The King’s Kingdom - Luke 1:26-33

Royal births throughout history have been marked by magnificence and celebration. Bonfires were lit, bells rang, and nations feasted when heirs to the throne were born. Yet, the birth of the greatest King—Jesus—was marked by an entirely different kind of celebration. Shepherds, not dignitaries, heard the first royal announcement, and their fields became the setting for angelic praise. This was not the start of an earthly kingdom; it was the inauguration of God’s eternal and heavenly reign.

Which is exactly what Gabriel said to Mary in verses 32-33: “And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Jesus is a king, and just like any king, he rules and reigns over a kingdom, and his kingdom is eternal. And just like any kingdom, nation, or province, there are those who are citizens of Christ’s kingdom, and those who are not.

As I was reflecting on this, I couldn’t help but think what a political hot topic citizenship is here in America. There is significant debate over how to deal with people who are living in our country illegally, because of course, citizenship grants you certain rights. If you’re a citizen of a country then you have certain rights that non-citizens do not. We tend to think of this as some sort of modern problem, but the reality is, it’s a historical one.

In the book of Acts alone, the Apostle Paul appeals to his Roman citizenship on three separate occasions. The one that sticks out in my mind the most is in Acts 22 when he’s about to be flogged in Jerusalem, when he revealed his Roman citizenship to the Roman tribune, which halted the proceedings immediately because it was illegal to flog a Roman citizen without a trial. The revelation of his Roman citizenship forced the authorities to treat him with greater caution, preserving his rights and enabling him to continue his mission.

Paul’s citizenship saved his life.

In a similar way, your spiritual citizenship can save your soul too. Because there are only two options: either you're a citizen or subject of Christ’s eternal kingdom or you’re not. Because in Christ’s kingdom there are no green cards or temporary work visas, there are no apps that will grant you temporary asylum or anything like that.

Either you willfully bow the knee to King Jesus, or you don’t. And here’s a wonderful truth: every person who bows the knee to King Jesus is of service in his kingdom. He’ll commission you.

Isn’t that what the Great Commission is all about? Those marching orders that he gave his disciples are every bit as applicable to every believer here today! And so there are two things that we must understand about being commissioned into the King’s Kingdom: first, it’s a sign of his grace, which means, we must respond to it with humility.

The grace of being commissioned (vv. 26-27)

One of the things that I always find interesting about our passage is how Gabriel delivers the news to Mary that she’s going to be the mother of Jesus.

Ladies, can you even imagine receiving news like that? It’d be completely overwhelming wouldn’t it?

And it would have been even more overwhelming if God had directed Gabriel to tell Mary that she was going to be the mother of Jesus in this way: “Mary, God has given you a big, tough, responsibility. You’re going to be the mother of the Messiah and it’s going to be the most challenging thing you do in your whole life.”

Wouldn’t that have crushed her? To be fair, if any of us received news in that way, it would probably crush us! But that’s not at all what Gabriel says to Mary!

First in verse 28 Gabriel says, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” And when she was concerned and confused by that statement Gabriel said something similar in verse 30, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”

When Gabriel tells Mary that she’s “favored” or that she’s found “favor” with God he’s not saying that she was somehow less sinful and therefore worthy to be the mother of Jesus. Rather, Gabriel is emphasizing God’s grace to Mary. Because being commissioned to serve the Kingdom of God is a sign of his grace.

And yet, there is a danger of viewing God’s grace as a burden rather than a blessing. It reminds me of the older brother from Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. Remember how the younger son requests his inheritance early so he could squander it on reckless living? Eventually, he hits rock bottom and returns home to his father who graciously receives him.

But do you remember what the older brother said? He said, “Look, all these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!”

The older brother found his father's grace to be unfair, burdensome, and oppressive. He didn’t see it as a gift.

Don’t be like the older brother. Don’t think of God’s grace as a burden. View being commissioned for service by the Lord the way Gabriel presented it to Mary: as a sign of God’s grace.

Respond with humility (vv. 28-32)

But how you respond is critically important as well. Do you respond to God’s marching orders like the older brother from the parable of the prodigal son? Or do you respond like Mary, who responded with humility?

