Let's give attention to God's Word. Luke chapter 1, beginning at 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, and of the house of David. And 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 the 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. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord 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. And Mary said to the angel, How will this be since I am a virgin? And the angel answered her, 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. And behold, your relative Elizabeth, in her old age, has also conceived a son. And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren, for nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her." God's word this morning. Now, if you really stop to think about it, Christmas is a strange holiday. I mean, take it in. Or maybe even do this. Imagine you're someone like Kayla Bird. And you're going to be getting on an airplane and traveling to a far-off country, a completely different culture, and you're going to be teaching people English. And in the process, explaining American culture. And you have to explain Christmas. Well, you see, there's this holiday. But actually, it's not just a day. We kind of turn it into a month or two months of getting ready and doing stuff. And, well, we buy gifts for each other. So much so that some people risk their entire financial future to do it. And then there's also the decorations. We decorate everything. In fact, we come close to risking our lives by climbing up rickety ladders to put thousands of little lights all around our houses. And then we go inside our house and we rearrange all the furniture so that we can take a live tree and put it in our living room. And then to top it all off, you take millions of Americans who are not even slightly religious at all, and they all crowd into churches to have a religious service. That's Christmas. And you can imagine someone from a different culture kind of saying, huh? Why? Why all this fuss? Why do all that? And you would respond, oh, it's because a baby was born. 2,000 years ago a baby was born Why why that baby In the history of the world there's been a hundred billion some babies born Why go to all this fuss for that kid and? That really is the question isn't it? That's really what that individual in a different culture what you want them to wrestle with is Why this baby? That's what we hope and pray, our culture, even as we do this whole Christmas thing, what we want them to wrestle with. Why all this? Why that baby? But not just for them, even for ourselves. Isn't that an important question to ask again? Why are we really doing all this for that baby's birth? Can you think of it? Can you go through it? Isn't it easy to get distracted, to get caught up in all the details and all the comings and goings and busyness and parties and cakes and cookies? Why this baby? And we're going to look in the next couple weeks. We're going to get some help answering this question from the angels. The angels are going to tell us why. We're going to look at passages from scripture where angels show up and they're going to explain to us why the fuss about this baby. This morning, we're going to look at one of those familiar passages, the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary. And we'll ask the angel that question. Why, Gabriel? Why this child? And he's going to respond to us in these words with basically two answers, two related ideas. This baby is the king, and this baby is the son. So we'll take a look at those together from our passage in Luke. First, this one is the king. Now, our readings this morning from the Old Testament have set us up to understand this. Go back to 2 Samuel what we read and there was part of the Old Testament background that here was God establishing His covenant promise with David what theologians like to call the the Davidic covenant God makes these promises To David and they had everything to do with the king and well initially You look at some aspects of David's words and you see it fulfilled, at least in part, in his own son Solomon. You might have remembered that part of the promise that God gives in that chapter in 2 Samuel was that from David's offspring, from his body, will come a son who will build a house for my name, God says. And then we read a little further in the Old Testament history, and sure enough, there's Solomon, son of David, shows up, and he builds the temple, a house where God places his name, places his presence. So he's part of it, you see, fulfilled in Solomon. But then you start to see there's so much more in this promise that God gives to David. Take, for example, these words. Your house God says to David in your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever Before me your throne shall be established forever It's clear there's something bigger than just Solomon here Talking about a whole kingly line that will be established from David forever now the Old Testament Saints got a got a taste of what this looked like and As the history went on from David forward, there in Jerusalem, for some 400 years, there was a king from the line of David seated on the throne, David's throne, ruling over God's people. This ongoing kingdom, this ongoing line, this ongoing dynasty that kept going, the kings from the line of David. And it was different than any other nation around them, even God's people to the north. The northern kingdom that you remember splits away. Well, if you look at the history of that kingdom, you notice that there's nine different families, nine different ruling dynasties that come and go. Not in Jerusalem. Not in God's holy city. There, it's David's line. And David's line alone. And it rules. And it just keeps going and going and going for 400 years. You get a sense of this, a little taste perhaps, of this eternal kingdom. But then it stops. Then the exile comes. God's people are carted off because of their sin. There's no king from the line of David on the throne. For 500 years, there's no king. And foreign king after foreign king comes in and rules over God's people. And no king from the line of David. And in fact, you get to the time of Mary, and there's another king on the throne there. He's even called King of the Jews. That's Herod. But there's a problem with Herod. One, he's not from the line of David. Two, he's not really even a Jew. And so you could imagine the feeling among God's people. What about the promise? God, didn't you promise us? Didn't you promise David that there would be this eternal kingdom? This king who would come and rule And we haven't had a king from the line of David for 500 years. God, what happened? God, did you forget about that promise? God, are the Romans just too powerful for you? What happened? Do you ever feel like that? Do you ever get into a circumstance in your life where you're looking in Scripture and you see there's a promise that God makes, but you look around and you say, God, I don't see it. Did you forget about this one, God? Am I just in a place where things are just too hard for you, God? I don't understand. And you just seem to be waiting and waiting and waiting. We can identify with Mary and the people of her day who are looking for the kingdom. But God doesn't forget his promises. He doesn't fail. And so the angel arrives to Mary and says, it's here. God's going to keep His promise. And so you look at verse 31, and the angel explains the reason for his visit. