and positive aspects.
1. Negativelyconsidered. To destroysin is to take awayevil by the root. For
sin is not only, in itself, the worst and most shameful of all evils by which we
can be afflicted, but it is the one fruitful source ofall other evils - poverty,
estrangement, strife, weariness andaching of heart, death.
2. Positivelyconsidered. Saving from sin means restoring to God; it includes
reinstatement in the condition from which sin removed us. Jesus Christ, in the
very actin which he redeems us from the penalty and powerof sin, restores us
to God - to his Divine favor, his likeness, his service. Accepting and abiding in
the Savior, we dwell in the sunshine of God's everlasting friendship; we grow
up into his perfectimage; we spend our days and our powers under his
direction. It is not only that Jesus Christdelivers us from the darkestcurse;it
is that he raises us to the loftiestheritage, by the salvationwhich he offers to
our hearts.
III. THE DIGNITY AND POWER HE SHOULD ATTAIN. He was to reign
upon a throne, "over the house of Jacobfor ever;" and "of his kingdom there
should be no end." Greatand large as Mary's expectations for her promised
Child may have very justly been, they can have been nothing to the fulfillment
of the angel's words. Forthe kingdom of Christ. (as it is or as it shall be) is one
that surpasses in every way that of the greatestHebrew sovereign. It does so:

1. In its main characteristics.It is spiritual. The only homage which is
acceptable to its King is the homage of the heart, the only tribute the tribute
of affection, the only obedience the obedience oflove. It is beneficent. Every
subject in this realm is sacredlybound to seek his brother's wellbeing rather
than his own. It is righteous. Every citizen, because he is such, is pledged to
depart from all iniquity, to pursue and practice all righteousness.
2. In its extent. It has "no end" in its spacialdimensions. No river bounds it;
no mountain, no sea;it reaches the whole world round.
3. In its duration. He shall reign "for ever;" his rule will go down to remotest
times; it will touch and include the lastgenerationthat shall dwell upon the
earth. Let us rejoice in his greatness;but let us see to it that
(1) we have a part in the heritage of those whom he is blessing, and that
(2) we take our share in the furtherance of his mission of mercy. - C.
Biblical Illustrator

He shall be great, and shall be calledthe Son of the Highest.
Luke 1:32
The greatnessofJesus
Bishop Harvey Goodwin.
The title of "Great" is one which the wisdom of this world recognizes,though
I am not sure that it always gives the title fairly. We have Alexander the
Great, Charles the Great, Frederick the Great, and so on. The epithet has
usually been applied to those whose greatpowers have been manifested chiefly
in the subjugation of their fellows to their own will. This kind of manifestation
is the most conspicuous, it involves the most open exercise of power, and is
most mixed up with the gratification of human ambition, and pride, and
vanity; but, undoubtedly, those who have most permanently and extensively
influenced their fellows, have been those whose conquests have been in the
regions of thought, in things spiritual — the founders of religions, the authors
of philosophies, the greatdiscoverers, the greatteachers. A man like
Alexander has ceasedforcenturies to be a living powerin the world; but the
greatfounder of Buddhism, e.g., is still affecting the daily lives and habits of
something like a quarter of the whole population of the world. A greatcaptain
is like a brilliant meteor, but the author of a new thought, or a new systemof
thought, is like a fixed star.
I. THINK OF CHRIST'S GREATNESSAS A MAN. Estimate in any just way
the influence produced upon the world's history by His life and deeds;can
there be any doubt that He is the greatestmanwho ever lived? Whose life has
been the most like a seedin this world, rising up with the irresistible power of
growth, and bringing forth fruit after its kind? Whose religious teaching has
been practically most potent in subduing to itself the highest intellects the
human race has produced? In the most tattered rags of humanity, Jesus
Christ stands forth so conspicuouslyas the King of men, that there are few,
who do not, in Some form or another, bow the knee before Him.
II. CHRIST'S GREATNESS AS GOD. It is the light of Divine majestyand
condescensionshining through the rags of humanity, that makes the whole

history intelligible. "He shall be great! " nay, He is greatin the midst of the
humiliation of the Cross itself. That humiliation was self-sought, and only
adds emphasis to the declaration and promise of the text.
III. CHRIST'S GREATNESSIS TO INCREASE. He is greatnow. But He is
to be greaterstill — not absolutely, but relatively — in the magnitude of His
Kingdom and the universality of His sway.
IV. ALL MAY PROMOTE THE GREATNESS OF CHRIST. This is the
noblest aim of man. Men are willing enoughto make themselves great, to get
themselves on in the world, to promote their own interests, wealth, glory, and
within reasonable limits it is right that this should be so but the privilege of
the believeris to transfer his zeal for promoting his own greatnessto the
promotion of the greatness ofChrist.
(Bishop Harvey Goodwin.)
The grandeur of Christ
C. H. Spurgeon.
This subject far transcends all utterance. Jesus is such a One that no oratory
can ever reachthe height of His glory, and the simplest words are best suited
to a subject so sublime. Fine words would be but tawdry things to hang beside
the unspeakablyglorious Lord. I cansay no more than that He is great. If I
could tell forth His greatnesswith choralsymphonies of cherubin, yet should I
fail to reachthe height of this greatargument. I will be content if I can touch
the hem of the garment of His greatness.
I. HE IS GREAT FROM MANY POINTS OF VIEW. I might have said, from
every point of view; but that is too large a truth to be surveyed at one sitting
Mind would fall us, life would fall us, time would fail us; eternity and
perfection will alone suffice for that boundless meditation. But from the points
of view to which I would conduct you for a moment, the Lord Jesus Christ is
emphatically great.

1. In the perfectionof His nature. Peerless andincomparable; Divine, and
therefore unique. He is all that God is; and He is all that man is as God
createdhim. As truly God as if He were not man; and as truly man as if He
were not God.
2. In the grandeur of His offices. He comes to rebuild the old wastes, andto
restore the fallen temple of humanity. To accomplishthis He came to be our
Priest, our Prophet, and our King; in eachoffice glorious beyond compare. He
came to be our Saviour, our Sacrifice, ourSubstitute, our Surety, our Head,
our Friend, our Lord, our Life, our All. He is the Standard-beareramong ten
thousand. Who is like unto Him in all eternity?
3. In the splendour of His achievements. He is no holder of a sinecure;He
claims to have finished the work which His Fathergave Him to do. Is it not
proven that He is great? Conquerors are great, and He is the greatestofthem.
Deliverers are great; and He is the greatestof them. Liberators are great, and
He is the greatestofthem. Saviours are great, and tie is the greatestofthem.
They that multiply the joys are men truly great, and what shall I sayof Him
who has bestowedeverlasting joyupon His people, and entailed it upon them
by a covenant of salt for ever and ever?
4. In the prevalence of his merits. He has such merit with Godthat He
deserves ofthe MostHigh whatsoeverHe wills to ask;and He asks forHis
people that they shall have every blessing needful for eternal life and
perfection.
5. In the number of His saved ones.
6. In the estimationof His people.
7. In the glory of heaven.
8. On the throne of the Father.
II. "He shall be great," and He is so, for HE DEALS WITH GREAT
THINGS.
1. It was a greatruin He came to restore, greatsinthat He came to do away,
greatpardon that He came to bestow.

2. He has greatsupplies to meet our greatwants.
3. He is a Christ of greatpreparations. He is engagedbefore the throne, to-
day, in preparing a greatheaven for His people; it will be made up of great
deliverance, greatpeace, greatrest, greatjoy, greatvictory, greatdiscovery,
greatfellowship, great rapture, greatglory.
III. HIS GREATNESSWILL SOON APPEAR. It now lies under a cloud to
men's bleak eyes. Theystill belittle Him with their vague and vain thoughts;
but it shall not always be so.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The greatnessofChrist
Bishop Martensen.
The Saviour of men, and the example for all, must be the isolatedone, the
unparalleled Man in human history. He must be both like us and unlike us —
like us in so far as His human nature is concerned:He must be born, He must
increase in stature, be in subjection to His parents, and be subject to all the
ordinary conditions of human nature as it develops itself from infancy to
manhood. In all this He is like us — for otherwise He could not be our pattern
and our Saviour. Then, again, He must be unlike us, or how could He be that
One whom we are to imitate, and of whose fulness we must all partake? Christ
as a Man was unlike all other men. He alone of all greatmen is the
unparalleled One of all history; and the conviction of this truth suggeststhat
more than man is here — more than a greatand unparalleled man: it is none
other than the " Son of the Highest."
(Bishop Martensen.)
The Incarnation
Watts.

