The Incarnation of Jesus Christ
(God clothed Himself with a human body)
(doctrine of mainline Christianity)
Shared with you by
Kraig J. Rice
www.breadonthewaters.com
The incarnation of Jesus is when the powerful, loving, and eternal God of the
universe came to earth and robed Himself in a body of human flesh.
In other words the incarnation was when the eternal Second Person of the Trinity became
a man. The actions of Jesus doing this is called His incarnation.
Why in the world would God want to become a man? Well, that's the age-old question that
mankind has strived to understand for hundreds of years. Some folks have thought that He
wanted to better understand us, so that is why He became a man. Some folks have thought
that He just wanted to come down to our level, so that is why He became a man.
Some folks have thought that He was manifesting His love towards us by becoming, literally,
one of us. Some folks have thought that He wanted to teach us how we are to become like Him.
Some folks have thought that He set the example of how we are to live and what we are to do.
Some folks have thought that He came to teach us the way to salvation, how to stay away from
sin, and how to get to Heaven. Some folks have thought that He came to emphasize
virtues- virtues such as obedience, forgiveness, mercy, loving-kindness, patience, etc.
He became a man and showed us these virtues so that we could follow in His footsteps and also
show these same virtues to others. And there are other reasons not mentioned here. All these
reasons may be good but I think that there is one primary factor of why Jesus had to become
a man. Here is what the bible says:
Jesus gave this promise after the fall of mankind when mankind transferred it's ownership
from God to Satan and mankind gave it's full authority to Satan. Jesus would have to come
as a divine Man to die a sacrificial death to redeem fallen mankind from sin. All through
the Old Testament we see the sacrificial lamb that is slain for sin. Christ is our Sacrificial Lamb
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John (the Baptist) bore witness of Him and cried out, saying: This was He of whom I
said: He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ"
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father"
"Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was
vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was
believed on in the world, was taken up in glory"
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"
The incarnation took place when God came to earth and was born in the body of a tiny
human baby. The virgin birth of God the Son was prophesied in the Old Testament:
The fulfillment of this prophecy came when the angel Gabriel announced
to the virgin Mary that she was chosen above all women for this great honor:
"But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman,
born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive
the adoption as sons"
"But while he (Joseph) 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"
We are over dressed
What is important about Christ's virgin birth?
The virgin birth was necessary so that the blood of Christ remained sinless. Only
sinless blood would take away the sins of humanity.
The doctrine of the virgin birth is very important
From these passages, it is certainly clear that Jesus� birth was the result of the
Holy Spirit working within Mary�s body. So, one might ask: did God have sexual
intercourse with Mary? Absolutely not, and He did not take a temporary physical body
to have sex with her, either. Rather, God the Holy Spirit did the work as only He can do.
Mary was a compliant and willing "vessel." Only God could perform the
miracle of the Incarnation.
Scripture teaches that Jesus was fully human, with a physical body like
ours. This body He received from God through Mary. At the same time, Jesus was fully God,
with an eternal, sinless nature
Jesus was not born in sin; that is, He had no sin nature
Human spirit FAILS
The miracle of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ has made many people doubt because it is
hard for them to understand something that they have never experienced.
However, some things have to be accepted on faith and this is one of them.
God decided that He would have a miraculous entrance into humanity and this is what
happened.
God gave a scripture seven hundred years before the birth of Christ so folks would not
doubt His plan. The prophet Isaiah said, "Therefore
the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and bear a
son, and she will call His name Immanuel"
The New Testament records the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy:
But later, some of the Jewish leaders did not believe the fact of Jesus virgin birth and were
quick to hurl hurtful accusations against Him in that regard:
The doctrine of the virgin birth has been believed by the church from its very beginning.
Ignatius, an early church leader, who lived at the start of the second century, wrote to the Ephesians:
"For our God, Jesus the Christ, was conceived in the womb by Mary, according
to a dispensation, of the seed of David but also of the Holy Ghost."
The Bible teaches that Jesus was God from the very beginning
As God the Son, Jesus was never created, either in the beginning or in His incarnation.
Why? Because He is eternally existent. He limited Himself to a human body in His
incarnation but the incarnation was not His beginning. It was just His start as the sinless
God-Man on planet earth.
Jesus needed to be virgin-born with a sinless nature. A basic New
Testament teaching is that from the day He was born until the day He died, Jesus
was without sin. To be a perfect sacrifice, He must Himself be perfect- without sin.
