He Shall Be Great

Well, it's a joy to be with you once again. I was mentioning in the Sunday school hour that I was here a few years ago, but it's good to be back. And I also mentioned the fact that a number of you couldn't quite remember the faces. Partly, I would like to add it must be old age creeping up on me. But partly also it's the running around and meeting so many other different faces. But it's a joy to know that our churches are in partnership at the moment. And I'd like to really thank you because this has occurred after my last visit. And so in between, our churches have linked up. meaningfully and consequently our own people back home count you as partners in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I feel greatly honored to be back and I trust that in due season we will retain the favor by stealing your pastor from here for a few days to come and minister among God's people back home in Zambia and in that way enrich our fellowship with you. I've already said a few things in the Sunday school hour concerning our brother Manasseh Kaonga and the work that he is doing in Kapirimposhi. Please do continue praying for him and his family. It is in a very strategic town and city, and we're really looking forward to a fully established autonomous congregation there that will continue to spread the light. I've said something there already. Well, this is a season when most of us are thinking concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into this world and consequently I would like us to look together at Luke and chapter 1 the message that was brought by God's angel, Gabriel, to the, up to this point, unknown, obscure young lady by the name of Mary. So, Luke chapter 1 and verse 26. That's where I'll begin from, though my interest lies particularly in the 32nd verse, where Jesus is spoken about as one who was going to be great. And that's what I really want us to think about this morning, the fact that He will be great. Let's begin with verse 26. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at this saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. And then comes our text, He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom there will be no end." We'll end our reading there. Basically, as we think in terms of what happened on that occasion, we are dealing with a matter that in many ways is a principle with respect to life generally. And it is this, that often the kind of individuals who draw your attention to themselves are individuals who exhibit some kind of greatness, either because they are eloquent, or because they have a lot of wealth, or because they have accrued to themselves political power. And consequently, it doesn't matter what it is you are doing at that point in your life, you do want to give them your attention. And often you give them your attention because you realize that there is a way in which their greatness will have some bearing on you. Sometimes it's really not life-changing. It's perhaps just a baseball game or soccer or cricket or rugby or whatever other sport you might be involved in, but the fact that they have played that particular game means that they will be part of conversation tomorrow. And you don't want to look foolish. as you are mingling with friends and family and they're all excited about something and then you appear as though you've just fallen onto planet Earth and you've missed out on news. So you do want to be in sync with what is happening concerning these great individuals. Or sometimes it's because there is this war that is taking place and consequently a great power is coming into place. So you realize you need to be on the right side of this event and consequently you pay attention, you participate in decision making so that when the whole event is over and you know that someone great is likely to be the winner, you want to be part of that winning. So when the angel announces concerning Jesus as one who will be great, invariably it is suggesting we need to give him our attention. There's something about his person which suggests that if we are on the wrong side of him, at the least we might be embarrassed. at the most we may have serious regret because we might be vanquished. And so even as we think in terms of Christmas and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into this world, the very fact that He is announced to be great suggests we need to give Him some level of thought. We need to put aside whatever it is that has preoccupied us to ask the question, what is it about him that makes him great? What is it about him that ought to make me think about being on the right side of him? Now, if you're familiar with your Bible, generally you will know that it is primarily because your eternal joy hangs on your relationship with Him. And that's where a lot of people miss the point. That they continue in life as though no great person has visited this planet. No great person has their eternal felicity in his hands. Why is that the case? That's why I want us to begin this morning. You see, the greatest mistake that most people make, and you may fall into that category, is to judge Jesus Christ based on His humble beginnings. His humble beginnings. And this story that we have just read quite rightly acknowledges that Jesus did have humble beginnings. The story we just read is about an angel visiting a young lady who was engaged to be married, but completely unknown. If you had gone to the palaces of their own day, walked the corridors of power, and asked concerning who this Mary was, everybody would be shaking their head. Mary who? Joseph who? So clearly he's not an individual who was born with what we call a silver or golden spoon in his mouth. He was not one who associated with the big names in his own day. He was born of humble parentage. grew up in a humble town, was of humble education, labored in a humble vocation or trade, was one with humble associations, and even the end of his life, it was in a humble death. So, in that sense, we must agree that it is very easy for somebody to conclude, he is not worth my while. I've got more important issues to deal with. Who is this Jesus Christ? And that's where we make a grave mistake. We think his beginnings invariably spell out what his end is. But as this angel sent from heaven, sent from God's presence, announces to this unknown, obscure young lady called Mary, that you are to give him the name Jesus, he quickly says to her, know one thing, he will be great. Don't judge this man's end or this baby's end by the context in which you are today. There's a gentleman by