Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20080924.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Luke: Jesus, The Son Of Man For All Mankind
Part III: Clarifying The Credibility Of Jesus' Incarnation As The God-Man Of All Mankind
(Luke 1:26-45)
  1. Introduction
    1. Gentile non-eyewitnesses of the life of Christ like us need verifyable evidence that Jesus is the Son of the God of all men; otherwise, Christ can appear to us to be merely a Jewish man with messianic ambitions!
    2. Luke 1:26-45 in view of events in Luke 1:5-25 and the Old Testament Septuagint that Luke's Gentile and non-eyewitness reader, Theophilus would have known provide such evidence with force (as follows):
  2. Clarifying The Credibility Of Jesus' Incarnation As The God-Man Of All Mankind, Luke 1:26-45.
    1. After Elisabeth's conception of John, she hid herself for five months possibly due to the excitement it would bring to those who knew her, Luke 1:24; Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament , p. 204.
    2. In Elisabeth's sixth month, Gabriel appeared to a virgin, Mary in Nazareth to tell of Jesus' birth, 1:26-27.
    3. Gabriel's appearance to Mary is marked by repeat allusions to the Old Testament's God of ALL mankind:
      1. The angel's arrival caused Mary to fear like his appearing led Zacharias to fear (Lk. 1:12), so Gabriel told her not to fear, Lk. 1:28-30; then, he highly emphasized that she had found favor with God much like Noah, the father of all living men, had found favor with God in his era, Luke 1:28-30; Gen. 6:8.
      2. Then, Gabriel announced facts about Jesus that were applicable to Jews and Gentiles, Luke 1:31-33: (a) Mary would conceive a son, to whom she would give birth, and she would name Him Jesus, the Old Testament Jewish equivalent of "Joshua," Lk. 1:31. (b) He would be great, and be called the Son of the Highest, a reference to His deity, and the Lord God would give unto Him the throne of his Hebrew ancestor, David, Luke 1:32a,b,c with 1:27. (c) However, Jesus would rule on David's throne, and as that rule is thus messianic that affects all nations (Isa. 42:1-4), it would be over all men, Luke 1:32d; (d) Jesus would rule over the house of Jacob, and as no king had ruled over all of Jacob's twelve sons since the days of Rehoboam, God would reunite all Israel under Jesus' reign, Luke 1:32e; (e) He would rule the tribes of Jacob forever, meaning He would be sinless unlike Israel's past mortal kings so that His kingdom never again would be divided due to the absence of sin in Him, Lk. 1:32-33; cf. 1 Kings 11:11-13; (f) Jesus' reign would be endless since He is the Eternal God, the Creator, Luke 1:32-33.
      3. Mary wondered how she could bear a child as a virgin (Luke 1:34, 27), so Gabriel explained that just as the Holy Spirit had hovered over the formless earth to create all human life in Genesis 1:2, He would hover over her to conceive God incarnate, the Head of new life for all men, Lk. 1:35; 1 Cor. 15:20-23.
    4. After this announcement, Mary's submission to Gabriel's message and her interaction with Elisabeth supplies notable signs that verify the reality that Mary's pregnancy was the work of God, Luke 1:36-45:
      1. Evidence that God would work a miracle in Mary's womb had already been supplied via Elisabeth's conception of John in her old age, so Gabriel told Mary of that other miraculous pregnancy, 1:36-37.
      2. Thus, Mary accepted Gabriel's announcement and submitted to God in the matter before rushing off to make contact with Elisabeth for confirmation of the coming miraculous birth of Jesus, Luke 1:38-39!
      3. When Mary initially greeted Elisabeth, her infant who had not yet even met Mary leaped in her womb, fulfilling Gabriel's Luke 1:15 prediction that John would be filled with God's Spirit in the womb, 1:41.
      4. Elisabeth was then filled with the Holy Spirit to testify that Mary was chosen of God to bear her Lord, and to relate how John certified Mary's pregnancy was of God by leaping in her womb in accord with Gabriel's word to Zacharias that his son would be filled with the Spirit in the womb, Lk. 1:42-44, 15. This word was from God, for Mary had not yet told Elisabeth about Gabriel's message to her.
      5. Elisabeth then predicted Mary would be blessed for trusting Gabriel's message [unlike her husband's doubt of Gabriels' message to him (cf. Lk. 1:20)], Luke 1:45! This clearly supernatural message for Mary would have greatly encouraged her, and further certified the divine origin of Christ's incarnation.
Lesson: The allusions in Gabriel's message to the Old Testament Creator God of ALL men, and the supernatural signs in the experiences of John's and Jesus' mothers reveal that Jesus is TRULY God in the flesh, and that He is the Son of the Creator God of ALL men, and for the sake of ALL mankind!

Application: May we believe that the Incarnate Jesus is truly the Son of the Creator God of ALL men!