Since our human race is contaminated with sin, a miraculous entrance into the world
was required, (the virgin birth), and that is exactly what happened.
If Jesus had been sired by Joseph, He would not have been able to claim
all the kingly rights to the throne of David. According to the prophecy of
So, what was this curse from God about?
The Curse:
"...the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah, and great-grandson
of Cushi, to ask Baruch to come and read the messages to them, too. So Baruch took
the scroll and went to them. Sit down and read the scroll to us, the officials said,
and Baruch did as they requested.
By the time Baruch had finished reading, they were badly frightened. We must tell
the king what we have heard, they said. But first, tell us how you got these messages.
Did they come directly from Jeremiah?
So Baruch explained, Jeremiah dictated them to me word by word, and I wrote down his
words with ink on this scroll.
You and Jeremiah should both hide, the officials told Baruch. Don't tell anyone where
you are! Then the officials left the scroll for safekeeping in the room of Elishama
the secretary and went to tell the king.
The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought it from Elishama's room and
read it to the king as all his officials stood by. It was late autumn, and the king
was in a winterized part of the palace, sitting in front of a fire to keep warm.
Whenever Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took his knife and
cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by
section, until the whole scroll was burned up. Neither the king nor his officials
showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard. Even when Elnathan, Delaiah,
and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he wouldn't listen.
Then the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah
son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. But the LORD had hidden them.
After the king had burned Jeremiah's scroll, the LORD gave Jeremiah another message. He said,
"Get another scroll, and write everything again just as you did on the scroll King
Jehoiakim burned. Then say to the king, This is what the LORD says: You burned the
scroll because it said the king of Babylon would destroy this land and everything in it.
Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: he shall have no one
to (permanently) sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of
the day and the frost of the night.
I will punish him and his family and his officials
because of their sins. I will pour out on them and on all the people of Judah and
Jerusalem all the disasters I have promised, for they would not listen to my warnings."
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and dictated again to his secretary Baruch. He wrote
everything that had been on the scroll King Jehoiakim had burned in the fire. Only
this time, he added much more!"
So, is there a problem? When the virgin birth of Jesus took place as it did, there
was no problem.
Joseph, the step-father of Jesus, was one of Jehoiakim's descendants (through Jeconiah).
Joseph's offspring could not claim David's throne because of the curse. Jesus was and is
the legitimate Heir to the throne of David
The Solution
A big problem people have with the virgin birth is its miraculous nature.
Scripture does not treat this event as an ordinary occurrence but rather as a
supernatural act of God. The miracle of the virgin birth should not pose any
special problem to our faith if one believes in the possibility of miracles.
The virgin birth is just one of the miracles listed in the bible, besides the feeding
of the five thousand, and Jesus walking on the water, etc.
He is the promised King:
"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call
His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the
Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end"
He reveals God to men:
"No one has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is Himself God, is near to the
Father's heart; He has told us about Him"
He saves sinners:
"He died for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from
this evil world in which we live"
He destroys the works of the devil:
"But when people keep on sinning, it shows they belong to the Devil, who has been
sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the Devil"
He judges men:
"For He has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man He has appointed,
and He proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead"
He brings all things in creation back in submission to God:
"But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first
of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again. So you see, just as death
came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun
through another man, Christ. Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, the
first man. But all who are related to Christ, the other man, will be given new life. But
there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised first; then when Christ
comes back, all His people will be raised. After that the end will come, when He will
turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having put down all enemies of every kind. For
Christ must reign until He humbles all His enemies beneath His feet. And the last enemy
to be destroyed is death. For the Scriptures say, "God has given Him authority over
all things." (Of course, when it says "authority over all things," it
does not include God Himself, who gave Christ His authority.) Then, when He has conquered
all things, the Son will present Himself to God, so that God, who gave His Son authority
over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere"
"And this is His plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under
the authority of Christ- everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because of
Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us from the beginning,
and all things happen just as He decided long ago"
His full humanity is clearly revealed in scripture. Why? It's important in our understanding
of Him to know He fully identifies with each individual. He knows what it is like to
be here on this earth and knows about joy, security, finances, testing, poverty,
suffering, death, etcettera. Also because there was a false teaching in past ages
that denied He had a human body.
"But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.
Abraham did not do this..."
"For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus"
"Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise
shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of
death, that is, the devil...
His full deity is clearly revealed in scripture:
"This is He of whom I said, after me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He
was before me..."
But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of
righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has
anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."
And: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens
are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same,
and Your years will not fail..."
