Jesus and Christmas -- What's It All About (Part 4)

We have been looking into Jesus and what He is all about.  I have been trying to give a little insight into the age old question, "What is life all about?"  To really understand the meaning of life and why we humans have come to exist, you will never find the answer without looking at Jesus.  Man was put on this earth for one purpose and that was to become an eternal living being.  Every person, but Adam and Eve, came into this world through a womb.  Every person, but One, who has come into the world through a womb, has entered this world with a soul that is empty and without life. Adam and Eve came into the world by God creating them with His word.  They came into this world with souls that were filled with the life of God.  They lost that life when they broke the one command that God gave them, "On the day that you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will surely die." When they ate from the tree, their body did not die, so what did?  It was the more important body.  It was the living spiritual body the was dwelling in their souls.

To understand what life is all about, we have to look past what we can see.  We have look into the things that are not seen, because that is where reality is and eternity dwells.  It sounds a little silly that God would tell them to not eat from a tree and if they did they would die.  He is God and of course He knew that they would eat from the tree, right?  If that is the case then it has to be part of God's plan. God needed human beings who would bring forth other human beings that had souls that were empty.  God could not create such a being, so He developed this plan to make it happen.  From that point men and women have been producing human beings with empty souls and a sin nature.  That means a life that is separated from God.  The empty soul would be the very place where God would create a new Eternal Creation.  This new Creation will, at the Resurrection, be in the likeness of the new body that God has made for Himself.  God will have a visible spiritual body like the New Creation, that He has created, and will be One with them.

You are probably saying to yourselves right about now, "What does this have to do with Christmas"?
It has everything to do with Christmas.  The whole purpose of creation is summed up in the Christmas(birth of Jesus) story.  If you have read the first three parts of this Blog on, What's it all about,  you will be able to see how reflective the birth story is on what God's plan from the beginning was.  Let's look at the Christmas story as recorded in the Gospel of Luke in his 2nd Chapter, verses 1-20;

               (1) "Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus,
               that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.(2) This was the first census taken
               while Quirinius was governor of Syria.(3) And all were proceeding to register for
               census, everyone to there own city.(4) And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from
               the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem,
               because he was of the house and family of David,(5) in order to register , along with
               Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child."

Let's stop and look at these verses and look at the significance of what is happening.  In verse1-4 we see that because of a required census made by Caesar Augustus, Joseph and Mary have to go to the city of their birth to be counted.  The city is Bethlehem, called the city of David because it was the city were David had lived.  Matthew recorded in his gospel the event of the magi from the east and their encounter with king Herod.  In Chapter 2, verses 1-5;

              (1) "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
              behold. magi from the east arrived n Jerusalem, saying,(2) "Where is He who is born
              King of the Jews?  For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.
              (3) And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
              (4) And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he began
              to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born.(5) And they said to him, in
              Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet."

An interesting thing here to notice, is that the religious leaders of that day knew what was written by one of their prophets pertaining to where their Messiah was to be born.  They end up being the people who resisted the most that Jesus was the Christ.  Did it even interest them at all that there might be the possibility that this prophecy was being fulfilled in their time.  They were even able to quote the prophecy of this event that was spoken by the prophet Micah in his 5th Chapter, verse 2.  The same thing that Matthew said they quoted in verse 6;

              (6) "And you Bethlehem, Land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders
              of Judah; for out of you should come forth a Ruler, Who will shepherd My people
              Israel."

Even as today, there are many things that are misquoted from scripture.  They were pretty close, but Micah actually said this,

              (2) "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
              From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler of Israel, His goings forth are from
              long ago, From the days of eternity."

They could have easily sought to find out if this event had actually occurred.  Some may have, but events leading to the cross appeared to be that not enough believed.  They could not have been able to say that this was just Joseph and Mary wanting to go to Bethlehem to have the baby in Bethlehem to make a self fulfilling prophecy.  Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem to participate in the census as decreed by Caesar Augustus, so they had no choice but to go.  While they were there Mary had to give birth.  I believe that the census was put on Caesar's mind by God.  This way no one could argue the point or try to cast doubt that Joseph and Mary just tried to create the event.  The prophecy was fulfilled and this baby Yeshua (Jesus) was the Messiah (Christ).