the name of James Alan Francis who wrote a poem. I'm given to understand it was initially meant to be part of a message he was to preach. And it's since been entitled, One Solitary Life. I'll quote it to you primarily because it captures something of this contrast. This humble beginning and yet look at the end of the story. He says this, here's a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village. where he worked in a carpenter's shop until he was 30. And then for three years, he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He had nothing to do with this world except the naked power of his divine manhood. While still a young man, He goes on to say, the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property that he had while he was dying, and that was his court. When he was dead, he was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Now, if we end the story there, yes, there's nothing about greatness, humanly speaking. He's been buried. Forget it. Let's move on. But listen to this. Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today he is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched and all the navies that were ever built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that one solitary life. What I want us to think about for a moment this morning is this. How come How do you have somebody born in obscurity, lived in obscurity, humanly speaking, suddenly taking center stage after such an ignoble death of the whole of human history? Two answers, and they are both found in our text. The first is when the angel says, He will be called the Son of the Most High. That aspect of Jesus' greatness is something that was embedded in history itself. While Jesus Christ was here on earth there was already evidence that he was no ordinary individual. Attending his birth, for instance, was the visitation of angels. Announcing to shepherds busy watching over their flock at night, and the announcement was attended with the words, glory to God in the highest. and peace to all men upon whom God's favor rests. Now I know your birth was announced by friends and relatives, parents in great joy, but I doubt that an angel said anything about you. Invariably, that already suggests that no ordinary person has been born on this occasion. Hence you can well understand the shepherds immediately abandoning their sheep and rushing off in order to see what this is that has indeed happened. We also read that when the Lord Jesus Christ was on earth doing His work, though human beings did not know who he was, blinded as they were to spiritual reality, demons acknowledged that here was somebody special. And one of those occasions is found in Mark and chapter 5, if we can just quickly turn there. Mark chapter 5 And verse 7, I'll begin from verse 5, giving us a bit of the context of this demoniac who was almost being slain because of the demons within him, going around in tombs, cutting himself, barely being controlled by change. There's five nights and day among the tombs and on the mountains. He was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, and there it is, What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? These spirits from the spirit world knew that this was no ordinary individual walking the paths of Nazareth, of Galilee. It was the Son of the Most High God, no ordinary being. At the end of his life, as he was on that cross, when he breathed his last, and finally died, one of the soldiers near that cross looked up and confessed, this man is a son of God. This is no ordinary death. There must be something special, unique, indeed great about him, yes, he is dying in nakedness and shame, he has been abandoned by friends, but there is something about him that makes him stand out head and shoulders above all the others that have been executed in my sight. Well, the Apostle Paul goes further And in Romans chapter 1 tells us that the resurrection was also a testimony of who he was. And for that again let us turn to the scriptures and read Romans chapter 1. Romans and chapter 1. I'll begin from this one. Paul Romans 1 and verse 1, Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through the prophets in the Holy Scriptures. Concerning his son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, and here it is, and was declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. In other words, here was further testimony that the one who was buried in that tomb was no ordinary man. We all know the story, how the leaders of Israel went and convinced Pilate that there was need to secure that grave, to put there an elite squad of soldiers to again guard that tomb. Because as they said, the guys will show up, steal his body, and you know what they will be saying to people? He's been raised from the dead. The new life will be worse than the old one. So let's make sure it doesn't happen. It did happen. Without the use of those fishermen and tax collectors they were afraid of. He was raised from the dead. Angels attended the whole process. The soldiers who were guarding that place were quaking like leaves in the midst of a wind as Jesus Christ rose from the dead and walked out of that tomb. Of course, they tried to come up with some story, but you don't need to be a genius to realize that that story was fake. the claim that his disciples came and stole the body. How do a few unarmed individuals come in, defeat an elite squad, and go off with a dead man's body? How? Well, they said we were sleeping. Then how did you know they've done it? if you were asleep. So one way or the other, you must admit something of stupendous levels has occurred in that moment. And the biblical account is that death could not keep its prey. That's the message. He is the source of life itself. He is life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me. I am the resurrection and the life. And consequently, having paid the price for our sin, He arose from the dead. So His greatness continues. His greatness is also seen in his continued work of conquering human hearts through conversion, subduing them to repentance and faith. That's what he said to his disciples soon after being raised from the dead. He said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations." And it began to happen. Some of the staunchest enemies of the Gospel, Paul himself, who wrote Romans that we were just reading about a few moments ago, his heart was conquered by Jesus of Nazareth. The little baby that was to be born of Mary, of whom the angel said he was going to be great, was showing that he is indeed the son of the Most High God. saying