"For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my
countrymen according to the flesh,
who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the
giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises;
of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is
over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen"
"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily"
Jesus Christ had a human body:
Jesus Christ exhibited the characteristics of a human being:
Here is a brief outline on Christ's humanity. Why is this important? Because some false
teachers have taught that Jesus was not fully a man- in other words, He was not fully human.
What are some of those false teachings? Here are a couple:
Let's take a look at some scriptures that teach His humanity:
A. Biblical Evidences of Jesus' Humanity
"For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry"
"Jesus knew that everything was now finished, and to fulfill the Scriptures he said, "I am thirsty"
"Suddenly, a terrible storm came up, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping"
3. He stated He was a Man (human)
"Then Jesus shouted, "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!" And with those words he breathed his last"
"Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit, and he exclaimed, "The truth is, one of you will betray Me!"
"So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father"
"Their ancestors were great people of God, and Christ himself was a Jew as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen"
"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!"
"Therefore, it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. He then could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people"
"Suddenly, a terrible storm came up, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping"
Christ's humanity is important:
How will you spend eternity--
Are there any scriptures that prove that Jesus Christ was a Man?
Yes. He was also called the Son of David to prove His heirship to David's throne as well
as proving that He was fully Man. Let's take a look at a few scriptures:
And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace
of God was upon Him
Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And
He said to them,
Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.
And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came
down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.
And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing! Then
He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and
there was a calm. But He said to them,
Where is your faith?
And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, Who can this be? For
He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!
And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but
the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat
thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour
But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe
of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose
its seven seals
Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from
the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
And all the multitudes were amazed and said, Could this be the Son of David?
And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying,
Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed
Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!
Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, Son of David, have
mercy on me!
Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple,
How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?
Even when we feel
What do the scriptures say about Christ's humanity?
"Made like His brethren in every respect"
"And He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan"
"And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. And they went and woke Him, saying, "Save, Lord; we are perishing"
"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in Spirit and troubled; and He said,
"Where have you laid him?"
They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept"
"And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground"
The family that prays together
Why look at the two genealogies of Jesus Christ? Because the genealogy (family tree) of
Jesus Christ is important to prove His deity. It shows that He is descended from King
David. The Messiah had to be descended from King David. Christ is descended from King
David. Christ is the Jewish Messiah. In the Bible 2 genealogies are written.
Matthew wrote His paternal genealogy (His step-father, Joseph)
Luke wrote His maternal genealogy (His mother, Mary)
Why are the Jewish family tree lists in the bible so hard to understand? It is because of
genealogical abridgement. What in the world is that? I think a good way to explain it is
using an example from mathematics. If I have a figure such as 3.72 and I want to round
it off as a whole number I would go to the number 4.0. Figuring with whole numbers is much
easier than figuring with fractions. That is why the IRS (Internal Revenue Service in the
U.S.A.) has us do it that way. It is similar in biblical genealogy in dealing with long
lists of names. It is a way of shortening these lists but allowing them at the
same time to maintain their integrity.
So, what does all of this have to do with Jesus?
Both Joseph and Mary were descended from David.
Genealogical (family tree) descent from Joseph gave Jesus the
legal requirements: the inheritance rights and responsibilities, as these usually
went from the father to the oldest son, (or legal step-son), for the line from David;
while genealogical (family tree) descent from Mary satisfies the actual physical
descent from David. All Messiah requirements, both legal and genetic, are fully met by
His miraculous birth. All truth is subject to verification. Jesus Christ is the Jewish
Messiah.
Who Were the Women in Christ's Genealogy?
Tamar:
This true story has some strange twists and turns to it like a modern soap-opera.
Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah. She was a childless widow, who was given to her
dead husband's brother after her husband's death. By this marriage, her offspring would
continue the name and inheritance of her dead husband. But things didn't work out for her.
So Tamar disguised herself as a harlot and seduced Judah. Through him, she
became the mother of Perez (who was in the "blood line" of Jesus). Here is the
story in brief from the bible:
Rahab: Joshua 2:1-24
Ruth: Ruth 1:1-4:22
Bathsheba: 2 Samuel 11:1-27
Mary: Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-56
Genealogy was important to the Jews, especially in the legal transfer of property rights.
