Believers can be encouraged that God’s kingdom is an eternal one; Jesus will reign forever.
31 “Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
32 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.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”
Mary and Hagar
God’s work with Zechariah and Elizabeth reflects His work with Abraham and Sarah, another childless couple who were “well along in years” (Luke 1:7).
But Mary, a young woman with no substance or status, is more like the slave Hagar (Gen. 16:1-16).
In fact, the Hebrew word for Hagar’s “cry of affliction” (16:11) is related to the Greek word describing Mary’s “humble condition” (Luke 1:48).
Spend some time studying and reflecting on Genesis 16.
Identify additional similarities between Mary and Hagar.
Spend time thanking God for His willingness to use the humble and afflicted to fulfill His plans in the world.
identify seven things that individuals will do or be in these verses.
Note that the first two relate to Mary and others relate to Jesus as Messiah.
briefly discuss why these statements were so extraordinary.
God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God.
In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
(See John 1:1-18; Galatians 4:4-5.)
encourage them to share how this doctrine affects their view of Jesus and their view of their faith.