Bethlehem was called, the city of David.  This is significant, also, because when Mary was told by the angel to call her child Jesus, the angel followed with this in Lukes' 1st Chapter, verse 32;

              "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." 

We know from Matthews' 1st Chapter, verse 8. that.....Mary....was found with child by the Holy Spirit.  So we have to look at what is meant when it says that, "The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.  David is not His father, obviously.  David was His forefather. Jesus came from the lineage of David.  Joseph and Mary came from the lineage of David.  That if why they had to go to Bethlehem, the city where David came from, for the census.  This is why God had to preserve the people of Israel, especially those of the lineage of David, because it was through the lineage of David that He would come into this world.  People tend to point out all the violence that was done against the enemies of Israel that was written about in the Old Testament.  Satan was always trying to destroy the people of Israel.  God had to intervene to defend them or they would have been destroyed and their would not have been the lineage of David and especial Mary through which He would come into this world.

The whole story of Jesus'(Yeshuas') birth and the events of that day reveal this one thing that explains the meaning and answers to the questions, What's it all about? and Why are we here? and What is life all about?  It can be summed up in one sentence.

           God stepped out of eternity so we could step into it, through Jesus(Yeshua) the Lord.

Luke continues writing on the events of Jesus birth in his 2nd Chapter, verse 6-20;

              (6) "And it came about that while they were there, the days were complete for Mary
              to give birth.(7) And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in
              swaddling cloth, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in
              the inn.

There are three revelations in these two verses that reveal God's plan.  Jesus was God who came into this world and was born in a stable.  People would wonder why would God choose to be born in a stable.  Jesus was the Lamb of God who came into this world to sacrifice Himself to shed His own blood to take away the sin of the world.  Where else should a lamb be born, but in a stable.  As soon as Jesus is born, Mary wraps Him in swaddling cloth.  Swaddling cloth is the material that was used when you are wrapping someone preparing them for burial.  This is revealing that Jesus came here to die.  The apostle John wrote this in his gospel in the1st Chapter, verse 29, quoting John the Baptist;

              "The next day he(John)saw Jesus coming to him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God
              who takes away the sin of the world!'"

As soon as Mary wrapped Jesus in the swaddling cloth, she laid Him in a manger.  A manger is a feeding trough that the animals would eat out of.  Jesus said this in Lukes' gospel Chapter 4, verses 3 and 4, when Jesus was fasting forty days, He became hungry and Satan tempted  Him and Jesus responded with this;

               (3) "And the devil said to Him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become
               bread.'(4) And Jesus answered him, 'It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'".

Jesus was quoting this passage out of Deuteronomy Chapter 8, verse 3;

                "And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you
                did not know, nor did your father know, that He might make you understand that
                man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of
                the mouth of God."

The things that come out of the mouth of God are words.  Jesus is the Word of God.  Jesus  and His words are our food.  His words are food that feed our soul.  The Apostle John wrote this in the 1st Chapter of his gospel, verses 1 and 14;

                (1) 'In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God , and the Word was
                God,........(14) And the Word  Became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His
                glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Jesus said this in Chapter 7 of John's gospel verses 47-58;

                (47) "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.(48) I am the bread
                of life.(49) Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.(50) This is
                the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.(51)
                I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he
                shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is
                my flesh."(52) The Jews began to argue with one another, saying, " How can this
                man give us His flesh to eat?"(53) Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh
                of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.(54) He who
                eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the
                last day.(55) For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.(56) He who eats
                My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in Him.(57) As the living Father
                sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so He who eats Me, he also shall live
                because of Me.(58) This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the
                fathers ate, and did die, he who eats this bread shall live forever."