Property rights
And there were other reasons why genealogy was deemed important to the Jews, but let's take a
look at Joseph (the husband of Mary) in Christ's genealogy
Matthew and Luke showed that Joseph was a legal parent, but not a biological parent to
Jesus. Jesus was miraculously conceived in Mary through God the Holy Spirit. By virtue
of being Mary's husband, Joseph was considered the legal father of Jesus. Since Jesus was
born into Joseph's family, he was a legal heir. Through Joseph, Jesus obtained a
rightful claim to the throne of David. Although Jesus was a legal descendant of Joseph,
He was not a physical descendant. Luke's genealogy directly addresses this issue by
stating Jesus was "supposedly" the son of Joseph
Who was Joseph's Father?
Matthew's genealogy of Jesus
An Abridged Genealogy
Matthew indicated that there were 14
generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the Babylonian Captivity,
and 14 from the Babylonian Captivity to Christ. The names of David and Jeconiah are repeated
in this genealogy. Why? David's name was repeated because he was alive when the first
division ended, and when the second division began. Possibly, Jeconiah's name may have been
repeated because of a transcription error. Jeconiah's father was Jehoiakim. The
names had similar spellings in Hebrew. Some ancient manuscripts contain
both names so it is possible that a transcriber may have overlooked
the different spellings and repeated Jeconiah's name. Or, maybe there is another explanation
that I don't know about.
Luke's Genealogy of Jesus starts in the bible in Luke 3:23-38. Luke was a medical physician. He
wrote about the life of Christ from many interviews with Mary (the mother of Jesus)
and from many interviews with the Apostles and with others. He accompanied the Apostle
Paul on his missionary journies and wrote the books of Luke and Acts in the bible
Luke wrote to (gentile) Greek Christians, while Matthew wrote to the Jews. Matthew's genealogy
emphasized Jesus' claim to the throne of David. Since Luke's readers were less concerned about the fulfillment
of Jewish prophecy, his genealogy focused on Jesus' descent from God.
The differences between the genealogies of Matthew and Luke are varied in that
Matthew traced the ancestry of Joseph, while Luke traced that of Mary.
The placement of Luke's genealogy is after the baptism of Christ. When Jesus was
baptized, God the Father said "This is my beloved son." Immediately following this
event, Luke places the genealogy in the bible as proof.
The genealogy of Luke ends by showing that Jesus was the "son of Adam, the son of God"
Are there any problems with these genealogical records?
Question: If Matthew indicated there were 42 generations from Abraham to Jesus, why do only
40 names appear in the genealogy?
Question: Why is Matthew's genealogy inconsistent with Old Testament records?
Question: Matthew and Luke did not record the same names in their genealogies. Are these
records in error because of this?
Question: Why did doctor Luke state that Joseph was the son of Heli, while the Apostle
Matthew stated he was the son of Jacob?
Matthew describes the flight into Egypt, when Joseph and Mary took
the child out of reach of the Judean king, Herod the Great, who wanted to kill Him.
Luke relates the compliance of Joseph and Mary with the Jewish law, which required
circumcision and presentation of the firstborn son at the Temple in Jerusalem. Luke also
describes their later journey with the young Jesus to the Temple for the Passover feast
There is little known of the growing years of Jesus, other than one event mentioned in
the bible when He was twelve years old:
"When Jesus was twelve years old he accompanied his parents to Jerusalem for the annual Passover Festival, which they attended each year. After the celebration was over they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn't miss him the first day, for they assumed he was with friends among the other travelers. But when he didn't show up that evening, they started to look for him among their relatives and friends; and when they couldn't find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. Three days later they finally discovered him. He was in the Temple, sitting among the teachers of Law, discussing deep questions with them and amazing everyone with his understanding and answers. His parents didn't know what to think. "Son!" his mother said to him. "Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere." "But why did you need to search?" he asked. "Didn't you realize that I would be here at the Temple, in my Father's
House?" But they didn't understand what he meant. Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them; and his mother stored away all these things in her heart. So Jesus grew both tall and wise, and was loved by God and man"
The Gospels mention nothing concerning Jesus from the time he was
12 years old until the time he began His public ministry, about 18 years later.
In the Bible there are 2,003 scriptures
And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one
by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would
be written. Amen
"So the Lord God said to the serpent:
...I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He
shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel"
(Genesis 3:14-15).
(Revelation 5:12). Christ would also have to destroy the works of Satan and tear down
Satan's strong holds. And He would have to establish the church to carry on His works after He went back to Heaven.
(John 1:14-18).
(Philippians 2:5-11).
(1 Timothy 3:16).
(John 1:1).
(From a tiny seed, a mighty oak will grow)
When Did the Incarnation Take Place?
