London, England in the 1840s,
there were two world-renowned preachers. One was a very well-educated,
highly respected man by the name of Joseph Parker. The other was
a young man who died at a fairly early age, not much older than
I am now, but he was not so well-educated. He was a man taught because he
was family of a group of folks who weren't allowed to attend
the various schools operated by the churches. Mr. Spurgeon and these two preachers,
both of them being world-renowned, were often visited by people
traveling from this country and other places who wanted to hear
these great, great preachers preach. One Sunday morning, a
man and his wife from the United States were visiting in London.
and they went to hear the renowned Joseph Parker preach, and they
were impressed. They came out of the building
after greeting Mr. Parker, and folks greeted them. As they started
to go on their way, the man said to his wife, my, my, what a great,
great picture. And they went on their way. That
evening, they had planned to go hear Mr. Spurgeon at the Tabernacle,
and they did. And they heard the message, and
when they left, after greeting the preacher and greeting the
folks who were there as they went on their way, his wife looked
to him and said, My, what a great, great Savior. And that's my hope
that you will leave here today, being impressed in your heart
with the greatness of God our Savior. That's the primary theme
of our text this evening in Luke chapter 1 verses 31, 32, and
33. Gabriel's announcement here is
no ordinary birth announcement. This is not the announcement
of the birth of a mere man. It is rather the announcement
of the birth of a man who is himself God incarnate. Gabriel was sent to proclaim
that the Son of God, God the Son, was about to take humanity
into permanent union with himself, and enter into this sin cursed
earth to save his people from their sins. Let's read the text
together, verse 31. Behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name and 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." Now strictly speaking,
these words refer to our Lord's sacred humanity, there's no question
about that. It was the humanity of Christ
that was conceived in and born from Mary's virgin womb. The angel Gabriel spoke these
words to Mary about that man who would be born of her. They
refer to the manhood of that holy thing which must be formed
in her womb and brought forth out of her body by the power
of God the Holy Spirit. It was only the manhood of Christ,
not his Godhead that was born of her. It was said to Mary concerning
our Savior as a man, he shall be great. But before he could
be made great, had to stoop and be made very low. Now I'll say
nothing this evening about the great stoop our Lord made in
becoming a man. When God took on himself human
flesh, when God took into union with himself humanity, when the
Son of God became the Son of Man, the stoop he made was unspeakable
indeed. And yet, having assumed our nature,
Having taken our nature into union with himself, having come
into this world as a man, the Lord Jesus stooped yet more as
he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
He who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven stooped to
be made the lowest of all at his first appearance in this
world. As far as mortal eye could see, there was nothing great
about him. There was nothing extraordinary
about him at all. Nothing that man could look at
and say, now there's something amazing. You see these idolatrous
pictures, you know, of that little baby with Mary with a halo around
her head and a halo around his, no. That's just idolatrous superstition. Our Lord Jesus was just an ordinary
child as far as any man could see. Less than ordinary, he was
born in a cow stable and laid in a manger. Less than ordinary
he was the child of a poor mother and a poor earthly father. Less
than ordinary the Lord Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laid in a manger because there was no room for him anywhere
in the inn and his parents had nothing to provide for him the
comforts of this life. Our Lord Jesus nursed at his
mother's breast just like any other baby. He was dependent
upon the milk that flowed from her breast. as dependent upon
that for his life as any child ever born to a woman was dependent
on his mother for his life. That's amazing isn't it? And
yet at the same time he's God Almighty upon whom her life depends. He's stooped very, very low. So low was the man Christ Jesus
in the esteem of men that it came to pass exactly as the prophet
said it would, he was despised and rejected of men. A man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief. We hid, as it were, our faces
from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. Indeed, Jesus of Nazareth was
poor as a man, so poor that he had no place to lay his head.
He was so despised by men that he became the song of drunks.
