Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 1:33
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
33. reign for ever ] Dan 2:44, “a kingdom which shall never be destroyed it shall stand for ever.” (Comp. Dan 7:13-14; Dan 7:27; Mic 4:7.) “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever” (Psa 45:6; Heb 1:8). “He shall reign for ever and ever,” Rev 11:15. In 1Co 15:24-28 the allusion is only to Christ’s mediatorial kingdom, His earthly kingdom till the end of conflict.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Over the house of Jacob – The house of Jacob means the same thing as the family of Jacob, or the descendants of Jacob – that is, the children of Israel. This was the name by which the ancient people of God were known, and it is the same as saying that he would reign over his own church and people forever. This he does by giving them laws, by defending them, and by guiding them; and this he will do forever in the kingdom of his glory.
Of his kingdom there shall be no end – He shall reign among his people on earth until the end of time, and be their king forever in heaven. his is the only kingdom that shall never have an end; he the only King that shall never lay aside his diadem and robes, and that shall never die. He the only King that can defend us from all our enemies, sustain us in death, and reward us in eternity. O how important, then, to have an interest in his kingdom! and how unimportant, compared with his favor, is the favor of all earthly monarchs!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Luk 1:33
And He shall reign–
Christs everlasting kingdom
The everlasting kingdom.
There is no reason to doubt that the right and true and the holy shall have the victory. All dominions hostile to Christ must give way. All kingdoms incompatible with His must be dissolved. The kingdoms of this world have their symbols in the lion, the bear, the leopard, and the fourth dreadful and terrible beast: and by a law universally proved, their passions and discord shall precipitate their own destruction. But Christs kingdom has nothing anarchical, because it has nothing sinful in it; it has not one element of decay, because into it nothing that defileth can enter. Suns shall grow pale, stars shall become dim; the crescent shall wane, the crucifix shall fall from the hands of him that holds it; and Christs kingdom shall extend over all the earth, and all shall bless Him, and be blessed in Him. We see already tokens of that day. I take a bright view of the coming days. What progress do knowledge, science, education, Christianity, the Bible, make everywhere throughout the world at this moment? Do we not see the whole human family drawing nearer to each other? Do we not see the two great nations, America and England, speaking a tongue that promises more and more every day to become the tongue of the whole world? Do we not see all languages, however diversified, becoming reducible to two, three, or four at the very most,–Christians becoming less earthly, and Christianity less alloyed? What are these but the tokens of the approaching glory; voices in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord; messengers sent before to announce that the bridegroom cometh? I see flowers of paradise begin to bloom in many a desert. I see upon all sides the sea of barbarism and superstition begin to ebb, and many a dove take wing, and fly over the length and breadth of the worlds chaotic flood, giving tokens that the Prince of Peace is on His way, warning us that the sound of His approach already breaks upon the ear. Let us hail the twilight; let us urge on, as far as we can, the coming day. (Cummings.)
Christ the key to the worlds history
The great Swiss historian, John Von Muller, gives the result of his life-long labours, extracted, he says, from seventeen hundred and thirty-three authors, in seventeen thousand folio pages, in this striking confession: Christ is the key to the history of the world. Not only does all harmonize with the mission of Christ; all is subordinated to it. When I saw this, he adds, it was to me as wonderful and surprising as the light which St. Paul saw on his way to Damascus, the fulfilment of all hopes, the completion of philosophy, the key to all the apparent contradictions in the physical and the moral; here is life and immortality. I marvel not at miracles; a far greater miracle has been reserved for our times, the spectacle of the connection of all human events in the establishment and preservation of the doctrine of Christ. (Prof. Henry B. Smith.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 33. The house of Jacob] All who belong to the twelve tribes, the whole Israelitish people.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob,…. Not over the Jews, the posterity of Jacob, in a literal sense; but over the whole Israel of God, consisting of Jews and Gentiles. For as his father David reigned over the Idumeans, Syrians, and others, as well as over the house of Judah and Israel, so this his son shall reign over both Jews and Gentiles: his kingdom shall be from one end of the earth to the other, even over all the elect of God; who in successive generations call themselves by the name of Jacob, and surname themselves by the name of Israel, of whatsoever nation they be; and this reign of his shall be “for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end”; referring to Isa 9:7 see also Da 2:44 Da 7:14 he shall reign in the hearts of his people here unto the end of the world; and with his saints a thousand years in the new heavens and new earth; and with them to all eternity, in the ultimate glory.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Shall be no end ( ). Luke reports the perpetuity of this Davidic kingdom over the house of Jacob with no Pauline interpretation of the spiritual Israel though that was the true meaning as Luke knew. Joseph was of the house of David (Lu 1:27) and Mary also apparently (Lu 2:5).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And he shall reign over the house of Jacob,” (kai basileusei epi ton oikon lakob) “And he will reign over the house of David,” also known as the house of Jacob, from whom the twelve tribes sprang, Gen 49:1-33; Luk 21:20-23; Rom 11:26.
