Teaching Text

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Sermon Recap

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued our Advent series, He Shall Be, with a teaching on Jesus as the One who “shall be great,” a declaration spoken by the angel Gabriel over His life before He was born. In a city obsessed with greatness, Pastor Jon invited us to examine how Jesus redefined what greatness means in the Kingdom of God.

In Greco-Roman culture, greatness was measured by rank, prestige, and honor, while in Jewish society, greatness was tied to lineage, law, and devotion. And in our own city of New York today, greatness is often defined by attention, power, wealth, and recognition. Jesus entered with a radically different vision than all of these. His greatness was not rooted in status or domination but in humility, self-giving love, and descent.

Scripture shows the clash of these competing narratives through the story of King Herod in the beginning of Matthew. Herod’s greatness was marked by military strength, political manipulation, and the intimidation of innocent people. But Jesus became small and entered the world not as a ruler demanding allegiance, but as a vulnerable child in a manger. While the world sought greatness through rising to the top, Jesus revealed a greatness found in descending to the lowest place. Pastor Jon reflected on the disciples’ own desire for greatness, asking Jesus, “Who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” to which Jesus responded, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Jesus taught that true greatness is measured not by ascent but by surrender, by how deeply we descend in humility, dependence, and love.

During this Advent season, Pastor Jon invited us to consider that Jesus, the greatest man who ever lived, came from everything and willingly became nothing. From the throne of Heaven, He lowered himself to enter the world as a child, moving from self-sufficiency to total dependence. Like a child, we are invited to trust that our Father has what we need. While the cultural story around us today tells us we need to focus on worldly ambition and success, the story of Christmas tells us of One who had everything and became low for our sake. Greatness becomes laying down one’s life for others.

The good news of Christmas is that the One who shall be great came not to dominate but to descend; not to be served but to serve; not to claim worldly greatness but to redefine it. In this season of Advent, the good news is that Jesus revealed a greatness found not in rising above others, but in lowering Himself in love for us.