In addition to the angel Gabriel’s announcement that Jesus would be “the Son of the Most High,” we think of Peter’s confession of Christ. Jesus had asked the disciples who they thought He was, and Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). This was no mere earthly sonship, for Jesus indicated that the insight Peter had was so remarkable that it came to him, not from his own powers of observation, but by revelation from God: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven” (v. 17). This means that by the illumination of God Peter had perceived that Jesus was no mere man but very God of very God. He was God incarnate.
We find the fullest New Testament treatment in 1 John. The Christians to whom John wrote had been shaken by certain teachers who claimed to be believers but who were denying that Jesus was “from God,” God “come in the flesh” (1 John 4:2-3). They were troubled by these denials, and John wrote to them to assure them that they, rather than these false teachers, were actually God’s children. The false teachers are of Antichrist, who always denies Christ’s divinity, John says. The believers are of God, and the way they can know this is by their conviction that Jesus is indeed God’s Son. John puts it in formula form: “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us” (1 John 4:15-16). In this passage the confession “Jesus is the Son of God” becomes the great Christological confession by which one can tell whether or not one is actually a Christian. We conclude that when Gabriel told Mary that the future child would be “the Son of the Most High,” he was saying that the child would be God.
The second person we wish to question is the angel who appeared to Joseph, as described in the verses immediately following our text. This angel may have been Gabriel, but he is not named. He is only “an angel” who appears to say, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:20-21).
Here we have a situation similar to that involved in the revelation to Mary. Just like the case of the title “Son of God,” so does the title “Jesus” have a general and human as well as a specific and divine application. The name Jesus means “Jehovah is salvation” or “Jehovah saves.” It is a testimony to the truth that salvation is of the Lord (cf. Jonah 2:9). It was used by many people. But this cannot be the full meaning of the name in Matthew 1:21, for here the angel is explaining the virgin conception of Christ. That is, the name is in part an explanation of what is happening. It is a case of God being at work.