Isaiah 9:6–7
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
With God nothing is impossible. Holy Spirit within us is our promise of life with God for eternity. Believe! Carla
Luke 1:26-35 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Jesus fulfilled (and will fulfill) God’s promise to David concerning an unending dynasty. The Old Testament develops in detail this promise of an eternal Davidic kingdom (2 Samuel 7:8–16; 1 Kings 2:24, 25; Psalm 2:1–12; 89:14, 19–29, 35–37; 110:1–7; 132:11, 12; Isaiah 9:6, 7; 11:1–5, 10; Jeremiah 23:5, 6). First-century Israelites based their hopes on these promises, but their focus was on a political and earthly kingdom.
Mary did not ask for a sign, so this remark does not reflect unbelief. She accepts her role without question in verse 38, and thus is a model of faith even though she does not fully understand everything. The work of God in Mary introduces something unknown before or after: the birth into the human race of One who is both God and man.
The Holy Spirit will come upon you is a direct declaration of Jesus’ divine conception. The association of the Spirit with power is frequent for Luke (verse 17; 4:14; Acts 1:8; 6:8–10; 10:38). The child’s conception means He is uniquely set apart, the Holy One, a phrase which is here not so much a title as a description of Jesus’ sinless nature.
God keeps His promises regardless of how difficult the circumstances may seem. Gabriel’s statement about God should be our statement of faith: Nothing is impossible with God. The NKJV Study Bible
Luke calls Mary a virgin twice in this verse to demonstrate that Jesus’ conception was an act of God (verses 34–35; Matthew 1:23).
At this time, betrothal represented a permanent relationship nearly equivalent to marriage; breaking off a betrothal required a decision akin to divorce.
Of the house of David alludes to Isaiah 11:1–2 to portray Jesus as the shoot and branch of Jesse.This portrays Jesus as the Messiah, from King David’s line. (David was Jesse’s son.)
The Lord is with you recalls “Immanuel” (“God with us”) from Isaiah 7:14, which was already alluded to in Luke 1:27 (Matthew 1:23).
Jesus is from the Hebrew name Joshua, which means “Yahweh is help (or, salvation)” (Matthew 1:21). Son of the Most High highlights Jesus’ divinity and royalty (Luke 1:35, 76). Gabriel implies that Jesus will fulfill the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:12–13). Son of God title reflects Jesus’ miraculous conception and, consequently, His divinity. Faithlife Study Bible
Matthew 1:18
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:20–21
But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
2 Samuel 7:11–17
since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house.“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom…
Whatever the label or narrative of smallness we may carry, it is never the whole truth. Never. Never. Never.
Mercy lets us see what really matters. Not the labels. Not the playing small. Not the putdowns. Not the belittling or bullying.
Because no matter where we live or labor or toil, our “calling” is to spill the light.
And the good news? For this we don’t have to pass a test, or qualify, we have only to be willing.
Jesus made it simple, “Let your light shine.”
Not, when you get your act together.
Not, when you feel noble.
Not, when you find a specific vocation.
Not, after you've chased all the gloom away.
Just let it shine. Because the light is already there. Inside of you. Now.
“Mercy is radical kindness… Mercy, grace, forgiveness and compassion are synonyms, and the approaches we might consider taking when facing a great big mess, especially the great big mess of ourselves — our arrogance, greed, poverty, disease, prejudice. It includes everything out there that just makes us sick and makes us want to turn away, the idea of accepting life as it presents itself and doing goodness anyway, the belief that love and caring are marbled even into the worst life has to offer.” Thank you, Anne Lamott. Sabbath Moments
Habakkuk 2:4 (ESV) "Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith."
While God's Word in Habakkuk 2:4 applied first to these circumstances, "the righteous shall live by his faith" also points us to a greater truth: Our righteousness is not just about what we do but who we trust.
As believers in Jesus, we know our right standing before God comes solely from our relationship with Him. When we trust in Christ, God sees us as blameless despite our sin. It's not our work or effort that saves us; it's God's grace through our faith (2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 4:4-5).
To illustrate this, the Apostle Paul even quoted Habakkuk 2:4 twice in the New Testament. Once, he used it to teach the church in Rome, with its mix of Jewish and gentile believers, that salvation is not contingent on a person's background but purely on belief in Jesus (Romans 1:17). Second, Paul also reminded the church in Galatia that faith is the only way to eternal life; salvation can't be earned (Galatians 3:11).
This Advent season, let's remember how God's people in Habakkuk's day awaited their coming Messiah, the One who would be their righteous and perfect King, their source of salvation. And let's rejoice that today we can live by faith in Jesus, the Messiah who has come!
As we depend on God and hold fast to His Word, even when we don't understand what He is doing, we can rest and rejoice in the Savior who fulfills His every promise (Colossians 1:15-23). First5
No comments:
Post a Comment