He was rejected as a madman, a winded but one possessed of
the devil. So low was the man Christ Jesus
in the esteem of men that he was crucified as a malefactor,
a common criminal, a thief and a murderer. during his days upon
the earth. Our Lord's enemies couldn't find
word base enough, vile enough, reprehensible enough to, to describe
their, their utter abhorrence of him. The Lord Jesus is a man
who was brought lower than any man while he walked upon this
earth. Never was a man brought more
low in his temptation in his trials, in his condemnation,
in his suffering, and in his death than the Son of Man, Christ
Jesus. In order to redeem sinful men
such as we are, in order to redeem us who have fallen from the state
of manhood and dignity to the state of worms and nothing of
dignity, our Lord Jesus himself became a worm and no man. Listen
to what he said. Psalm 22 verse 6, I am a worm
and no man. God Almighty, when he's made
to be sin for us, he said, Bobby, I'm a worm and no man. They'll
reproach of me and despise of the people. Oh, they that see
me, laugh me to scorn, they shoot out the lip, they shake their
head saying, he trusted the Lord that he would deliver him, let's
see if he'll Let him deliver him now, seeing he delighted
in him. Who thought he was great when
he was covered with the sweat of his own blood, sold for the
price of a slave, and arrested by a bunch of soldiers in the
garden as a common felon, and dragged off to be crucified?
Who thought he was great when they they bound him and led him
away to the judgment hall as a foul criminal who deserved
to die? Who arose to declare his greatness
when they blindfolded him, and stripped him naked, and stood
in his face, and put a reed in his hand, and smote him on the
face, and put a crown of thorns on his head, and mocked him,
and said, Hail, King! Who considered him great when
they beat him, led him through the streets of Jerusalem, carrying
his cross up to Golgotha's hill, stretched him out upon the cursed
tree, and nailed him up to die like some defied piece of trash
rather than a man. who thought he was great, when
even his kinsmen and his disciples denied him, abandoned him, and
fled from him. Oh, how he humbled himself. The
scripture tells us that the prophet made this statement to Mary as
she brought him in the temple. A sword will pierce through your
heart. And a sword pierced through her heart as she watched her
soul hang in agony and shame. upon that cursed tree in that
cursed place, covered with human spit and his own blood. I don't know, I'm just speculating,
but I suspect, knowing that Mary was just a woman like any of
you mothers, I suspect that Mary must have thought to herself
when she realized that her son was now dead and buried in a
bollard tomb, a despised man. the off-scouring of the earth. She must have thought to herself,
what did Gabriel mean? What did he mean when he told
me he shall be great? who was ever made so vile. The
angel of God told me he shall be called the son of the highest,
but he's been brought down to humiliation and death and reputed
by all to be an abhorrently wicked man. What then does the angel
mean when he says he shall be great? You see, before the blessed
Christ could be exalted as the great one, He had to be humbled,
to humble himself to be made of no reputation, and to humble
himself to become obedient, obedient unto death, but not just any
death, even the death of the cross, made to be sin for us,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, treated as a sinner,
that we might be treated as the sons of God, treated as abhorrent,
that we might be treated as accepted, because we are in him the sons
of God, righteous Now having said all that, I must hasten
to add this. While this speaks primarily of
our Lord's humanity, though our text speaks distinctly of the
humanity of Christ, his deity is not excluded. The hymn writer
puts it this way, he who on earth as man was known and bore our
sins and pains, now seated on the eternal throne, the God of
glory Yes, that very man who was despised and rejected of
men, sits now upon the throne in glory as God himself in human
flesh. As a man, he is anointed king
of kings and lord of lords. As a man, he has been lifted
up from the depths of the grave to the highest throne of heaven.
