Jesus from prophecy to the cradle
While meditating on the imminent celebration of Jesus’s birth and while pondering the many prophecies in the bible relating to his birth, I realise that for Mary the mother of Jesus great drama was unfolding many months before Jesus was born.
We know on average the gestation for a baby is around 40 weeks, approximately nine lunar months, for Mary she faced many issues along the way.
Even before Mary conceived we read about the amazing encounter with the angel Gabriel recorded in Luke 1 verses 26 to 38 - 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 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[b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
This extraordinary and supernatural encounter with the angel Gabriel would be such a startling experience. Mary would be shocked to be standing in the presence of an angel, someone who could be of immense stature, shining brighter than the sun, garments translucent and glistening, sparkling like snow, radiating Gods glory. But that glory that would be radiating from the angel would carry with it the very presence of God. It was not only something that could be seen but deeply felt, it was an aroma, a consuming atmosphere that carried the purity and presence of God, all evil would be dissolved away in the angels company, Mary would instinctly know Gabriel was an angel from heaven. Mary would be unprepared, maybe not even aware of angels visiting anyone. But as Mary in those all-consuming moments were trying to take in the reality of what was about to transpire, the plans and purposes God had conveyed through the angel the privileged of carrying and delivering Gods son, in those moments she would be coming to the realising as to what this really meant for the whole of the Jewish nation and world-wide.
For centuries the Jewish nation had, while reading the then known scriptures knew that a messiah would be sent by God to Israel who would redeem the nation and the whole world. It was prophesied in Isaiah 7: 14 (NIV) 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.
Then in Isaiah 9:6 & 7 (NIV) we read - 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 Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Further on into the Old Testament we read in Jeremiah 23:5 (NIV) - 5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
The Jewish people knew these scriptures, the world would be rid of sin and evil, a new pure generation would be born of God who would dwell on the earth and rule in justice for eternity. Mary would be saying to herself God is now about to fulfil those prophecies, she would be trying to comprehend all that the scriptures of the day had prophesied.
What was the first thing she did, you may have expected Mary to go and tell he future husband, but no, she needed to talk to another lady or member of her own family so she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. In Luke 1 verses 39 to 45 we read 39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!”
Notice what happened when Elizabeth heard that Mary was going to carry the son of God, her baby John the Baptist to be, the baby leapt in the womb. This tells us so much about the relationship between a mother and the child they are carrying. How could the child in the womb hear or comprehend the joy that Elizabeth shared with Mary.
Here with the greeting that Mary received we learn some great lessons, lessons that all mothers need to fully understand. The baby leapt in her mother’s womb. It is a known fact that the child will spiritually be picking up every emotional situation the mother experiences during the pregnancy. How often do we meet a young baby, we notice how contented that young baby is, it tells us a little of the lifestyle and peaceful contentment in the family. This surely is an indication of how parents need to behave, to have a healthy loving relationship with one another together with the love of God in their lives working through the everyday situations of life. It will have a profound effect on the young child both before they are born and in the preceding years as they grow up, as the bible tells us in Ephesians 6 (NIV) Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honour your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Notice the responsibility is with both the parents and the children.
What an example of encouragement Elizabeth brought to her cousin Mary in Luke 1 verse 42 we read . 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! If no one else accepted what was about to happen to Mary, Elizabeth understood.
Let’s not forget what Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah had recently experienced. In Luke 1 verse 5 we read - 5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favour and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
We read here that Mary’s cousin Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah had also experienced a visit from Gabriel; so as well as being related they were also privileged to be part of the great unfolding of bringing Jesus into this world. Notice Mary’s response to Elizabeth’s greeting in Luke 1 verses 46 to 56 - Mary’s Song often referred to as the Magnificat.
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
What can we glean from this wonderful, worshipful joyful song of Mary? As well as knowing how privileged she was in bringing Gods son, the Messiah into the world, Mary knew her God, she had a heart fully engaged with the scriptures as known at that time, she knew that God was going to redeem Israel in sending the Messiah; this was the moment she was so excited to sing about. Mary had great insight into who Jesus would be, the power and majesty of God coming to earth, Mary was walking tall she knew what a great privilege she was taking on.
