The Jesus We Worship and Obey, Part 2 – Luke 1:31-35

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. Lk 1:31-35

There are many men and women in this world who have merited our respect and admiration, but there is only one true God who alone is worthy of our worship and obedience. We continue through Luke’s account of the virgin conception to see why we must worship and obey Jesus Christ alone.

Jesus is the Christ. Gabriel the angel told Mary that she would conceive in her womb and bear a son, speaking specifically of Jesus’ humanity. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We read of moments through the gospels when Jesus wept, felt hunger and fatigue. He was fully man, yet He was sinless, because He was fully God. (Jn 10:30) He came to the world to reconcile sinners to God. (Matt 1:21) The gospel is all about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus has freed us from sin, and He is our Mediator who has established peace between God and man. (1Cor 15:3-4; Rom 5:1) There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

Jesus Christ is great. Every renown man in history died in search of truth, but Jesus outrightly said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…” There is no one who can compare to Jesus Christ. In terms of great men, John the Baptist was one whom even Jesus commended, declaring him to be the greatest man there ever was. Gabriel the angel prophesied that he would be great in the sight of the Lord. John was a mere man, great in the sight of Jesus Christ who is wholly other. All men die weak, broken, and sick- they all die in Adam, but in Christ, all are made alive. (1Cor 15:22) We must count all things as loss in view of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ. If Christ is not supreme in your heart, you can not worship and obey Him wholeheartedly. (Phil 3:7-8)

Jesus is the Most High God. Jesus is the Son of God, who inherits all things from God the Father. Scripture tells of Jesus as the Most High God. In His ministry on earth, even demons confessed who Jesus was. (Lk 8:28) John the Baptist clearly distinguished Jesus to be the Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus upholds all things by the word of His power, and He sits at the right hand of God the Father. (Heb 1:3) Jesus is God Almighty- every form of authority belongs to Him. He is the source of all things, and He is sovereign over all. There is nothing outside of Jesus’ authority. (Col 1:15-17) He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords- Jesus is in absolute control. He is the final Judge of all men; all will be accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ. (Jn 5:22)

Jesus is the King. Jesus is the Messiah, and his kingdom will have no end. (2Sam 7:12-13) Jesus is not only King over the Church, but He is King over all- even over Satan and hell. We must understand the power of Jesus’ kingship. Only Christ has the power to save; He deserves all worship and obedience. He controls everything, and He works all things together for His good purpose. (Rom 8:28) Behold, the reigning King came as a suffering servant. He died and rose again for our sake- for our ultimate salvation. The early church was bold in faith because they understood Jesus’ complete reign. He was alive in their hearts, and by His power in them, they obeyed. As we understand Jesus’ power and His everlasting Kingdom, we will likewise be bold in faith to worship and obey Him. (Matt 11:12)

Jesus is holy. Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus. Jesus is completely different from created man- He is God. Jesus knew no sin. (2Cor 5:21) He pleased God perfectly, who demands us to be perfect like Himself. We ourselves can never be perfect before God. We need the righteousness of Jesus to be accepted. It is only by faith we can experience the resurrected Christ in our hearts. Because Jesus is holy and He lives in us, so are we. (Gal 2:20)

Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus shares the same nature of God the Father. He is pre-existent, and He came to us as God incarnate. On our own, we are hopeless. We are born in sin and we live in sin, unable to save ourselves, with guilt that earns the wrath of God. The Son of God came to carry our burdens to the cross. In love, He died in our place, and He was raised from the dead, that we might die with Him and be raised with Him to eternal life.

We must worship and obey Jesus alone. There is no neutrality in this matter. As we behold Jesus as He is, let us worship and obey our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.