Jesus disciples  were having difficulty understanding what He was saying and meant, so Jesus told His disciples this in verse 63;

                'It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh prophets nothing; the words that I have
                spoken to you are spirit and are life.'

Jesus is saying that the words that he speaks are the food for the spirit that gives life.  At the last super Jesus revealed what the significance of His flesh and blood are, when He said this as revealed by Luke in the 22nd Chapter of his gospel in verses 19 and 20:

                (19) "And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it, and gave
                it to them, saying, 'This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance
                of Me.'(20) And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This
                cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.'"

So Jesus is the food that came forth from heaven that gives eternal life and this was revealed in Mary laying Him in a manger in the stable.  Then the story of the birth of Jesus continues in Luke's 2nd Chapter, verses 8-20;

                 (8) "And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields,
                 and keeping watch over their flock by night.(9) and an angel of the Lord suddenly
                 stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were
                 terribly frightened.(10) and the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid: for behold,
                 I bring you good news of great joy which shall be for all people;(11) for today in
                 the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

It is interesting that the angel chose to reveal this message to the shepherds.  You would think that the angel might want to reveal this event to the religious leaders or the prominent of the community.  Mans ways are not God's ways.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  It is only fitting and figurative for Him to reveal His coming to these lowly shepherds.  David, whose linage Jesus came into the world through, was the little shepherd boy who would slay the giant Galiath and later become king.   Jesus will slay the giant, Death and Hades, and become the King of King's.  Jesus tells us this in the gospel of John, in his 10th chapter, verses 11;

                  "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."

The title of Savior and Lord belongs to God alone.  So what is being proclaimed here, by the angel, is that God Himself has been born here in the city of David.  Of course God has already been existing for eternity as God the Spirit.  This is the God who has put a piece of His very essence in Mary and conceived this child who has just been born as the visible representation of the invisible God.  This is the only One, who has been born through a womb, that was not of the seed of Adam, but of the essence of God.  He is therefore the only man born without the sin nature from Adam.  He is the sinless Lamb of God who will be able to take away the sin of the world.  God is now existing as both God the Spirit and God the Man.  There is only One Lord(Jehovah), so they must be One and the same.  Again we refer to Isaiah's writings in revealing this fact.

Isaiah 43:3          "I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior

Isaiah 43:11and12   (11)"I, even I am the Lord; and there is no savior besides Me.(12) It is I
                            who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no strange god
                            among you; So you are my witnesses,"  declares the Lord, and I am God

Isaiah 44:6          "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his(Israel's) Redeemer, the Lord
                            of hosts; I am the first and the last, And there is no God besides Me."

Jesus is the first and the last as revealed in the Book of Revelations Chapter 1, verses 17and18 and Chapter 2, verse 8;

Chapter 1  (17)............."Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last,(18) and the living one;
                 and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death
                 and Hades."

Chapter 2  (8) "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write; The first and the last, who
                  was dead and has come to life, says this;"

Isaiah 45:5         "I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides me there is no God."

Isaiah 46:21-23  (21)............."Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me."
                           A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.(22) Turn to Me,
                           and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God and there is no other.
                           (23) I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone forth from My mouth in
                           righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me EVERY KNEE WILL
                           BOW, every TONGUE will swear allegiance."

The apostle Paul wrote this in his letter to the Philippians, in his 2nd Chapter, verse 9-11;

                 (9) "Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name
                 which is above every name,(10) that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHALL
                 BOW, of those who are in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and that
                 (11) and that every TONGUE should confess(swear allegiance) that Jesus Christ
                 is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Any one of the shepherds who knew of these passages in Isaiah, who heard the angel refer to this newborn as Savior and Lord knew what they were insinuating.  I am sure that they were wondering how this could be possible.  The story continues in Luke Chapter 2, verse 12;

                 (12) "And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling
                 cloths, and lying in a manger.(13) and suddenly there appeared with the angel a
                 multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God, and saying,(14) 'Gory to God in the
                 highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.