"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and
bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel"
(Isaiah 7:14).
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am
a virgin?" [Literally: Since I have never had sexual relations with a man?]
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon 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 1:34-35). (NIV)
(Galatians 4:4-5).
(Matthew 1:20-23).
if
wrapped up in ourselves
(Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:27,34). First, let�s look at how scripture describes
the blessed event. In response to Mary�s query, "how?," Gabriel says,
"The
Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee"
(Luke 1:35). The angel encourages Joseph to marry Mary with these words:
"that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit"
(Matthew 1:20). Matthew states that the virgin
"was found with child of the Holy Spirit"
(Matthew 1:18). Galatians 4:4 also clearly teaches the Virgin Birth:
"God sent forth His Son, made of a virgin."
(See John 1:14; Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:16; and Hebrews 2:14-17).
(Hebrews 7:26). Some folks think that the sin nature is passed down from generation
to generation through the father
(Romans 5:12, 17, 19). The Virgin Birth prevented the transmission of the original sin
nature and allowed the eternal Son of God to become a perfect man.
unless
The Holy Spirit FILLS
(Isaiah 7:14) (NASB).
"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of 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 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..."
The virgin birth is set down in the Bible as an historical fact.
Mary told this true story to everyone and it was never a secret.
The writers who recorded this true story for us were Matthew- an eyewitness to the
events in the life of Jesus- and "Doctor" Luke, who presented many things in the life of
Christ from Mary's viewpoint.
"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 ... For nothing will be impossible with God"
(Luke 1:27-37) (NASB).
"No, you are obeying your real father (the devil) when you act that way."
They replied, "We were not born out of wedlock! Our true Father is God himself."
Jesus told them,
"If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I have come to you from God. I am
not here on My own, but He sent Me"
(John 8:41-42).
(John 1:1). The fact of the pre-existence of Christ is confirmed many times in the
New Testament
(John 8:58; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15, 16).
Jeremiah 22:28-30, there was a permanent curse from God on the rulership of King
Jeconiah's family and
Matthew 1:12 relates that Joseph was from the line of Jeconiah. Jesus would have
been of the cursed lineage. What was that about?
Jehoiakim was a king of Israel. He angered God by burning a scroll that Jeremiah the
prophet wrote. God cursed Jehoiakim by indicating that his family dynasty as kingly
rulers would come to a permanent end. This curse would stay in effect from generation
to generation.
(Jeremiah 36:14-31).
And although Jehoiakim had children, scripture indicates that, in time, his family dynasty
of rulership did permanently come to an end. This curse would be from generation
to generation in that family.
(Luke 1:32, Acts 2:30, Hebrews 12:2). If Jesus had been born of Joseph, the curse
would have been in effect, so therefore Jesus could NOT be the future King of Israel.
God had promised David that One of his physical descendants (the Messiah) would reign
on the throne of his kingdom forever
(2 Samuel 7:12-13). Therefore, Joseph was excluded from being the genetic
father of the future king of Israel. It was impossible to fulfill the requirements
of both curse and promise by natural means. One Man had to be both heir to and
offspring of David, without being the genetic descendant of Jehoiakim. This problem
required a divine solution.
God created a solution through the miracle of the virgin birth. Although Joseph was
one of Jehoiakim's offspring (through Solomon), Mary was not. She was a descendant
of Nathan, one of David's other sons
(Luke 3:31). God's promise to David was fulfilled because Mary was the biological
parent of Jesus. The virgin birth also addressed the curse God had pronounced upon
Jehoiakim. Kingship was an inherited right. By Joseph, Jesus inherited a legal claim
to the throne of David. However, He was exempt from the curse of Jehoiakim because
Joseph was not His genetic father. So the miracle of the virgin birth accomplished
God's will in two ways. First, it granted Jesus a legal claim to the throne of David.
And second, it maintained the integrity of the permanent curse God had pronounced upon Jehoiakim.
Jesus was not one of Jehoiakim's offspring and Jesus will rule this world
in the near future as the greatest King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
(Luke 1:31-33).
(John 1:18).
(Galatians 1:4).
(1 John 3:8).
(Acts 17:31).
(1 Corinthians 15:20-28).
Ephesians 1:10-11).
(John 8:40).
(1 Timothy 2:5).
Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a
merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation
for the sins of the people"
(Hebrews 2:14, 17).
(John 1:30).
(Hebrews 1:8-12).
(Romans 9:3-5).
(Colossians 2:9).
"But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law."
