Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 3 Study # 7
February 1, 2004
Lincolnton, N.C.
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Thesis:   The King is a Servant.

Introduction:   In our study last week we looked into the necessity that "Jesus" have two fathers. We saw that sonship exists on more than one level, but that Jesus was a "son" to two different "fathers" at every level. The reason for this is that Jesus had to be the son of David because He had to be a partaker of flesh and blood in order to be able to offer a legitimate sacrifice for man's sin [Hebrews 2:14 & 17]. On the other hand, the death of a mere man for men would have boiled down to efficacy for only one man [the constraints of Justice disallow one man for many], so Jesus had to be the "Son of the Most High" in order for the death that He died to be efficacious for multitudes of men. This morning, we are going to look again at Gabriel's description of Jesus from another perspective. He told Mary that her son would be the Davidic King Who would rule over the House of Jacob forever. Then, he repeated himself and said that His kingdom would have no end. Somehow I get the feeling that Gabriel wanted Mary to know that her son's kingdom would be an on-going reality without any future termination point. The question I have for us to think about this morning is this: why did God want Mary to think of her Son in terms of His identity as the Davidic King when there would be no expression of this identity in all of His life on this earth as long as Mary lived? What is the point of telling Mary that her Son is going to be someone that she will not see even a glimmer of in her lifetime? In fact, we might even say that Gabriel's words "set Mary up for profound confusion" because her expectations, derived from those words, were to be denied all of her lifetime. What is this?

• I. The Meaning of the Descriptive Phrases.
  • A. The origin of the name "Jesus" is found in the name and function of Joshua.
    • 1. Joshua was not ever a "king" in Israel, though he certainly functioned as one in many respects.
    • 2. Joshua was primarily a "warrior" for Israel as the instrument of divine salvation.
    • 3. The name "Jesus", deriving from the name and function of Joshua, pictured a victorious warrior, not a victim lamb.
  • B. The Grantor of Various Aspects of Jesus as the Davidic King.
    • 1. We are first told that we are to think of the Father of Jesus as The Most High.
      • a. This is probably Luke's way of addressing the theological setting from which Theophilus came.
      • b. As Most High, God is God of gods, King of kings, and Lord of lords.
      • c. As Most High, the entire notion of 'exaltation' is brought into the picture with the context being Elizabeth's and Mary's "fixation" on being exalted and made "great".
      • d. There is an interplay between 1:32 and 1:35 that is significant.
        • 1) In 1:32, Jesus is to be called the Son of the Most High and the Most High is then called Lord, the God.
        • 2) In 1:35, Mary is to be "overshadowed" by the power of the Most High so that Jesus is called the Son of God.
        • 3) This interplay is designed to connect the issues of the titles "Most High" and "God".
          • a) The issue of the title "Most High" is Exaltation.
          • b) The issue of the title "God" is Power.
          • c) When these issues are connected, we walk away with the idea that power is what brings exaltation.
    • 2. Then, as Grantor of the Davidic identity beyond birth, the Most High is called Lord, the God.
      • a. The "birth" identity is "Son of the Most High". It is the power of the Most High that produces the "in the womb son".
      • b. The "beyond birth" identity is "Son of God" (as an exerciser of phenomenal power).
      • c. This "beyond birth identity" is focused by our text upon the realities of being the Son of David.
      • d. And this "Son of David" identity is granted by One known as Lord, the God.
        • 1) There is no escaping the thesis of Sovereign Power.
        • 2) There is no escaping the consequent thesis of Jesus as the executor of sovereign power.
    • 3. The point is that Jesus, as the executor of sovereign power, is reinforced in respect to the Joshua identity of Victorious Warrior.
  • C. The expressions of the Davidic identity.
    • 1. He is to receive the Davidic Throne.
      • a. The Davidic Throne is not the piece of furniture David sat upon when he ruled in Jerusalem.
      • b. The Davidic Throne is the 'authority and power to rule' that David exercised: the terminology is a figure of speech.
    • 2. This Davidic Throne as the 'authority and power to rule' is to be exercised over the House of Jacob forever.
      • a. The House of Jacob is the name the Lord God uses to identify the particular focus of the King's activities...this is the description of His Kingdom.
      • b. The House of Jacob consists of the elect remnant of the combined offspring of the sons of Jacob.
    • 3. The duration of this Davidic Rule over the House of Jacob is to be unending.
      • a. It is "forever".
      • b. It has "no end".
    • 4. The point is that Jesus, as the Davidic King, is destined to be the enduring ruler of the nation of Israel forever -- after He takes His place upon the throne of the House of Jacob.
• II. The Consequent Reality in the Record of Jesus' Earthly Life.
  • A. Jesus is never presented as 'ascending to the throne of David'.
  • B. The House of Jacob is presented as receiving the Son of David, but the reception is aborted by the established leadership.
  • C. There is no indication that Jesus was ever granted the elements required for enduring rule by Lord, the God; instead, He was crucified and the city which was the seat of David's rule was destroyed.
• III. The Question.
  • A. Why would God focus Mary's attention upon Jesus as Messiah ben Judah before Jesus lived out the reality of His identity as Messiah ben Joseph?
  • B. Because the seeds of the spirit of Antichrist are in the disassociation of the Messianic themes into two different persons.
    • 1. As long as "Suffering Servant" and "Victorious Warrior King" are separated into more than one person, the ancient animosity toward God is maintained.
    • 2. The coming antichrist can actually use the theology of Israel to claim that, though there was a Suffering Servant, he is the Victorious Warrior King.
    • 3. As long as men refuse to recognize that "rule" and "exaltation" and "the exercise of power" and the "dominion over others" is not unto true service, the spirit of antichrist will have the ability to deceive.
  • C. The real question: why do you want/not want Jesus to return?
    • 1. Are you looking for 'deliverance from service'?
    • 2. Are you looking for 'deliverance unto service'?

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This is article #048.
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