Luke 1:26-38; 2 Samuel 7:1-11,16

December 20, 2020  

Gospel                                                                             Luke 1:26-38

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He 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, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” ³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.” ³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Title: Good News of the King

While everyone of us is familiar with the title of Jesus as King, I often think this is one we have a tendency to gloss over. And partly, we do this not intentionally, but because it is hard for us to relate to the concept of a King. For a King is really all the branches of government, concentrated on a single person – and without opposition. For yes, we have government officials, but these officials don’t always agree and it is acceptable for us to speak out against what they are doing.

We also have trouble envisioning just how different a nation can be based on the kind of king they have. How much of a relief and a joy it was to have a good king, and how miserable and scary it could be to be under the rule of a madman. Now Israel and Judah had many bad kings, and very few good kings, but the gold standard was David. For the Lord had blessed Israel under the reign of David, and he was able to grow the kingdom and defeat their enemies. But, yet, God promised that a King was coming who would succeed David, and would be even greater.  We see this promise in Isaiah 9:7, “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Here is a promise that not only would this king surpass David, but His Kingdom, and His rule, would last forever. This was certainly a unique King for a unique Kingdom.

1. Sits on the Throne of David v. 32, “He 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,”

This is the fulfillment of the promise God had given to David. In our Old Testament lesson 2 Samuel 7:7-8,16 this promise is found, “‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” It would not be David that would build a house for the Lord, but it would be the Lord who would build a house, a royal house, for David. This is what the angel was referring to when Gabriel said of Jesus, “The Lord God will give him the throne of His father David.”

The awe of the throne. Hard for us to imagine. For the one who sat on the throne was in complete control. He had the power to have you put to death for any reason, and He had the power to set you free. To disobey the King was a dangerous thing. How important it was to have a stable king. One who ruled with justice and righteousness, not just based on how he was feeling that day. And notice how God describes the kings in 2 Sam. 7:7, that the rulers were meant to “shepherd my people Israel.” Yes, we are sheep, and we need trustworthy and faithful shepherds. So whenever Jesus speaks of being our shepherd, and the good shepherd, He is speaking about his work as King.

And this was the Good News Gabriel brought to Mary, that she would give birth to a King – the promised King. And He will reign over His people, He would shepherd His people, on the throne of David. This was a promise God gave over and over throughout the Old Testament, and He was about to make good on that promise. That not only would He sit on the earthly throne of David, but He would also be called “the Son of the Most High.” He is also the true occupant of the throne of Heaven. The Messiah would not just be a good king sent from God, He would be the perfect King – the Son of the Living God.

1. Establishes Righteousness and Justice

In Isaiah 16:5 we see that this King would rule correctly, “In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it— one from the house of David— one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.”

Here is a promise, repeated throughout the Old Testament, that the promised King would establish Justice and Righteousness. This aspect of the coming king is seen in Zechariah’s song, from the previous chapter, at the birth of John the Baptist, as he sang of the reign of Jesus, “enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”

Notice the King was not just to bring these things, but establish them. For the King alone decrees what is right and wrong, and He alone establishes what needs to be done to atone for wrongdoing. This world will never find righteousness and justice because it believes these things are open for debate. They act as though right and wrong can be determined by human beings and that justice can be decided through human wisdom alone, but that is not the case. Why? Because the King alone establishes the law. The Laws of Right and Wrong are just as firmly established by God as the laws of physics and other natural laws. And this is why the world struggles with justice. For how can you right the wrongs when you don’t know right from wrong? To rebel against God’s established order is just as foolish as rebelling against the law of gravity. If you do, you will come crashing down.

And when it comes to righteousness and justice, you cannot separate the two. You need have a set guide as to what it right and wrong if you are going to make wrongs right. Seeking justice without righteousness results more in revenge and a spirit of judgmentalism. This is what happened during things like the Spanish Inquisition, the faux trials of the French Revolution, or the Salem witch trials. They claimed to seek justice, but acted purely out of personal spite than true righteousness.

You also cannot Have righteousness without justice. If you seek righteousness without justice, it ends up being self-righteousness. This results in overlooking sin, not dealing with it. This is often called “cheap grace.” For God has declared that sin, all wrongdoing, must be paid for – it must be atoned for. No one would be considered a just judge if sin and wrongdoing had no consequences.

In fact, there is only one person that can truly bring justice and righteousness – Jesus Christ. For He is the measure of true righteousness, as He is the unchanging standard of right and wrong. He is also true justice – for His blood alone can atone for our sins – and the sins of the world. 1 John 1:9, “⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

For without Jesus there can be no righteousness and there can be no justice.

III. Establishes Everlasting Peace

Jesus as King is also the only one who can establish true peace. Hebrews 1:8 shows this as the writer quotes Psalm 45:6, “But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.”

A scepter is a symbol of ruling power. This scepter signifies the power to defeat His enemies and to secure the Kingdom. This relates also to the title given Jesus, “Son of the Most High.” This shows the source and scope of His power.  Again, this was part of the promise given to David in 2 Samuel 7:10-11, “And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.”

In the New Testament, we see that this task as not fully accomplished at Jesus’ first coming, but we look forward to the time when Jesus will fully deal with those forces that threaten us. In 1 Corinthians 15:24-26, “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

Today, we give thanks for the King. And we need to receive Him as King. We need to acknowledge that Jesus alone sits on the throne. That God has given Him all power and authority. We need to submit ourselves to the righteousness and justice He has established. We also need to trust Him to be the one to establish our peace. He alone has the power to defeat the enemies that threaten us. Because of this, we do not need to be afraid, for the Lord, our God, the King of Kings, is with us. Amen.