Posts: Birth and Growth of Jesus

Birth and Growth of Jesus

Although the date or even the season of Jesus’ birth is unknown, God thought that it was a really important event. Local advertising: angels sang to shepherds who told everyone in the area. International publicity: the Wise Men knew the meaning of the star. Predictions: Bethlehem (Micah), Anna and Simeon at Jesus’ enrollment in Israel, historical sequence (Daniel and Zechariah), and more. Those who were present understood that worship was appropriate. And His birth reminds us of our own re-birth and progress toward being living sacrifices.

God planned to come to earth and pay our debt to justice before creation (2 Timothy 1:9). How He went about it tells something about who God is. For example, Jesus arrived as an infant with parents and a family. He did not need to take that risk. God announced the character of Jesus through prophets centuries before successfully facing a lifetime of temptations (Hebrews 4:15) such as we do. However, this method conveniently parallels the infancy and growth of every faithful lifetime in reaching the character of Jesus (1 Peter 2:2 – 3).

Jesus came from a poor family, not privilege. As Jesus cited Isaiah, the poor had the good news preached to them (Matthew 11:5, Isaiah 29:18) because looking out for the poor was just as remarkable as His miraculous healings. Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a small farm town with neither educational resources nor a ready audience. Christmas is a celebration of ordinary people, the “have-nots.” Jesus changed the world without a budget. Even if we live in a spiritual wasteland and have no financial resources, we, too, can change the world.

Joseph had to take his very pregnant wife to his ancestral village to pay his taxes. Despite being related to nearly everyone in Bethlehem, he was not offered a place to stay. So, Jesus was born in the stable of an inn. The situation with Mary had to have looked bad. Christmas should remind us that our less-than-ideal histories need not hold us back in the Kingdom of God. The spiritual re-birth of each person is equally unconventional. No matter how our pasts look, the faithful are given the tools to have just as much impact.