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus. A baby's going to be born. Okay? Verse 32, 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 of his kingdom there will be no end." See what the angel says. He says, yes, you've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and wondering, and wondering, will God keep his promise to David? And the angel says, he's about to do it. It's going to be this baby, this son, who's going to be the king. Royalty, not just any royalty, royalty from the line of David, from the house of David. And so Luke later, just like Matthew, will trace Jesus' genealogy very, very carefully, tracing Christ's legal line, legal family history, and it goes back to David. Jesus is from the line of David. Jesus is from the house of David. A king from the house of David? Yes. But not just another Solomon. A different kind of king. There's going to be an eternal reign of this king. Not just one king who will give birth to another king, who will give birth to another king. Not just a dynasty that will get passed on. But one king who will rule forever, says the angel. A reign and a rule that will not end. There's the promise that was made to David long ago. And now the angel says it's here, because the king's about to arrive. And this king is going to reign over the house of Jacob, the house of Israel, the people of Israel. As the Scriptures will go on to explain to us, this king is not a king like you normally think of it. Not a great military leader who's going to come in and kick out the Romans as the Scriptures will unfold that he's actually better. As this King Jesus will later tell the ruler Pontius Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world. My kingdom is not of this world. It's bigger and better. It's a kingdom that is more extensive than any political entity. It's not just for one piece of real estate in the Middle East. Indeed, it is authority, as Jesus says before His ascension, all authority in heaven and on earth given to me. A rule that extends to the ends of the earth. This spiritual kingdom, the age to come breaking in, this king is different. This king doesn't come with sword and spear to conquer through earthly battle. He does a more intense, more lasting, more dramatic victory in warfare. This king goes to war with a cross by dying. Rising from the dead Jesus takes on sin. He takes on death and he conquers it. There's the real enemies The Romans they'll come they'll go we don't even think of them anymore. They're gone But we still we still have sin We still have death Those will be enemies even when America has come and gone They're real true enemies. But this king comes in and takes on the real enemies, the lasting enemies, and destroys them. This battle at the cross, this victory over the empty tomb, his conquering of the enemy himself, Satan. And so this king now, after his work is done, is exalted in glory at the right hand of the Father. ruling and reigning until he puts all his enemies under his feet as a footstool. There is Christ. He is the King. And that's what the angel describes to us. That's how he explains all the fuss. He says it's because the King is coming. Not a King. The King! And if this is true, If He really is the King, who really has conquered and really does rule now, well, it really should change everything for us. First, it means that you can trust in His rule. You can trust His reign. If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus, you're trusting in Him, then Scripture says that this king rules not only for his glory, but for your good. That his victories and his present reign is for you. And if he is the king, then you can trust in his rule. I love how the catechism puts it, describing how Christ executes that office as a King. And in part it says that He restrains and conquers all His and our enemy. That's how Christ is a King. It's not just about His enemies. It's about our enemies. He has conquered and is continuing to conquer. He rules for us. And we can trust Him. even when it's difficult to trust him. And sometimes this part of the year can be the most trying time to trust the Lord. You know, of course, there's just the regular frustrations of busyness and to-do lists. And yes, we need to trust the Lord there. But also this time of year, in many ways, for some, brings home Those things in life that seem painfully absent for some of us. Those things that we're really aware of, that we hope to have but seem missing in our lives. Those times where we can go before the Lord and, Lord, I don't get it. I don't understand. Why does it hurt? Why is it difficult? And it's a good reminder for us in those times to remember who this is that we're worshiping this time of year. It's the King. The King who reigns and rules now. Having conquered for you. And now He rules for you. It doesn't answer every question, but it means you can trust Him. It means He is for you. He's the King. But if it also, if he is the king, then it also challenges us to submit to his authority. That it's not an option. You don't vote for a king. You don't have an option to just decide, no, you're going to move away from this king's realm. You can't. And so we're challenged Am I submitting to this King? In many ways, that's what the Christian life is about. It's growing in that joyful submission to the King of Kings. And so we're challenged to think about the different areas of our lives. In how I use my time, am I submitting to the King? In how I use my money, am I obeying the King? In how I treat my family, and how I speak to them and speak about them and serve them. Am I honoring the King? In what thoughts and dreams I allow to grit my mind and heart, am I serving the King? We need His grace. We need to know the Scriptures so we know what the King loves and delights in. But we have to be honest. A lot of times, our hearts cry out No, I want to be king. I want to make the decisions. I want to rule. My will be done. Do you feel that temptation? Do you have that longing sometimes? Well, Christmas is a declaration to us that