Luke chapter 1. Let's begin reading
at verse 26. And in the sixth month, the angel
Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
to a virgin spouse to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house
of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came
in unto her and said, hail thou that are highly favored. The
Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and cast
in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel
said unto her, fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with
God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth
a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall
give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign
over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall
be no end." The angel had been six months
prior to this, sent to the house of Zacharias, or sent to Zacharias,
to announce the birth of John the Baptist. Let's just compare
those two visits, just briefly for a moment. Concerning the
announcement of the birth of John the Baptist in this same
chapter of Luke, chapter 1, look at verse 13. And the angel said
unto him, that is Zacharias, fear not, Zacharias, for thy
prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son,
and thou shalt call his name John. Verse 31 again, compared
to this other announcement. And behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his
name Jesus. John's name doesn't mean the
salvation of the Lord or God our Savior, but the name Jesus
does. Look again, if you will, in chapter
1 at verse 14. And thou shalt have joy and gladness,
and many shall rejoice at his birth. That is the birth of John. Compare that again to verse 32. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ,
he shall be great. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto
him, not John, but unto him the Lord Jesus, the throne of his
father David. One more, verse 15. For he shall
be great in the sight of the Lord, that is John the Baptist,
and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. and he shall
be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb."
Verse 33. And he shall reign, that is Jesus,
over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall
be no end. After this, after Mary had conceived
by the Holy Ghost, Gabriel was sent to Joseph to set his mind
at ease concerning taking Mary to be his wife and say concerning
this one, not John, but this one, Jesus, he shall save his
people from their sins. There has never been a work to
compare to that. There has never been an accomplishment
by any man or all men taken together. Any you can think of that can
even come close comparing to this. What a miracle this is. Saving sinners from their sins. He shall. Not that he'll attempt
to. I don't find any comfort in that.
Do you? Do you? Oh, but the angel said,
he shall save his people. He shall be great. He shall bring
in an everlasting righteousness. He shall obtain eternal redemption
for them. What a victory! What an accomplishment
that is! One hymn writer expressed it
like this, It took a miracle to hang the world in place. It
took a miracle to put the stars in space. But when he saved my
soul, cleansed and made me whole, it took a miracle of God's love
and grace. There were some obstacles that
had to be overcome in the salvation of a sinner. Justice had to be
satisfied. And that's not easy. That's not
easy. Only one, only one had enough
virtue, enough merit, enough value in himself to satisfy God's
divine justice. Oh, to conquer sin, to put away
sin. It could never be done except
through this one, the angel announced the birth of, to marry, Jesus
he shall be great. The blood of bullocks and goats
we read in Hebrews 10 could never take away sin. The high priest,
the high priest one day a year on the day of atonement would
go behind the veil, would go into the most holy place once
a year and there offer that lamb without spot or blemish. But
he would never come out and say, well, it's done. That will never
be repeated again. That's accomplished the salvation
of God's people. Oh, no, that was just a picture.
That could never take away sin. But in that same chapter of Hebrews
10, listen to this. But this man, this man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on
the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be
made his footstool. For by one offering, he had perfected
forever them that are sanctified. It's done. It's done. But this man, who is he? Who is he that should accomplish
such a feat? It's not John, but Jesus. The angel Gabriel told Mary,
he shall be great. And it's not concerning John.
It's not speaking of John, these words. that God had highly exalted
him and given him a name above every name that at the name of,
not John, but Jesus, every knee should bow. That'll happen. That will happen. You mean every
redeemed sinner? Oh, yes. Oh, yes, they've bowed
already. They've already bowed. There's
no such thing as a saved sinner who hasn't bowed in submission,
in true heartfelt repentance before the Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, but every knee shall bow. Every knee shall bow before Him.
Every mouth shall confess that He's God, that He's Lord, to
the glory of God the Father. John himself says He's not the
Christ. Turn, if you will, to John chapter
1. where he, when certain came to him, wanting
to know if he was the Christ, and John tells them, I've answered
that question before, but in John's Gospel chapter 1, look
at verse 25. John 1 verse 25. And they asked
him, these sent from the Pharisees. Why baptizes thou, if thou be
not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? And John answered
them, saying, I baptize with water. But there standeth one
among you, this one. He's not like me. Oh, no. Whom
ye know not, he it is who coming after me is preferred before
me. whose shoes latched, I am not
worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara,
beyond Jordan, where John was baptized. The next day, John
seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, behold, the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world." That's him. John goes on and says in chapter
3, he must decrease. or rather he must increase and
I must decrease. He that had the bride is the
bridegroom. The father loveth the son and
hath given all things into his hands. He that believeth on the
son hath everlasting life. God has committed everything. the rule of the universe, the
salvation of all of his people, God has entrusted into the hands
of his Son and John says, behold the Son. He's the Lamb of God. He that has the Son has everything
that God Almighty requires. Oh, do you have the Son? Well,
rest easy. Rest easy. He that had the Son
has life and you are complete in Him. Again, looking at the
words of Gabriel to Mary, he said concerning Jesus that he
shall be great in verse 32. Why did Gabriel put it that way?