2) “For ever;” (eis tou aionas) “Forever,” or into the ages, without end or termination, with the first one thousand years to be definitively over the promised land, when He shall rule from Mount Zion over the twelve tribes of Israel, as the twelve apostles shall sit on twelve thrones, serving Him, Luk 22:28-30.
3) “And of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (kai tes basileias autou ouk estai telos) “And of his kingdom-administration there will be no end, cessation, or termination,” 1Co 15:24; Dan 2:44; Dan 7:13-14; Dan 7:27; Mic 4:7. It is to be universal, both literal and spiritual, as well as eternal in duration.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
33. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob As salvation was promised, in a peculiar manner, to the Jews, (the covenant having been made with their father Abraham, Gen 17:7,) and Christ, as Paul informs us, “was a minister of the circumcision,” (Rom 15:8,) the angel properly fixed his reign in that nation, as its peculiar seat and residence. But this is in perfect accordance with other predictions, which spread and extend the kingdom of Christ to the utmost limits of the earth. By a new and wonderful adoption, God has admitted into the family of Jacob the Gentiles, who formerly were strangers; though in such a manner that the Jews, as the first-born, held a preferable rank; as it is said, “The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion,” (Psa 110:3.) Christ’s throne was, therefore, erected among the people of Israel, that he might thence subdue the whole world. All whom he has joined by faith to the children of Abraham are accounted the true Israel. Though the Jews, by their revolt, have separated themselves from the church of God, yet the Lord will always preserve till the end some “remnants” (Rom 11:5😉 for his “calling is without repentances” (Rom 11:29.) The body of the people is apparently cut off; but we ought to remember the mystery of which Paul speaks, (Rom 11:25,) that God will at length gather some of the Jews out of the dispersion. Meanwhile, the church, which is scattered through the whole world, is the spiritual house of Jacob; for it drew its origin from Zion.
For ever The angel points out the sense in which it was so frequently predicted by the prophets that the kingdom of David would be without end. It was only during his own reign and that of Solomon, that it remained wealthy and powerful Rehoboam, the third successor, hardly retained a tribe and a half. The angel now declares that, when it has been established in the person of Christ, it will not be liable to destruction, and, to prove this, employs the words of Daniel, (Dan 7:14,) of his kingdom there shall be no end (27) Though the meaning of the words is, that God will for ever protect and defend the kingdom of Christ and the church, so that it shall not perish on the earth “as long as the sun and moon endure,” (Psa 72:5,) yet its true perpetuity relates to the glory to come. So then, believers follow each other in this life, by an uninterrupted succession, till at length they are gathered together in heaven, where they shall reign without end.
(27) Daniel’s prediction referred to runs thus: “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” The angel does not employ these words; but his departure from them is not strongly marked, and it can scarcely be doubted that he had this passage in his eye. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(33) He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever.Here, again, the apparent promise is that of a kingdom restored to Israel such as the disciples expected even after the Resurrection (Act. 1:6). It needed to be interpreted by events before men could see that it was fulfilled in the history of Christendom as the true Israel of God (Rom. 9:6; Gal. 6:16).
Of his kingdom there shall be no end.The words of St. Paul, in 1Co. 15:24-28, seem at first to point to a limit of time when the kingdom of the Christ shall find an end, but a closer study of his meaning shows that he is speaking of that kingdom as involving contest with the hostile forces of evil. The exercise of sovereignty may, in this sense, cease when all conflict is over, but it ceases by being perfected, not by passing away after the fashion of earthly kingdoms. The delegated or mediatorial headship of the Christ is merged in the absolute unity of the monarchy of God.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
33. The house of Jacob Both of Jacob’s natural and spiritual descendants. “For,” says Grotius, “just as David the king of Israel did by conquest amalgamate the Edomites and other nations with his kingdom, so also this Messiah-king, by gospel conquest, shall incorporate the Gentiles into his kingdom and naturalize them as true Israel. Isa 14:1. The stranger shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.” And, Isa 44:5, of the same stranger it is said he “
shall call himself by the
Shall be no end For though its probationary mediatorial form shall cease, yet its substance shall be eternal. Christ shall be eternal king, and so his reign and throne shall be endless.
Luk 1:33. And of his kingdom there shall be no end. So the prophet Isa 9:6-7. Unto us a child is born, &c. of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. The kingdom of Christ is twofold. 1. His spiritual kingdom, or the dominion of righteousness in the minds of men. 2. His temporal kingdom, or the outward dispensation of the Gospel, together with an exercise of government over the world, by which all events are managed so as to promote the empire of righteousness in the hearts of believers. 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 beeverlasting. His temporal kingdom, or the gospel dispensation, will end with the world, being of no farther use. But his spiritual kingdom, or the dominion of righteousness in the minds of intellectual beings, which he came down to establish, will continue to all eternity. See my Annotations on 1 Corinthians 15.
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Ver. 33. And of his kingdom there shall be no end ] St Paul saith indeed that he shall at the end of the world deliver up the kingdom to God the Father; not that his kingdom shall then cease, but that form of administration only, that he now useth in the collecting and conserving of his Church.
over. Greek. epi. App-104.