The plan of salvationis likened unto a vine which has fallen down from the
boughs of an oak. It lies prone upon the ground; it crawls in the dust, and all
its tendrils and claspers, whichwere formed to hold it in the lofty place from
which it had fallen, are twined around the weedand the bramble, and, having
no strength to raise itself, it lies fruitless and corrupting, tied down to the base
things of the earth. Now, how shall the vine arise from its fallen condition?
But one way is possible for the vine to rise againto the place from whence it
had fallen. The bough of the lofty oak must be let down, or some
communication must be formed connectedwith the top of the oak and at the
same time with the earth. Then, when the bough of the oak was let down to
the place where the vine lay, its tender claspers might fastenupon it, and, thus
supported, it might raise itself up, and bloom, and bear fruit againin the lofty
place from whence it fell. So with man: his affections had fallen from God,
and were fastenedto the base things of earth. Jesus Christ came down, and by
His humanity stoodupon the earth, and by His divinity raisedHis hands and
united Himself with the Deity of the Everlasting Father: thus the fallen
affections of man may fastenupon Him, and twine around Him, until they
againascendto the bosomof the Godhead, from whence they fell.
(Watts.)
The higher life
David Swing.
In one of his essays uponthe phenomena of nature, Bacontells of a mountain
so high that no storm ever disturbs its air. Its climate knows little vicissitude.
The clouds cannot float so high. The sunshine is constantby day, and the
night comes late and the morning comes soon. So peacefulis that summit that
a traveller having written some words in the white ashes of his camp fire,
found the words still there after a score of years had passed. Whatan Elysian
field is that I far above tornado and lightning shafts, and the miasma of the
marsh and the battlefields of men. A fable in part, but an emblem of those
heights where dwell those mortals who have reachedthe widestand deepest
educationand affections and the purest ethics. As in classifying physical

beauty we feel constrainedto make distinctions betweena violet and an oak,
or betweena cascade withits murmur and mist, and a cathedralwith its spire
and arches, and betweena trailing vine and a range of mountains, and must
change our words with the change of feeling in the soul, and to the rose say
"beautiful," to the oak "grand," "pretty" to the violet, and " sublime" to the
mountain, so we must divide into many parts the attractiveness ofhumanity,
and must confess some to be witty, some pretty, some beautiful, some learned,
and then when already the heart is full of admiration it perceives one more
class rising above all other grades of mortality — those morally and mentally
great. In this grouping all ages maymeet. The infinite love of the Creator is in
nothing more manifested than in this, that He has made this moral height
accessible to all. Notall can be rich, beautiful, witty, young; but all canclimb
upward to the higher life. It is not the mere privilege of all, but the pressing
duty of all. The heights are large, and voices full of mercy and of alarm are
bidding those in the valley to "go up higher." God is representedas being in
the holy mountains, and thither He expects His children to come. The heights
are everywhere. Theyare seenin eachprofessionand pursuit. There are
merchants who grovelin the mire and whose gains standfor fraud, and there
are merchants whose wealthtells of the industry, and growth, and welfare of
the people. There are lawyers low and high — lawyers who are always upon
the side of criminals, and concerning whose health and presence criminals are
said to make inquiry before they plan a new crime; other lawyers, to whom
men repair for help when they feel that their cause is just, and the points of
law and equity must be placed clearly before jury or bench. There are writers
low, and writers who are lofty. The former are witty and verbose in the
defamation of characterand in detailing the sins of society — these are the
remains of human coarsenessthatare being slowly but steadily eliminated
from all written thought, and therefore in greatermultitude appear the
writers of the pure schoolwhose editorials, oressays,orbooks, or poems come
into all homes as welcome as the beams of the morning sun... Said one of the
greatestpoets:" On every height there lies repose." This peace is not found
elsewhere.It is not a sleep, not an easyexistence ofinaction, but a repose that
comes from the sublimity of the landscape, and from the matchless purity of
the air. It is not to be wondered at that the human mind, while sitting in the
long past ages atthe loom of thought, wove for the Deity such an attribute as "

The Highest." And it is not robe wondered at, that when Christ came with His
faultless words and deeds, with His boundless friendship and upper forms of
thought, the admiring world felt that He was a Sonof the Highest — figures of
speechwhich should be takenup afreshby our far-off age. We have read in
the oceanand in the storm and in the stupendous size of the universe, that the
Creatorhas power. We have seenin the marvellous laws of mind and material
that He has wisdom. We read the Divine love in the entire pageantof life,
animal and rational, and we read the Divine eternity in the awful age of the
universe, which drinks up millions of years as the sun dries up dewdrops;but
we have omitted to ]earn from the high in thought, and industry, and art,
from their eternal beauty and repose, that God is also " The Highest." Far
above the sun, far above the suns to us unseen, is enthroned the world's God
— the God of all worlds — on a height undreamed of by mortals. His
mansions are there. Compared with this summit, the mount in the poetic
philosophy of Lord Baconsinks down and becomes a part of time's vale of
tears. God is on the heights, and all those minds in this lowerworld which love
the higher life arc steadily walking up the slope of this range, hidden now
perhaps by mist, but coveredwith light beyond the clouds.
(David Swing.)
Forgottengreatones
David Swing.
What a roll of greatness shouldwe have were there tables of marble, or brass,
or gold in which were engraventhe names of those who in all times and places
have attempted to attain mental and spiritual excellence.It is a sad thought
that what is calledhistory is only a page from a vast, grand, but lost, volume.
Violence and recklessambition impressed into service all the chroniclers of
the past, and that kind of greatness we see in Christ was not often askedto sit
for its picture, It was too high for the surrounding kings and their hosts of
sycophants. It would require a whole London of WestminsterAbbeys to hold
the urns of the noble ones whose very names are forgotten. The loss is greatto
the present, for many minds see a preponderance of evil in our age, and are

not sure that our world was planned by benevolence, to which desponding
minds an adequate conceptionof the continuous glory of man would be a
welcome inspiration. There has been a successionof minds on the heights, and
these have signalledto eachother in all the years of man upon our globe.
What ones are visible, are only a few wanderers from the mighty herd. Solon
and Moses studiedat the Egyptian Heliopolis indeed, but of the many
thousands of men always studying there, it cannot be possible that the
honours were all borne awayby a Hebrew and a Greek. At that educational
centre, thousands and tens of thousands came and tarried and went while
centuries passedalong. It must be that the few names that have come to us are
only types of a greatarmy which was scatteredoverthe prolific East. Aspasia
was not the only intellectual powerful woman of the age ofPericles. She was
the one brought into the foreground by her alliance with a powerful king;
others having her educationand her beauty and power lived and died in a
fame that could not cross the gulf of many centuries. Nor was Cleopatra the
only Greco-Egyptianwomanwho could speak and write in all the tongues of
the Mediterraneancoast, but she was one made historic by the accidents of
crowns and vices, leaving us to assume that there were other women, many
who equalled her in learning, and passedfar above her in all higher worth.
Thus history is only a page out of a lostvolume. As those who dig in the sands
of the Swiss lakes,orin the desertedcave-homes ofman and beast, or who
explore the ruins of Mycenae, toss outa few implements or a few carvedbones
or a few jewels worn once by beauty, so history casts up out of the vast
sepulchre where the ages sleeptraces only of an absent world.
(David Swing.)
Jesus not a fabrication
— "We can learn," says Theodore Parker, " but few facts about Jesus. But
measure Him by the shadow He has castinto the world, and by the light He
has shed upon it, and shall we be told, that such a man never lived — that the
whole story is a lie? Suppose that Plato and Newtonnever lived, that their
story is a lie; but who did their works, and thought their thoughts? It takes a

Newtonto forge a Newton. What man could have fabricated a Jesus? None
but a Jesus."
Christ the ideal representative of humanity
John Stuart Mill.
It is no use to saythat Christ, as exhibited in the Gospels,is not historical, and
that we know not how much of what is admirable is superadded by the
tradition of the followers. Who among His disciples, or among their
proselytes, was capable ofinventing the sayings ascribedto Jesus, orof
imagining the life and characterrevealedin the Gospels?Certainlynot the
fishermen of Galilee;as certainly not St. Paul, whose characterand
idiosyncrasies were ofa totally different sort; still less the early Christian
writers, in whom nothing is more evident than that the goodwhich was in
them was all derived from the higher source. About the life and sayings of
Jesus there is a stamp of personaloriginality combined with profundity of
insight, which, if we abandon the idle expectationof finding scientific
precisionwhere something very different was aimed at, must place the
Prophet of Nazareth, even in the estimation of those who have no belief in His
inspiration, in the very first rank of the men of sublime genius of whom our
species canboast. When this pre-eminent genius is combined with the
qualities of probably the greatestmoral reformer and martyr to that mission
who ever existedupon earth, religion cannot be said to have made a bad
choice in pitching on this man as the ideal representative and guide of
humanity; nor even now would it be easy, even for an unbeliever, to find a
better translation of the rule of virtue from the abstractin the concrete than
to endeavour so to live that Christ would approve our life.
(John Stuart Mill.)
Divine humanity realized in Christ

Dr. Philip Schaffmentions the testimony of Dr. De Wette, one of the ablest
and most learned scepticalcritics ofGermany. After all his brilliant
scepticismDr. De Wette wrote, a few months before his death: "I know that in
no other name can salvationbe found than in the name of Jesus Christ, the
Crucified; and there is nothing loftier for mankind than the Divine humanity
realized in Him, and the kingdom of God planted by Him.
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(32) Shall be called the Son of the Highest.—Itis noticeable that this name
applied to our Lord by the angel, appears afterwards as uttered by the
demoniacs (Mark 5:7). On the history of the name, see Note on Mark 5:7.
The throne of his father David.—The words seemat first to suggestthe
thought that the Virgin was of the house of David, and that the title to the
throne was thus derived through her. This may have been so (see Note on
Luke 3:23-38), and the intermarriage which had takenplace in olden times
betweenthe house of Aaron and that of David (Exodus 6:23; 2Kings 11:2)
show that this might be quite consistentwith the relationship to Elizabeth
mentioned in Luke 1:36. On the other hand, it must be remembered that the
genealogies, both in St. Matthew and St. Luke, appear, at first sight, to give
the lineage ofJosephonly, and therefore that, if this were, as many have
believed, the Evangelist’s point of view, our Lord, notwithstanding the
supernatural birth, was thought of as inheriting from him. The form of the
promise, which might well lead to the expectationof a revived kingdom of
Israelafter the manner of that of David, takes its place among the most
memorable instances ofprophecies that have been fulfilled in quite another
fashion than those who first heard them could have imagined possible. That
the Evangelistwho recordedit held that it was fulfilled in the Kingdom of
Heaven, the spiritual sovereigntyof the Christ, is shown by the factthat he