The God-man, our savior, reigns king forever in righteousness
and reigns in total sovereignty over all things forever. This
is what Peter told the Jews. Turn over there if you will and
ask chapter 2. Ask chapter 2. You'll remember Peter is proclaiming
the gospel of God's grace on the day of Pentecost. He is speaking
to them about Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and what God has done
in him fulfilling all the prophets in the scriptures. And as he
spoke to them, he says in verse 36, Therefore let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus
whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, he was made
Lord and Christ as a man. Being God Almighty, he was not
given or made anything, he possesses all things. And yet, his manhood
is taken into unity with his divinity, and he sits yonder
upon the throne of glory, God Almighty in human flesh. He's the God-man, our Savior,
the King forever. When Stephen was being stoned
to death, He being full of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfastly
into heaven and saw the glory of God. And here it is. He saw
Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said, Behold, I see
the heavens open and the Son of Man standing on the right
hand of God. for to defend the apostle rights.
Christ both died and rose and revived. He died for this purpose. He arose for this purpose. He
ascended and was exalted for this purpose, that he might be
Lord both of the dead and the living. That means Jesus Christ
came here. He lived here, he humbled himself,
he died for us, he rose from the dead, he ascended up on high,
and now as the man God, Jesus Christ, as the God man, our Savior,
Jesus Christ reigns Lord over everybody. He's king everywhere. Let's rejoice then in this fact.
There is a man in glory. If there's one man there, maybe
another can go there. There is one in heaven who wears
our nature, one who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
Tension in all things like as we are yet without sin. And yet
we must never attempt to separate the humanity of Christ from his
divinity. We must understand, I worked
on this a good bit, and I don't know how to put it to you with
the clarity and the dogmatism with which I want to state it.
We must understand that Jesus Christ is both God and man. If he were not God, he would
not have the merit with which to redeem and save us. He would
not have the power with which to redeem and save us. If he
were not man, he could not have died to save us. He could not
have suffered the wrath of God in our stead. He could not have
borne our sins as a man upon the tree. He is both God and
man in one glorious person, but we cannot separate his Godhood
from his manhood. Reading the New Testament, and
I've read a few theologians over the years, but it seems to me
that there is a deliberate total disregard for the rigid theological
distinctions made between the humanity of Christ and the divinity
of Christ here in the book of God. There's a disregard for
it. Pastor, what are you getting
at? Godhead and manhood are so thoroughly united in the person
of Christ that they simply can't be separated. Jesus Christ is
the God-man. He is the God-man. He is the man who is God. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Turn to Acts chapter 20. Let
me show you an example of this. Acts chapter in verse 28, you're familiar
with the text. Paul is exhorting the Ephesian
elders and he tells them it is the responsibility of them and
of every gospel preacher to feed the church of God which he hath
purchased with his own blood. Do you see that? Now wait a minute,
now wait a minute. We know that God is spirit, pure,
pure, The spirit doesn't have a body, the spirit doesn't have
a form, the spirit doesn't have flesh, the spirit doesn't have
bones, the spirit doesn't have blood. Well, then some of these brilliant
learned theologians come along and they conclude, well Paul
really confused the two natures of Christ here. And so rather
than reading the text as it stands, they would improve it, as they
say, and make it to read, feed the church of God which the man
Christ Jesus purchased with his blood as a man. But the Holy
Spirit didn't make any mistakes. He stated things exactly as they
were to be stated. Paul wrote with infallible, inerrant
accuracy, by divine inspiration. He chose his word with inerrant
precision. Well, why did he say, feed the
church of God which he had purchased with his own blood? He wanted
us to understand. that the two natures, godhood
and manhood, in Jesus Christ are inseparable. They're inseparable. He who is our Savior is both
God our Savior and the man Christ Jesus. All the acts of either
his deity or his humanity are acts of one person, not of two. Therefore, we don't hesitate
to sing that old hymn that Watts wrote as Watts originally wrote
it in our hymn book and in most others of modern times. The hymn
reads like this, well might the sun in darkness hide and shut
his glories in when Christ the mighty maker died for man the
creature sin. There is a subtle compromise
in that statement. Isaac Watts wrote it this way,
well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in
when God, the mighty maker, died for man, the preacher said. The
preacher, God can't die, I know that, but the God man did. Jesus
Christ is God in his death. Jesus Christ is God in his resurrection. Jesus Christ is God in human
flesh upon the throne of glory today. So when the Holy Spirit
speaks of Christ in Scripture, He speaks to men and women as
men and women of understanding. People who know and rejoice in
the truth of our Savior's indivisible person, the God-man, the man-God,
our mediator. The Word of God simply does not
use that kind of brilliant confusion that you find in confessions
of faith and theology books, when it describes our Redeemer.
