The Person Of Christ

Luke 1:32

“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” (Luke 1:32).

The angel Gabriel is speaking here. He was sent to Mary to announce to her that she would conceive and bare the Christ child. In the announcement, Gabriel said some great things about Christ. In fact, Gabriel spoke more highly of Christ than many ministers. We note three of the important truths about Christ which Gabriel spoke. These truths, if denied, will send the unbelieving soul to hell for eternity.

FIRST—CHRIST IS GREAT

“He shall be great.” That is an understatement. No one is as great as or greater than Jesus Christ. His greatest work was Calvary where he provided salvation for sinful man. Because of Him and through Him man can have his destiny changed from hell to heaven for eternity. Nothing is greater. In fact, all the achievements of men put together are nothing in greatness compared to the greatness of Jesus Christ. Yet many times we use the term “great” to describe things that are not great at all. We often call some athlete “great”because of his achievement in the sports world—he has hit a ball a long distance, or kicked a ball through some uprights, or put a ball through a basket, or run some particular distance in a record breaking time. These, however are not “great” achievements compared to Christ’s greatness. Also we call many politicians “great” who are more guileful than “great.” What men call “great” and what the Bible calls “great” are generally two different things?

SECOND—CHRIST IS GOD

“Son of the Highest.” This term declares that Jesus Christ is God. He was God’s Son come into the world in the likeness of flesh to dwell with us in order to be our substitute at Calvary. Christ was very man, but He was also very God. You may deny the Deity of Christ, but you cannot deny that the Bible teaches it, for Scripture is very clear in declaring the deity of Christ. In fact, one whole book (the Gospel of John) has as its theme of the Deity of Christ.

THIRD—CHRIST IS GOVERNOR

“The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.” God made a covenant with David that promised a ruler to come from the seed of David who would rule Israel forever. The fulfillment of that covenant promise is in Jesus Christ. When Herod inquired of the scribes about the place of Christ’s birth, the scribes said Christ would be born in Bethlehem, “for out of thee [Bethlehem] shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel” (Micah 5:2). And where Christ is the Governor there will be peace. The solution to peace among the nations and peace in the heart of man is Jesus Christ. He must be made the Governor of the nations and of the individual if peace is to be possessed by the nations and by the individual.[1]

John G. Butler, Sermon Starters, vol. 1