records it in the same Gospelas that which tells of the Crucifixion and
Ascension.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
1:26-38 We have here an accountof the mother of our Lord; though we are
not to pray to her, yet we ought to praise God for her. Christ must be born
miraculously. The angel's address means only, Hail, thou that art the
especiallychosenand favoured of the MostHigh, to attain the honour Jewish
mothers have so long desired. This wondrous salutation and appearance
troubled Mary. The angelthen assuredher that she had found favour with
God, and would become the mother of a son whose name she should call
Jesus, the Son of the Highest, one in a nature and perfectionwith the Lord
God. JESUS!the name that refreshes the fainting spirits of humbled sinners;
sweetto speak and sweetto hear, Jesus, a Saviour! We know not his riches
and our own poverty, therefore we run not to him; we perceive not that we
are lostand perishing, therefore a Saviour is a word of little relish. Were we
convinced of the huge mass of guilt that lies upon us, and the wrath that hangs
over us for it, ready to fall upon us, it would be our continual thought, Is the
Saviour mine? And that we might find him so, we should trample on all that
hinders our wayto him. Mary's reply to the angelwas the language of faith
and humble admiration, and she askedno sign for the confirming her faith.
Without controversy, greatwas the mystery of godliness, Godmanifest in the
flesh, 1Ti3:16. Christ's human nature must be produced so, as it was fit that
should be which was to be takeninto union with the Divine nature. And we
must, as Mary here, guide our desires by the word of God. In all conflicts, let
us remember that with God nothing is impossible; and as we read and hear
his promises, let us turn them into prayers, Beholdthe willing servant of the
Lord; let it be unto me according to thy word.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
He shall be great - There is undoubted reference in this passage to Isaiah9:6-
7. By his being "great" is meant he shall be distinguished or illustrious; great
in power, in wisdom, in dominion on earth and in heaven.

Shall be called- This is the same as to say he "shallbe" the Son, etc. The
Hebrews often used this form of speech. See Matthew 21:13.
The Highest - God, who is infinitely exalted; called the Highest, because He is
exalted over all his creatures onearth and in heaven. See Mark 5:7.
The throne - The kingdom; or shall appoint him as the lineal successorof
David in the kingdom.
His father David - David is calledhis father because Jesus waslineally
descendedfrom him. See Matthew 1:1. The promise to David was, that there
should "not fail" a man to sit on his throne, or that his throne should be
perpetual 1 Kings 2:4; 1 Kings 8:25; 1 Kings 9:5; 2 Chronicles 6:16, and the
promise was fulfilled by exalting Jesus to be a Prince and a Saviour, and the
perpetual King of his people.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
32, 33. This is but an echo of the sublime prediction in Isa 9:6, 7.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Luke 1:31"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
He shall be great,.... In his person, as God-man; this child born, and Son
given, being the angelof the greatcounsel, the mighty God, and everlasting
Father; Isaiah9:6 which is here referred to; and in his offices, in his prophetic
office, being that greatand famous prophet Mosesspoke of, mighty in word
and deed, in his doctrine and miracles;in his priestly office, being a greathigh
priest, both in the oblation of himself, and in his prevalent intercession;and in
his kingly office, being the King of kings, and Lord of Lords; and in the whole
of his office, as Mediator, being a greatSaviour, the author of a great
salvationfor greatsinners; in which is greatly displayed the glory of all the
divine perfections:great also in his works, the miracles that he wrought, as
proofs of his Deity and Messiahship, the work of redemption, the resurrection
of himself from the dead, and of all men at the last day; and in the glory he is

now possessedof in human nature, at the Father's right hand, where he is
highly exalted above all principality and power:
and shall be called the Son of the Highest; that is, of God, of whose names is
"the MostHigh"; see Genesis14:18 not by creation, as angels and men, nor
by adoption, as saints, nor by office, as magistrates, are called"the children of
the MostHigh", Psalm82:6 but by nature, being the eternal Son of God; of
the same nature with him, and equal to him: for he was not now to begin to be
the Sonof God, he was so before, even from all eternity; but the sense is, that
he should now be known, owned, and acknowledgedto be the Son of God,
being as such manifestedin human nature, and should be proved to be so by
the works he wrought, and declaredto be the Son of God with power by his
resurrectionfrom the dead:
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. Christ,
as God, is the Sonof God, as man, the sonof David; a name often given to the
Messiah, andby which he was wellknown among the Jews;and as Christ
descendedfrom him as man, in a literal sense, he had a right to the throne of
his father David; and the Jews themselves say, that he was , "nearly allied to
the kingdom" (w): but here it intends not his throne, in a literal, but in a
figurative sense;for as David was a type of the Messiahin his kingly office,
hence the Messiahis called"David their king", Hosea 3:5 so his throne was
typical of the Messiah's throne and kingdom; which is not of this world, but is
in his church, and is setup in the hearts of his people, where he reigns by his
Spirit and grace;and this is a throne and kingdom "given" by the Lord God.
The kingdom of nature and providence he has by right of nature, as the Son of
the Highest; the kingdom of grace, orthe mediatorial kingdom, the kingdom
of priests, or royal priesthood, is a delegatedone; his Father has sethim as
king over his holy hill of Zion; and he is accountable forhis government to
him, and will one day deliver it up complete and perfect,
(w) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 43. 1.
Geneva Study Bible
He shall be great, and shall be {d} calledthe Sonof the Highest: and the Lord
God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

(d) He will be declaredto be so, for he was the Son of God from everlasting,
but was made manifest in the flesh in his time.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Luke 1:32 f. Μέγας]Comp. Luke 1:15. And what greatness belongedto this
promised One, appears from what is said in the sequelof His future!
υἱὸς ὑψίστου κληθήσ.]Descriptionof His recognitionas Messiah, as whom the
angelstill more definitely designates Him by καὶ δώσει κ.τ.λ. The name Son of
God is not explained in a metaphysical reference until Luke 1:35.
τὸν θρόνον Δαυ. τοῦ πατρ. αὐτοῦ]i.e. the royal throne of the Messianic
kingdom, which is the antitypical consummation of the kingdom of David (Ps.
132:11, 110), as regards which, however, in the sense ofthe angel, which
excludes the bodily paternity of Joseph, Davidcan be meant as ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ
only according to the national theocratic relation of the Messiahas David’s
son, just as the historicalnotion of the Messiahwas once given. The mode in
which Luke (and Matthew)conceivedof the Davidic descentis plain from the
genealogicaltable of ch. 3, according to which the genealogypassedby way of
Josephas foster-father.
εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας]from Isaiah9:6; Daniel 7:13 f. The conceptionof an
everlasting Messianic kingdom(according to Psalm110:4)is also expressedin
John 12:34; comp. the Rabbins in Bertholdt, Christol. p. 156. The “house of
Jacob” is not to be idealized (Olshausen, Bleek, and others:of the spiritual
Israel); but the conceptionof the kingdom in our passageis Jewish-national,
which, however, does not exclude the dominion over the Gentiles according to
the prophetic prediction (“quasiper accessionem,” Grotius).

βασιλ. ἐπί] as Luke 19:14; Romans 5:14.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 1:32 foreshadows the future of the child.—μέγας, applied also to John,
Luke 1:15.—κληθήσεται, shallbe called= shall be.—τὸνθρόνονΔ. τ. πατρὸς
α.: the Messiahis here conceivedin the spirit of Jewishexpectation:a son of
David, and destined to restore his kingdom.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
32. shall be called] i. e. shall be. The best comment on this verse is furnished
by the passagesofScripture in which we find the same prophecy (Micah5:4;
2 Samuel 7:12; Isaiah9:6-7; Isaiah11:1; Isaiah 11:10;Isaiah 16:5; Jeremiah
23:5; Jeremiah30:9; Ezekiel34:24;Hosea 3:5; Psalm132:11)and its
fulfilment (Php 2:9-11;Revelation22:16).
the throne of his father David] according to Psalm132:11.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 1:32. οὗτος, He) The Messiahis clearlydescribed, even as at Luke 1:68,
etc., and ch. Luke 2:30, etc.—μέγας, great)The greatnessofJohn, describedat
Luke 1:15, is far exceededby the greatnessofJesus, describedhere. [See Luke
1:33, and comp. Daniel 2:35; Ephesians 4:10.—V. g.]—Υἱὸς Ὑψίστου
κληθήσεται, He shall be calledthe Sonof the Highest) Jesus, evenin a point of
view distinct from His Divine nature, and from His personalunion with God
the Father, is, in a sense transcendentallyabove all angels and men, the Sonof
the Highest, on accountof the extraordinary nature [rationem, principle of
His conceptionand nativity.—τὸν θρόνον Δαυὶδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, the throne
of David His father) Christ was promised to the fathers, especiallyto
Abraham, as the Seed. He was promised by Moses, a prophet, as the Prophet.
He was promised to David, a king, as the King. Even the temporal kingdom of
Israelbelonged to Jesus Christ by hereditary right. MassechethSanhedrin, ch
4, says, that Jesus is nearestto the kingdom, ‫בורק‬ ‫.תוכלמל‬
Pulpit Commentary