When men write about the God-man. I've read volumes and volumes
and volumes over the years. But you know when they write
about the God-man they talk about the hypostatic union and they
talk about the indivisibility of the Godhead and the perfection
of manhood brought together and they try to explain all the things
and they explain things that are just almost explained in
a way. Bobby Estes, he who came here to save you, who assumed
your nature, who lived in righteousness for you. who died at Calvary
in your stead, bearing your sin and his body on the tree, who
sits on the throne of glory, is God in human flesh. He's God
in human flesh. We adore him in his glorious
person, God and man, our Savior. So you'll forgive me if I choose
not to use the language of theologians. I like the language of the Holy
Spirit. In the book of God, things are explained so much more simply,
so much more clearly, so much more profoundly than in all the
theology books. Here's the best statement you'll
ever find anywhere in human literature, anywhere, about who Jesus Christ
is. God was manifest in the flesh. That one who was born at Calvary,
he comes here, God. The Word of God, the revelation
of God, God manifests in human flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ,
our mediator and redeemer, is exalted with greatness, both
by the power of God at his resurrection and ascension, and in the hearts
of all who know him. God the Father says concerning
his dear son, he shall be great, and he sent the angel to proclaim
it. And all who are redeemed by his precious blood, who have
experienced his grace, confess indeed, he is great. Now if I had the eloquence of
Gabriel himself in the space of eternity, I couldn't begin
to describe the greatness of our Savior. But of this fact,
I am more convinced this hour than I've ever been in my life.
Well hey Chris, he is great. Oh, what a great Savior Jesus
Christ is. The child born from Mary's virgin
womb was and is God given in human flesh. Look at verse 31. Behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus.
For unto us, the prophet said, a child is born, unto us a son
is given. The Lord Jesus Christ, as a child,
as a child of human flesh, was born of the Virgin's But as God
the Son, he could never be born. He had no beginning, has no end.
He is that Son who was given in humanity. God manifests in
the flesh, Emmanuel, God with us, because only God incarnate
could save us. This great incarnate God came
into the world as our mediator and our covenant surety on a
specific mission. He came here to save his people
from their sins. Verse 31 again says, Thou shalt
call his name Jesus. Now this is explained in Matthew
121, Thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people
from their sin. The word Jesus is the Greek word
for the Hebrew word Joshua, same word. Jehovah saves, Jehovah
redeems. It's talking about Jesus Christ
the Savior. That's what the word means. He
is called Jesus. Because he shall, he shall save
his people from their sins. Samuel, when he came into this
world, he came here on an errand of mercy, with a mission to accomplish,
with a task to fulfill. Either he did it, or it's not
worth worshiping, and to worship him is a falsehood. He's exactly
right. What did he do? He came to save
his people. And save them he shall. As Joshua
did for Israel what Moses never could. Bringing them into the
land to fulfill all the promises of God in the covenant to Abraham. Fulfilling that which the law
could never fulfill. So the Lord Jesus Christ has
done for God's elect what the law of Moses could never do.
He brought us into the land and he gave us rest from all our
enemies. And then the text says, He shall
be great. In verses 31, or 32 and 33, we're
given a five-fold description of our Savior's greatness. First,
the angel says, he shall be great. Great. Now, I took the time to
look up various references to our Savior and his greatness.
And there are four specific things said about him and his greatness.
