The Birth of Jesus

Luke 2:8-20

GOLDEN TEXT: “Thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.”
—Matthew 1:21

TODAY’S study is a most interesting one, relating to the birth of Jesus. In order for Jesus to be able to give His life a redemptive price for Father Adam’s life (and for the life of his race, forfeited by disobedience), it was necessary that He be perfect, sinless; as we read: “He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” Again, “A body hast Thou prepared Me,” for the suffering of death.

It is not enough, then, that we recognize Jesus as a good, well-intentioned man. We must see in Him human perfection, sufficient as a sacrifice to offset the forfeited life of the first perfect man, Adam. And we must see also that He was begotten from above—that the holy spark of life in Him as the babe was transferred life-principle from a pre-existent condition, mentioned by our Lord when He prayed, “Glorify Thou Me with the glory that I had with Thee before the world was.” St. Paul explains this to us when he says, “He that was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich.”

The message declared by the angels was that a Savior had been born—the Anointed, the Lord. He was to be the antitypical Moses, the antitypical Aaron, the antitypical Melchisedec, the antitypical David. In addition to the qualities pictured in these various typical characters, He was also the Son of the Highest. He was to be the Savior—the Deliverer—the Mediator of the New Covenant, so long looked for by Israel, hoped for and prayed for.

There is a special force or meaning in this word Savior—it signifies life-giver. In the Syriac version the word Savior is translated life-giver, and Syriac was probably the language spoken by Jesus and others in Palestine at that time. And is there not a special fitness or appropriateness this name—Life-giver? What had man lost? and what would he wish to have back? The Scriptures answer that Adam lost life and came under the penalty, “Dying thou shalt die.” He did not lose heaven, for he never possessed it. He lost earthly life, an Eden home, human perfection. And Jesus declared that He “came to seek and to save [recover] that which was lost.” (Matt. 13:11; Luke 19:10) Throughout His entire Messianic reign of a thousand years He will be the world’s Life-giver, gradually raising up the willing and obedient out of sin and death conditions to perfection and everlasting life and earthly human blessings.

But our Lord also does a special work for the church, the elect, His bride and joint-heir in the Kingdom. This blessing to the church begins before the setting up of the Kingdom. The church are by nature “children of wrath even as others,” but they are not to be restored to what was lost. The offer to them is that they may become copies of their Redeemer by laying down their lives and walking in His footsteps; that He will make up for all their deficiencies and that thus the Father of mercies will ling them, like their Lord, to the divine nature, will assist them in making their “calling and election sure” to the heavenly state. Paul says, “If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him; if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him.”—II Tim. 2:11,12

In verse 14, we have a kind of hallelujah chorus or angelic response to the message of the angel already given. The heavenly host sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” How grand and inspiring! But we see not yet this glorious condition achieved. The proper glory to God is not yet rendered on earth as it is in heaven. Nor does peace yet wave her banner, even over so-called Christendom.

What is the matter? Why is the fulfillment of this grand song of the angels at the birth of Jesus so long delayed? Ah, as the apostle explains, the answer is a secret, a mystery, hidden from past ages and dispensations. Yes, and still hidden from the world, and revealed only in its fullness to the faithful people of God! The mystery is that God not only intended Jesus to be the Anointed One to rule and bless the world, but He also foreordained a company of footstep followers to be with Him and share His work. The entire Gospel age has been devoted to the work of selecting this class, the body of Christ, the “espoused virgin” which eventually, changed in the first resurrection to the divine nature, is to become “the bride, the Lamb’s wife,” and joint-heir.

The invitation to become a member of the bride of Christ is a very special one and those who would be His must walk in the narrow way. The “sufferings of Christ, and the glory that shall follow,” were not only to be accomplished in our Lord Jesus personally, but He was an example for all the church who are justified through faith in His blood. They share with Him in His sufferings, and will share in His glory; they share in the first resurrection as the Revelator declares, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”—Rev. 20:6

QUESTIONS:

Was the child Jesus an imperfect human, a perfect human, or divine?

Is the bride of Christ offered a restoration to that which was lost?

When will the angelic message of peace on earth be fulfilled?

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