Verse 32. - The Son of the Highest. It is singular that this title, given by the
angelto the yet unborn child, was the one given to the Redeemerby the evil
spirit in the case ofthe poor possessed(see Mark 5:7). Is this the title, or one
of the titles, by which our Masteris knownin that greaterworld beyond our
knowledge?The throne of his father David; clearly indicating that Mary
herself was of royal lineage, althoughthis is nowhere definitely stated(see
Psalm132:11). These words of the angel are as yet unfulfilled. They clearly
speak of a restorationof Israel, still, as far as we cansee, very distant. Nearly
nineteen centuries have passedsince Gabriel spoke of a restoredthrone of
David, of a kingdom in Jacob to which should come no end. The people,
through all the changing fortune of empires, have been indeed strangelykept
distinct and separate, readyfor the mighty change;but the eventful hour still
tarries. It has been well observedhow St. Luke's report of the angel's words
here could never have been a forgery - as one schoolof critics asserts - of the
secondcentury. Would any writer in the secondcentury, after the failure of
Jesus among the Jews was wellknown, when the fall of Jerusalemhad already
takenplace, have made an angelprophesy what is expressedhere?
Son Of The Most High Series
Contributed by Allan Quak on Nov 14, 2018
(rate this sermon)
| 2,578 views

Scripture: Luke 1:32, Psalms 91:1-16, Psalms 92:1-15,
Psalms 93:1-5
Denomination: Baptist
Summary: Jesus is called the Son of the Most High, and he
enables us to become Children of the Most High. Therefore
we do not need to fear the powers that come against us.
1 2 3 … 5 6
Next
You can listen to the full message here:-
http://www.nec.org.au/listen-to-a-sermon-series/name-
above-all-names/
Message
Luke 1:32
Name Above All Names - Son of the Most High
Our current sermon series has the generic title of Name
Above All Names.
Looking at the names of Jesus that appear in the New
Testament in the time before Jesus was born up to his time
in Egypt.

There are actually over 150 descriptions or names of Jesus in
the Bible but we are limiting ourselves to just 10. 10 names
that help us in our relationship with Jesus.
As I think about that relationship I'm thinking that a good
way to understand a person’s relationship with God is to
listen to the songs that people sing when they're going
through their life. The Christian songs that they sing.
Because all of us have our own favourite songs. The songs
that you'll sing to yourself while you're working or maybe
while you're doing a little job. The ones that play in your
head or which you find yourself singing in the car.
You know … that's the song that you turned up loud when
we think no one's watching. Then you look around and
there's someone watching you in the other lane who are
looking at you singing this song at the top of your voice.
Or the songs when you go and visit people and they got the
MP3 playing in the background.
These wonderful songs that are really an expression of
relationship.
Singing is a real expression of our relationship with God
In fact in the Scriptures singing is a real part of the life of
the response of Israel to God. The very first song that is
recorded is in Exodus 15. The first song is sung after the
Israelites come out of Egypt.

They go through the Red Sea and the Lord protects them
through the Red Sea from the pursuing Egyptians. Then
Miriam sings a song and that song is recorded in the
Scriptures.
From that time, or probably even from before that time,
singing continued to be part of the life of Israel. And we
know that singing is an important part of their life because
one whole book of the Bible – the Psalms – is a collection of
songs. Through these songs the Israelites express what their
relationship with God looks like.
We are going to focus on a very specific section and its Psalm
91, 92 and 93.
So to find the Psalms the easiest way is to open up your Bible
almost exactly in half and there's a good chance that you will
be in the Psalms.
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Let’s Read.
When you listen to these Psalms what stands out?
Security.
Protection.

Peace.
Faithfulness.
Help against enemies.
Might and Power.
No matter what your day has been like, or the situation you
are facing, these songs are ones you would sing when you
need God right beside you.
The strong protective warrior who has His eyes directly on
you as you walk the path.
And which description of character enables such a
relationship?
Psalm 91:1
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in
the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:9-10
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most
High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your
tent.
Psalm 92:1

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name,
O Most High.
Psalm 93:4
Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than
the breakers of the sea—the Lord on high is mighty.
You see from the Old Testament there's this relationship
with God who is Most High … and it's this aspect of his
relationship with his people that gives security and peace
and comfort.
Those things that enable people to get to the end of the day
and say, “It's going to be ok.”
Then we get Luke 1:26-38. In this context we read about the
birth of Jesus being foretold.
Let’s read
There's no way we can fully understand what Mary's going
through. There's a whole range of emotions going on that we
are just never going to be able to contemplate. But we can
understand some things. And certainly what we can
understand is here is this young girl … definitely she's in her
teens. There's a good chance she's only in a mid teens 14, 15
or 16. And then the angel comes to her and he speaks to her.
And notice her response; her first response is, “I'm really
troubled.”

I'm not excited because I'm meeting an angel.
I'm not terrified because I'm meeting an angel.
I'm troubled
I'm troubled because it sounds like it's meant to be good
news … but this is not good news. Mary lives in a town the
town of Nazareth in Galilee. Nazareth is only a town of
about 500 people at this time.
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/son-of-the-most-
high-allan-quak-sermon-on-spiritual-power-235769
Jesus Christ: The Unique and Divine Son of the Most High
Sam Shamoun
BassamZawadisays that Christians use Luke 1:32 where the angelGabriel
calls the blessedLord the Son of the MostHigh to prove that Jesus is God. He
denies that this title of honor proves that Christ is God and proceeds to cite
the lexicalmeaning of huios (the Greek word for son)to show why this
expressionisn’t unique to Jesus. After quoting from the lexicon Zawadi says:
So after looking at the severaldefinitions we see that this title is indeed a great
honor but nothing to the extent of Jesus being divine! It just means that he is a
greatservant of God and very pious.
RESPONSE:
It seems that we cannever sayenough to correctthese caricatures ofthe
Christian faith, these straw man attempts of trying to undermine the historic
Christian position regarding Jesus being God’s Son. For example, Zawadi

continues to repeatthe same mistake of assuming that Son of God means
nothing more than a servant of God when this is simply not the case. Jesus
himself made a cleardistinction betweenslaves/servants and children
(specificallyhis relationship as God’s Son):
"Jesus answeredthem, ‘Truly, truly, I sayto you, everyone who commits sin
is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son
remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’" John
8:34-36
In another text Jesus clearlydifferentiates himself from God’s servants since
he, unlike they, is God’s unique Son and the Inheritor:
"And he beganto speak to them in parables. ‘A man planted a vineyard and
put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and
leasedit to tenants and went into another country. When the seasoncame, he
sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the
vineyard. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and
treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with
many others: some they beat, and some they killed. He had still one other, a
beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, "They will respectmy son."
But those tenants said to one another, "THIS IS THE HEIR. Come, let us kill
him, and the inheritance will be ours." And they took him and killed him and
threw him out of the vineyard.’" Mark 12:1-8
These servants according to the Hebrew Scriptures were the prophets whom
God sent to warn Israel:
"From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I
have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day."
Jeremiah7:25
"You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD
persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, saying, ‘Turn now, every
one of you, from his evil wayand evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the

LORD has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever.’" Jeremiah
25:4-5
Thus, we have Jesus explicitly identifying himself as God’s beloved Son and
Heir in contrastto the servants of God, the prophets. These passagesshould
sufficiently put to restZawadi's erroneous assertionthat being God’s son
simply means being God’s servant. What makes this all the more interesting is
that Zawadi's own lexical source doesn'tlist servant as one of the meanings of
the Greek wordfor son! Zawadiis simply making things up in order to
undermine the Lord Jesus'unique Sonship.
This leads us to our next point. It isn’t merely because Jesusis calledthe Son
of the MostHigh that Christians believe that he is God since, as Zawadi points
out, there are others who are calledsons of God:
"But love your enemies, do goodto them, and lend to them without expecting
to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of
the MostHigh, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." Luke 6:35
It is the way in which Jesus is calledGod’s Son, the kind of Sonthat Jesus is,
which demonstrates that he is God in essence. Forinstance, let us see the part
of the angel’s annunciation to the blessedMary that Zawadidid not quote:
"But the angelsaid to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with
God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him
the name Jesus. He will be greatand will be called the Son of the MostHigh.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign
over the house of Jacobforever;his kingdom will never end.’ ‘How will this
be,’ Mary askedthe angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ The angelanswered, ‘The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be calledthe Sonof God.’"
Luke 1:30-35
Another group of angels appearedafter the birth of Christ and calledhim
Lord and Savior:

