These, as you know, are the words spoken by the angel Gabriel to Mary, the mother of Jesus. They were said to assure her that she, even though a virgin, would give birth to a baby boy who would be called the “Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32).
And miraculously, as promised, nine months later, Jesus drew his first breath in a tiny town, in the tiny country of Israel. Surrounding that thin sliver of land on the shore of the Great Sea, was the huge and all-powerful Roman Empire. However, this Superpower, oblivious to Jesus’ arrival, had no idea that God had entered their Realm.
Another miracle took place more than 500 years earlier. The prophet Daniel, in the amidst a previous Super-power, prophesied about a “Son of Man” to come:
“And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14).
Who could believe that he was speaking of the poor carpenter’s son from Nazareth?
After all, Jesus’ life, by the world’s standard was brief and embarrassing. After thirty years of obscurity, and three years of troubled ministry, Jesus of Nazareth died by crucifixion—“Friendless, forsaken, betrayed by all.”
Jesus could easily have joined the long list of ‘nutters’ who had already claimed to be the Messiah. All he had to do was stay in the grave. “But because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him, God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death” (Acts 2:24).
The resurrected Christ appeared to many witnesses, ascended into heaven, and then, on the Day of Pentecost, poured out the Holy Spirit—The Kingdom of Christ was then established (Acts 2).
Daniel had prophesied to Nebuchadnezzar that the fourth kingdom after him (the Romans) would also be destroyed by this Divine Kingdom—Christ’s church. It was!
Remember, God works with the poor, the obscure, the embarrassing, and us too—“For nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).
John Staiger