to individuals like Saul, who was later called Paul, you are kicking against the gods, you are pricking yourself in the process, you are hurting yourself by fighting against me. Surrender your life to me. I am on an agenda that is unstoppable. I am out to conquer hearts." That was his message to him. Paul submitted as so many others did, showing that he is indeed mighty, he is indeed great. Let me add one more to his greatness across history. showing himself to be the son of the Most High. And what is that? It is the multiplication of little colonies of faith, starting from Jerusalem, going into Judea, spreading further into Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Those who are thus brought to repentance and faith Do not live as individuals, somehow lost out in the cities and bushes of this world. No, they gather together into local bodies of God's people. And there they live under His Lordship. They in fact worship Him as their Lord and their God. fulfilling what He said when He said make disciples of all nations baptizing them, initiating them into this one body in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe or to obey all the things I have commanded you and here we are in Charlottesville gathered to worship this great God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I'm saying to you, if you doubt His greatness, look. Just open your eyes. And it's not just here. Earlier on I showed you pictures back home in Zambia, the same thing. The people gathered to acknowledge Him as Lord, to worship Him, to serve Him. Indeed, if it means to die for Him, so be it. Can't you see? He shall be great. And that greatness is already observable. Just open your eyes. Often, people like to say that those who become Christians become Christians because of fear. Fear of the unknown, they say. They are chickens. The truth is, it demands a lot more to turn your back against your dulling sins and to begin to swim against the tide today. The ones who are really afraid of the unknown are those who still hang in there with their sins. They know there is a price to be paid to be numbered with the people of God. You go against yourself, you go against the world, you go against so much. The truth is, we become Christians because Jesus conquers our hearts. He is a great One. He shows that He is truly the Son of the Most High. And we acknowledge Him as such when we come to repentance and faith. We say, He is my Lord and my God. And that's being said across the globe. It is being sung across the globe. And we look forward to seeing Him when He shines in His second coming. Which leads me to my last point, and it is this, that to end with what our eyes can see is to reduce Jesus to a mere human being. The greatness of Jesus is best seen from the vantage point of eternity. That's the reason why the demons could cry that way about Him. They knew about Him that which no human eyes could perceive. And so they were crying, leave us alone, Son of the Most High, stop tormenting us. And that's what our Bible does for us. It takes us behind the curtain. It takes us behind the veil that we may see who this Jesus really is. And let me put it this way to you. That first of all, Jesus' birth was not really the beginning of His life. It wasn't. He is the second person of the Blessed Trinity. And that's greatness itself. When the angel spoke to Mary, this is the way he put it, back to Luke and chapter 1. Luke and chapter 1. He says there, verse 30, And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus." Later on, this is what he says, verse 35, upon her asking the question, how can this be? The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. The point that is being made is that this is a unique being. This is one who is God the Son. That he is holy. He is one that is already set apart from the whole of creation and set apart from anything sinful. He is a unique being. He was not coming into existence. He already was. He was coming into this world to fulfill a plan. One of Jesus' disciples who came to Him later on was a disciple by the name of John. And when he wrote his Gospel, the Gospel of John, he began with these words, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I hope you've given it some thought. He goes to the beginning of human history. He goes to the creation of the universe and he says at that point the Word already was. And that Word was with God and that word was God. A few verses later, this is what he says, that word came and dwelt among us. He came and tabernacled with us. We saw his glory, the glory of the one and only begotten of the Father. Wow! He did not have his beginning when he was born of Mary. He already was from all eternity. Now if you can begin to package that in your brain You are already dealing with greatness. When he came into this world, all he did was to cast a veil over that greatness. That's what he did. So that he could identify himself with us. So that he could be the last Adam. so that what Adam failed to do for us at the beginning of human history, he could now do at that point in history, ordained by the Father in covenant agreement with Him in eternity. Hence, he allowed himself to suffer the way he did, to be chased around like a common criminal. to be identified with the common population of this life, to take on himself the kind of trade that you hardly think twice about, even in the modern age. He deliberately took that on himself. Even that death we were speaking about a few moments ago, the death on the cross, it was his choice. He said, look, nobody takes this life away from me. I lay it down of my own accord. It is God the Son. But when you go to her text, it's very clear that the angel is going not so much into history, but he is instead looking into the far distant future. Let's go back to the text. This is what he says. Verse 32, He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High God, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end. He's pointing to a future coronation and looking at scripture and it's outworking He is pointing to the event that took place after Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin. When He ascended to heaven with His own blood into the Holy of Holies of the real and eternal tabernacle, not made with human hands. And upon getting there, to be given meditatorial kingship, that he was now to be the ruler of history for the bringing in of his elect people. It is that event that is being spoken about. The event that we read of a little earlier on in Philippians. Having died that ignoble death on the cross, he