Glimpses 11

Birth of a King

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G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 11 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! We looked together at the Covenants in the Old Testament as a set of stairs from Creation through to what we call the New Covenant.  Now, we have started looking at the documents which record the life of Jesus Christ, who as Christians, claim to fulfil those Covenants we talked about. His birth is the most celebrated around the world and He transcends cultures, peoples and languages.  Jesus Christ is the most unique person in all of recorded history. He is also the most divisive person to be found at any time and anywhere.  Almost everyone has an opinion about him, even if that opinion is based on ignorance, silence or misinformation.

Climbing the staircase!

Like climbing a staircase, step by step, we looked at together through the Covenants and we caught glimpses of God sending a saviour or messiah for the world. We discovered that God was planning the time when He would step into history as this saviour person, who we believe to be the man, Jesus Christ.  We looked at the Covenants that God made with people, which all looked forward to this saviour, messiah and king. These covenants were to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David. This King was to be their hope - their saviour. Jesus' genealogy as recorded in the Gospels takes his physical line back to Abraham via David. Abraham as we saw was the father of Israel and David the King with a promise from God to have a king on the throne forever. Jesus grew into maturity as any young Jewish boy did.

Life Events

You can read about the events leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ in the following passages from the Bible: Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-18; John 1v1-18 Documented in history and affirmed by most secular and non-Christian sources.  Here are the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ and his early childhood from the Gospel record:

• His Pre-existence - John 1:1-5
• His Genealogy - Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38
• Angel Gabriel visits Mary - Luke 1:26-38
• Angel appears to Joseph in a dream - Matthew 1:18-25
• His Birth in Bethlehem - Matthew 1:25, Luke 2:1-7
• Shepherds visit him at the manger - Luke 2:8-20
• His circumcision and presentation in the Temple according to the Covenant Law of Moses - - Luke 2:21-38
• Wise men present gifts in house - Matthew 2:1-12
• Joseph's family including Jesus escape to Egypt with Jesus - Matthew 2:13-15
• Herod's wrath on Bethlehem's children - Matthew 2:16-18
• Herod dies in Spring of 4 BC - Matthew 2:19
• Joseph's family including Jesus settles in Nazareth - Luke 2:39
• Events in his childhood - Luke 2:40-52

Luke 2v1-7, 21-24.

Please do make a note of the names of history recorded by Luke to date the birth of the man, Jesus: Now it happened in those days, that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.  This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.  All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.  Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;  to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.   It happened, while they were there, that the day had come that she should give birth.  She brought forth her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn. When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord  (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord"), and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."

Birth of Jesus Christ

That Jesus was a human male is not really disputed. However, the birth of Jesus Christ is extraordinary at every level. He was born of a woman, which in itself tells us that at least in a prenatal state, he was nurtured and formed as any other male baby was and is. On the physical level, Jesus was born as any person is, but as regards his conception, He was conceived like no other person - conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1v35). This was so that Jesus would not be given the sinful nature past that all humans have. Jesus was fully human and fully divine. Other documents, outside of the Bible from that time period also attest to Jesus and his existence.

What's in a name?

When Jesus was born, his name imbued the very reason he was born. His conception and birth were extraordinary at every level. So important is our understanding of the birth of Jesus that no fewer than 4 angels come to give us a full picture of the event. Do you think that his parents, Joseph & Mary ever gazed upon him, and thought "How misnamed he is!" They did not, because they knew the very purpose for which he was born. Did Jesus ever think of how misnamed he was? Certainly not! His name means one who saves, or a rescuer. The entirety of his birth, life and death were centred on this very role. His role was to save all those who would follow Him.

Further up the staircase!

As we look through the remainder of this series we will discover together how and why He was born to be this messiah, saviour and king we caught glimpses of in the Old Testament. We will see that Jesus confirms God's promises, that he reveals God as a Father and that he gave us an example of how to live life to the full.  We shall also see how his life was the catalyst for a religious revolution. He was not merely a man who received some special power. He was not some strange creation that was half man and half God, with his human nature somehow absorbed into the divine. He was, as we shall see in this series, much more than those ideas! In our next study we will look at Jesus' Mission and Identity. Thank you!

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