(Galatians 4:4).
"So Jesus grew both in height and in wisdom, and he was loved by God and by all who knew him."
(Luke 2:52).
1). The false theory of Docetism denied Christ's humanity and claimed that He only had an appearance of humanity. This theory was off balance and too one-sided.
2). The false theory of Apollinarianism stated that Divine Logos replaced human spirit.
1. He had a human body
B. Here are some biblical expressions of Jesus' Humanity:
"So Jesus grew both in height and in wisdom, and he was loved by God and by all who knew him"
2. He had human Names and Titles
(Luke 2:52).
(Matthew 4:2).
(John 19:28).
(Matthew 8:24).
Jesus, Son of Man, Son of Abraham, Son of David, Man of Sorrows
"But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from
God. Abraham did not do this"
4. His stated that He had a human soul (spirit)
(John 8:40)
"He told them, "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay
here and watch with me"
5. Here are some Old Testament predictions regarding the humanity of the Messiah
(Matthew 26:38).
(Luke 23:46).
(John 13:21).
(Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 53:1-2)
6. Here are some New Testament statements regarding the humanity of Jesus Christ
"For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus"
(I Timothy 2:5).
(John 1:14).
(Romans 9:5).
(Philippians 2:8).
(Hebrews 2:17).
1. The gospels reveal His humanity
a. His youthful growth
"So Jesus grew both in height and in wisdom, and he was loved by God and by all who knew him"
b. His Fatigue
(Luke 2:52)
"Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime"
c. His Hunger
(John 4:6).
(Matthew 8:24).
"For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry"
d. His Thirst
(Matthew 4:2)
"Jesus knew that everything was now finished, and to fulfill the Scriptures he said, "I am thirsty"
e. His stressful testings
(John 19:28)
(Matthew Chapter 4 and following)
f. His devout praying
(John Chapter 17; Matthew Chapter 26)
g. His righteous anger
"Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus' enemies watched him closely. Would he heal the man's hand on the Sabbath? If He did, they planned to condemn Him. Jesus said to the man, "Come and stand in front of everyone." Then He turned to his critics and asked, "Is it legal to do good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing harm? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?" But they wouldn't answer Him. He looked around at them angrily, because He was deeply disturbed by their hard hearts. Then He said to the man, "Reach out your hand." The man reached out his hand, and it became normal again!"
h. His Heart-felt Compassion
(Mark 3:1-5)
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me"
i. His Sorrowful Compassion
(Matthew 23:37).
"Then Jesus wept"
(John 11:35).
2. The epistles reveal His humanity:
Jesus is truly human in the fullest sense of the term.
We can become all that He is. He is our example. He is fully human in
every detail like us except sin. Why? Because original sin is inherited by us through
our parents but Jesus was virgin born. And sin (commission and omission) is a choice
of our free will. Sometimes we make unwise choices but Jesus didn't.
a. He died for us
"What we do see is Jesus, who "for a little while was made lower than the
angels" and now is "crowned with glory and honor" because he suffered
death for us. Yes, by God's grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone in all the world. And it was only right that God- who made everything and for whom everything was made- should bring his many children into glory. Through the suffering of Jesus, God made him a perfect leader, one fit to bring them into their salvation"
b. He calls us His brethren
(Hebrews 2:9-10).
"So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters"
c. He was made like us in order to be our high priest
(Hebrews 2:11).
"Therefore, it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. He then could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted"
d. He is personally acquainted with our weaknesses so He can help us
(Hebrews 2:17-18).
"This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it"
e. He learned the restrictions of life
(Hebrews 4:15-16).
"So even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered"
f. He is mankind's mediator with God
(Hebrews 5:8).
"For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus"
(1 Timothy 2:5)
A. We need to follow His example
B. He has an everlasting Priesthood
C. He gives us a daily provision of Grace
and find grace to help in time of need."
smoking or non-smoking?
(Luke 2:40).
(Luke 8:22-25).
(Luke 9:58).
(John 4:6).
(Revelation 5:5).
(John 7:42).
(Matthew 12:23).
(Matthew 15:22).
(Matthew 21:9).
(Mark 10:48).
(Mark 12:35).
SHAKEN
God is not
"Therefore He had to be made like His brethren in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people. For because He Himself has suffered and been tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted."
Jesus Christ, as a human, was completely human. He could not have been killed, and
been completely dead for 3 days and 3 nights, and resurrected from the dead unless
He was human. During His human lifetime He knew hunger, thirst, weariness, joy, grief
and temptation. The only difference was that He never sinned.
