God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to declare to her a glorious message:
“Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).
A key statement in this message made known that the Lord God would exalt Mary’s Son by giving Him the throne of His father David (1:32c). The throne in view here is clearly not the throne of heaven because that throne was never David’s (and never could be). What throne then did Gabriel prophesy that God would give to Jesus of Nazareth?
The only throne that David ever occupied was his throne as the king over God’s kingdom people, the Jews. This promise to Mary about her Son, therefore, was a promise that one day Jesus would be enthroned as the King of the Jews.
During Jesus’ earthly life, He never sat on the throne of His father David. In fact, He was crucified for His claim to be the King of the Jews (John 19:14-22).
In Jesus’ future earthly rule from Jerusalem over the Jews (as well all other nations; cf. Zech. 14:9; 16-17), God will fulfill Gabriel’s prophecy as well as His promise to David that his throne would be established for ever (2 Sam. 7:16). Then the One who was “born King of the Jews” (Matt. 2:2) will finally be given the homage that David wrote of as essential for all people to give to the LORD’s King whom He has set on His holy hill of Zion (Ps. 2:6, 12).
By establishing Him in that day in Jerusalem as the King of the Jews, the Father will vindicate His Son’s claim to be the One who was born to the end that He would be the King of the Jews (cf. John 18:33-37), which claim was rejected by the Jews and led to their clamoring for Him to be crucified (19:14-22). The full truth of the superscription of His Cross, “JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS” (19:19) will then finally be acknowledged by the world!
“Even so, come Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
