Luke 1:32

He shall be great. There is a striking similarity between verses 32, 33 and Isa. 9:6, 7; one is a clear reflection of the other. Six months earlier Gabriel had told Zacharias that John would be “great” (Luke 1:15).

Called. Here used with the meaning “recognized,” “acknowledged,” or “known,” as in Matt. 21:13. The divine Sonship of Christ was announced by God to the angels of heaven (Heb. 1:5, 6), and confessed by His disciples (Matt. 16:16; John 16:30) and NT writers (Rom. 1:4; Heb. 4:14; 1 John 5:5; etc.).

Son of the Highest. Compare v. 35. At the baptism the Father declared Jesus to be His Son (ch. 3:22). The same statement was again made, a few months before the crucifixion (Matt. 17:5). All today who do “that which is wellpleasing in his sight” (Heb. 13:21) have the privilege of being called “children of the Highest” (Luke 6:35). See on John 1:1-3; see Additional Note on John 1.

The throne. According to the prophet Isaiah, “The Prince of Peace” was to sit upon the “throne of David” to administer “his kingdom” (Isa. 9:6, 7). That this “throne” represents the eternal kingdom of Christ, and not a restoration of a literal kingdom of David in this present world, is evident throughout the NT (see John 18:36; etc.; see on Luke 4:19).

His father David. See on Matt. 1:1, 16, 20; Luke 1:27. The literal descent of Jesus from David is clearly affirmed in both the OT and the NT (Ps. 132:11; Acts 2:30; Rom. 1:3). Even the sworn enemies of Christ did not deny that the Messiah would be “David’s son” (Luke 20:41-44). The glorious reign of David became for the holy prophets a unique symbol of the coming Messianic kingdom (Isa. 9:6, 7; cf. 2 Sam. 7:13; Ps. 2:6, 7; 132:11; see Vol. IV, p. 31).

The expression “his father David” is significant. Jesus could have been the Son of David as the Son of Joseph, or of Mary, or of both. Mary obviously understood the angel to mean that the conception of Jesus would be by the Holy Spirit only (vs. 34, 35). Hence the angel’s statement pointing to David as the “father” of Jesus could be understood to mean that Mary was herself a descendant of David (see on Matt. 1:16; cf. DA 44).