He shall be great. Wasn't he already great? The
meaning is this, he shall be great as the God-man. Yes, he's great as the everlasting
father, as the prince of peace, as the mighty God before he came
to this earth. Oh yes, he's great. But the angel
means that he shall be great as the God-man. As that one mediator
between God and man. He should be great as the surety
of his people, as their savior. Mary is not the mediator or a
co-mediator between God and man, but Mary's master is. Look what she herself said in
Luke chapter 1 again, verse 46. She's gone to the house of her
cousin Elizabeth. And in verse 46, she says, and
Mary said, my soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath
rejoiced in God my Savior. Mary was a sinner saved by grace
just like every other sinner that's saved by grace. When the
angel said unto her, thou art highly favored, in verse 28,
the expression means you have been graciously accepted. God accepts you on the merits
of His Son by His grace. I want us this morning to look
at a couple of places where this greatness of our great God and
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, was challenged and He answered
every challenge. Let's look at just two or three.
Turn first of all to John's Gospel, chapter 4. John, chapter 4. You're familiar with this. with
this encounter of the woman at the well. John chapter 4, look
at verse 10. Jesus answered and said unto
her, if thou knewest the gift of God, if thou knewest the gift
of God and who, and who, God's gift is who, not what but who. And who it is that saith unto
thee, give me to drink? Thou wouldst have asked of him,
and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith
unto him, sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is
deep. For whence then hast thou that
living water? Are you greater than our father
Jacob, which gave us the well and drank thereof himself, and
his children, and his cattle? Are you greater than Jacob? And yes he is, because he is
the God of Jacob. He's that one who appeared to
Jacob. Look at his answer to this woman
in verse 13. Are you greater than Jacob who
gave us this well? Are you greater than our father
Jacob? And look what he says. Jacob couldn't say this. Whosoever
drinketh of this water shall thirst again. Shall thirst again. Oh, how true that is. How true that is. Oh, that God
by his mighty grace would make someone thirsty for the water
of life this morning, the fountain of living water. Let me read
you just a verse or two from Ecclesiastes. Solomon wrote this
book and he said that he set his heart to search after pleasure
riches, worldly wisdom. He gave himself in search and
attained all those things. He had it all. And you know what
this man said? You know what this man found
out? After he had all those things, he said, it doesn't satisfy. I'm still thirsty, he said. I'm
still thirsty. I attained riches and my soul
is still thirsty. I searched after worldly wisdom
and it left my soul thirsty. Just like the fountain of living
waters told that poor woman at the well, you drink of this well,
drink, but you'll come back because you'll never be satisfied. You'll
never find the quench to your thirst from this well, you'll
thirst again. And this is exactly what Solomon
said happened to him. or rather chapter 2 in Ecclesiastes
verse 9. So I was great and increased
more than all that were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom
remained in me. And whatsoever my eyes desired
I kept not from them. I withheld not my heart from
any joy, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was
my portion of all my labor. Then I looked on all the works
that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labor
to do, and behold, all was vanity." All was vanity. After each search,
this is what Solomon concludes. Chapter after chapter, he said,
it's all vanity. It's all vanity, meaning it's
all empty. It's all meaningless. Oh, that alone that can satisfy
is Jesus Christ, the fountain of living water. Oh, He satisfies
the thirsty soul, and only He can. Look again, if you will,
back in John chapter 4. Look what He says to this woman,
but... but... Oh, thank God for that. but God, but grace, but Christ. Christ put himself right in the
way of this woman, did he not? Look at verse 6. Now Jacob's
well was there, and Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey,
sat thus on the well, and it was about the sixth hour. You
know why he sat there? Oh yes, he was tired, but he
came to that place deliberately. He came there on purpose because
he knew. He who was man and God knew at
that moment a woman was going to come. A woman would come to
that well at noontime, the hardest time of the day, hoping she wouldn't
be seen by anyone else because everybody knew the kind of woman
she was. So she thought she might go to
the well, draw her water, and go back without being detected.
