Luke 1:32

(Geom. sup.) And he says, Thou shalt call, not His father shall call, for He is without a father as regards His lower birth, as He is without a mother in respect of the higher. (sup.) But as this name was common to Him with the successor of Moses, the angel therefore implying that He should not be after Joshua's likeness, adds, He shall be great. (Josh. 1.) (Photius.) The assumption of our flesh does not diminish ought from the loftiness of the Deity, but rather exalts the lowness of man's nature. Hence it follows, And he shall be called the Son of the Highest. Not, Thou shalt give Him the name, but He Himself shall be called. By whom, but His Father of like substance with Himself? For no one hath known the Son but the Father. (Matt. 11:27.) But He in Whom exists the infallible knowledge of His Son, is the true interpreter as to the name which should be given Him, when He says, This is my beloved Son; (Matt. 17:5.) for such indeed from everlasting He is, though His name was not revealed till now; therefore he says, He shall be called, not shall be made or begotten. For before the worlds He was of like substance with the Father. Him therefore thou shalt conceive; His mother thou shalt become; Him shall thy virgin shrine enclose, Whom the heavens were not able to contain.

The time had come when, having redeemed the world through his blood, he was to be acknowledged as king not of the house of David alone but also of the whole church; moreover, that he was maker and governor of all generations. Hence the angel …

Great was John too, but he was not yet a Son of the Most High, whereas the Savior was great in His teaching and "Son of the Most High" also by His teaching, for He taught as One having authority, and by the performance of …

Let Nestorius then cease to say that the Virgin's Son is only man, and to deny that He is taken up by the Word of God into the unity of the Person. For the Angel when he says that the very same has David for His father whom he declares is called the Son of the Highest, demonstrates the one Person of Christ in two natures. The Angel uses the future tense (vocabitur, regnabit) not because, as the Heretics say, Christ was not before Mary, but because in the same person, man with God shares the same name of Son.

We should carefully note the order of the words here, and the more firmly they are engrafted in our heart, the more evident it will be that the sum total of our redemption consists in them. For they proclaim with perfect clarity that the Lord …

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. It is said of John that he will be great, but he as a great man, this one …

Lastly, expressing the eminence of the offspring to be born, he shows him to be great, when he says: He shall be great. He shows, moreover, that his greatness is most excellent on account of singular grace, on account of royal excellence, on account of …

He shall be called the Son of the Highest - In this respect also: and that in a more eminent sense than any, either man or angel, can be called so. The Lord shall give him the throne of his father David - That is, the spiritual kingdom, of which David's was a type.

He shall be great,....

The interview between Mary the mother of Jesus and Elisabeth the mother of John, when they were both with child of those pregnant births, and the prophecies they both uttered upon that occasion,

He shall be great - Behold the greatness of the man Christ Jesus: 1st. Because that human nature that should be born of the virgin was to be united with the Divine nature. 2dly. In consequence of this, that human nature should be called in a peculiar sense the Son of the most high God; because God would produce it in her womb without the intervention of man. 3rdly. He shall be the everlasting Head and Sovereign of his Church. 4thly. His government and kingdom shall be eternal.

Being his last sermon before his journey to the South of France. Strictly speaking, I suppose these words refer to the human Nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is as to His humanity that Christ was born of Mary. The context runs thus—"Behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall 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.

We have, in these verses, the announcement of the most marvelous event that ever happened in this world — the incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a passage which we should always read with mingled wonder, love and praise. We should notice, in the first place — the lowly and unassuming manner in which the Savior of mankind came among us. The angel who announced His coming, was sent to an obscure town of Galilee, named Nazareth. The woman who was honored to be our Lord's mother, was evidently in a humble position of life.

We have, in these verses, the announcement of the most marvelous event that ever happened in this world — the incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a passage which we should always read with mingled wonder, love and praise. We should notice, in the first place — the lowly and unassuming manner in which the Savior of mankind came among us. The angel who announced His coming, was sent to an obscure town of Galilee, named Nazareth. The woman who was honored to be our Lord's mother, was evidently in a humble position of life. Both in her station and her dwelling-place, there was an utter absence of what the world calls "greatness." We need not hesitate to conclude, that there was a wise providence in all this arrangement. The Almighty counsel, which orders all things in Heaven and earth — could just as easily have appointed Jerusalem to be the place of Mary's residence, as Nazareth — or could as easily have chosen the daughter of some rich scribe to be our Lord's mother, as a poor woman. But it seemed good that it should not be so. The first coming of Messiah, was to be a coming in poverty and humiliation. That humiliation was to begin even from the time of His conception and birth. Let us beware of despising poverty in others, and of being ashamed of it, if God lays it upon ourselves. The condition of life which Jesus voluntarily chose, ought always to be regarded with holy reverence. The common tendency of the day to bow down before rich men, and make an idol of money — ought to be carefully resisted and discouraged. The example of our Lord is a sufficient answer to a thousand groveling maxims about wealth, which pass current among men. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich — yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9.)

Being his last sermon before his journey to the South of France. Strictly speaking, I suppose these words refer to the human Nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is as to His humanity that Christ was born of Mary. The context runs thus—"Behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall 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 forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end." The angel of the Lord thus spoke concerning the Manhood of "that Holy Thing" that should be born of the favored virgin by the overshadowing of the power of the Highest. As to His Divinity, we must speak concerning Him in another style than this. But, as a Man, He was born of the virgin and it was said to her before His birth, "He shall be great." The Man, Christ Jesus, stooped very low. In His first estate He was not great; He was very little when He was upon His mother's breast. In His later estate He was not great, but despised, rejected and crucified! Indeed, He was so poor that He had nowhere to lay His head and He was so cast out by the tongues of men that they called Him a "fellow," mentioned Him among drunken men and wine-bibbers—and even accused Him of having a devil and being mad! In the esteem of the great ones of the earth, He was an ignorant Galilean of whom they said, "We know not where He is." His life binds up more fitly with the lowly annals of the poor than with the aristocracy or whatever stood for that in Caesar's day. In His own time His enemies could not find a word base enough to express their contempt of Him. He was brought very low in His trial, condemnation and suffering.

He shall be great - There is undoubted reference in this passage to Isa 9:6-7. By his being “great” is meant he shall be distinguished or illustrious; great in power, in wisdom, in dominion on earth and in heaven. Shall be called - This is the same as to say he “shall be” the Son, etc. The Hebrews often used this form of speech. See Mat 21:13. The Highest - God, who is infinitely exalted; called the Highest, because He is exalted over all his creatures on earth and in heaven. See Mar 5:7. The throne - The kingdom; or shall appoint him as the lineal successor of David in the kingdom. His father David - David is called his father because Jesus was lineally descended from him. See Mat 1:1. The promise to David was, that there should “not fail” a man to sit on his throne, or that his throne should be perpetual 1Ki 2:4; 1Ki 8:25; 1Ki 9:5; 2Ch 6:16, and the promise was fulfilled by exalting Jesus to be a Prince and a Saviour, and the perpetual King of his people.