Luke 1:32

Luke 1:32. He shall be great. Not ‘shall become' so. What follows is an explanation to Mary of this greatness, but a full explanation was scarcely possible.

Shall be called. Shall be, and also, shall one day be publicly recognized as what He really is: the son of the Most High, i.e., God (comp. Luke 1:35). Mary would probably understand this in the light of the familiar Old Testament passages: 2 Samuel 7:14; Psalms 2:7; Psalms 89:27. She did not fully comprehend it Stupendous spiritual truth is rarely comprehended at once, and had the proper divinity of her Son been definitely known by her, neither she nor Joseph would have been in a position to bring up the child. Chap. Luke 2:48-51, confirms this.

The throne of his father David. The Messiahship is now distinctly made known. Comp, especially Psalms 132:11: ‘Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne,' which foretells a physical descent from David. As Mary takes no exception to this part of the angel's prediction, it is natural to conclude that she was also of the house of David. Her song of praise (Luke 1:46-55) indicates the same thing. See notes there, and on the genealogy, chap. Luke 3:23-38.