3 Heralds, two Marys, and a Joseph

"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; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." (Luke 1:32, 33)

 It was a strange night, a fearful night, a glad night; when the angel of The Lord told Mary that she would bear all humanity a son. Her response was submission: Behold, I am the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.

"and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21)

It was a strange night, a fearful night, a glad night; when the angel of The Lord told Joseph he would raise God's Messiah to become a man. His response was humility: He awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife.

 "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. (Luke 24:5, 6)

It was a strange night, a fearful night, the beginning of the gladdest morning in history when the two Marys approached Jesus' borrowed tomb before it was yet light; the angel of The Lord asked them "The question", and gave them "The answer" all at once. Their responses were faith and obedience: They remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.

 Jesus had always known who He was, why He came, and what it would mean for us when He did rise again from the dead. Freedom, in a word, once for all. His Kingship began and still is, as "other" than this world. As He was born The Son of The Living God, and always will be.

"My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."

"... I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth." (John 18:36, 37)

Wrapped in the proclamations of attending angels by the will of God in the Faith, Obedience, Humility, and Submission of those who heard. So furious a Love amid the tragic poetry of His mercy and humanity; that none would perish, but instead all would come to a saving knowledge of The Truth He spoke. The Victory is now won, Jesus is Risen indeed!

So what will your response be?

"For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach" (Colossians 1:16-23)