This is one of the most misquoted passages of the Bible.  You probably have heard it quoted this way; " Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, good will towards men.  There is a big difference here.  The angel did not say, "Peace on Earth".  The angel said, "peace among men with whom God is pleased.  This is a peace in the soul, that can only be received by receiving the Prince of Peace, this baby that was born the Lamb of God that will shed His blood to forgive sin and give eternal life.  This is the only way we can please God.  Remember, Isaiah wrote this in his 9th Chapter, verse 6;

                 "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will
                 rest on His shoulders; And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty
                 God, Eternal Father, PRINCE OF PEACE."

The Christmas story ends with this in Luke's 2nd Chapter, verses 15-20;

                  (15) "And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, 
                  that the shepherds began saying to one another, 'Let us go straight to Bethlehem
                  then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.'
                  (16) And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the
                  baby as He lay in the manger.(17) And when they had seen this, they made know
                  the statement which had been told them about this Child.(18) And all who heard
                  it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.(19) But Mary
                  treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.(20) And the shepherds
                  went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just
                  as had been told them."

The shepherds told Mary and Joseph what the angel had told them as recorded in Luke Chapter 2, verses 10 and 11;

                 "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall  be
                 for all people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior,
                 who is Christ(Messiah) the Lord(Jehovah)."

This bears witness to what the angel told Mary and Joseph both in separate incidences, when they were both instructed to call His name Jesus(Yeshua).  They both knew the meaning of this name was, the Lord(Jehovah) our Salvation.  The Savior who is the Lord(Jehovah).                 

May you receive in your heart this Prince of Peace, the Lord of the universe.  Feed on His words and grow in the Spirit and in your spirit.  This Lamb of God , was God Himself.  He stepped out of eternity to forgive your sin through His death and give you eternal life through His resurrection.  He stepped back into eternity as the risen and ascended Lord, Jesus.  He did all this so you also could step into eternity.  He would now have a visible spiritual body in the heavens and we also would be able to have a body that is made in His likeness.

May His peace that surpasses all understanding guard you mind and soul, now and forever.

Jesus and Christmas - What's It All About? (Part 3)

If we look at the events of what we have come to know as Christmas, Jesus birth, from what Joseph experienced, we will see events that validate the fact that Jesus is God.  Joseph at the point of these events, knew already that his wife to be was pregnant, with child.  You can only imagine what was going through Joseph's mind.  I am sure that this was not the first time that someone, that people had known, were pregnant out of wedlock.  I can only believe that this was the first time a man had gotten this excuse by his wife to be as to how she could be pregnant and by whom.  I am sure that Mary couldn't wait to tell Joseph of the good news, that she had become pregnant by the very Spirit of God and that she was going to give birth to the Son of the Most High.  Could you imagine what was going through Mary's mind as to, how she was going to tell her husband to be, how she could be pregnant.  If the angel Gabriel didn't frighten her, I am sure this did.  The Bible doesn't say how Mary told Joseph, but he didn't believe her and I don't think any man would have.  All we know about Joseph's reaction is that he was going to put her away secretly, not wanting to disgrace her and probably spare himself the humiliation.  This is revealed by Matthew in his gospel writings in his first chapter when he writes this in verses 18-25;

            "(18) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows.  When His mother Mary had been
            betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the
            Holy Spirit.(19) And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to
            disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly.(20) But when he had considered this,
            behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David,
            do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is
            of the Holy Spirit.(21) "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for
            it is He who will save His people from their sins."(22) Now all this took place that what
            was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying,(23) "Behold,
            the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name
            Emmanuel," which translated means, "God with us."(24) And Joseph arose from his
            sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took her as his wife.
            (25) and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

Looking at these verses, the one thing we might ask ourselves is, "What was the main thing that the angel said to Joseph that resonated so much to him that would make him arise from his sleep and take Mary as his wife.  It had to have been something that was said that clicked in his mind that let him know that Mary had told him the truth.  Obviously one thing is that he told Joseph to name the baby Jesus.  I am sure that Mary had told Joseph that the angel, that appeared to her, told her to name the baby Jesus.  The less obvious might be the quote from the prophet.  I think that Joseph might have, at that point, recalled what had been quoted by the prophet Isaiah, when the angel had told him in verse 21;

            "And she (Mary) will bear a Son; and you shall call his name Jesus, for it is He who will
            save His people from their sins."