(Hebrews 2:17-18). "For we have not a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one Who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."
(Hebrews 4:15).
"In the morning, as He was returning to the city, He was hungry"
(Matthew 21:18). "Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as He was with His journey, sat down beside the well"
(John 4:6).
(Mark 1:13).
(Matthew 8:24-25).
(John 11:33-35).
(Luke 22:44).
Stays together
(Matthew 1:1-17).
(Luke 3:23-38).
Genealogical abridgement occurs not only in Matthew 1:1 in the New Testament, but also
in the Old Testament. Take a look at
Ezra 7:3 and compare it with 1st Chronicles 6:7-10, and you can see how Ezra deliberately skipped
six generations from Meriaoth to Azariah (son of Johanan). The word "son"
in these genealogical lists could also be used
to describe kinship without sonship. Although Zerubbabel was the nephew of Shealtiel
(1st Chronicles 3:17-19), he was called the "son of Shealtiel"
(Ezra 3:2, Nehemiah 12:1, Haggai 1:12). We can also look at Jair as another example.
He was a distant son-in-law of Manasseh
(1st Chronicles 2:21-23 and 7:14-15); yet, he was called the "son of Manasseh"
(Numbers 32:41, Deuteronomy 3:14, 1st Kings 4:13). The point to remember is that
the word "son" can mean more in biblical genealogy than immediate descent.
Matthew included five women in his genealogy of Christ. This is interesting since it was
not customary for Jews to include women in their records. What is even more interesting is the
fact that Matthew included some women who had at one time had questionable reputations. The
five women included were: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary.
Like many women, Tamar was a victim of discrimination in a male dominated society.
Her husband had died and the law at that time indicated that she was
then to marry her dead husband's brother.
Later, in the days of Moses, here is what the law of God indicated:
"If two brothers are living together on the same property and one of them dies
without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Instead, her husband's
brother must marry her and fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law.
The first son she bears to him will be counted as the son of the dead brother,
so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel"
(Deuteronomy 25:5-6).
"When his oldest son, Er, grew up, Judah arranged his marriage to a young woman named
Tamar. But Er was a wicked man in the LORD's sight, so the LORD took his life. Then
Judah said to Er's brother Onan, "You must marry Tamar, as our law requires of the
brother of a man who has died. Her first son from you will be your brother's heir."
But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever
he had intercourse with Tamar, he spilled the semen on the ground to keep her from
having a baby who would belong to his brother. But the LORD considered it a wicked
thing for Onan to deny a child to his dead brother. So the LORD took Onan's life, too.
Then Judah told Tamar, his daughter-in-law, not to marry again at that time
but to return to her parents' home. She was to remain a widow until his youngest
son, Shelah, was old enough to marry her. (But Judah didn't really intend to do
this because he was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers.) So
Tamar went home to her parents.
...So she changed out of her widow's clothing and covered herself with a veil
to disguise herself. Then she sat beside the road at the entrance to the village
of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. Judah noticed her as he went by and
thought she was a prostitute, since her face was veiled. So he stopped and
propositioned her to sleep with him, not realizing that she was his own daughter-in-law.
...She then let him sleep with her, and she became pregnant"
(Genesis Chapter 38). NLT
Rahab was a harlot who lived in Jericho. She hid the spies of Joshua. Because of this,
the Israelites spared her life and the lives of her family members when they conquered
Jericho. She later became the wife of Salmon, and the mother of Boaz. Rahab's faith was later commended
(Hebrews 11:30-31).
Ruth was a foreigner from the land of Moab. She was the widow of a Jew. Her mother-in-law,
Naomi, also lived in Moab. Naomi journeyed to Israel after her family died. Ruth's
devotion to God was extraordinary. She left her own country to follow Naomi. While
in Israel, Ruth was married to Boaz, one of Naomi's relatives. Ruth later became
the mother of Obed, the grandfather of King David.
Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, who was a soldier in the army of King David.
She and David had an adulterous affair. When David discovered Bathsheba was
pregnant, he tried to cover it up by summoning Uriah home from war, hoping that Uriah
would have intercourse with his wife. Uriah came home to Jerusalem, but refused to
lay with Bathsheba as long as the armies of Israel were at war. So, David sent Uriah
into battle, with orders that Uriah should NOT be withdrawn when the fighting
became fierce. After Uriah was slain in this manner, David took Bathsheba as his
own wife. God punished them for this by killing their first child. Bathsheba later
became the mother of Solomon.
