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{Editor's Note: This is a poignant look at the "person" of Jesus. This is a "Christmas Story" only in the truest sense, it has nothing to do with our American holiday. You may never have thought these thoughts before, so they may feel a little strange, at first. But please read, then meditate . . .}
"Jesus Of Nazareth - Whose Son Is He?"
A Christmas Story
Art Thompson
This question spoken in Matthew 22:42 has separated people for two thousand years. Those who believe in Him say: "Jesus is the Son of God." Those who do not accept Him say: "Jesus is the son of a man, just like any other of us."
But the truth is . . .
Now in the sixth month (of Elizabeth's pregnancy) the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming in, he said to her, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be.
And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 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; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end."
And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God."
And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word."
And the angel departed from her.
Now at this time Mary arose and went with haste to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it came about that when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice, and said, "Blessed among women are you, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it appeared to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord."
And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. 'And his mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear him.' He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble. 'He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed.' He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever."
And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she brought forth a son. (Luke 1:26-57)
And from Mark . . .
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. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly. 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. 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."
Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us."
And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25)
Notice the major differences between these two histories of how the birth of Jesus came about. The first version of the story is told by Luke from Mary's point of view. The other, told by Matthew, looks over Joseph's shoulder as he hears the news about Mary's pregnancy. These two stories are told from two separate points of view -- Mary's and Joseph's.
So, the key to understanding whose son Jesus is, and for forming one's own belief, lies in one's trust in the accuracy of the angel's words.
And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God."
In other words, Mary was to be the mother, but the Holy Spirit would impregnate her, not her betrothed, Joseph. Therefore, "for this reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God."
"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."
Without this visit from an angel of the Lord, Joseph most likely would have believed that he had been cuckolded. That another man had bedded his promised wife, and as a consequence, she had become pregnant. Quite naturally, he might have thought that, since there had never been a conception before without a man and a woman engaging in sexual intercourse. There had never been a conception like this before.
I think it would have taken an angel to explain it to me, had I been in Joseph's position. How about you?
In any case, the claim is made in scripture in two separate narratives that the child was fathered by God, with the Holy Spirit as His agent. Therefore, he was called the Son of God. Mary, his mother, was human. Therefore, he was also called the Son of Man.
When Did Jesus Know?
Some have guessed that other children abused Jesus quite a lot when he was a child. Surely, they say, it must have been common knowledge among those who didn't believe Joseph and Mary's story, that Jesus was a little illegitimate child -- a bastard among Jews. Illegitimate children did not have the same rights in the Jewish society as ordinary children. In fact, the Jews couldn't have anything to do with illegitimate children, nor their offspring for ten generations!
But, had they believed Jesus was born illegitimately, they would have had absolutely nothing to do with him. The fact that he could enter the synagogue and read from the scriptures when he was grown proved that they accepted the legitimacy of his birth.
So, Jesus -- the offspring of the union between a natural woman, Mary, and
the Spirit of God -- was different from the rest of us in some way. I believe
that he came to know something about that from his childhood.
It is apparent that Jesus and his mother had a very special relationship. We see glimpses of that throughout his life. At the wedding feast in Cana, Galilee. At the cross during his final moments. Those are two occasions. I believe that from his earliest days, she told him what she knew of his special nature. But that he really did not begin to comprehend everything that meant until immediately after his immersion by John, when we went into the wilderness to be tested by Satan. During that period of about six weeks, Jesus must have learned a lot about both his nature and his mission on earth.
The bible is just silent about that, but I believe there are enough "hints" for us to visualize this idea.
How Was Jesus Different?
What was the difference?
Paul gives us some significant insight.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)
The best that I can describe what I understand about what Jesus did is that he gave up his "God-ness". May I coin that word?
Before his birth on earth by the natural woman, Mary, Jesus pre-existed as God!
It helps to think about God, the Father, and Jesus Christ being separate persons, even though both are God. Let's say, both are "divine".
Even though, before he was born into the world his name was not Jesus, I think it helps some to think of him by that name.
So, before he came to earth as an infant, Jesus co-existed as God, with God the Father in their realm.
Looking back in time, Paul said that he gave up his Godness and took upon himself the form (the body, the nature) of a man -- a human being. He was no longer a divine being. That divine nature -- along with everything that it meant -- is what he gave up.
Paul said that Jesus knew that he needed to give that up (for our benefit), so his attitude was of completely giving up that nature -- willingly -- never to have it in the same way again!
So, when Jesus was born as an infant, though the spirit-being within him was the same "spirit-being" who had existed before as creator of all things (John 1), now, in every sense of the word, Jesus was just like you and me. He was a human being -- "the son of man."
His dear friend, John said, in chapter 1 that "the word was God . . . and the word became flesh and lived among us . . ." After his birth, he was no longer "God". He was flesh. He was human. He was in every sense human.
If that's not the case, then the main point of what Paul was writing about our having the same attitude as Jesus, doesn't make any sense. What he writes hangs together only if Jesus gave up something for us that he knew he would never have again -- his Godness.
Some theologians tell us that Jesus never was really a human being the way you and I are, but that he was always divine.
That doesn't make sense to me when taken with everything else we know about him.
For one thing:
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. (Hebrews 4:14 - 5:2)
The writer of Hebrews is making a strong argument about the fact that we have a high priest, representing us to God. That's what a priest is to do -- to be a representative of man to God. And that this high priest is very sympathetic to our needs and weaknesses -- because he was taken from among us. At the time he was being tested, tried, and tempted, he was a man, not a God.