the position of king has been filled. And it's not you. And that's a good thing. That's a glorious thing. It challenges us in a good way. Because His yoke is easy. His burden is light. Our will would enslave us if done. Following Him, it sets us free by His grace. Well, he's not just the king, says the angel, he's also the son. In verses 32 and 35, we see this baby described as the son. And initially we hear that and we might think this is very, very different than talking about him as the king. It's kind of two different ideas. But Scripture weaves those two together. In fact, our Old Testament passages this morning, both spoke of kingship as connected to sonship. Do you remember that? There in 2 Samuel, as God is speaking to David and talking about the heir of David's throne, he says about the line of kings, David's descendants, I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. And it can't be just talking about Jesus because God goes on to say, I'm going to discipline him when he sins. Jesus obviously doesn't sin and doesn't need that kind of corrective discipline. But you think about Solomon, Solomon certainly sins and God disciplines him. the other descendants, other kings from David's line, they sin, God disciplines them. There's a sense in which God thinks about the kings in the line of David as having this special relationship with him. He is to them a father, they to him a son. But it's bigger than just any old king, any old son. Psalm 2 picks up on this idea of sonship and kingship. Remember the voice of the psalmist speaking of God's decree to the king. The Lord said to me, you are my son today. I have begotten you. And. In a kind of a small, immediate fulfillment, you can think of this connected to the establishment of the earthly king on the throne, he's he's crowned king, the coronation, and he enters in as he's crowned the king. Thanks, Solomon. As he enters in and crowned the king, he takes on a new relationship with God. Today you have become my son. I'm a father to you now. This new relationship of earthly king to the Lord of glory. But it's got to be something bigger than that. And indeed it is as you start to read more of Psalm 2 and you think this is bigger than Solomon. rule over the whole earth, the nations coming to worship this King. This is bigger than Solomon. And so, as the angel comes to Mary, the angel uses that language of son, but this is not just any son. Clearly, this can't just be Solomon. Well, look at verse 32. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. There's that son language again. Is it just another earthly king like Solomon? No, it can't be. It's bigger than that. Especially, you see it in verse 35, as the angel describes how this child will be conceived. This is different than Solomon. The Holy Spirit will come upon you. The power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. This is no ordinary child. It's no ordinary conception. There's no earthly father. The Holy Spirit comes and overshadows Mary. That's why this child is called holy. Sinless. There's no earthly father. There's no sinful nature inherited from Adam. No, this baby is not just anyone. He is the Son. The Son of God. The Son of the Most High. He's the One who is eternal. You notice here, as the angel talks about it, He doesn't say that through this Holy Spirit conception, the baby will become the Son of God. It's become the Son of God. He is, and is called, and is named. You bring in, for example, what the Gospel of John starts with, and it starts with, this goes all the way back, this is eternal. That this Son, in the beginning, was with God, and was God. And it's this Eternal One who takes on flesh and dwells among us. You start to see, there is something about this Child that's worth making a fuss over. He is not only the King, He is the Son. Not just a Son, THE Son. The Eternal Son of God, the Divine Second Person of the Trinity. If this one, this baby is a king and therefore you owe him allegiance. If he is also the son, therefore you owe him worship. You owe him worship. If he is the son, the eternal one, then what is demanded of us is a response of not just let's throw a party, but let's bow before him in worship. And that can be something we forget to do in the midst of all the fuss this time of year. Even when we're in church, we can sometimes forget it. When you're singing some of those familiar hymns, remind yourself you need to do more than just, oh, I really like this one. I'm glad we're singing this one again. Or, these are great words. Or, what a great tune. And everybody's singing together. You're supposed to worship the sun. with that familiar hymn. Or as we're reading the familiar stories, it's not just, oh, reminding yourself of what happened. Or enjoying the familiar story that you read all those years as a kid. But you're hearing the good news proclaimed, and in hearing it, you're worshipping the Son. This is not the time of the year to say that you're too busy to pray. Too busy to gather with your family and worship Jesus. No, this is the time of the year to make time for that. It's worth it. Because if this child really is who He says He is, who the angel claims Him to be, then He demands your worship. And that, too, is a delight. It's what frees us. It's what puts everything else into perspective. turns the other things into the enjoyment and the blessing that they can be without taking over. Because at the heart of it is the Son who we worship, the Son who we bow down before and delight in as our God, the only true Savior. So you start to put it together that yes, we do make a big deal out of a baby's birth. And that is appropriate, because we hear who this One is. And we're not done. The angels have more to teach us. But we see this much this morning, that this One is the King, and this One is the Son. And we, more than any, should grasp onto these things. Knowing them should put it to work in our lives, should make a difference, because God's taught us what it means for Him to be the King. And so we should delight in His rule over us. We know that He is the Eternal Son and delight to worship Him together. We'll need His grace. We'll need His strength. We need to pray for one another. But God has called us here, even with these words, even as we go and sing this last hymn, Remember, together, we have a King to worship. We have a Son to bow down before. Let's pray. Lord, we do pray that You would help us to delight ourselves in worshiping and following the King of Kings. Jesus, the Son, come in the flesh. We pray, Father, that you would keep our minds focused upon that, even in the weeks to come. Even as a church, this would be our delight and our joy, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. 198, 198. Please stand. you