A prevailing cultural perspective is that the birth of Christ is a very nice and heartwarming story of the birth of a great man who came to teach us how to live, and to encourage peace on earth.
While that may be true, He came primarily to save us from our sins.
The picture we should have in our minds is not merely of Jesus, a charming little baby who grew up to live a life we ought to emulate. Rather the picture we are to have is of Jesus, a sovereign God who died to save us from our sins, and who places on us a call for total commitment to Him.
This weak, wiggling infant in the manger came to lay claim to everything!
When we look at everything we know from Scripture about Jesus, we might find things we had not realized about Him before. If you are a mature, well-studied Christian, you will already know all this. If you are on the front end of your learning about the Bible, some of this might be new to you. But either way, I think you’ll find this interesting. I know I did in putting it together.
Seven things you might not know about Jesus, or will enjoy hearing again if you do.
- Jesus has existed for ever.
John 1:1 says,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”
Jesus is God. God is eternal, with no beginning and no end. So, Jesus is eternal, with no beginning and no end. He did not come into existence when He was born in Bethlehem. Rather, as God, He took on the form of a human then.
- Jesus created the world.
John 1:3 says,
“All things came into being through Him…”
John 1:10 says,
“The world was made through Him…”
Colossians 1:16 says,
“By Him all things were created.”
So, when Genesis 1:1 says,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth", it is referring to Jesus.
- Jesus appeared repeatedly in the Old Testament
Dr. John Walvoord in his book,
Jesus Christ Our Lord, writes, “It is safe to assume that every visible manifestation of God in bodily form in the Old Testament is... the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Walvoord, 54)
Sometimes, He is referred to as the Angel of the Lord.
When Abraham was getting ready to sacrifice his son Isaac, the Angel of the Lord spoke to him from heaven and stopped him. That was Jesus. (Genesis Genesis 22:11)
When the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses and the burning bush? Jesus. (Exodus 3:2)
In Joshua 5:15, Joshua met the captain of the army of the Lord and he bowed down to worship him. The captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua,
"Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy,” same as God told Moses in Exodus 3. Again, Jesus.
- Jesus knew He was going to be crucified when He came.
To the unbelieving, Jesus appears to be a mere human who committed His life to showing others how to live a life of love and sacrifice so that we could have a better existence on earth. And, of course, that is one reason He came. But His purpose was way more than that.
Mark 10:45 says,
“The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” He knew from the beginning He was going to die.
- Jesus is now at the right hand of God in heaven praying for us.
The “right hand” is a position of honor, power and authority.
Luke 22:69 says, “
Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.” Though, as God, He is not limited to that location.
He is also with us on earth.
“I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
“If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:10)
“The mystery of the Gentiles is… Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)
- Jesus is currently preparing a place for us, and will return for us when it is time.
John 14:1-3 says,
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."
We’re not sure what it will be like, but it will be so amazing that anything of value on earth today will pale in comparison.
Conclusion
It gives us a different perspective on Jesus of Nazareth, doesn’t it? He was not a weak human being who got in over His head and got killed when things spiraled out of control. He was the omnipotent God who could have annihilated with a word those who were crucifying Him, but who, instead, voluntarily limited his divine powers for the greater purpose of our salvation.
No wonder the angels said,
“I bring you good tidings of great joy!” (Luke 2:10)
May you find
your great joy in
knowing Jesus! After all, the angel said the good news was to be for "
all the people".
If you'd like help
finding the joy of peace with God, I encourage you to visit the website
peacewithgod.net.
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