"But the angelsaid to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great
joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has
been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.’" Luke 2:10-11
Other inspired writers reiterate the point of Jesus having an eternal kingdom
and of his being both Lord and Savior:
"You know the messageGodsent to the people of Israel, telling the goodnews
of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all… He commanded us to
preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as
judge of the living and the dead." Acts 10:36, 42
"Forthis very reason, Christdied and returned to life so that he might be the
Lord of both the dead and the living." Romans 14:9
"and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternalkingdom of our Lord
and SaviorJesus Christ." 2 Peter1:11
"If they have escapedthe corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christand are againentangledin it and overcome, they are
worse off at the end than they were at the beginning." 2 Peter2:20
"But grow in the grace and knowledge ofour Lord and SaviorJesus Christ.
To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." 2 Peter3:18
According to the Hebrew Scriptures Yahweh is the Saviorwho rules forever:
"Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures
through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving
toward all he has made." Psalm 145:13
"‘You are my witnesses,’declaresthe LORD, ‘and my servant whom I have
chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the
LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.’" Isaiah43:10-11
"Declare whatis to be, presentit— let them take counseltogether. Who
foretold this long ago, who declaredit from the distant past? Was it not I, the
LORD? And there is no Godapart from me, a righteous God and a Savior;

there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I
am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered
in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will
bow; by me every tongue will swear."Isaiah45:21-23
"At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven,
and my sanity was restored. ThenI praised the MostHigh; I honored and
glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternaldominion; his
kingdom endures from generationto generation. All the peoples of the earth
are regardedas nothing. He does as he pleases withthe powers of heaven and
the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: ‘What
have you done?’" Daniel4:34-35
In fact, Jesus saveshis followers from their sins and heals individuals in the
very same exactway that Yahweh does. Note the similarities:
"Forthe sake ofyour name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, though it is great."
Psalm25:11
"Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might." Psalm54:1
"Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forgetnot all his benefits- who forgives all
your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and
crowns you with love and compassion,"Psalm103:2-4
Yahweh forgives sins and heals all diseaseswith forgiveness being granted in
his name.
"When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’ The
Pharisees andthe teachers ofthe law began thinking to themselves, ‘Who is
this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who canforgive sins but God alone?’
Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, ‘Why are you thinking these
things in your hearts? Which is easier:to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or to
say, "Getup and walk"? Butthat you may know that the Son of Man has
authority on earth to forgive sins….’He said to the paralyzed man, ‘I tell you,
get up, take your mat and go home.’ Immediately he stood up in front of
them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone

was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, ‘We
have seenremarkable things today.’" Luke 5:20-26
"He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you:
Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses,the
Prophets and the Psalms.’Thenhe openedtheir minds so they could
understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ
will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and
forgiveness ofsins will be preachedin his name to all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem.’" Luke 24:44-47
"All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives
forgiveness ofsins through his name." Acts 10:43
Jesus forgives sins and heals all diseases since itis on the basis of his name
that forgiveness is granted to all who believe. Thus, Jesus is Yahweh God
according to the inspired NT Scriptures!
Furthermore, the title "Great" which the angel applies to Jesus in Luke 1:32
is often used in reference to Deity, whether the true God or beings wrongly
worshiped as gods:
"Greatis the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his
holy mountain." Psalm 48:1
"Forgreatis the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be fearedabove
all gods." Psalm96:4; cf. 145:3, 147:5, 150:2
"You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers' sins
into the laps of their children after them. O greatand powerful God, whose
name is the LORD Almighty," Jeremiah32:18
"But I tell you, Do not swearat all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or
by the earth, for it is his footstool;or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the
GreatKing." Matthew 5:35
"Now for some time a man named Simon had practicedsorceryin the city
and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boastedthat he was someone great,
and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed,

'This man is the divine power knownas the Great Power.'Theyfollowedhim
because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic." Acts 8:9-11
"'There is danger not only that our trade will lose its goodname, but also that
the temple of the greatgoddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess
herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will
be robbed of her divine majesty.' When they heard this, they were furious and
beganshouting: 'Greatis Artemis of the Ephesians!' ... But when they realized
he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: 'Greatis
Artemis of the Ephesians!' The city clerk quieted the crowdand said: 'Men of
Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of
the temple of the greatArtemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?'"
Acts 19:27-28, 34-35
Jesus is even called the Great God!
"while we wait for the blessedhope-the glorious appearing of our great God
and Savior, Jesus Christ," Titus 2:13
Thus, this provides additional (albeit implicit) evidence that Gabriel was
identifying Christ as the unique Divine Son of God.
Moreover, Jesus is identified as the MostHigh all throughout the NT
Scriptures:
"At daybreak the councilof the elders of the people, both the chief priests and
teachers ofthe law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. ‘If you are
the Christ,’ they said, ‘tell us.’ Jesus answered, ‘If I tell you, you will not
believe me, and if I askedyou, you would not answer. But from now on, the
Son of Man will be seatedat the right hand of the mighty God.’ They all
asked, ‘Are you then the Son of God?’ He replied, ‘You are right in saying I
am.’ Then they said, ‘Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it
from his ownlips.’" Luke 22:66-71
"Exaltedto the right hand of God, he has receivedfrom the Fatherthe
promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For
David did not ascendto heaven, and yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord:

"Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstoolfor your feet."’"
Acts 2:33-35
"Godexalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance
to Israel and forgiveness ofsins." Acts 5:31
"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, lookedup to heavenand saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’he said, ‘I see
heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’" Acts
7:55-56
"Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was
raisedto life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."
Romans 8:34
"Since, then, you have been raisedwith Christ, set your hearts on things
above, where Christ is seatedat the right hand of God. Set your minds on
things above, not on earthly things." Colossians 3:1-2
"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times
and in various ways, but in these lastdays he has spokento us by his Son,
whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the
universe. The Sonis the radiance of God's glory and the exactrepresentation
of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided
purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majestyin heaven…
To which of the angels did God ever say, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make
your enemies a footstoolfor your feet’?" Hebrews 1:1-3, 13
"The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who
satdown at the right hand of the throne of the Majestyin heaven," Hebrews
8:1
"who has gone into heavenand is at God's right hand—with angels,
authorities and powers in submissionto him." 1 Peter3:22
To sit at God’s right hand means that Jesus is highly exalted above all and
over everything:

"and his incomparably greatpower for us who believe. That power is like the
working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised
him from the dead and seatedhim at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
far above all rule and authority, powerand dominion, and every title that can
be given, not only in the presentage but also in the one to come. And God
placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything
for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in
every way." Ephesians 1:19-23
"Therefore Godexalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that
is above every name, that at the name of Jesus everyknee should bow, in
heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerlyawaita Saviorfrom there,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the powerthat enables him to bring everything
under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his
glorious body." Philippians 3:20-21
"Forin Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have
been given fullness in Christ, who is the HEAD over EVERY POWER and
AUTHORITY." Colossians 2:9-10
Amazingly, the claim that is Jesus has been exalted above every power, which
includes the heavenly council, is reminiscent of what the Hebrew Bible says
regarding Yahweh being exalted above every so-calledgod:
"Forthe LORD is a great God, and a greatKing above all gods." Psalm 95:3
"Foryou, O LORD, are most high overall the earth; you are exalted far
above all gods." Psalm97:9
"ForI know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods."
Psalm135:5
More on this below.
Hence, Jesus is not only the Sonof the Most High but he himself is the Most
High, the One who is highly exaltedabove all creation!It is little wonderthat

Christ is calledthe Ruler of all kings, the very King of kings and Lord of
lords:
"and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the
dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." Revelation1:5
"They will make war againstthe Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them
because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—andwith him will be his
called, chosenand faithful followers." Revelation17:14, cf. 19:16
Here is a summary of the above data which demonstrates why Jesus is not
God’s Son in the same sense like the restof believers, but in a different and
unique manner:
Jesus is Lord and Savior in the same sense that Yahweh is, obviously because
he is Yahweh God!
Jesus is King who has an eternal kingdom much like Yahweh since, again, he
is Yahweh God.
Jesus is exalted above all things and is the head of every creature which
clearly makes him the Most High.
One inspired Apostle, John, even calls the blessedSaviorGod’s unique Son,
the only Son of his kind (the literal meaning of monogenes):
"No one has ever seenGod, but God the One and Only (monogenees), who is
at the Father's side, has made him known." John 1:18
"ForGod so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (ton huion ton
monogenee), that whoeverbelieves in him shall not perish but have eternal
life… Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoeverdoes not
believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of
God’s one and only Son (tou monogenous huiou tou theou)." John 3:16, 18
"This is how God showedhis love among us: He sent his one and only Son
(ton huion autou ton monogenee)into the world that we might live through
him." 1 John 4:9
In light of the foregoing, we cansee why the inspired Evangelistdid so.

And as God’s unique Son Jesus shares the same Divine name and authority of
the Fatherand the Holy Spirit as can be seenfrom the following Triadic
baptismal formula:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the NAME
of the Fatherand of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," Matthew 28:19
Christian baptism must be performed by invoking the singular name of the
three Divine Persons, whichis an indication of their essentialcoequalitysince
name in the Holy Bible refers to the authority and nature of a person. For
more on this issue please read this article.
Zawadi next mentions John the Baptist:
I mean are we also going to say that John the Baptistis divine as well because
he has a greattitle of honor similar to Jesus attributed to him?...
Luke 1:76
And you, my child, will be calleda prophet of the MostHigh; for you will go
on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
I don't think so. So then why for Jesus?
Let us highlight the part that Zawadiapparently missed:
for you will go on BEFORETHE LORD to prepare the wayFOR HIM,
John was sent aheadto prepare the way for the Lord. According to the NT
and John himself, the Lord whom the Baptist was sentto prepare for was
none other than the Lord Jesus Christ!
"The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts
if John might possibly be the Christ. John answeredthem all, ‘I baptize you
with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose
sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clearHIS THRESHING
FLOOR and to gather the wheat into HIS BARN, but he will burn up the
chaff with unquenchable fire.’" Luke 3:15-17

Notice what John says about Christ:
The Lord Jesus is more powerful than he.
John is not worthy to be Christ’s servant (it was the job of servants to untie
sandals and offer guests waterto washtheir feet).
The Lord Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit, a function which the OT
attributes to Yahweh:
"Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and
that there is no other; never againwill my people be shamed. And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will
prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those
days." Joel2:27-29
The Lord Jesus is Judge and owner of the Kingdom, i.e. "His (Christ’s)
winnowing fork," "His (Christ’s) threshing floor, "His (Christ’s) barn."
Moreover, Jesus statedJohnwas sentto fulfill a specific OT prophecy which
directly relates to the Deity of Christ:
"After John’s messengersleft, Jesus beganto speak to the crowd about John:
‘What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayedby the wind? If
not, what did you go out to see? A man dressedin fine clothes? No, those who
wearexpensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. But what did you
go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the
one about whom it is written: "I will send my messengeraheadofyou, who
will prepare your way before you."’" Luke 7:24-27
The text from which Christ cited is Malachi3:1 which says:
"‘See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the waybefore me. Then
suddenly THE LORD (Ha Adon) you are seeking willcome to HIS TEMPLE;
the messengerofthe covenant, whom you desire, will come,’says the Yahweh
of Hosts." Malachi3:1