But the Lord of Glory knows his sheep. He knows where they are. And he said, I've come to seek
and to save my sheep. God Almighty. What a thought. This poor woman, who would have
ever thought that this poor woman was one of those that had been
loved by the Father from eternity. That this woman was one, that
the Lord Jesus promised His Father that He would come in the fullness
of time and do everything necessary to redeem her and bring her back
to glory. And there He sits on the well,
waiting for her. And Isaiah, the Lord God speaks
and says, to be gracious. I'll wait to be gracious. And
here is grace personified. Can you picture that? Leaning
against the wall of Jacob's well, waiting for this woman to come,
and engages her in conversation. Then he says, but, verse 14 again,
Whosoever drinketh of this water, that I shall give him shall never
thirst. Oh, this woman was a thirsty
soul, a thirsty soul. Like Solomon, she said, all is
vanity. It's all meaningless. My life
is meaningless. It's worthless. I have nothing
to live for. God had created that thirst in
her and the Lord God was going to satisfy it. But the water
that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing
up into everlasting life." Oh, there he sits, waiting for this
woman, this sinner, to be gracious, just like the father of the prodigal
son. Day after day, look down that
road, waiting, hoping for his son to return home. Oh, God delights
to show mercy. Christ is the water of life. There's no question, there's
no doubt about his ability to satisfy the needs of thirsty
sinners. There's no question that he can
give a drink whereby they'll never thirst again. That's not
the issue. The question is, is anybody thirsty? Is anybody thirsty? Is there
someone whose heart's cry is this, oh, that I might know God? Or that I might lie my head down
on my pillow tonight and know that everything is well between
God and myself. That I might know Him, the only
true God. Anybody have a desire such as
that? In Isaiah chapter 55, you're
familiar with this passage of scripture. Listen to what the
prophet says. Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come to the waters. He that hath no money, don't
you like that? Any poor blind beggars, any that
are bankrupt before God, that have no money, come ye buy and
eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without
money and without price. Wherefore? Wherefore, does this
ring a bell, child of God? Wherefore do you spend money,
O how we did, for that which is not bread? And your labor
for that which satisfieth not, hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fasts. Incline your ear, and come unto
me here, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. the water of life Christ is compared
to water because water is a gift Water is vital to life Water
comes down from heaven and water meets the need of thirst in John
chapter 7 our Lord Speaks these words He says in verse 37 if
any man thirsts If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture said, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water. He said to this woman, if thou
knewest the gift of God, you would ask, you would ask, O God,
Grant me your mercy. Grant me your grace. I'm thirsty. I've been to the wells of this
world, and I've drank of its pleasure, and I'm thirsty. I've drank of what it has to
offer, and I'm still thirsty. I'm still not satisfied. Listen. Listen. Listen to what
the Word of God says. The Spirit and the bride say,
come. And let him that heareth say, come. And let him that is
athirst come, and whosoever will. You believe that? Oh, yes. Absolutely. Whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. freely, without money, without
price. Oh, if you knew the gift of God. This woman came, a thirsty soul,
and she drank. She drank of the fountain of
living waters, and she left that well that day, for the first
time in her life, satisfied. Satisfied. Because he that sat
there and met her that day, yes, indeed, greater than Solomon. Oh, give me this water of life.
I recall that. Oh, my. God created a thirst
in me. The old hymn writer expressed
my feeling very well. All my life long I had panicked
for a drought from some clear spring that I hoped should quench
the burning of the thirst I felt within. Feeding on the husk around
me till my strength was almost gone. Longed my soul for something
better, only still to hunger on. Oh, but now, hallelujah,
I have found them. whom my soul so long has craved. Jesus satisfies my longing through
his blood. I now am saved. Behold, one greater than Jacob. Are you still in John? Turn to
chapter 8. Let's look at another here in
chapter 8 of John's gospel. Verse 53. Art thou greater than our father
Abraham, which is dead, and the prophets are dead? Who makest
thou thyself? Who do you think you are? Jesus
answered, if I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my
father that honors me, of whom you say that he is your God.
Yet you have not known him, but I know him. And if I should say
I know him not, I should be a liar like unto you. But I know him
and keep his sign. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews
unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old. Have thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Are you greater than Abraham,
they asked? And our Lord answers, Before
Abraham was, I am. Yes, he says, I'm greater than
Abraham. Abraham rejoiced to see my day,
he said, and he saw it and was glad. When did Abraham, who lived
hundreds and hundreds of years before our Lord's incarnation,
when did he see Christ's day? When did Abraham witness that?
Turn, if you will, to Genesis chapter 22 for just a moment.
Genesis chapter 22. You remember this, this familiar
passage. God speaks to Abraham and tells
him to take his only son Isaac to the Mount Moriah and there
to sacrifice him rather to God. And Abraham and Isaac do exactly
that. Here in Genesis chapter 22, verse
6, and Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid
it upon Isaac, his son, and he took the fire in his hand and
the knife and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake
unto Abraham, his father, and said, My father, and he said,
Here am I, my son, and he said, Behold the fire and the wood,
but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, my
son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.
So they went both of them together. God will provide himself a lamb. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth the Lamb of God. God sent forth his
son made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were
under the law. Are you still in Genesis 22?
