Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. Therefore the Holy One who will be born will be called the Son of God. Listen, your cousin Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age. And this is the sixth month with her who was declared barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be unto me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her (Luke 1:34-38).
The Scriptures are all about Jesus, and we learn 10 things about Jesus from the angel Gabriel’s announcement of His birth.
1. We learn that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Scripture. Isaiah 7:14 tells us that the virgin will give birth to a child. Who is he? Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. All of Scripture and history is about Jesus, who comes as the fulfillment of Scripture.
2. We learn that Jesus is fully man. He really is human. He has a mother who birthed him, held him, fed him, changed his diaper, wiped his nose, bathed him and taught him how to walk and talk. Sometimes the picture of Jesus is wrongly cast that he entered the world speaking syllogisms, combing his hair, reciting Leviticus from memory and walking around with a halo on his head.
3. Not only was Jesus fully man, He was fully God. When the angel says He is “the Son of God,” that’s a divine title.
4. Jesus is fully sovereign. We’re told that His Father is “the most High God” and that He is “Son of the most High.” This places Him alongside God the Father as co-ruler of creation. This reveals Jesus’ pre-eminence, prominence and power.
5. Jesus is the King. The angel said that He would be “great.” In that day, there was a king named Herod whose nickname was Herod the Great. But the angel says that Jesus is the real great one, who will rule from David’s throne. The promise was made that David would be a king (2 Sam. 7:8-16), but that through his family line would come the King of kings who would rule and reign over all kings and kingdoms forever. Since Joseph was from the family line of David, when he adopted Jesus, he adopted Jesus into the family line of David in fulfillment of the prophecy of Samuel.
6. We learn that Jesus is eternal. The angel says He will rule and reign forever, and He will have a kingdom with no end. The Son of God lived before His birth, and He lives after his resurrection and ascension. His kingdom has no end.
7. We hear from the angel that Jesus is powerful because nothing is impossible with God. Jesus is the God who can do anything, including entering history as a man.
8. Jesus is sinless. The angel declares that Jesus would be “holy”; that as Adam had no earthly father and was to be the head of all humanity, when he sinned, we all inherited his corruption and sin nature. Then comes Jesus, the second Adam. He likewise has no earthly father, and where Adam fails, Jesus succeeds. When He died, it was not for His sins, because He had none, but for our sins so that we might be forgiven. He is, in fact, holy and sinless without any sin in nature or action.
9. Jesus is our Savior. We are all sinners by nature and choice. We are all guilty, and Jesus is the one who is our Savior. He forgives us, He embraces us and He loves us. That’s what He alone does.
10. Jesus is humble. This announcement wasn’t made to the multitudes, but just to one woman. It wasn’t made in a big town; it was made in Nazareth. It wasn’t made to a rich woman; it was made to a poor woman. Jesus didn’t grow up in a large house; he grew up in a small house. He didn’t have access to the best education; He was in a small town with many illiterate people. Jesus didn’t grow up wearing the finest clothes; he dressed simply. His father wasn’t a king; His daddy was a carpenter, and He helped His dad put food on the table for his family. Jesus didn’t get to travel the world and have amazing experiences. He stayed pretty close to his hometown of Nazareth. Jesus was humble. Jesus came in humility to the humble peasant teenager Mary.
Grace is all it takes. If Jesus is humble enough to be with Mary, isn’t it wonderful that to this day, He is humble enough to come and be with us?
Jesus wants to be with you, not because you are amazing, but because He is. He is the God of grace. That’s amazing.
Out of these 10 things about Jesus, which one do you find most surprising? Why? {eoa}
Mark Driscoll is a Jesus-following, mission-leading, church-serving, people-loving, Bible-preaching pastor and the author of many books, including Spirit-Filled Jesus, which you can order here. He currently pastors The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his family. For all of pastor Mark Driscoll’s Bible teaching, please visit markdriscoll.org or download the app. You can download a free devotional e-book from pastor Mark here.
Bill Wiese 
Chris Garcia 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
