Therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” Luke 1:35 KJV
… and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”Luke 1:35 NASB
Luke presents to us the genuine Manhood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are privileged to trace something of the life of our Lord Jesus from His incarnation to the resurrection. He was a real man but not a mere man.
Luke tells us of three occasions when his holiness is mentioned. The first was by the angel to Mary. As a result of His being begotten of the Holy Spirit, He Himself would be holy (1:35). The words of the angel set Him apart from every other person who has come into the world. Isaiah trumpeted out during his ministry that we are all “unclean thing(s)” (Isa 64:6). Now, for the first time, there came into our world a “holy thing.” Other translations, perhaps truer to the text, would say, “That which shall be born to thee shall be holy.” Whichever translation we employ, it is stressing inherent holiness.
When we advance to forty days after His birth, the Lord Jesus is being brought to the temple to be presented to the Lord. “Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord” (2:23). Although the word in the original is the same as in chapter 1:35, the meaning here is more the thought of set apart or sanctified. This expression sets Him apart again from every other firstborn brought to God. Here, for the first time, was One Who was totally, unreservedly set apart, sanctified, holy to the Lord. No self-centeredness needed to be overcome. No selfishness ever was confessed before His God. Holy, not only essentially, but experientially.
The final confession of His holiness in Luke came from the lips of demons. In chapter 4:33, 34, the Lord Jesus was in the synagogue in Capernaum. The demon possessing a man cried out, “… Jesus of Nazareth … the Holy One of God.” This confession sets Him apart from every other man who had ever been linked with Nazareth. To link holiness with Nazareth was unthinkable to most (John 1:46). Yet here was One Whom the reputation of Nazareth did not stain in any way; He was Holy despite the exposure of all the sin around Him. No one had ever come out of the environment of Nazareth and been called holy.
He was distinct from every man who ever came into the world, from all firstborn sons presented to the Lord, and from any person who ever came from Nazareth. He was holy inherently, by His experiences, and despite His exposure to sin. He was holy in His incarnation; holy in His consecration; holy in His separation.
Consider:
Although the words of the centurion do not include the word “holy,” notice how and why his confession in Luke 23:47 differs from his words in Matthew and Mark.