Luke 1:35

King James Version (KJV)

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee - This conception shall take place suddenly, and the Holy Spirit himself shall be the grand operator. The power, δυναμις, the miracle-working power, of the Most High shall overshadow thee, to accomplish this purpose, and to protect thee from danger. As there is a plain allusion to the Spirit of God brooding over the face of the waters, to render them prolific, Genesis 1:2, I am the more firmly established in the opinion advanced on Matthew 1:20, that the rudiments of the human nature of Christ was a real creation in the womb of the virgin, by the energy of the Spirit of God.

Therefore also that holy thing (or person) - shall be called the Son of God - We may plainly perceive here, that the angel does not give the appellation of Son of God to the Divine nature of Christ; but to that holy person or thing, το ἁγιον, which was to be born of the virgin, by the energy of the Holy Spirit. The Divine nature could not be born of the virgin; the human nature was born of her. The Divine nature had no beginning; it was God manifested in the flesh, 1 Timothy 3:16; it was that Word which being in the beginning (from eternity) with God, John 1:2, was afterwards made flesh, (became manifest in human nature), and tabernacled among us, John 1:14. Of this Divine nature the angel does not particularly speak here, but of the tabernacle or shrine which God was now preparing for it, viz. the holy thing that was to be born of the virgin. Two natures must ever be distinguished in Christ: the human nature, in reference to which he is the Son of God and inferior to him, Mark 13:32; John 5:19; John 14:28, and the Divine nature which was from eternity, and equal to God, John 1:1; John 10:30; Romans 9:5; Colossians 1:16-18. It is true, that to Jesus the Christ, as he appeared among men, every characteristic of the Divine nature is sometimes attributed, without appearing to make any distinction between the Divine and human natures; but is there any part of the Scriptures in which it is plainly said that the Divine nature of Jesus was the Son of God? Here, I trust, I may be permitted to say, with all due respect for those who differ from me, that the doctrine of the eternal Sonship of Christ is, in my opinion, anti-scriptural, and highly dangerous. This doctrine I reject for the following reasons: -

2dly. If Christ be the Son of God as to his Divine nature, then he cannot be eternal; for son implies a father; and father implies, in reference to son, precedency in time, if not in nature too. Father and son imply the idea of generation; and generation implies a time in which it was effected, and time also antecedent to such generation.

3dly. If Christ be the Son of God, as to his Divine nature, then the Father is of necessity prior, consequently superior to him.

4thly. Again, if this Divine nature were begotten of the Father, then it must be in time; i.e. there was a period in which it did not exist, and a period when it began to exist. This destroys the eternity of our blessed Lord, and robs him at once of his Godhead.

The enemies of Christ's Divinity have, in all ages, availed themselves of this incautious method of treating this subject, and on this ground, have ever had the advantage of the defenders of the Godhead of Christ. This doctrine of the eternal Sonship destroys the deity of Christ; now, if his deity be taken away, the whole Gospel scheme of redemption is ruined. On this ground, the atonement of Christ cannot have been of infinite merit, and consequently could not purchase pardon for the offenses of mankind, nor give any right to, or possession of, an eternal glory. The very use of this phrase is both absurd and dangerous; therefore let all those who value Jesus and their salvation abide by the Scriptures. This doctrine of the eternal Sonship, as it has been lately explained in many a pamphlet, and many a paper in magazines, I must and do consider as an awful heresy, and mere sheer Arianism; which, in many cases, has terminated in Socinianism, and that in Deism. From such heterodoxies, and their abetters, may God save his Church! Amen!

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee - See Matthew 1:20.

The power of the Highest … - This evidently means that the body of Jesus would be created by the direct power of God. It was not by ordinary generation; but, as the Messiah came to redeem sinners - to make atonement for “others,” and not for himself it was necessary that his human nature should be pure, and free from the corruption of the fall. God therefore prepared him a body by direct creation that should be pure and holy. See Hebrews 10:5.

That holy thing … - That holy progeny or child.