Gabriel was so kind when he politely asked her, “Mary, I know you’re busy and have a lot on your plate right now, but would you like to be the mother of Jesus?” Of course, I’m kidding because that’s not at all what happened!

She received the news that had to have been the shock of a lifetime: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” Gabriel told her exactly what was going to happen! He didn’t get her permission or anything! You’re going to be the mother of Jesus Christ!

It’s a lot like playing team sports. You might want to play a certain position on the football field or basketball court, but at the end of the day, the coach is going to tell you exactly where he needs you. It doesn’t matter if you think you’d make a great wide receiver or a great point guard, the coach is going to assess your stature and talent level and put you where he needs you.

Or to use another example it’s like serving in the military. There might be a certain job that you want, but at the end of the day, the Army, Navy, Air Force, etc. is going to tell you where they need you. That’s why so many people in the Air Force are required to fly a desk rather than a plane.

In the same way, Mary was told by God exactly what she was going to do. There were no negotiations or anything. Just a direct message: Mary, you're going to be the mother of Jesus.

Put yourself in Mary’s shoes for a moment: how would you have responded to that news?

“Listen, Gabriel I’m honored, but you got the wrong person! I’ve never had a child! I’m totally inexperienced as a mother! You want someone who knows how to take care of a baby and has done this before! I’m not even married yet!”

Wouldn’t you anticipate a response like that? You’d expect her to avoid this task altogether, but of course that’s not at all what happened.

Because more often than not, God will commission you to serve in a role that makes you uncomfortable and will test your faith and reliance upon the Lord like Mary.

If you go down a little further to Luke 1:38, after Gabriel finished delivering his entire message to Mary, she simply says, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Isn’t that an amazing response? “I am a servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word.” Her response reflects her trust in the Lord and her humility before Him.

None of us will ever know what that must have felt like for Mary, but I think we all know what it feels like for God to put us in difficult situations.

At some point, I’m sure we’ve all wondered to ourselves, “Why is God doing this to me?” “Why am I going through this?”

In my own devotional time, I’ve been reading through the book of Job. I’m always struck by the fact that the trials and testing that God put Job through takes up the first two chapters, and basically the rest of the entire book of Job is his and his friends’ responses to the trials God put him through.

And if you read through the entire book of Job, you’ll quickly see that the book isn’t about the circumstances and trials that God put him through, the book is really about Job’s response. Because again, your response to the circumstances and trials in your life reflect your citizenship status!

The ultimate example of this from the book of Job is when his wife gives him advice. Remember what her advice was to Job after misery upon misery was afflicted upon him? Her advice was for him to “curse God and die.” And Job responds to her by saying, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive disaster?”

Sometimes God calls us to go through hard things, in order to test our faith and reliance upon him!

And here’s something that I think is really important: our spiritual citizenship shines the brightest not when God calls us to a life of ease and comfort but when he calls us to walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

Your response to God’s will, calling, or commissioning in your life will ultimately reveal your citizenship status.

Some of you probably know this but from 1845-1852 was the Great Irish Potato Famine, during that time approximately one million Irish people died, and another million fled to America in search of a better life. Many Irish immigrants risked dangerous, overcrowded sea voyages to reach the United States. They arrived with few possessions, faced discrimination, and were often forced to live in poor conditions in American cities. Despite these hardships, many persevered, seeking better opportunities and eventually becoming U.S. citizens.

In many ways that reminds of Jesus’ parable of the hidden treasure. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Just as the Irish were willing to give everything up to come to America, so the man was willing to give everything up for the hidden treasure – and Jesus says, that’s how valuable being a citizen in his kingdom is! You’re willing to give everything up for it! You’re willing to sell everything. You’re all in!

That’s the question I want you to wrestle with this Christmas season. Because when Jesus came down from heaven - he came to rule, reign, and bring his people into his eternal kingdom.

Where does your spiritual citizenship lie and how valuable is it to you? Do you willingly bow the knee to King Jesus and humbly accept his will for your life? Or do you resist and fight him every step of the way?

Being a citizen in the King’s Kingdom is not a burden, but a reminder of his great love and grace. Amen. Let’s pray together.