Trusting the King Who Reigns Forever

The Christmas story begins in an unexpected place, with an unexpected person, and an unexpected announcement.

Luke tells us that the angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth—a small, forgettable town in Galilee—to a young woman named Mary. Nazareth wasn’t impressive. It wasn’t influential. It wasn’t the kind of place you’d expect God to change the world. And Mary wasn’t the kind of person you’d expect to stand at the center of redemptive history. She was young. Unknown. Ordinary.

And yet, this is exactly how God works. He delights in using people and places the world overlooks to accomplish purposes the world could never imagine.

Gabriel’s message to Mary is staggering. She will conceive and bear a son. His name will be Jesus—“the Lord saves.” He will be great. He will be called the Son of the Most High. God will give him the throne of David, and his kingdom will never end. Every line of this announcement echoes the promises God made throughout the Old Testament. This child is not just a baby. He is the long-awaited King.

Luke is careful to emphasize one detail again and again: Mary is a virgin. That’s not an incidental detail—it’s central to the story. The virgin birth makes possible the uniting of full deity and full humanity in the person of Jesus. If Jesus were born only of a man, He would be merely human. If He were not born of a woman, He would not truly be human at all. But in God’s wisdom, the Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of men might become sons of God.

This miracle has a name: the Incarnation—God in the flesh. The eternal Son took on our humanity, entered our broken world, and came near to save us. As Paul writes, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4–5).

Understandably, Mary is confused. “How will this be,” she asks, “since I am a virgin?” Gabriel’s answer doesn’t remove all the mystery, but it does point her to God’s power. The Holy Spirit will overshadow her. The child will be holy—the Son of God. And to reassure her, Gabriel reminds her that her relative Elizabeth, long thought barren, is already six months pregnant. Then comes the line that changes everything: “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Mary now stands at a crossroads. She understands the cost. This pregnancy will invite misunderstanding, shame, and risk. Joseph won’t understand—at least not at first. Neither will her family or her community. She could say no. She could ask God to choose someone else.

Instead, she responds with one of the most beautiful statements of faith in all of Scripture: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Mary trusted the King before she ever held Him in her arms.

That same King still reigns today. Advent reminds us that we live between the times—between Jesus’ first coming and His return. He has already begun His kingdom work, and He will finish it soon. His reign will have no end.

The Christmas story isn’t just something we admire; it’s something we must respond to. Like Mary, we are confronted with the miracle of what God has done in Christ. The question is not whether Jesus is King—the Scriptures are clear. The question is whether we will trust Him.

Jesus is calling you to believe, to worship, and to follow Him. The King who reigns forever has come and is coming again. How will you respond?