JESUS THE SON OF GOD PUT ON HUMANITY

PROCLAMATION

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph … had in mind to divorce her quietly … an angel of The Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘… what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.’ ”  Matthew 1:18-21 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew.  The first Bible Book of The New Testament, Matthew, begins with a presentation of the genealogy of Jesus, The Christ and The Messiah.  The Apostle Matthew starts with Abraham, the father of the faithful, and goes to Joseph, the husband of Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, The Christ.  Each male father figure in the forty-two generations was listed.  There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen additional generation from David to the exile in Babylon, and then fourteen generations from the exile to the birth of Christ. (Matthew 1:17)  However, this omits the twenty generations before Abraham beginning with Adam.  While Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus, Mary’s father Heli, the grandfather of Jesus, (Luke 3:23-38) was a direct descendant of David.  After Matthew links Jesus to David and to Abraham, he goes on to describe the immaculate human conception of Christ by The Holy Spirit of God.  He also describes how Joseph, Mary’s husband, had to be convinced to keep Mary as his wife. (Matthew 1:18-24)

APPLICATION

As a believer our salvation is based upon the acceptance of the virgin conception, the virgin birth, and the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, The Christ, as truth.  We also accept that Jesus, The Christ, is the promised seed of Abraham, the promised Messiah.  The virgin Mary’s Son was conceived by The Holy Spirit of God and they called “His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)  God, The Son, put on human flesh and dwelt among us.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)  “And The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14)  If we confess with our mouth that Jesus, The Christ, is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, then we will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

THE BIRTH OF JESUS THE CHRIST FORETOLD

Proclamation:

“… God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.  The virgin’s name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you … You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you are to call Him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called The Son of The Most High’ ... ‘How will this be, Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’  The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of The Most High will overshadow you.  So The Holy One to be born will be called The Son of God.’”  Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were recorded under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the physician and frequent traveling companion of the Apostle Paul.  Luke’s account of the birth of Christ had been passed down to him by those who were the eyewitnesses to the events. (Luke 1:1-4)

Application:

This is what came to pass before and with the birth of Christ. (Luke 2:11)  This is what we are commemorating as we celebrate Christmas.  For a more complete account of the events surrounding the birth of Christ, one must read Matthew 1:18 to 2:21 and Luke 1:26 to 2:40.  The holiday which we call Christmas is a holy day and it means so much more to us than what most of the world celebrates.  Let us, as believers, celebrate the real reason for Christmas and let's share the real story behind the celebration.  For God was, and is, and will always be with us.  All hail Immanuel!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS Jesus Is The Reason For The Season

"In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made." ... "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us."  John 1:1-3 & 14 (NIV)
The Apostle John testified that Jesus was there from the beginning.  He made the heavens and the earth and everything therein.  Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be God.  He put on human flesh and dwelt among men.  This was made possible by the immaculate conception. (Luke 1:30-35)

We celebrate Christmas to commemorate the day that The Son of God was born of a virgin, after being conceived by an act of The Holy Spirit.  We celebrate the day that Jesus Christ clothed Himself in human flesh and lived among mankind.  The heavenly plan was for Him to be born, to live, to teach, to die, and to be raised up from the dead in order to provide us with a chance for salvation.  If we confess our sins and believe in Him, we will be saved. (Romans 10:9-10)  We thank God for making all of this possible.

The Coming Of Christ Predicted And Fulfilled

"The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.' Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.' "  Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)

The immaculate conception and the birth of Jesus Christ, which was foretold by the prophets, (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, &11:1; Jeremiah 23:5, & 35:15; Malachi 3:1) did in fact come to pass and it was documented here in the gospels. (Luke 1:26-38, and Matthew 1:18-23, and John 1:14)

It would be good for us to read the Biblical accounts of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ during this season which we set aside to commemorate His birth.  No one account gives the whole story, so it is a good idea to read all of the accounts.  With all of your gift giving and celebrating, please remember to give thanks.  Share, give, but "don't forget to tell the kids, whose birthday this really is." (song by Ray Parker)  Let's not get so caught up in the worldly traditions and customs that we forget the reason we are so joyful.