Joseph was understanding that this was the fulfillment of the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah, when Isaiah wrote in his 7th Chapter, verse 14 what Matthew quoted here in the 23 verse;

           "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign; Behold, a virgin will be with child and
           bear a Son , and she shall call His name Emmanuel."

Joseph new what Mary was saying when she said  that she was to name the baby Jesus (Yeshua).  He probably thought that this was blasphemy.  Joseph knew that the name Yeshua means, The Lord our Salvation.  By naming a child Yeshua you are calling the child God.  When the angel told Joseph to name the child Jesus (Yeshua), Joseph knew what this meant and it was probably all starting to make sense.  Joseph was beginning to put it all together.  What the angel told him was similar to the words of the prophet, except for calling His name Emmanuel.  Joseph knew that Emmanuel meant, God with us.  If you call the baby Jesus (Yeshua) The Lord our  Salvation, you are also declaring that this child is God with us." These are the words written by the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah's 45th Chapter, verses 21-23;

            (21)"..........And there is no other God before Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There
            is none except Me.(22) Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
            For I am God, and there is no other. (23) I have sworn by Myself, Thy words have gone
            forth from my mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, That to Me every knee will
            bow, and every tongue will swear allegiance."

If Joseph had read this scripture and could recall it, he would know that for Jesus to be able to save His people from their sins, He would have to be a Savior and if He is the Savior, then He must be the God who spoke through Isaiah.

The apostle Paul gives acknowledgment to this when he wrote in his letter to the Philippians in the 2nd Chapter, verses 5-11;

            (5) "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,(6) who although
            He existed as God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,(7) but
            emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of
            of men.(8) And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming
            obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.(9) Therefore also God highly
            exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,(10) that at
            the name of Jesus ever knee shall bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and
            under the earth,(11) and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the
            glory of God the Father."

God Made for Himself a Body in the person of Jesus.  He would sacrifice His own earthly body, on the cross, for the blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.  Because He was not from the seed of Adam, but of God, He had no sin.  He is the only Son of Man, according to the law, who could have access into heaven, because He was guiltless.  If anyone accepts the sacrifice Jesus made for them, they put themselves on the cross with Jesus, they are buried with Jesus, their sins are left in the grave and they are risen with Jesus a New Creation.  They become born of above, with the Spirit of Jesus dwelling in them, and they now have an eternal living being that is being developed in their souls. Jesus was the first born of all the New Creation.  God now had a risen glorified heavenly body that could now be visibly seen in heaven and able to fellowship in likeness with the New Creation he is creating.  Everyone who receives what Jesus did for them will receive the same glorified body at the resurrection.

The early church new what they were saying when they referred to Jesus as Lord.  For there is only one Lord and that is God. Again God speaks through the prophet Isaiah when He says this in Chapter 43, verses 11-13;

            (11) "I, even I, am the Lord (Jehovah), And there is no Savior besides Me.(12) It is I
            who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no strange god among you;
            So you are my witnesses declares the Lord (Jehovah), And I am God,(13) Even from 
            eternity I am He; And there is none who can deliver out of my hand; I act and who can
            reverse it?"

For Jesus to be Lord, He has to be God.  Emmanuel, "God with us".  Jesus (Yeshua),"The Lord our Salvation.  The Christmas story, the birth Jesus, reveals all of this in a special way.  We will see this in my next Blog.

My the peace of the Great God and Savior be with you.