Shall be called the Son of God - This is spoken in reference to the human nature of Christ, and this passage proves, beyond controversy, that “one” reason why Jesus was called the Son of God was because he was begotten in a supernatural manner. He is also called the “Son of God” on account of his resurrection, Romans 1:4; Acts 13:33, compared with Psalm 2:7.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

We have here an account of the mother of our Lord; though we are not to pray to her, yet we ought to praise God for her. Christ must be born miraculously. The angel's address means only, Hail, thou that art the especially chosen and favoured of the Most High, to attain the honour Jewish mothers have so long desired. This wondrous salutation and appearance troubled Mary. The angel then assured her that she had found favour with God, and would become the mother of a son whose name she should call Jesus, the Son of the Highest, one in a nature and perfection with the Lord God. JESUS! the name that refreshes the fainting spirits of humbled sinners; sweet to speak and sweet to hear, Jesus, a Saviour! We know not his riches and our own poverty, therefore we run not to him; we perceive not that we are lost and perishing, therefore a Saviour is a word of little relish. Were we convinced of the huge mass of guilt that lies upon us, and the wrath that hangs over us for it, ready to fall upon us, it would be our continual thought, Is the Saviour mine? And that we might find him so, we should trample on all that hinders our way to him. Mary's reply to the angel was the language of faith and humble admiration, and she asked no sign for the confirming her faith. Without controversy, great was the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh, 1Ti 3:16. Christ's human nature must be produced so, as it was fit that should be which was to be taken into union with the Divine nature. And we must, as Mary here, guide our desires by the word of God. In all conflicts, let us remember that with God nothing is impossible; and as we read and hear his promises, let us turn them into prayers, Behold the willing servant of the Lord; let it be unto me according to thy word.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

35. The Holy Ghost. See on Matt. 1:18, 20. Celsus was one of the first to charge Mary with being a victim of seduction.

Come upon thee. An expression often used to describe the reception of the power of the Holy Spirit (Judges 6:34; 1 Sam. 10:6; 16:13).

Power. Gr. dunamis, “power,” “strength,” or “ability,” as contrasted with exousia, “power,” in the sense of “authority.” Dunamis is commonly used in the Gospels to refer to the miracles of Christ (Matt. 11:20-23; Mark 9:39; etc.). Here, the “power of the Highest” is parallel to “the Holy Ghost,” not meaning, however, that the Holy Ghost is merely the expression of divine power, but that He is the agency through which divine power is exercised. The words of the angel were spoken in Hebrew poetic style, in which there is a rhythm of thought rather than of rhyme and meter (see Luke 1:32, 33, 35 in RSV; Vol. III, p. 23).

Son of God. Here the angel Gabriel affirms the true deity of Jesus Christ, yet links that deity inseparably to His true humanity. The Son of Mary would be the Son of God because conception was to take place by means of the overshadowing “power of the Highest.”

From this and other Scriptures some have concluded that the title Son of God was first applied to Christ at the incarnation. Others have reached the conclusion that the title is descriptive of the preincarnate relationship of Christ to the Father. Still others consider the term Son of God as properly used of the preincarnate Christ in a proleptic sense, or in connection with His role in the plan of salvation. The writers and editors of this commentary, however, do not find that the Scriptures set forth any of these views in clear and unmistakable language. Consequently, to speak dogmatically on the matter would be to affirm more than Inspiration has revealed. Here silence is golden.

The numerous names and titles given Christ in Scripture are designed to aid our minds in understanding His relation to us in the varied aspects of His work for our salvation. There are some who unhesitatingly apply names and titles descriptive of Christ’s work as the Saviour of this world, to His absolute and eternal relationships to the sinless beings of the universe. To do so may lead us into the fallacy of accepting human language as a wholly adequate expression of a divine mystery.

The Scriptures point to the resurrection as an event confirming to Jesus the title “Son of God.” The psalmist wrote, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee” (Ps. 2:7). Paul quotes this “promise which was made unto the fathers” and adds immediately that “God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again” (Acts 13:32, 33; cf. Matt. 28:18; Rom. 1:4; Phil. 2:8-10; Heb. 1:5-8).

Jesus seldom referred to Himself by the title “Son of God” (John 9:35-37; 10:36), though He often implied the Father and Son relationship (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:21; John 5:18-23; 10:30; 14:28; etc.). Before stepping “down from the throne of the universe” (see DA 23; PP 64) Christ was “equal with God” (Phil. 2:6), “one with the Father” (DA 19; see also John 10:30). At the incarnation He voluntarily humbled Himself and accepted a position subordinate to the Father (Phil. 2:7; Heb. 2:9). Various statements by Christ while here on earth testify to His voluntary and temporary surrender of the prerogatives, though not the nature, of Deity (Phil. 2:6-8), as when He said, “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), or, “The Son can do nothing of himself” (John 5:19). See on Luke 2:49.

The Father attested Christ’s Sonship at His birth (Luke 1:35; Heb. 1:5, 6), at His baptism (Luke 3:22), at His transfiguration (Luke 9:35), and again at His resurrection (Ps. 2:7; Acts 13:32, 33; Rom. 1:4). John the Baptist also bore witness to Him as the “Son of God” (John 1:34), and the Twelve came to recognize Him as such (Matt. 14:33; 16:16). Even the evil spirits admitted that He was the Son of God (Mark 3:11; 5:7). After healing the man born blind, Christ testified before the leaders that He was the “Son of God” (John 10:35-37). It was His admission to being indeed the “Son of God” that finally brought about His condemnation and death (Luke 22:70, 71).