Look at verse 13. Abraham is about to slay his
son and God stops him. Verse 13,
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind
him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went
and took the ram, and offered him for a burnt offering in the
stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of
that place Jehovah-Jireh, and it is said to this day in the
mount of the Lord it shall be seen. That's when Abraham saw
the Lord's day. He saw in that ram that God had
provided that type of Jesus Christ that was to come, Jehovah Jireh. That means the Lord will provide
and it shall be seen. Our Lord said to those Pharisees,
those Jews, Abraham saw my day. That is, he leaped for joy at
it. Leaped for joy. They asked him,
you're not 50 years old. Have you seen Abraham? Have you
seen Abraham? Before Abraham was, I am. From everlasting thou art God. It was he that spoke to Abraham. It was he that provided the ram. And that ram was a picture of
him. We read there in Genesis 22 that
Abraham offered the ram in the stead of his son. In the stead of his son. Abraham
didn't offer the ram and then turn around and offer Isaac,
his son, too. Oh, no. The ram took the place
of Isaac and God Almighty will not offer his son in the room
instead of his people and then turn around and punish those
same people, too. He'll not do it. No, no. God
made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him. Let's look at one more
if you will. Luke chapter 11. Our Lord Jesus
Himself speaks here in Luke chapter 11 and says in verse 31, The Queen
of the South shall rise up in judgment with the men of this
generation and condemn them. where she came from the utmost
parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold,
behold, a greater than Solomon is here. You have the record
of the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon in 1 Kings chapter
10. We find there that she came to
prove him with hard questions, hard questions. And in verse
3 of that chapter, we're told that Solomon answered all of
her questions. Nothing was hid from the king.
But could Solomon, in all of his wisdom, could he answer this
question? Did Solomon have the solution
to this? How can a man be just with God? Behold, the only one that can
answer that The only one that can solve that, beholder greater
than Solomon is here, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ himself. By his sacrifice, he enables
God to be just and justify the ungodly. By His death upon the
cross, mercy and truth are met together, righteous and peace
there and there alone kiss one another. That's why we sing.
That's why we sing. And it's right. Oh, mercy there
was great and grace was free. Oh, the mighty gulf that God
did span. We who once were far off are
made nigh by the blood of Jesus Christ. Yes, behold, they're
greater than Solomon is here, because God had made him to be
unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Solomon ruled over a great empire. Oh, but behold, what did the
angel tell Mary? of his kingdom, there shall be
no end. Upon the throne of David shall
he, Jesus, not Solomon reign forever and ever. And all behold are greater than
Solomon. Though Solomon reigned over a
great empire, the Lord Jesus Christ reigns over sin. He reigns over sin. His grace
reigns where sin abounded, His grace doth much more abound. In 1 Kings 10 we're told that
Solomon was so rich, he sat on the throne of gold. They ate
from plates of gold. Silver was accounted as nothing. Silver wasn't nothing. Oh, behold,
a greater than Solomon is here. Look at Jesus Christ. He's rich. He's rich in grace, rich in mercy. Our great God and Savior sets
up on the throne of grace and He's able to save to the uttermost
every sinner who's ever come to Him. Oh yes, behold, they're
greater than Solomon is here. He has grace that can pardon
and cleanse within, grace that is greater than all our sin. If you would go on in 1 Kings,
the very next chapter, chapter 11, you find that Solomon was
indeed, like other men, only a sinner. He wasn't perfect. Like you and I, he had a sinful
nature. But behold, one greater than
Solomon. Look at our Lord Jesus Christ.
No defects, no falls. He's altogether lovely. Joe, he lived a perfect life
before the Lord God, satisfying every jot and tittle of his law. And then he laid down a perfect
sacrifice before God, whereby he exclaimed after doing so,
as only he can, on the merits of that perfect sacrifice. that
rendered complete, eternal satisfaction to the Holy Lord God, he exclaimed,
R. Solomon, it is finished. Do you remember what the Queen
of Sheba said after concluding her visit with Solomon? She said,
when I was in my own country, I'd heard the rumors about your
wisdom, about your wealth, about your kingdom, But I just didn't
believe it was so until I came and saw for myself. And she says,
the half wasn't told. It's more than I even heard.
And our great God and Savior, oh, the half's not been told. None can do what He has done. None can say as He can say. None can keep us from falling
and present us faultless before the presence of His glory. Only
a great God and Savior could do for me what He's done. When He said over this thirsty,
dying sinner, this beggar fell before Him and said, if you will, you could
make me whole. I'm thirsty. Grant me forgiveness. Grant me
to drink of your grace and mercy. Behold, a greater than Solomon
said, thy sins are all forgiven thee. Hallelujah. What a Savior. When Christ shall
come with shouts of acclamation and take me home, what joy shall
fill my heart. Then I shall bow in humble adoration
and there proclaim, by God, how great thou art. Amen. Amen.