According to Christ, John is the messengersentto prepare for the coming
appearance ofYahweh God Almighty. We know that this is whom John came
to prepare for since the word Ha Adon is never used for anyone other than
Yahweh and the text expresslysays that this Lord is coming to HIS temple,
and yet the temple is the house of God:
"The lamp of Godhad not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the
temple of the LORD, where the ark of Godwas." 1 Samuel 3:3
"Blessedis the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We
shall be satisfiedwith the goodness ofyour house, the holiness of your
temple!" Psalm 65:4
"Then I said, 'I am driven awayfrom your sight; Yet I shall again look upon
your holy temple.'... When my life was fainting away, I remembered the
LORD,andmy prayer came to you, into your holy temple." Jonah2:7
Thus, this Lord for whom John prepares is Yahweh God. But as we just saw,
Jesus was the One for whom John came to prepare the way, which therefore
means that Jesus is Yahweh God! To put it simply, by identifying John as the
messengerofMalachi3:1 Jesus was essentiallyclaiming to be the very Lord
that was coming to his own temple!
Here is another text which links the Lord whom John prepared the way for
with Jesus:
"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two
aheadof him to every town and place where he was about to go." Luke 10:1
Notice the similarities… just as John was sentahead of Christ so too were the
disciples sent aheadof the Lord Jesus. Putting it simply, Jesus is the same
Lord whom John and the apostles were sentaheadof to prepare his way!
Here is a summary of the data thus far:
The prophet Malachipredicted that a messengerwouldbe sent to prepare for
the coming of Yahweh God.
John was that messengeraccording to the Lord Jesus.

John and the NT writers agree that the Baptist came to prepare for the
coming of Christ.
Therefore, Jesus is Yahweh Godin human form, that same Lord whom
Malachisaid was coming to his very own temple.
Hence, the Baptistwas indeed highly honored by God since he had the
privilege of preparing the wayfor the human manifestation, the very
incarnation of God Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ!
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We
have seenhis glory, the glory of the One and Only (monogenous), who came
from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He
cries out, saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, "He who comes afterme has
surpassedme because he was before me."’" John 1:1, 14-15
Therefore, Johnis in no way equal to Christ since the former was a prophet
(albeit a greatone at that) whereas the latter is the unique and Divine Son of
the MostHigh!
Appendix
The Old TestamentScriptures provide additional evidence that the Messiah,
who is Jesus, is the MostHigh God. The inspired book of Danielstates that
God will vindicate his holy ones and visibly usher in his eternalreign:
"But the saints of the MostHighs (Elyonin) will receive the kingdom and will
possessit forever—yes, forever and ever… But the court will sit, and his
powerwill be takenawayand completely destroyedforever. Then the
sovereignty, powerand greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
will be handed over to the saints, the people of the MostHighs (Elyonin). His
kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey
him." Daniel7:18, 26-27
The word Elyonin ("MostHighs") is the plural of Elyon ("MostHigh").

In some translations the singular pronouns "his" and "him" used in verse 27
are translatedin the plural:
"And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness ofthe kingdoms under
the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most Highs;
their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve
and obey them." ESV
The plural pronouns cannotrefer back to the saints, but to the nearest
antecedent, namely the MostHighs, since service or worship cannot be
rendered unto creatures. The verb which the ESV renders as "serve", with
the NIV translating as "worship", comes fromthe Aramaic word pelach. This
is used all throughout the book of Daniel for the worship which must be given
to God alone:
"‘There are certainJews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the
province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed'nego. These men, O king,
pay no heed to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image
which you have set up.’… Nebuchadnez'zarsaid to them, ‘Is it true, O
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed'nego, that you do not serve my gods or
worship the goldenimage which I have setup?’ … Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed'nego answeredthe king, ‘O Nebuchadnez'zar, we have no need to
answeryou in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver
us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O
king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods
or worship the goldenimage which you have setup.’ … Nebuchadnez'zar
said, ‘Blessedbe the God of Shadrach, Meshach, andAbed'nego, who has sent
his angeland delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set at nought the
king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship
any godexcept their own God.’" Daniel 3:12, 14, 16-18, 28 RSV(cf. 6:16; 20;
Ezra 7:24)
Thus, since the text of verse 27 expresslysays that all dominions will serve or
worship the ruler of the kingdom this shows that the pronouns must be
referring to God, who is identified here by the plural "MostHighs."

A careful analysis of the immediate context will explain why Daniel referred
to God as the MostHighs, as opposedto the singular MostHigh:
"As I looked, thrones were setin place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire
was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands
attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stoodbefore him. The court
was seated, and the books were opened." Daniel7:9-10 NIV
"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of
man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approachedthe Ancient of Days
and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign
power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipedhim. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom
is one that will never be destroyed." Daniel7:13-14 NIV
Daniel sees thrones setand two distinct figures, God as the Ancient of Days
who takes a seat(obviously on one of the thrones) and a Son of Man who rides
the clouds and rules forever, indicating that he also occupies one of the
thrones. What makes this all the more astonishing is that the reign of the Son
of Man is described exactlyas the reign of the MostHighs in verse 27:
"Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatnessofthe kingdoms under
the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the MostHigh. His
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey
Him.’ NKJV
This means that the Son of Man is the MostHigh who, at the same time, is
pictured as a distinct figure from the Ancient of Days. This basicallyexplains
why Danielspoke of the MostHighs since the contextestablishes that the
plural refers to both the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man togetheras the
Ones who rule over an eternal kingdom!
Moreover, the OT is quite emphatic that Yahweh alone is the MostHigh:
"that they may know that you alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most
High over all the earth." Psalm 83:18

"Foryou, O LORD, are most high overall the earth; you are exalted far
above all gods." Psalm97:9
When we add all these pieces togetherthe conclusionwe get is that the one
true MostHigh is a multi-personal Being consisting of the Ancient of Days
and the Divine Son of Man!
According to the NT books Jesus is this Sonof Man:
"But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked
him, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the BlessedOne?’‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And
you will see the Sonof Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and
coming on the clouds of heaven.’" Mark 14:61-62 NIV
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will
sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gatheredbefore him,
and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the
sheepfrom the goats. He will put the sheepon his right and the goats onhis
left. Then the King will sayto those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed
by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the
creationof the world.’" Matthew 25:31-33 NIV
"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, lookedup to heavenand saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’he said, ‘I see
heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’Acts
7:55-56 NIV
"Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those
who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because ofhim.
So shall it be! Amen." Revelation1:7 NIV
"I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seatedon the cloud was
one ‘like a sonof man’ with a crownof gold on his head and a sharp sickle in
his hand. Then anotherangel came out of the temple and calledin a loud voice
to him who was sitting on the cloud, ‘Take your sickle and reap, because the
time to reap has come, for the harvestof the earth is ripe.’ So he who was
seatedon the cloud swung his sickle overthe earth, and the earth was
harvested." Revelation14:14-16 NIV

In fact, Jesus is depicted as being both the Ancient of Days and the Son of
Man at the same time!
"I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned
I saw sevengolden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone ‘like
a son of man,’ dressedin a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden
sasharound his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as
snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in
a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right
hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged
sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I
fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said:
‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I WAS
DEAD, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death
and Hades.’" Revelation1:12-18 NIV
John describes Jesus in the same wayDaniel described both the Ancient of
Days and the Son of Man. What this means is that John is essentially
describing Christ as both God and man, that he is the Ancient of Days because
he is God and that he is also the Son of man because he became a true human
being.
This doesn’t mean that in Daniel the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man are
one and the same Person, but that the title Ancient of Days canbe used in a
broader sense to encompass the Son of God since he is true Deity. In other
words, even though Daniel’s Ancient of Days was God the Father who
appearedto him in a vision Jesus canalso be described as the Ancient of Days
without this implying that he is the same Personas the Father since Christ is
God as well. Hence, since God is multipersonal, and since the phrase Ancient
of Days is a title of Deity, the expressioncanbe used for any specific member
of the Godhead;it is the context that will identify which specific Personofthe
Godheadis being calledby this Divine epithet.
The foregoing provides conclusive data, this time from the OT revelation, that
Jesus, the Divine Son of Man, is in fact the MostHigh!