First, in Revelation chapter 19 and verse 17, he is called
the great God. Jesus Christ is indeed God. I couldn't help notice, Merle,
when you read Luke chapter 8 and verse 39, the Lord told that
Gadarene, he said, you go home and you tell folks what great
things God has done for you. And the very next line says,
he went his way and told everybody what great things Jesus did for
him. Because the Jesus, the man who is his savior, is God who
delivered him from the devil's hands. He's our great God. Then in Titus chapter 2 verse
13, our Lord Jesus Christ is called the great God and our
savior. His glory, the psalmist said,
is great in thy salvation. Jesus Christ, oh, he is the great
Savior. He saves great sinners with great
grace, with a great salvation. Oh, what a Savior Jesus Christ
is. Let me tell you what great things
he's done for me. He put away my sin. All the days of my stiff-necked
rebellion he was long suffering toward me and watched over me
and kept me from myself. Kept me from my own destruction
with my own hands. In all the days of my ungodliness
he persisted in his purpose of grace and this great savior at
the appointed time of love came to this scattering who dwelt
in the tombs and lived like a wild man. This Gadaree possessed of a devil
who could not be bound and restrained by any laws or any change from
any society. This Gadaree who could not be
reasoned with this madman. And he cast the devil out. And
he clothed me with his righteousness. And he gave me a sound mind.
It's called a mind of faith. Called a mind of repentance.
This is great things. I don't know much, but I know
this. I was lost, now I'm found. I was blind, now I see. I was
a raging lunatic, and now I sit at the feet of the Son of God
and worship him. Oh, what a great Savior he is.
In Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 20, our Lord Jesus is called
that great shepherd of the sheep. whom God, the God of peace, brought
again from the dead through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
The Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep. He died instead
of the sheep. He died to have the sheep. The
Great Shepherd obtained eternal redemption by his resurrection
from the dead, having fulfilled all the stipulations of the covenant.
is coming again soon to gather his sheep unto his heavenly fold. Well how can we be sure of that?
Well the scripture describes our Lord as the great king. Listen
to what it says. Cursed be the deceiver which
hath in his flock a male and voweth and sacrifices to the
Lord a corrupt thing. Cursed, cursed is that man who
attempts to deceive God. Cursed, who attempts to fill
the world over God's eyes. Curse it! For I am a great king,
saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the
heathen. He shall be called the son of
the highest. That's the next prophecy Gabriel
gave. The Lord God spoke of him when he was about to be baptized.
to fulfill all righteousness, showing how the sinners, symbolically
showing how the sinners are saved by his death, burial, and resurrection.
He said, this is my beloved son, hear him. And when he finished
his work on this earth, as he stood upon the mouth of transfiguration,
the Lord God spoke again. And he said, this is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased. You be sure you hear him. He's
the only one in whom I'm well pleased. And the Lord God shall
give unto him the throne of his father David. Now, when it talks about the
throne of David, the throne of David is symbolically used in
scripture to speak of the mediatorial rule and dominion of Christ over
all the earth. It is not talking about the Lord
Jesus coming here and sitting on a little throne over in Palestine.
That's nuts. Acts chapter 2 makes it very
plain, the throne of David is the throne of God from whom and
from which all the blessings of grace and mercy flow down
to chosen sinners. He sets a man upon his throne
as the covenant head of his people and he shall reign over the house
of Jacob forever. Christ is the king in the house
of his chosen. He's the king. His word is our
rule. His word is our creed. His word
is our base of practice, our basis of faith, our basis of
operation and all things. He's the king. He's the king.
His will is what we want. His will is what we exist for.
And of his kingdom, there shall be no end. He's king forever. He's king forever. Would you
live at peace with him in his kingdom? Then bow to him, this
great king. Fall down at his feet and worship
him. Kiss the son lest he be angry. Kiss him now with the lips of
faith, with the lips of repentance. Bow to the son of God and he
has mercy forever upon all who do. God help you now to bow. for Christ's sake. Amen.