Jesus was born to a
virgin
I was going to begin by saying that no one else has been
born to a virgin. However, with modern
methods of IVF that may no longer actually be true. But he was not born with the aid of a
man. He was conceived by the Holy
Spirit.
Belief in the virgin birth goes back to the book of Isaiah,
where we read that a virgin or young woman) will give birth to a child, and he
shall be called Immanuel (meaning ‘Yahweh with us’). Both Matthew and Luke confirm this in their
birth narratives.
The concept of Jesus being born to a virgin began to be
attacked to the eighteenth century, and there is a great deal of scepticism
about this important doctrine. I was
listening to the radio and recognised the voice of an old friend, a theologian
who seems to no longer believe in the virgin birth. Personally, I can’t understand why this is so
hard to accept. If we look around at
creation and see the fingerprints of God, why do we not think that God could
create a child without the aid of a father?
The virgin birth matters because it points to an important
reality. Jesus is uniquely both God and
human. His mother was a woman, and yet
he is uniquely the Son of God. He is the
only one who can stand as God’s unique Saviour, who dies before the God as a
sacrifice for humanity.
The Hidden years
If I was writing a biography of a famous person I would
include plenty of details about his childhood.
However, the gospels only include one story about the boy Jesus. Yet there are things we can gather about how
he grew up.
He was an older brother (cf. Mark 3:31), he was conscious of
his relationship with his heavenly Father (Luke 2:49), he was obedient to his
parents (Luke 2:51), he learned a trade from his step-father and he grew in
wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men (Luke 2:52).
His baptism
While the gospels do not tell us much about Jesus’ childhood
they spend most of their time on the three years of his public ministry. This
public ministry begins with Jesus being baptised by John the Baptist.
The baptism of John signified the forgiveness of sins. But why would Jesus need to be baptised if he
had never sinned? In Jesus’ baptism he
was identifying himself with sinful humanity, as he would later do by dying on
the cross to take the punishment for our rebellion.
The words spoken by the Father at Jesus’ baptism are
significant. ‘You are my Son, whom I
love; with you I am well pleased’ (Mark 1:11).
These words echo Psalm 2, a psalm which speaks of the enthronement of
God’s king. It appears that at this time
the Father was installing the Son as king of his kingdom.
Tempted in every way,
yet without sin
Following Jesus’ baptism he was led by the Spirit into the
desert to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). Jesus was being tempted to take a different
path than the one that would lead to the cross.
Whereas Adam failed when tempted in the garden of Eden Jesus remains
obedient. When the devil had finished
all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time (Luke 4:13).
The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that because [Jesus]
himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being
tempted (Hebrews 2:18). Wayne Grudem
explains, ‘If Jesus had not been a man, he would not have been able to know by
experience what we go through in our temptations and struggles in this
life. But because he has lived as a man,
he is able to sympathize more fully with us in our experiences.’ He was tempted
in every way yet he never sinned (Hebrews 4:15).
A ministry of compassion
and truth
Jesus was often moved by compassion. In fact there is a word used in the gospels,
that is translated ‘compassion’, that is only ever used there of Jesus, or
people who act like Jesus, such as the Good Samaritan and Father of the
Prodigal Son. He was uniquely
compassionate. He was also a teacher of
unshakable conviction who taught with unique authority.
He performed many miracles. He healed people and drove out demons. But preaching was central to what he was
about. He said to Simon and his
companions “Let us go somewhere else—to nearby villages—so that I can preach there
also. That is why I have come” (Mark 1:38).
His preaching focused on the kingdom of God. This kingdom is not a geographical area, but
rather God’s reign over God’s world. The
prophet Isaiah had proclaimed the good news that God would establish his reign
personally. Jesus preaches that this time has arrived. In his ministry God’s reign is been seen.
The appropriate response to the teaching of King Jesus is to
repent and believe the good news (Mark 1:15).
Jesus calls from lives where we live simply for ourselves and to live
under his loving rule. We now live and speak as ambassadors of King
Jesus!
As those who live under the Lordship of Christ we will want
to imitate his compassion. We should be
moved when we see suffering around us. Yet
we must also remember that he came to share a message. If we are slow to speak the good news we are
ignoring humankind’s greatest need, which is to be restored to God.
Jesus knew that he was
God
I am not sure which famous atheist it was who said that if
Jesus thought that we would worship him as a god he would turn in his
grave. Yet the clear testimony of the
gospels is that Jesus did believe he was God.
He did things that only God can do. When a paralysed man was lower through roof
by his friends Jesus looks at him and declares¸ “Son, your sins are
forgiven.” This prompts some teachers of
the law, who were sitting there, to think to themselves, “Why does this fellow
talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark
2:6-7).
Jesus calms a storm by simply speaking a word to it. This prompts the disciples to ask, “Who is
this even the wind and the waves obey him?” (Mark 4:41). The Psalms say that it is only God who can
calm a storm. ‘You are ruler over the
surging seas; when its waves mount up, you still them’ (Psalm 89:9).
When Jesus told his Jewish opponents that Abraham had seen his
day, they exclaimed, “You are not fifty years old . . . and you have seen
Abraham!”(John 8:57). He responds, using
the very words that God had used when he identified himself to Moses at the
burning bush; when God explained, ‘I AM who I AM’ (Ex. 3:14). “I tell you the
truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58). His opponents knew the significance of this
claim as can be seen by their reaction: … they picked up stones to stone him .
. . (John 8:59).
Near the end of John’s Gospel the risen Jesus appears to
Thomas. John records that Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God” (John
20:28)—it is fitting that this gospel that had opened declaring Jesus to the
Word who was God (John 1:1) should end on a similar note, with a declaration of
Jesus’ divinity.
Jesus came to die
While the gospel writers give us little about Jesus’ early
life, focus on three years of public ministry and give detailed attention to
the events surrounding his death. Mark
devotes six of his sixteen chapters to the week leading up to the crucifixion. A chaplain in an Irish University told wrote
in the college paper that the death of Jesus is not the crux of Christianity,
nothing could be further from the truth.
Understanding Jesus’ death is essential to understanding his
life. Jesus saw himself as the suffering
servant of Isaiah 53. He taught his
disciples saying that “the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and his give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). In the Garden of Gethsemane we can see the
agony as Jesus anticipates the cross. He
shuddered not just at the physical pain that awaited him but at the fact that
he would be separated from his Father’s presence, and prayed “Abba, Father . .
. everything is possible for you. Take
this cup from me. Yet not what I will,
but what you will” (Mark 14:36). The cup
that Jesus is referring to is the cup of God’s wrath that is spoken of in
Isaiah 51:17. Jesus was going to endure
the full weight of God’s righteous anger at the rebellion of humankind. The apostle Paul would later summarise the
whole of the Christian message by saying, ‘I preach Christ crucified.’
Conclusion – Jesus in
perspective
John Lennon once claimed that the Beetles had become bigger
than Jesus. Pele once said that there
were three icons everyone recognised—Pele, Coca Cola and Jesus Christ. The truth is that Jesus is like no one else
that has walked the earth.
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