The reason that he could become our high priest is that he was tempted in every way, just as we are - yet . . . without sin.
God cannot sin. Therefore God cannot be tempted to sin. Only man sins. Only man can be tempted to sin. While on earth, Jesus was tempted. Therefore, while on earth, in nature, Jesus was man, not God.
So the writer's point is that this high priest we have is a man -- totally and completely a man -- a man who could be tempted and a man who could have sinned.
But, Jesus chose not to sin.
Some say that it was not possible for Jesus to sin while on earth.
If that's true, then neither could he have been tempted, because the nature of temptation is that it causes us to consider doing something of which we are capable. Never anything else.
You know, I've never been tempted to jump from the ground to the top of the Empire State Building -- even though I stood on the ground looking toward the top, and wanting to be up there.
In fact no one and no thing could have tempted me to jump that high. It would have been no temptation at all.
Why not?
Because it was not possible for me to do it.
However, I suppose that some one could have tempted me to jump from the top down (that thought is downright scary!). But, in theory, at least, I could have been tempted to jump down, because it might have been possible for me to do that. At least, I was capable of it.
Satan put Jesus on the highest point of the Temple in Jerusalem, and tempted him to jump down. Could Jesus have done it?
Yes.
So, it was possible for him to be tempted.
He could have given in to Satan's temptations. It was possible for Jesus to sin.
That's why he makes a perfect high priest for us. He's been there. Done that! Just like you and I have been.
So, when you are tempted to do something that would not please God, you have a strong friend -- in fact, he's God's "right hand man" -- who understands. He can take you by your hand and lead you through your temptations, because he knows what you are going through. You and I cannot have a temptation that he didn't also have.
Think about that!
So, now Paul's urging begin to make more sense, don't they?
"Think like Jesus thinks." "Have the same attitude that Jesus had."
How DOES Jesus think? What IS his attitude?
What is his attitude?
Jesus completely emptied himself of everything that he had ever been -- even his Godness. But, why?
He did it -- not for himself. Not for his own benefit. He did it for others. He did it for you and me (among many). He did it even for those people who deny that he is who he is. Imagine that! He surrendered everything for people who don't even like him! He gave it all up for some who even hate him!
That's the way you and I are supposed to be. We're supposed to surrender everything that we are, have, or ever hope to be. Why? For what reasons?
For others!
For some who don't even like you. For some who may even hate you.
Jesus did know how to do that. Remember? He said, "Pray for those who despitefully use you".
Those are the people who don't like you.
Pray for them. Have the attitude that Jesus did. Surrender everything to God. Give it all up.
Then, you will begin to "have the mind of Christ", as Paul urged us to do.
Then there's the question, "If he was all man -- human -- as you say, then how can he be my Savior?"
That is a good question, but the answer is partly in the Hebrews scripture above.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, . . . . Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
That's why it took a man to make the choices in life that Jesus made. So he could learn to sympathize with our weaknesses. He understands. He knows your temptations, your hurts, your disappointments. He can sympathize. He can feel the same things you feel at the same time you're feeling them.
Because of that, he can help.
So, as the Hebrew writer said, we should approach the throne of grace with confidence -- a boldness -- so that we may receive both mercy and grace just when we need them. Isn't that wonderful?
So, if Jesus was God, but he gave that up, then he was a man, but now he's a priest -- then just what or just who is he now?
Back again to Philippians 2:
Wherefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
I believe it no longer matters to you or me whether today -- at this moment -- Jesus is divine or human. Whatever the case, because of Jesus' love for us and for the obedience he learned while on earth -- God has done some very special things with him.
God has exalted him. He has set Jesus far above everyone and everything. He is now above all. And God has given Jesus a great name -- a name greater than any other in history or in the future of earth. He has been made so high and so great that all things must bow down to him. Paul said all things. Then he was more specific. All things in the heavens. That must include all angelic and spirit beings of whatever sorts.
All things on earth. That includes you and me, and everyone living, everyone who lived in the past, and everyone who will live in the future, whether peasant, pauper, billionaire, king, president, emperor, or dictator. Every animal, vegetable, and mineral. Every breeze and every storm. Every flower and every thorn. Every candle and every lightning bolt. Every mountain and every ocean. Every raindrop. Everything on earth.
And all things under the earth. And I don't think he means dirt, oil, gas, minerals, and molten magnetic metal core. I believe he's speaking of the disobedient spirits. He's speaking of "the god of this world" -- Satan, and all those spirits who serve Satan.
All must bow down to Jesus, because he is now Lord of all. That means "master" of all. Or in today's vernacular -- the boss of all. Or the man!
Now, is he human or divine?
Does it matter?
If it does, then why not save that question for when we see him face to face? Because our scriptures do not make it that clear about his present nature. Except that he is above all things and above all beings except God, the Father, himself.
Now, isn't THAT a wonderful Christmas story?
Jesus came to earth after giving up everything. He was creator of all things, and he became a helpless infant. He grew to be an adult. He was tempted, tested, tried. He resisted. Because he loved you. And then he died for you and me. He was buried. He was raised from the dead and is alive again!
God lifted him high up into the heavens and seated Jesus at his own right hand. There Jesus intervenes with God the Father for you and me. He knows how we feel. He knows what makes us happy and what makes us sad. He knows how and why we hurt inside, and how we feel when we're happy.
Jesus said, "Come to me all you who work really hard and a burdened down with a heavy load -- and I will give you rest. My work (yoke) is easy and my load is light."
Isn't that a wonderful invitation he gives us?
Come to him. Surrender your life to him today. You'll be so glad you did -- forever!
