Rev Gav
King
Luke 1:32-33. In our Western culture, we are very blessed to be able to call Jesus King — even though it may be socially or politically frowned upon.
Luke 1:32-33
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For the word of God will never fail.”
38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
Reflect
Mary was going to give birth to a son, and he would become a great king — greater than Israel’s greatest historic king, King David, greater than the current Jewish king, King Herod, and greater than Caesar, the Roman Emperor. He would be greater than any other world leader that had ever existed, and greater than any world leader that ever would exist in the future. This king would be divine. He would be God and have an infinite kingdom!
I wonder if Mary had time to think about this. I mean, in that culture, at that time, to make such kingly claims in public would have been to give yourself a death sentence. Caesar, the divinely appointed king, and Herod the Great, the corrupt Jewish king, would both have had some strong words to say to anyone else making claims of kingship. Such a person would be guilty of high treason, punishable by death!
And yet, every follower of Jesus Christ has claimed that he is their king. Some even died horrible, torturous deaths because they refused to renounce Jesus as king. In our western culture we are very blessed to be able to claim Jesus as king, for back then, to do so, would have been to take your life into your own hands.
Do
Why not say out loud, “Jesus is King!”, and today, let Jesus be Lord over every aspect of your life — your time, talents, money, possessions, and relationships.
Pray
Holy God
I want to be part of your kingdom.
I want you to be Lord over everything;
my time, talents, money,
possessions and relationships.
Lord Jesus, you’re the king of my life.
This day and for ever.
Amen.
Think
In our culture, how is it socially or politically unacceptable for Christians to claim ‘Jesus is King’?