Christ referred to God as “my Father” (Matt. 16:17). He desires that we learn to know God as “our Father” (Matt. 6:9), and understand how God thinks of us (see on Matt. 6:9). “Christ teaches us to address Him [God] by a new name. Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ He gives us the privilege of calling the infinite God our Father,” as “a sign of our love and trust toward Him, and a pledge of His regard and relationship to us” (COL 141, 142; see also 388).

Of Christ God says, “I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son” (Heb. 1:5). And of one who by faith is adopted into the heavenly family as a son of “our Father,” God says again, “I will be his God, and he shall be my son” (Rev. 21:7). He who is truly “begotten of God” (1 John 5:18) “overcometh the world” (v. 4) as Christ did, and “sinneth not” (v. 18). The grand objective of the plan of salvation is to bring “many sons unto glory” (Heb. 2:10; cf. 1 John 3:1, 2). See Additional Note on John 1; see on Matt. 16:16-20; Mark 2:10; Luke 2:49.

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Ellen G. White
The Desire of Ages, 98

But he was greeted with the joyful assurance: “Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.... And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.” DA 98.1

Zacharias well knew how to Abraham in his old age a child was given because he believed Him faithful who had promised. But for a moment the aged priest turns his thought to the weakness of humanity. He forgets that what God has promised, He is able to perform. What a contrast between this unbelief and the sweet, childlike faith of Mary, the maiden of Nazareth, whose answer to the angel's wonderful announcement was, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word”! Luke 1:38. DA 98.2

The birth of a son to Zacharias, like the birth of the child of Abraham, and that of Mary, was to teach a great spiritual truth, a truth that we are slow to learn and ready to forget. In ourselves we are incapable of doing any good thing; but that which we cannot do will be wrought by the power of God in every submissive and believing soul. It was through faith that the child of promise was given. It is through faith that spiritual life is begotten, and we are enabled to do the works of righteousness. DA 98.3

To the question of Zacharias, the angel said, “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings.” Five hundred years before, Gabriel had made known to Daniel the prophetic period which was to extend to the coming of Christ. The knowledge that the end of this period was near had moved Zacharias to pray for the Messiah's advent. Now the very messenger through whom the prophecy was given had come to announce its fulfillment. DA 98.4

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Ellen G. White
The Desire of Ages, 145

From the day when she heard the angel's announcement in the home at Nazareth Mary had treasured every evidence that Jesus was the Messiah. His sweet, unselfish life assured her that He could be no other than the Sent of God. Yet there came to her also doubts and disappointments, and she had longed for the time when His glory should be revealed. Death had separated her from Joseph, who had shared her knowledge of the mystery of the birth of Jesus. Now there was no one to whom she could confide her hopes and fears. The past two months had been very sorrowful. She had been parted from Jesus, in whose sympathy she found comfort; she pondered upon the words of Simeon, “A sword shall pierce through thy own soul also” (Luke 2:35); she recalled the three days of agony when she thought Jesus lost to her forever; and with an anxious heart she awaited His return. DA 145.1

At the marriage feast she meets Him, the same tender, dutiful son. Yet He is not the same. His countenance is changed. It bears the traces of His conflict in the wilderness, and a new expression of dignity and power gives evidence of His heavenly mission. With Him is a group of young men, whose eyes follow Him with reverence, and who call Him Master. These companions recount to Mary what they have seen and heard at the baptism and elsewhere. They conclude by declaring, “We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write.” John 1:45. DA 145.2

As the guests assemble, many seem to be preoccupied with some topic of absorbing interest. A suppressed excitement pervades the company. Little groups converse together in eager but quiet tones, and wondering glances are turned upon the Son of Mary. As Mary had heard the disciples’ testimony in regard to Jesus, she had been gladdened with the assurance that her long-cherished hopes were not in vain. Yet she would have been more than human if there had not mingled with this holy joy a trace of the fond mother's natural pride. As she saw the many glances bent upon Jesus, she longed to have Him prove to the company that He was really the Honored of God. She hoped there might be opportunity for Him to work a miracle before them. DA 145.3

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Ellen G. White
Selected Messages Book 1, 226-7

Christ and the Law

[This article appeared in The Signs of the Times, August 2, 1905.]

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Cross References

The Holy Ghost

Luke 1:27

Luke 1:31