Celebrating The Birth Of Christ # 2

"... An angel of The Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from The Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins'. All this took place to fulfill what The Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will be with Child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel' which means 'God with us'." Matthew 1:20-23 (NIV)

This is what we celebrate when we celebrate the birth of Christ. Christmas means much more to us than what most of the world sees. Let's celebrate the real reason for Christmas and let's share the real story behind the celebration. God was and is with us. All hail Immanuel!!!

Celebrating The Birth Of Christ

"Therefore The Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son and will call Him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

"For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

The birth of Christ was predicted by the prophet Isaiah more than 400 years before it happened. Isaiah also went on to elaborate on Immanuel by describing Him. It is because of the fulfillment of this prophecy that we celebrate the birth of Christ.

A study of the celebration of "Christmas" reveals that the pagans had celebrations during the same time of the year with decorated trees, and lights, and feasts, hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. Their celebration then had nothing to do with Christ just as today the commercialization of Christmas is not about Christ.

Know what you are celebrating and why. Learn about the conception and birth of Christ (Matthew 1:18-2:23 and Luke 1:26-2:21) and tell someone about it. As Christians, we celebrate the birth of Christ because of who He is. Let's keep Christ in "CHRISTmas" and show the world
the Christ that is within us.

The Birth of Jesus And Prophecy

The conception, birth, and early life of Jesus The Christ is presented in Matthew 1:18-2:23 and in Luke 1:26-2:21. Reading both accounts will provide a more complete perspective on the events that transpired.

However, the conception and birth of Jesus was predicted by the prophets more than 400 years beforehand, Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7.

"Therefore The Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son and will call Him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

We celebrate the birth of Christ because of how special He was and is. God put on flesh and dwelt among us to save us from our sins. (John 1:1 & 1:14) Let us not get so caught up in the commercialization of Christmas that we forget what we are really celebrating and why. Let's keep Christ in Christmas.

Jesus Christ Is God

"In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God." "And The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." John 1:1 & 1:14 (NIV)

Before there was time, space, and matter, The Word existed. The Word, the second person in The Holy Trinity, God The Son, was with God, the first person in The Holy Trinity, God The Father.

The Word, God The Son, Jesus Christ, was God. This point was made perfectly clear in verse 14. The Word put on flesh and humanity through the immaculate conception and dwelt among us as Jesus, The Christ.

Jesus, The Son of God, was God in the beginning, is God now, and always will be God forever.

The Birth of Christ Predicted # 6

"... And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

One of the reasons that He came to earth was to procure for His people a perfect peace. Jesus, The Christ, is the benevolent ruler of His people and His kingdom. Without Him we cannot have peace in our lives or in this world. And without Him we would not have access to the perpetual perfect peace throughout eternity.

Only through Christ are we able to wish for peace on earth and goodwill towards all men. Jesus is God incarnate. He was born to die for His people. His conception, birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension were all unique and very special.

Without Christ in Christmas, it is not special.

Let us keep Christ in our celebration of His birth this Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a blessed day!!!

The Birth of Christ Predicted # 2

"... Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14


The prophet Isaiah not only predicted the birth of Jesus, The Christ, 400 or so years before it happened, he also predicted that a virgin would conceive Him.

Conception, the fertilization of the female egg, the ovum containing half of the necessary DNA, usually requires contact with the male sperm, to provide the second half of the DNA required to produce a fertilized egg (zygote).

In the case of the virgin Mary, a non sexually active female, there was no sperm DNA supplied from her husband-to-be, Joseph. Joseph did not 'know' Mary, physically, until after the birth of Christ, Matthew 1:25.

In this virgin conception, the 'male half' of the DNA was supplied by The Holy Spirit, Matthew 1:20 and Luke 1:34-35. Jesus is The Son of God. His conception and birth occurred, as predicted more that 400 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah.

The Birth of Christ Predicted

"... Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14
More than 400 years before it happened, the prophet Isaiah predicted the 'immaculate conception' and the birth of Jesus, The Christ. He even predicted His name, Immanuel, which means "God with us".

The best that we can do today with the use of modern medical science is confirm that a woman is pregnant and 'predict' her delivery date, her EDC (estimated date of confinement), based upon her LMP (last menstrual period). But at best that 'prediction is eight to nine months before it happens, not 400 years.

God revealed this to Isaiah. God was with him then and God is with us now.