by Bruce Mackay | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

A study of the Bible clearly portrays Jesus as God the Son, the Son of God, and also the Son of Man. Although every one of these aspects is vitally important, our focus for this article will be on the dimension of the Son of Man, and the point in history when God became flesh and lived amongst us.

One of the most famous Scriptures in the Bible is from the book of John. 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.' John 3:16. To understand the uniqueness of Christ's birth, we need to briefly look at exactly what took place in the heavens with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The desire of God the Father was that He would have many sons filled with His life. Knowing this, God the Son then made a very unique offering to the Father. He made Himself fully available to the Father so that He could have His desire fulfilled. The Father then made an offering toward the Son, giving God the Son His life. In the seed of this life was every individual child of God. God then created the human race as suitable vessels to receive His life and participate as His children. Firstly, God created Adam from the dust of the earth. Then He created Eve by taking a rib from Adam. Both were created in the image of God and according to His likeness.

How was the Father's life that was now in the Son, going to be received in the life of all humans? This question was answered through the Son of God coming in human flesh. In the uniqueness of the birth of Jesus, God became human so that we could become sons of God, receiving His life, and therefore fulfilling the Father's desire.

His birth

Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah said, 'The virgin shall be with child and bear a son and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, "God with us"'. We can see this story unfold in Matthew chapter one.

'Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins". So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.' Matt 1:18-25.

We must remember that God the Son had received the Father's eternal life. Now, as the Son of God with the Father's eternal life, He was born as human; as Immanuel. Through Immanuel, the only begotten Son of the Father, you and I can receive the Father's eternal life and become sons of God and partakers of the divine nature.

Another unique aspect of Jesus' birth was the city in which it took place. Isaiah the prophet also prophesied that the child would be born in Bethlehem. Luke 2:1-7. It was in Bethlehem that the child was then named Jesus. This was the name which was given to Him by the angel of the Lord before He was conceived in the womb. Luke 2:21. The name 'Jesus' meant 'Saviour' and it was He who would save the people from their sins.

The unique aspect of the birth of Jesus was that He came to bring the Father's life, to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us, so that we too could be about the Father's business. How do we do this? It is our response to the word of the Lord which will determine whether or not we receive His life. With God, nothing is impossible. All we have to do is believe as Mary did when the Lord said she would conceive and carry the Son of God. Mary said, 'Let it be to me according to Your word'. Luke 1:38. We too, can respond in the same way that Mary did and receive the Father's eternal life.

His early years

There is little recorded of the early years of Jesus, but what we are told is full of meaning. Because it was declared that this child Jesus was to be King of the Jews, His assassination was attempted. His parents fled to Egypt, so Jesus as a child was a refugee. Again we realise that Jesus understands every aspect of life.

At twelve years of age, He was in the temple, sitting with teachers of Old Testament Scriptures, both listening to them and asking questions. Jesus said something that is a call and challenge to us all. 'I must be about My Father's business.' Luke 2:49. Likewise, our purpose in life is to do the works that God has given to us.

Jesus remained submitted to His parents and increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

His family tree

Family trees can reveal some rather unexpected surprises and shocks. Mostly, these surprises are pleasant, but there are also times when there is information revealed that we may have rather not known. We may discover family members who have had an unsavoury and infamous past. And this is the case with the family tree of Jesus.

There are some names that appear in Jesus' family tree that may come as a surprise to many of us. We must realise that Jesus' family tree is not the pedigree line of righteous, godly, upstanding citizens that we may have come to expect. Interestingly, the way Jesus' family tree is worded in Matthew chapter one would suggest that certain names have been deliberately and purposefully included. All the names included in Jesus' family tree are there for the entire world to see. Nothing has been hidden, because we know that God hides nothing. We will later come to understand the significance of these names.

Interestingly, a person can learn volumes about themselves by studying their lineage, because we are all the sum of our past. From Jesus' lineage, we learn who He is and the significance that His life can have on our lives.