We have to stop and consider why God chose this family to be given this high honour. Notice that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth was the priestly descendant of Aaron. How important for Jesus and John to be of the God appointed priestly lineage. It was obvious that this was a very Godly family by the way each member reacted to the imminent birth of John and Jesus. There was a Godly inborn Holy spirit inspired joy a knowing in there spirit that this was indeed of God and something big which would affect the whole of mankind.
Mary had the unenviable task of explaining the encounter with the angel to her spouse Joseph, as well as dealing with all the ramifications of having a child out of wedlock. But we do not read about Joseph reacting in a negative way, we read he took a positive and wise action to conceal Mary’s pregnancy. In Matthew 1 verses 18 to 24 we read - 18 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. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, 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. 21 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.”
22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
We can be assured that Joseph was also a God fearing man, he fully appreciated all that was going on, and acted wisely and humble in the circumstances. God spoke to him in a dream he was ready to obey what God told him.
Then we read in Luke 2 (NIV) - The Birth of Jesus
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Let’s us go back to the old Testament and reflect on the prophecy in Micah 5:2 (NIV) 2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Here we see prophecy being fulfilled, Mary and Joseph through God ordained circumstance which happened just at the right time, meant they had to travel back to Bethlehem to be taxed, and as we know it was during that visit to Bethlehem that Jesus was born.
I see in the conception and birth of Jesus some strong parallels to the Christian life. When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, the angel said - , “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.
There is that time at the beginning of a Christian’s life when God Himself plants into our heart the Holy Spirit. In John 3 verse 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.
When we become a Christian the seed of the Holy Spirit enters into our heart, we experience New Birth” our lives are born again, we truly become children of God. Jesus was God in flesh living as a man; He is indeed was and is Gods son. In 1 John 3 verse 1 (NIV) we read - See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
In Matthew 1 we read - After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[c]
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
Notice how Herod responded when he heard the news about Jesus’s birth, and to what extreme measures he took to try and kill Jesus. But God was able to convey to the wise men in a dream not to report back avoiding a visit to Herod. Joseph was also told in a dream to take Jesus into Egypt
Today Satan is still trying to kill and destroy, he works through people today seeking to destroy them (like the religious extremists) and hinder us from sharing the Good News Christians are seeking to convey to mankind. That is why Israel still continues to experience constant conflict from nations around the world, Herod tried to kill all the baby boys but some nations are out to totally destroy Israel. It will not change until Jesus comes back.
In 1 Peter 5:8 we read - Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. As soon as the Spirit of God enters a person, Satan will be close by seeking to destroy the work God had started in their heart.
In 1 Corinthians 2 (NIV) we read - And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
(Remember Paul was a man full of hate seeking to destroy God people until he met Jesus on the Damascus road, then see what happened after the Holy Spirit transformed him) Paul continues -
3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[b]—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.[c] 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
IF we have the mind of Christ, if His Holy Spirit is living in us we can identify with the words in Titus 2 (NIV) - You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. 2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. 3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive.
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Just like the nation of Israel, who were then waiting with expectancy for their Messiah, likewise we the church today should also be waiting the second coming of Jesus, are we ready, will we be like Mary full of surprise when the angel appeared to her, or again as the news began to dawn on her will we rejoice, like when Mary burst into song as she sang the Magnificat
May we seek to live in expectancy of Jesus’s imminent return, ever ready to share the Good News of why Jesus was born in a manger, to take our place by experiencing an awful crucifixion, yet to rise again victorious, to show mankind the way back to God? – The song writer has penned these words - No room for the baby in Bethlehem’s Inn, Only a Cattle Shed, No home on this earth for the dear Son of God, nowhere to lay His head, Only a cross did they give to my Lord, Only a borrowed tomb. Today He is seeking a place in your heart, will you still say to Him – No Room.
Christmas is a time when folk are more open to the meaning of Christmas. This gives us the opportunity to share with folk the gift that came through Jesus, the gift of new birth leading to eternal life. May we as we once again contemplate the meaning of Christmas, have a knowing joy in our hearts that we are his children, and have that expectancy of His imminent return to live in his joyous presence free from all pain and anxiety for Eternity.
