“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David” Luke 1:32 KJV
“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; Luke 1:32 NASB
The angelic announcement to Mary portended wonderful things for the soon-to-be-born Son. “He shall be great” must have thrilled the heart of this young teenage girl. The balancing news of the sorrow she would know was withheld from her until the day, 40 days later, that she entered the temple and heard the words of Simeon. “A sword shall pierce through thine own soul” (Luke 1:35). How kind God was to veil this from her for those six weeks after the birth of the Lord Jesus. No doubt the predictions of greatness communicated by Gabriel must have clashed in her mind with the words of Simeon. Only a cross would reconcile everything to her mind.
But greatness is linked with the Lord Jesus at every turn. He is the –
Great Prophet
He entered the city of Nain on the occasion of a burial. A funeral procession was making its way to a burial plot. A widow was taking her deceased son out to be buried. Her hopes, her financial support, her very life were being interred with him.
Enter the Saviour. A touch on the bier, a word of comfort to the widow, and then the death-shattering command, “Arise.” The people are filled with amazement. Their reaction: “And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, that a great prophet is risen up among us” (Luke 7:16).
Great King
In Matthew 5:35, the Lord Jesus reminded His listeners that Jerusalem is “… for it is the city of the great King.” Many men had worn the regal crown in that city. A few had honoured God and had risen to some measure of greatness. Most, tragically, fell far short of God’s ideal for a king. Of only four men was it written that they walked in the ways of David their father.
But there is another King coming. He is the Great King. The city is His and the throne will one day be His.
Great High Priest
The Hebrew epistle reaches a high point when it tells us that “we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession” Hebrews 4:14. There were countless priests, and there were many high priests, but there is only one Great High Priest. He is great because of His person; He is great because He ministers in the true sanctuary. He is great because He ministers the benefits of the better, eternal covenant. 
Great Shepherd
As the writer to the Hebrews brings his persuasive letter of exhortation to a close, he virtually sums up the teaching of the letter in Hebrews 13:20, 21. Two distinctive titles are found side by side in these final verses: the God of peace and the Great Shepherd of the sheep. We are familiar with the Good Shepherd and our Salvation, the Chief Shepherd and Compensation. Here we have the Great Shepherd and our Sanctification. The blood of the everlasting covenant has procured for us its blessings and its blessor. He will “make you perfect … to do His will working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight.”
This Shepherd fulfills perfectly all that was written centuries earlier about the Shepherd of Psalm 23. Surely goodness and mercy are following us as He leads us tenderly to the House of the Lord, our eternal dwelling place.
Great God and Saviour
But it remains for Paul to tell us that the victim of Calvary’s cross, the Lamb that was led to the slaughter, the Man of sorrows, despised and rejected, is none less than “Our Great God and Savior.” There is little more that can be said as we, like winged creatures before the throne, cover our mouths and cover our eyes, bowing our hearts in worship.
“He shall be great …” (Luke 1:32)