The family line of Jesus included many people from vast and colourful backgrounds, races and cultures. In Jesus' lineage we will find both noble and unrighteous kings, tradesmen, prostitutes, murderers, prophets, messengers, and commoners. From this we can see that all humanity and all walks of life are gathered up in Christ. When we see Jesus and His family tree, we see God demonstrating to us all His love, mercy, and most importantly, His unconditional acceptance.

Earlier, we highlighted that we can learn a lot by looking at our family history. We will now look at some examples of individuals in Jesus' family history who have had questionable lifestyles and see the significance of their inclusion in Jesus' lineage.

Rahab the harlot

In the book of Joshua chapter two, we read of the harlot Rahab. The story of Rahab is very significant when considering the lineage of Jesus. In this story, Joshua sends two men to spy out the city of Jericho. The men come across the house of Rahab located on the city wall. The King of Jericho was aware that these spies were there and sent a message asking Rahab to bring them out. Josh2:3. Instead of revealing the spies, she hid them in the roof of her house. Rahab told the king that she had seen them, but that they had fled from her house and she did not know where they were. The king then sent his men to pursue the spies.

Knowing the consequences of her actions, Rahab pleaded with the spies to spare her life and the life of her father, her mother, and her brothers and sisters. For her act of kindness and peace, the spies told Rahab that if she left a scarlet cord hanging from the window of her house, the life of every person in her house would be spared, when they came to take the land of Jericho. Josh 2:17-20. Rahab agreed, and as the walls of Jericho came down, all the lives in her house were spared, just as the spies had promised.

In this story, we can see that Rahab took a step of faith. If she had not gone against the wishes of her king, and shown peace and kindness to the spies sent by Joshua, she and her family would have perished. Who would have thought that the faith and obedience of a prostitute could have such an immense effect on the life of Jesus and His birth, many generations later!

Ruth

In the book of Ruth, we read of another one in Jesus' lineage who took a step of faith. Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Elimelech and Naomi, who had gone from Bethlehem to dwell in the country of Moab. Their two sons had married local Moabite women. Elimelech and his two sons died, and Naomi made the decision to return to the land of Judah. At first, both of her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, decided to go with her. But as she considered the journey, Naomi entreated both women to return to their own families and cultures.

Orpah chose to return to her people, her gods, and her Moabite culture, and kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth clung to Naomi. When Naomi again encouraged her to return, Ruth's reply showed her step of faith, her love for Naomi, and her decision not to become the sum of her past. 'Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you. For wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.' Ruth 1:16-17.

Ruth's step of faith, and her commitment to her relationship with Naomi, enabled her to meet Boaz the son of Rahab, and to find favour in his sight. Boaz saw Ruth's faith in leaving her family and the land of her birth, and her commitment as a virtuous woman to establish a godly culture. Ruth became Boaz's wife and the great grandmother of David the king, joining the lineage of Christ.

We might ask ourselves why these people are included in Jesus' lineage. Each took a step of faith and made a choice to obey the word which was unique to them, despite their situation, past or culture. They did not allow their circumstances to affect their faith and obedience to God. They believed God and His word for them and God received them. Their whole life took on a new purpose; God's purpose for them.

We are no different. God's love, grace and mercy abound toward us. He did not exclude sinners from His own lineage and He will not exclude us. As each of these people took a step of faith, so must we. As we decide to live by God's word we will be included in His purpose for our life. Our circumstances are as individual as we are. However, there comes a point where we each need to make a choice. And we can make this choice knowing that God will not reject us.

On the cross, Jesus became sin for us and He gave His life for us. In doing so, He gathered up all humanity, every individual. We believe that we are included because it was for our sin that He suffered. Sin is only put to death when each of us accepts that His death was our death.

We do not have to continue on in life as the sum of our past. It is through faith in Christ that we can live by His life and by the purpose that He has for us. This is how we can know His eternal life. We must face who we are, believe on Christ, and become who He has purposed us to be. Each generation can be made new, and through Christ we are all made alive to God.

It is not where we have come from that matters. It's where we are going to that actually counts. We cannot hide or undo our past, but we can be forgiven and made new through Christ. It is by grace and mercy, through faith, that we will find salvation.

Author: Bruce Mackay | Citywide Christian Fellowship - Cairns | CCFC
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship | TCF
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