Son of the MostHigh
by John MacArthur Friday, December18, 2015
Comments (6)
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The angelsaid to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with
God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
shall name Him Jesus. He will be greatand will be calledthe Sonof the Most
High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He
will reign over the house of Jacobforever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
(Luke 1:30-33)
God’s people had not seenor heard from an angel in more than four hundred
years. During that time there had been no revelationfrom the Lord, no
miracle, and certainly no sequence ofmiracles. But then for the secondtime in
the span of a few months the same angelappeared, both times with an
extraordinary birth announcement to an ordinary person. Gabriel is one of
only two angels who are actually named in the Bible. The other one, Michael,
is associatedwith assignments requiring power and strength (Revelation
12:7). Gabriel is God’s supreme messengerwho brought great, glorious, and
crucial announcements from heaven. For example, he also delivered the
pronouncement to Daniel regarding the future of redemptive history and the
seventy-weeksprophecy(Daniel 9).
Gabriel delivered the most astounding and significant birth announcement
ever. His words about the divine child, Jesus, constitute a summary of the
entire Personand work of our Lord and Savior. The summation appears
rather simple on the surface, but the complexity of eachfacetchallenges our
ability to graspand appreciate all that the angelsaid to Mary. It is truly
awesome to contemplate Jesus’saving work, His perfectly righteous life, His
title of deity, and His kingly position—allin the same concise overview.
His Saving Work

First, the angelgives a preliminary indication of the Child’s saving mission.
Jesus’name itself comes from the Hebrew Yeshua, which means “Jehovah
saves” (Matthew 1:21). The Godof the Old Testamentwas a saving God, and
His people knew it (2 Samuel 7:23; Job19:25; Isaiah44:21-23, 45:21;Hosea
14:2; Joel2:12-13;Jonah2:9).
In Luke’s description of the incarnation, he reiterates and underscores the
point that the Child, Jesus, was the long-awaitedSavior:“Forthere is born to
you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11
NKJV); “Formy [Simeon’s]eyes have seenYour salvation” (Luke 2:30);
“And coming in that instant she [Anna] gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of
Him to all those who lookedfor redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38 NKJV).
And later in his gospel, while chronicling Christ’s ministry in Perea, Luke
conveyedin Jesus’ownwords the reasonHe came:“Forthe Son of Man has
come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
His PerfectlyRighteous Life
Gabriel makes the simple statement that Jesus wouldbe “Great.” Some
commentators would say it’s better to translate the Greek wordfor “great” as
extraordinary. Or it might be better still to substitute the adjective splendid,
magnificent, noble, distinguished, powerful, or eminent. But those words still
don’t allow us to speak as excitedly as we ought about the life of Jesus.
Christ’s greatness is bestunderstood in relationto what the apostle John
wrote about Him:
But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in
Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord
been revealed?” Therefore theycould not believe, because Isaiahsaid again:
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lestthey should see with
their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I
should healthem.” These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke
of Him. (John 12:37-41 NKJV)
John’s secondquote from the prophet is from Isaiah 6:9-10, when Isaiah saw
the glory (or greatness)ofGod. The prophet Isaiah knew that one day God

would send the Messiah, His Son, to live a perfectlife among His people and to
save them from their sins (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7, 53:4-6). He had a preview of the
same glory of Christ that the apostles laterwitnessedand described(Matthew
17:1-8; John 1:14). When Gabriel told Mary that Jesus wouldbe great, he
meant that Jesus would manifest the very glory of God.
His Title of Deity
Gabriel’s announcement also affirms the deity of Christ. “He will be calledthe
Son of the MostHigh” (Luke 1:32). MostHigh was simply a title for God,
clearly indicating that nobody is higher than He is. Mary and other righteous
Jews were familiar with that title because it is used throughout the Old
Testament(cf. Genesis 14:18;Psalm 47:2, 91:1; Daniel 7:18). The Hebrew
equivalent of the Greek term used by Luke is El Elyon, “GodMostHigh.”
This title refers to God’s sovereigntyand the fact that no one is higher, more
exalted, or more powerful than He is.
To identify Jesus as the Son of the MostHigh is to declare that He has the
same essenceas the MostHigh God. “He is the radiance of His glory and the
exactrepresentationof His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His
power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand
of the Majestyon high” (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus told His disciples, “He who has
seenMe has seenthe Father” (John 14:9). And He boldly assertedto His
opponents, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Gabriel announced, and
the New Testamentconfirms, that Jesus unquestionably was and is worthy of
His divine title, because He truly is the Son of God.
His Kingly Position
The story of Jesus will wonderfully conclude with His sovereignrule over the
earth and heaven. The story of redemption will culminate with greatprecision
in the glorious reign of Jesus Christ on David’s throne over the nation of
Israel, by which He will establishan earthly kingdom for a thousand years,
followedby an eternal kingdom.
When Jesus came to earth as an infant, He came with the proper credentials
to rule. He offered His kingdom to His people, but they spurned it and

rejectedand executedHim. However, Christ will return in glory and with
omnipotence to establishHis kingdom (Revelation19:1-21:8).
The Old Testamentwriters, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, foresaw
the coming of Christ’s kingdom. For example, David writes,
Yet I have setMy King on My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree:The
Lord has said to Me, “You are My Son, today I have begottenYou. Ask of Me,
and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth
for Your possession.” (Psalm2:6-8 NKJV)
In 2 Samuel 7:12-16, God told David he would have a Sonwho would reign
forever. And that Son was not Solomon, but the Messiah, Jesus.
The Bible promises that all believers will be part of God’s kingdom. Even
though God will take us to heaven through death or the rapture, He will
include us in the millennial kingdom. Others will be savedduring the
tribulation and become members of the kingdom. Christ will return, judge the
unbelieving, and then establish His earthly kingdom of righteousness, peace,
and truth. And once the final rebellion of Satanand his followers is crushed
and they’re sent to the lake of fire, the Lord will establishHis eternal
kingdom. The magnificent words of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” perfectly
describe the conclusion:“He shall reign foreverand ever!”
Hallelujah!
Sons of the MostHigh
By Jack Kelley WednesdayAugust 16th, 2006 About 2 Minutes to Read
Home » Ask a Bible Teacher» Sons of the MostHigh
Q
I just want to tell you I’ve learned so much from your site!Thank you for
your time.

Can you explain to us what Psalm82 is referring to when it states in verse 1,
he gives judgment among the GODS? Also, who is God talking to in verse 7
and 8 when the Bible states, I saidyou are GODS you are all sons of the Most
High. But you will die like mere MEN you will fall like every other RULER?
Sounds like maybe Angelic beings that actually were given something to rule
over. But where and when were they ruling? Now this is an interesting Psalm!
A
There are two schools ofthought on this Psalm. One is that God is
reprimanding Israel’s neighboring kings who encouragedtheir subjects to
worship them as gods. In other words, He’s letting them know that while they
call themselves gods, He really is God. A variant of this is that He’s addressing
the demonic forces behind these thrones.
The other opinion is that in those days judges and rulers in Israel allowed
themselves to be given the honorary title of god, in a sense being “sons of
God” as His representatives on Earth ruling over His people.
I lean toward this one because Jesusquoted from Psalm82 in John 10:34
saying that if they were called gods and sons of the MostHigh who were only
servants of God, why did they have a problem with Him calling Himself the
Son of God when He really was?
In any case, though, the contextof the Psalmis that God was reprimanding
these judges and rulers for the cruel and unjust way they were treating their
subjects. Therefore though they thought of themselves as gods, they would die
like the mere men that they really were. https://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-
bible-teacher/sons-of-the-most-high/
The Virgin Birth of the Son of God
Sunday Evening Message

Resource by John Piper
Scripture: Luke 1:26–38 Topic:The Birth of Christ
According to Luke 1:1–4, the GospelofLuke and its sequelthe Acts of the
Apostles were written to help Theophilus (and all subsequent readers)know
the truth of the Christian teachings he had heard and thus come to have a
well-grounded faith in Jesus Christ and be saved.
In order to help Theophilus graspthe fullest significance ofwho Jesus Christ
was and what he accomplished, Luke takes Theophilus back to the very
beginning of Jesus'life. He describes more fully than any other gospelwriter
the announcementof John the Baptist's birth and the announcement of Jesus'
birth, then the birth of John and the birth of Jesus. Bydescribing the origin of
John and the origin of Jesus side by side, he shows how their destinies dovetail
in God's plan, and also how Jesus is vastly superior to his forerunner. Luke's
narrative also highlights the similarities and differences betweenthe way
Zechariah and Mary receivedthe word from Gabrielabout their sons.
Zechariah is reproved for his unbelief (1:20); Mary is blessedfor her belief
(1:45). In this way, Luke admonishes Theophilus and us not to be like
Zechariah and demand more signs of God's faithfulness than a humble and
open heart would require. Instead, be like Mary: "BeholdI am the handmaid
of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
The Son Mary Would Bear
Tonight I want to focus in on the words that Gabriel brought to Mary about
the sonshe would bear. Let's read Luke 1:26–38.
In the sixth month the angelGabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee
named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of
the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and
said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly
troubled at the saying, and consideredin her mind what sort of greeting this

might be. And the angelsaid to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have
found favor 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
the Sonof the MostHigh; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his
father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacobforever;and of his
kingdom there will be no end."
And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?"
And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
powerof the MostHigh will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born
will be calledholy, the Sonof God. And behold, your kinswomanElizabeth in
her old age has also conceiveda son; and this is the sixth month with her who
was calledbarren. For with God nothing will be impossible." And Mary said,
"BeholdI am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your
word." And the angeldeparted from her.
The first thing Gabriel reveals about Jesus is that "He will be great" (1:32).
This Jesus is going to be a greatman. That is the first thing Theophilus needs
to hear about Jesus. Youmay have never heard of Nazareth, Theophilus, and
this young girl may be poor and obscure, but don't judge by merely human
outward appearances.Her sonis going to be great. You no doubt have studied
the lives of many greatmen in Greek and Romanhistory. But do not be
deceivedTheophilus: "What is exalted among men is an abomination in the
sight of God" (Luke 16:15). In spite of all appearances to the contrary, this
son of Mary is going to be great. Come with me, Theophilus. In this gospelwe
are setting out on a journey towards a new view of greatness.Don'tjudge
prematurely. Give yourself time for this man to prove himself. It is not easy
for you, a noble Roman official, to comprehend a statementlike, "He who is
leastamong you all is the one who is great" (Luke 9:48). But it is true, and
Jesus himself will prove it to you, if you listen now to what I have to say and
then watchhow he lives and teaches. This Jesus is going to be great. Now
learn greatness from him.
The next thing Gabriel says about Jesus is that "He will be calledSon of the
MostHigh" (Luke 1:32). The term "MostHigh" is simply another term for