was now given the name that is above every name. Whether it is in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, that at the name of Jesus, every knee would bow. Every knee. In all those stratas, every knee would bow. and acknowledge him to be Lord to the glory of God the Father. That's what is being spoken about by the angel. That's what is going to happen. He will prove victor in all the temptations in this life. He will prove victor in all the temptations from the evil one. He will finally die on that cross. He will rise. He will go back to the Father and the Father will give to him that kingship, that rulership that will enable him to rule over his church, that will enable him to rule over the planets of this universe and bring in his people until finally they worship him as Lord and God. I want to therefore end by taking us to Revelation 5, which gives us something of that picture. God all in all. Revelation and chapter five. Because time isn't with us, I won't read the whole of it. But I trust that you will appreciate what is there. Revelation and chapter five. I'll begin with this one. I'm pretty sure that you've meditated upon it before. It's a passage that truly brings out a picture that John was given to see so that he might appreciate the centerpiece of the universe in the midst of his suffering. The church was under persecution. The possibility of beginning to think that perhaps we are in the losing team was high. this one. Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals, says John. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? He speaks about the fact that hardly anyone could be found. He himself began to weep. And then he's given a message of encouragement in verse 5, And one of the elders said to me, Weep no more! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered. And in case you don't know, that's referring to the Jesus that was being announced by Angel Gabriel here. He has conquered so that he can open the scroll and break its seals. Verse 6, And between the throne and the four living creatures, and among the elders I saw, you would have thought you'd say he saw a lion, but he says I saw a lamb standing as though it were slaves. What a picture! Instead of seeing a lion with all its majesty and strength, he sees a lamb. mangled, looking as though it was slain. But listen to this, verse seven, he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, fell down before the Lamb. Of course, it was all in worship. Verse nine, they sung a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals. For you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests. to serve our God and they shall reign on the earth He speaks about myriads upon myriads and thousands upon thousands of voices worshipping and then finally verse 13 and 14 and I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever and the four living creatures said amen and the elders fell down and worshipped. Now, if that's not greatness, I don't know what greatness is. He shall be great. The little baby that is to be born from you, that will lie in a cow shed, that will be put within basic clothes, and laid in a cow's feeding trough, that little child will one day be seated at the right hand of God with the entire universe bowed down in worship before Him. What does that mean to us? There are a lot of so-called great people whose greatness, or at least lack of it, affects us one way or the other. Not long ago, back home in Africa, Nelson Mandela died some 17 days ago. And people were arguing as to whether he's great or really he's a great sinner in the opposite direction. They were arguing. And for many of us it was an argument that is engaged in philosophically. You sit there, you argue after that, it doesn't affect you at all. You may win an argument, but nothing more than that. But here is a greatness you can't just talk about and win an argument and nothing more than that. Here is a greatness that will affect you. Because you must one day appear before God your maker. You have an account to give concerning the life that He has given you. And that little baby that was to be born from Mary was indeed the life giver. Nothing was made that has been made without Him. You too, He's given you your life and consequently before long you must give an account to Him. Now you've got a choice to make. Either this story we've just talked about is the greatest deception and fraud in human history. It's all a bunch of lies. And if it is, you'll find out. But I know one thing. That's a scapegoat. Remember those soldiers who tried to give that kind of story that ultimately cannot hold? That's what you're trying to do. The truth is, He is the ruler of the universe. The spiritual world recognizes that. And before long, you will be looking Him in the face. Remember I said the issue about greatness is this, it affects you. That's why you want to deal with it. That's why you want to know about it. That's why you want to be in sync with it. it affects you. The greatness of this individual, Jesus of Nazareth, will affect you. Your eternal well-being hangs on this. Neglect him, reject him, you pay for it forever. Submit to him now, Repent of your sin now. Trust in His finished work on the cross now. Become His faithful servant and worshipper now. And it doesn't matter what human beings may do to you. When the final trumpet is heard, you will not be in the category of individuals calling for rocks and hills to cover you. You will be among those that will be saying, come Lord Jesus, I've waited for this moment. Oh, I plead with you to turn from your sin, to trust in this Jesus for dear life's sake. Believe me, he will be great. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, Thank you that we worship one whose greatness is already being confirmed across history, not only while he lived on earth, but also the outworking of his power in converting sinners to yourself and raising churches that live and abide under your word. Father, we recognize that among us will easily be many individuals that still treat this great person like some individual across the globe, seen as great by his fellow tribesmen, but having nothing to do with them. except being part of current news. But, O Lord, that through your Holy Spirit you might show such individuals that among the every knee that shall bow will be theirs. But if they are forced to do so in eternity, it will be for their own eternal doom. Lord grant that they might bow the knee now and consequently rejoice when the King of Kings and Lord of Lords returns. This we plead for Jesus' sake. Amen.