6. Born

The birth of Jesus was the first evidence that He is unlike any other person who has ever lived. This is how it came about: Mary was a young woman preparing for marriage to a man named Joseph. God spoke to her through an angel, who appeared to her and said,

“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 call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:30–31)

Mary was a virgin, so she asked, “How will this be?” (v. 34). The angel’s answer takes us to the heart of a wonderful mystery.

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)

Mary could not have understood all that the angel said to her but, in an act of faith, she submitted herself to God’s plan: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

Shortly before the birth of Jesus, Caesar Augustus issued a decree requiring everyone in the country to register in the place where they were born. This meant that Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem. All the inns in the little town were already full, so Mary and Joseph found a place of shelter with the animals, and it was there that Jesus was born.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)

Jesus is Savior and King

The world might have missed the birth of Jesus, except for two events.

First, an angel appeared to shepherds and said,

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11)

The shepherds rushed to Bethlehem where they found Mary, Joseph, and the baby, and after their visit, they told the good news they had received to everyone they could.

Those who heard what they said “wondered at what the shepherds told them” (Luke 2:18). What if this is true? That’s a good place to begin. If God has sent a Savior, then there is hope for you. You can have peace with God. Your sins and failings are not the end. You can be forgiven. You can be rescued.

Second, wise men from the East followed a star that appeared when Jesus was born. When they came to Jerusalem, they asked:

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2)

These wise men were likely kings, and they recognized the authority of Jesus over them. Jesus is the King and even kings worshiped Him.

So, what does it mean for Jesus to be the King? It means that He has the right to direct what we believe and how we live. But while kings from the East worshiped Him, King Herod was so de- termined to destroy Him that he ordered the killing of all the male children in Bethlehem and the surrounding region.

People are still divided over Jesus. Some trust Him as Savior and worship Him as king; others see no need of His salvation and defy Him by resisting His rule over their lives. It has been so since the moment of His birth.

So why does Jesus have the right to rule over every life?

Jesus is God

The angel announced to Mary that her child would be “the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Then, in a separate appearance to Joseph, Jesus was announced as Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

Mary was a virgin, and her child was born as the result of a direct initiative of God. Joseph made no contribution whatsoever. The life in Mary’s womb came to be there through a creative work of the Holy Spirit. God did not wait for a deliverer to arise from the human race. He came to the human race. God became a man, taking flesh from Mary.

Your life began when you were conceived in your mother’s womb. Before that moment you did not exist. But with Jesus, it was different. His life did not begin in Mary’s womb. Before He was born in the stable, He shared the life of God in heaven.

Jesus has always shared the Father’s glory and the Father’s love ( John 17:5, 24), but

though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:6–7)

Jesus is a man

We’ll never be able to fully understand how God could take human flesh and be born as a baby, but the central claim of the New Testa- ment is that He did. And this is what qualifies Him to be our Savior.

Picture a mediator between two alienated parties. He places one arm around the one who has been offended and the other arm around the one who has caused the offense and brings the two to- gether. Jesus is that mediator between God and us (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus is able to save us because He is one with God and one with us.

The miracle of how God became a man is an unfathomable mystery, but it makes sense of everything else the Bible tells us about Jesus. If God became a man in Jesus, then His claims, His miracles, and His resurrection should bring no surprise. The incarnation is the mystery that makes sense of everything else.