God as verse 35 shows:"The child to be born will be called holy, the Son of
God." The two terms are put togetherin Luke 8:28 where the Gerasene
demoniac cries out to Jesus, "Whathave you to do with me, Jesus, Sonof the
MostHigh God?" Mary, this child is going to be the Son of God.
What Does It Mean to Be the Son of God?
What does it mean to sayJesus is the Son of God? This is a fairly common
phrase and refers to many different persons. For example angels are
sometimes calledsons of God. Job1:6 says, "Now there was a day when the
sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satanalso came
among them" (cf. Psalm 29:1; 82:6). Also the nation Israelwas calledGod's
son. God tells Moses in Exodus 4:22, "You shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says
the Lord: Israelis my first-born son and I sayto you, Let my son go that he
may serve me.'" And of course Christians are calledsons of God: "All who
are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Romans 8:14). Or even more
close to our text, Jesus says in Luke 6:35, "Love your enemies and do good
and lend expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be greatand you
will be sons of the MostHigh."
This broad and diverse use of the term "sonof God" shows the need for a
very careful reading of Scripture. One of the demands of careful reading is
that we not insist that words or phrases always meanthe same thing. The
same word or the same phrase can mean many different things. When you
speak or write, what you want is for people to ask what you mean by your
words, not what someone else may mean by them. And not only that, you want
people to decide what you mean by your words now, not what you meant by
them five years ago. Well, it's just the same with biblical writers. We must not
assume that what Luke means by a word or phrase is the same as what Moses
meant by that same word or phrase. Norshould we assume that "Sonof the
MostHigh" in Luke 1 means the same as "sons ofthe MostHigh" in Luke 6.
The principle to follow, in order to be fair to a writer, is: try to use the
sentences closestathand in deciding what a word or phrase means; and then

use the more distant analogies,if there is some clue that the same issue is at
stake in both places.
Now if we follow this principle in Luke 1 we find two things:
1) there is an Old Testamentanalogyto Jesus'sonship, and yet
2) his sonship is unique in all the world.
The PromisedDavidic Son
1) The nearestsentence to help shed light on what it means for Jesus to be the
Son of God is in the last half of verse 32:"And the Lord God will give to him
the throne of his father David." This means that Jesus will be the long-
awaitedJewishMessiah, the king of Israel. These words give the fulfillment of
a prophecy to David in 2 Samuel 7:12–16. Let's look at this text together. The
prophet Nathan says to King David,
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise
up your son after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will
establishhis kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish
the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son.
When he commits iniquity, I will chastenhim with the rod of men, with the
stripes of the sons of men; but I will not take my steadfastlove from him, as I
took it from Saul, whom I put awayfrom before you. And your house and
your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be
establishedforever.
There are at leastthree links betweenLuke 1:32, 33 and 2 Samuel 7:12–16.
1) Jesus is saidto have David as his father in Luke 1:32, and 2 Samuel 7:12
says that the coming king will be of the offspring of David.
2) Jesus is calledSon of the Most High in Luke 1:32, and in 2 Samuel 7:14
God says of this Davidic king, "I will be his father and he will be my son."
3) Luke 1:33 says that Jesus'kingdom will have no end, and 2 Samuel 7:13
and 16 say that the throne of the Messiah's kingdomwill endure forever.

Therefore, there is no reasonto doubt that Gabriel is presenting Jesus as the
one who will ultimately fulfill this prophecy to David. What does this tell us
about Jesus'sonship?
Here we have to be very careful. The relationship betweenOld Testament
prophecies and New Testamentfulfillment is not simple. It is complex and can
lead us into serious doctrinal error if we do not think with greatcare. 2
Samuel 7:14 promises that the offspring or seedof David referred to in verse
12 would be God's son. If that's all it said the relationship to Christ might be
simple. But the next sentence in verse 14 says, "When he commits iniquity I
will chastenhim with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men,
but I will not take my steadfastlove from him." The New Testamentwitness is
that Christ was without any sin at all (Hebrews 4:15). Then is Christ a
fulfillment of this prophecy or is he not?
There is no doubt that the New Testamentviews Christ as the fulfillment of
this prophecy. Gabriel's words show this but so do Peter's in Acts 2:30 even
more clearly: "Being therefore a prophet and knowing therefore that God had
swornwith an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his
throne, David foresaw andspoke of the resurrection of the Christ that he was
not abandoned to Hades nor did his flesh see corruption." Peter sees the
resurrectionand ascensionof Christ as the time when he assumed the throne
of his father David in fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7:12–16.
How then can this prophecy refer to Jesus as God's son and yet saythat he
will sin? The solution lies in the fact that the word "seed" or"offspring" in
verse 12 ("I will raise up your offspring after you") is collective and not
individual. It does not refer to one person only, but to a lineage or a house.
This is probably why Luke says in 2:4 that Josephwas "ofthe house and
lineage of David." When God says in 2 Samuel 7:13, "He shall build a house
for my name and I will establishthe throne of his kingdom forever," he means
that Solomon, his own son will build the temple and that Solomon's throne
will endure forever, not because he will but because there will always be a
descendant of his with the right to rule in Israel. We know this is what it
means because the very same words are used in Verse 16 about David, "Your
throne shall be establishedforever," even though he will die.

Therefore when God promises to be a father to the seedof David who will sit
on his throne, he means that he will chastise the bad kings in David's line, but
will never completely withdraw his love from this lineage. There is a beautiful
exposition of this truth in Psalm89:28–37. Let's look at this. The psalmist is
Ethan the Ezrahite, and he is exulting here in the promises to David.
My steadfastlove I will keepfor him forever, and my covenant will stand firm
for him. I will establishhis line forever and his throne as the days of the
heavens. If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my
ordinances, if they violate my statutes and do not keepmy commandments,
then I will punish their transgressionwith the rod and their iniquity with
scourges;but I will not remove from him my steadfastlove, or be false to my
faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant, or alter the word that went forth
from my lips. Once for all I have swornby my holiness; I will not lie to David.
His line shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. Like the
moon it shall be establishedforever; it shall stand firm while the skies endure.
Therefore, neither 2 Samuel 7 nor Psalm 89 makes it explicit that someday a
son of David would arise who himself would endure forever. But the hope is
probably implicit and later prophecy brought it out clearly. For example
Isaiah9:6–7, "Forunto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the
government will be upon his shoulder . . . And of the increase ofhis
government and of his peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David
and over his kingdom to establishit and to uphold it with justice and with
righteousness from this time forth and forevermore." So by the time Jesus
arrived on the scene, it had become clearthat the way Godwould fulfill the
promise to David was to finally raise up a sonof David who unlike all the
others was not a sinner who needed to be chastised, but who was holy and just
and who would live forever.
The Utterly Unique Son of God
2) So Solomonand his descendants partially fulfill the promise of 2 Samuel
7:12–16, but Jesus is the final and ultimate fulfillment. His divine sonship is
like theirs in that he is a king and will enjoy God's fatherly care. But just as

Jesus is unique as the final, eternalseedof David, so also is his divine sonship
unique. This is proved by verse 35. "And the angelsaid to her, 'The Holy
Spirit will come upon you and the power of the MostHigh will overshadow
you, therefore the child to be born will be calledholy, the Sonof God.'"
All the other descendants of David were calledsons of God because they
belongedto David's line. Their earthly relations qualified them to be sons in
the sense of2 Samuel 7:14. It was the reverse with Jesus. His divine sonship
qualified him to be the final fulfillment of David's line. This is why the
declarationof his sonship in verse 32 precedes the declarationof his Davidic
kingship. He is not Son of God because he is King. He is King because he is
Son of God. Therefore, his sonship is not like the sonship of David or Solomon
or any other man. He is uniquely the Son of God, in a way no one before or
since can aspire to.
The way God chose to demonstrate the incomprehensible characterofJesus'
sonship was through the virgin birth. Mary and Josephhad no sexual
relations until after Jesus was born, Matthew tells us (1:25). Instead of this
normal means of conceptionthe Holy Spirit came upon her and the powerof
the MostHigh overshadowedherand the greatesteventin the history of
mankind began—the incarnation of God, the appearance ofthe God-Man.
Jesus is the Son of God not just because he is a descendantof David, or
because Godchose him for a mission, or because he is morally pure like God
is. Jesus is God's Sonbecause he was begottenby God. Not just his role and
function and charactercome from God, but his Being is of God. His nature is
God's nature. As C. S. Lewis says, "Whenyou beget, you begetsomething of
the same kind as yourself. A man begets human babies, a beaver begets little
beavers, and a bird begets eggs whichturn into little birds" (Beyond
Personality, 1948, p. 5). And by analogythen when God begets or fathers
Jesus, he begets God. As Paul says in Colossians 2:9, "In him the whole
fullness of deity dwells bodily."
There are many scholars who want to keep the divine sonshipof Jesus
separatedfrom his virgin birth. And it is, of course, possible to believe in
Jesus'divine sonship without believing in the virgin birth. But anything is
possible to believe. The question is what is biblical and accounts for most of

Jesus Called Son of the Most High

Jesus Called Son of the Most High

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