Luke 1:31-33 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb Though a virgin, strange to say, thou shalt have the honour of being a mother; thou shalt bring forth a son, and that son no ordinary person, but the restorer of human nature, and Saviour of the world; and therefore thou shalt call his name Jesus Or Joshua, a Saviour. He shall be great Great indeed! greater than all others that ever partook of the human nature: great in respect of his person, his offices, and his kingdom: for he shall be called, and shall be, the Son of the Highest And that in a peculiar sense, a sense in which no man or angel is or can be God's son, being not only unspeakably dear to him, as a son is dear to his father, but of the same nature with him, as a son is of the same nature with his father. Therefore, the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his earthly father, David Or the throne typified by that of David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob The spiritual Israel, even over all who imitate the faith and obedience of that good patriarch; and of his kingdom there shall be no end So Isaiah 9:8, Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. All other kingdoms have had, or shall have, their periods, but the gospel church, which is Christ's kingdom, shall continue for ever; first on earth, in its militant state, and then in heaven, in a state triumphant. See the notes on the places referred to in the margin. “The kingdom of Christ,” the reader must observe, “is twofold: 1st, His spiritual kingdom, or the dominion of righteousness in the minds of men. 2d, His temporal kingdom, or the outward dispensation of the gospel, together with an exercise of government over the world: by which all events are ordered, so as to promote the empire of righteousness in the hearts of men. This distinction removes the difficulty arising from 1 Corinthians 15:28, where we are told, that after the worlds are judged, Christ shall deliver up the kingdom to God the Father; compared with what Gabriel said to Mary, on this occasion, and with the other passages of Scripture, which affirm that our Lord's kingdom shall be everlasting. His temporal kingdom, or the gospel dispensation, will end with the world, being of no further use. At that period, likewise, he will deliver up to God the government of the world, that was committed to him for the good of his church, after having accomplished the end of his coming by putting down all rule, and all authority, and power opposite to God's. But his spiritual kingdom, or the dominion of righteousness in the minds of reasonable beings, which he came down to establish, will continue with them to all eternity; and Jesus will still preside as head over the redeemed society in heaven, and perform such acts of government as their condition allows and circumstances require, though still in subordination to the Father. See 1 Corinthians 15:28, and Macknight.”