Mary was the mother of Jesus and the wife of Joseph. She was a virgin when Jesus
was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was betrothed to Mary when he discovered
she was pregnant. He intended to put her away secretly because this was shameful.
However, an angel told Joseph what had happened. So Joseph took Mary as his wife,
and kept her as a virgin until she gave birth to Jesus. During her pregnancy, Mary
spent time with her relative Elizabeth, who was the mother of John the Baptist
(Luke 1:39-56). Mary was not a perpetual virgin, as she later became the mother
of other sons and daughters
(Matthew 13:55-56). Mary was a widow at the time of Jesus' death. While on the
cross, Jesus committed her to the care of John, His beloved apostle
(John 19:25-27).
Jews carefully maintained accurate genealogical records. They did so primarily
because property rights in Israel were linked to family inheritance. When the Jews
settled in Israel, the tribes were given portions of the land as an inheritance.
Families within each tribe were given parcels of that land. The land could be
farmed, developed, or sold. Every 50 years (during the Year of Jubilee) a dispossessed
family could lay claim
to the parcel of land which their ancestors had received when it was originally
distributed. Individuals who could not trace their family had no inheritance in
the nation of Israel. Then they were treated as dispossessed foreigners.
(Luke 3:23). Clearly in those days, people had assumed that Joseph was the biological
father of Jesus, when in fact he was not
(Matthew 13:55).
Some bible critics believe that Matthew and Luke are in disagreement as to who Joseph's
father was. Matthew states he was the son of Jacob, while Luke states that he was the
son of Heli. Is there a problem here? The Jerusalem Talmud indicates that Mary was
the daughter of Heli. Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli. Luke could rightfully call
Joseph the "son of Heli" because this was in compliance with use of the
word "son" at that time.
Moreover, designating a son-in-law as a son was not unusual in those days. Thus, Joseph was
the son of Jacob, and the son-in-law of Heli.
Matthew wrote to the Jews to present Jesus as King of the Jews. This account is in
Matthew 1:1-17.
Matthew's genealogy traces the ancestors of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus.
It begins by showing Jesus was a legal heir to the throne of David,
by virtue of his lineage. This fact is immediately set forth in verse one, which
states Jesus was the "son of David, the son of Abraham." His kinship to
King David of Israel is mentioned before that of Abraham, the father of Israel.
Matthew abridged the genealogy of Jesus by omitting some names that appear in earlier records.
It could be that this aided in their memorization.
(Colossians 4:14, Luke 1:1-4, Acts 1:1).
(Luke 3:28). This emphasized the humanity of Jesus. Christians of Jewish descent
originally considered gentile Greek Christians as inferior to themselves but this wrong
belief was soon overcome by their great love for each other
(Acts 15:1-31, Galatians 2:11-16). Luke's genealogy helped prove the fact that Jesus
was the son of God. Since all men are created in the image of God (in will, emotion, and
reason)
(Genesis 1:26-27), this genealogical record may have been a source of encouragement
to the Greek Christians.
We can take a look at some of the apparent discrepancies between the records.
Answer: Matthew broke his genealogy down into three historic divisions, each of which contained
fourteen generations. Two of the names are repeated. David's was repeated because
he was alive when the first division ended, and when the second division began. It is
commonly believed that Jeconiah's name was repeated because of a mistranslation. Jeconiah's
father's name was Jehoiakim. The names had similar spellings. It could be that the
oversight of transcribers caused the name to be repeated as some ancient manuscripts
actually do contain both names.
Answer: Matthew skipped generations. Matthew deliberately abridged his genealogy. This
may have been to aid in memorization of the names. Old Testament writers also
abridged their genealogical records so it was ok for Matthew to also do this
(compare Ezra 7:3 with 1 Chronicles 6:7-10).
Answer: No. Matthew and Luke traced two different family histories.
Matthew recorded the ancestors of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus.
Luke recorded the ancestors of Mary, the biological mother of Jesus. The difference
of names is understandable since both authors listed different family trees.
Answer: The Jerusalem Talmud states that Joseph was the son-in-law
of Heli. Joseph's father was Jacob. It was customary with the Jews to refer to a
son-in-law as a son in those days. So doctor Luke's statement was culturally correct
and the holy bible is correct.
(Luke 2:41-51).
(Luke 2:41-52).
dealing with the poor
(John 21:25).
Study of Christ Index
Salvation Index
Click on the tree to go to the main tracts index page