Jacob. Put for all the natural seed of the twelve tribes.
for = unto. Greek eis. App-104.
for ever = unto the ages. See App-151. More Reading, see Psa 45:6. Dan 7:13, Dan 7:14, Dan 7:27. Mic 4:7. 1Co 15:24-26. Heb 1:8. Rev 11:16.
Luk 1:33. , the house of Jacob) Under this house are contained the Gentiles, even as, for the sake of illustration, there are contained under the appellation of the Rhine, the rivers that flow into it. But yet it is the house itself [Israel] which is principally alluded to, especially at this early period, and in an address to an Israelitish woman. At this early stage in the Gospel history, its progress is designated generally: the spiritual sense lies hid beneath. So Luk 1:68, etc.-, of His kingdom) Repeat, over the house of David, on the throne of David: Isa 9:7. That which has not yet been accomplished, shall be accomplished.
he: Psa 45:6, Psa 89:35-37, Dan 2:44, Dan 7:13, Dan 7:14, Dan 7:27, Oba 1:21, Mic 4:7, 1Co 15:24, 1Co 15:25, Heb 1:8, Rev 11:15, Rev 20:4-6, Rev 22:3-5
the: Rom 9:6, Gal 3:29, Gal 6:16, Phi 3:3
Reciprocal: Gen 49:10 – until Num 24:17 – a Sceptre 2Sa 7:13 – I will stablish 2Sa 7:16 – General 1Ki 1:13 – sit 1Ki 11:13 – for David 1Ki 11:39 – not for ever 2Ki 8:19 – for David 1Ch 17:14 – in mine 2Ch 10:16 – David Psa 61:7 – abide Psa 72:5 – as long Psa 72:7 – abundance Psa 89:4 – General Psa 89:29 – throne Psa 89:36 – and Psa 132:12 – their children Psa 132:18 – but upon Pro 29:14 – his throne Isa 9:7 – the increase Isa 53:10 – he shall prolong Jer 17:25 – sitting Jer 22:30 – sitting Jer 23:5 – reign Jer 30:21 – governor Jer 33:17 – David shall never want Jer 33:21 – that he Eze 17:24 – have brought Eze 37:22 – and one Eze 37:25 – and my Eze 45:7 – General Dan 4:3 – his kingdom Dan 4:34 – whose Dan 6:26 – and his kingdom Mat 12:28 – then Mat 28:18 – All Luk 23:3 – the King Heb 12:28 – a kingdom
AN ENDLESS KINGDOM
He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Luk 1:33
Every attempt at world empire has been struck on the feet by the stone that smote the image (Dan 2:35), which is Christ; for to Him alone is it given to establish a kingdom that will extend throughout the world.
I. The Kingdom.The Baptists work was to prepare men by repentance to enter into the Kingdom. And Christ Himself preached on the same topic (Mat 4:17; Mat 10:7).
II. The Jews expectation.The Jews, at the time when John preached, were full of expectation of the coming of the Messiah. They thought that all false religions would be swept away, and all nations brought to worship the true God; but alongside with this spiritual idea came the more sordid conception of the Kingdom. The Jews panted to massacre and plunder the Gentiles.
III. What Christ taught.In Matthew 15 we are given six parables of the Kingdom. Their purport is to enforce the great preciousness of the privilege of membership of the Catholic Church, the Kingdom of Christ that He was about to found. It was to be through the Jews, not apart from the Jews, that the world was to pass under the sceptre of Christ. But the Jews rejected Christ and, then, but not till then, was the offer made to the Gentiles. How rapid, how triumphant would have been the march of the Gospel through the world had the Jews accepted and carried out the Divine plan we can only conjecture. Now all we can do is to pray, Thy kingdom come.
Rev. S. Baring-Gould.
Illustration
We are too apt to read the Gospel story with our minds charged with twentieth century ideas, to read it as we would like it to be, and as we presume it ought to be. We accordingly insist on the Kingdom being so purely spiritual as to be inorganic, unsubstantial and shapeless. But if to the Jews, and afterwards to the world, it had been frankly stated that all the prophecies led up to and found their fulfilment in a general diffusion of pious sentiment among a thousand sects which agreed to differ on most points in matters of faith and practice, who had no cohesion, no organic structure binding into one body, then almost certainly the Jew would have said, We have been completely hoaxed by the Prophets. The reality is not attractive, it is not worth a rush.
3
House of Jacob is a phrase often used to mean the Jewish nation in general, and later referring to the people of God spiritually whether Jew or Gentile. The kingdom of this “son of David” and of Mary was to stand for ever. (See Dan 2:44.)
Luk 1:33. Over the house of Jacob for ever, etc. This prediction echoes the Messianic prophecies already mentioned. Mary no doubt understood it literally, in accordance with the national expectations.
Of his kingdom there shall be no end. This, however, hints at the universal spiritual reign of the Messiah. But the literal sense is also correct Salvation is really of the Jews, and will one day return to Israel.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament