The Bible describes Jesus as coming to earth to save humanity, being born in Bethlehem in a small town near Bethlehem.
Jesus was conceived from a virgin birth and fulfilled Old Testament prophecies from Isaiah and Daniel with His birth; His incarnation was indeed miraculous as He took on two natures at once: divine and human.
Table of Contents
Origins
Jesus used an earthly metaphor to convey a spiritual concept in John’s Gospel: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In other words, individuals must undergo an experience similar to being given birth by being immersed with the Holy Spirit that leads them on an altogether new spiritual journey – much like when babies are created out of two bodies joined together at birth by their parents’ genes – so those born of God become new creatures in Christ that start acting more and more like Him over time.
The Bible shows us that Jesus preexisted before being born of a virgin mother and emphasizes He is both God and man. Furthermore, Paul described Jesus’ birth as both miracle and mystery: “The one who was from before creation has made himself known through scriptures which give insight into salvation matters”.
Adam and Eve sinned in Eden’s Garden of Eden and thus lost their close connection with their Creator. Though He could still communicate through divine wisdom, when they disobeyed Him they rebelled and consumed from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:1-22) which brought great suffering for their choices resulting in enormous punishment and eventually being cast away into exile (Genesis 3:22-24). They eventually made peace with themselves through Christ but eventually got separated again due to sinful decisions made against His wisdom which could still reach them via divine wisdom but when this wasn’t enough God could still communicate via divine wisdom but when this wasn’t enough they ate from it they fell further away and eventually got lost forever from each other and each other due to sinful decisions taken against His will causing immense punishment by Him sending messengers as God could still communicated wisdom – eventually leading them all the way.
Because of this, they required a mediator. God provided temporary physical sacrifices as a signpost towards Jesus’s perfect, eternal and once-for-all sacrifice on Calvary.
Hindus believe Brahman to be an eternal and immaterial Supreme Being with numerous manifestations in space, time and creation – including light rays, space/time continuum, the universe as a whole, humans/animals etc. In these manifestations he participates in birth/death processes for individual souls (jivas), while in his purest state it cannot be distinguished from them.
Birthplace
Genealogies were an effective means of tracing the origins of powerful people in ancient society. Ion, for instance, founded Greek colonies across Asia while also being purported as Apollo’s descendent. Alexander the Great’s empire stretched from Macedonia to India, yet many considered him to be descended from Hercules himself. Additionally, Caesar Augustus claimed he was Hercules’ grandson – something even the founders of Christianity did when making claims regarding Jesus as their ancestor. One popular contention about Jesus is that He was born from a virgin mother. This claim can be seen in Scripture where He is stated to have been born from a woman (Gal 4:4); in Greek this would translate as “made of woman”, not “became woman”, as the latter suggests change rather than ordinary birth.
The Bible pinpoints Bethlehem as the place where Jesus Christ was born, which is also referenced by Micah in the Old Testament prophetic writings and by Matthew and Luke’s gospel accounts as being his place of birth.
But why did God choose Bethlehem as the birthplace for His only begotten Son? God could have sent this Savior anywhere in the world; perhaps He even chose Rome or Athens; so why did He send Him instead to an obscure village like Bethlehem?
Bethlehem may symbolize God’s redemption of humanity. When Adam and Eve sinful act caused them to lose paradise and all its blessings in Eden Garden. When this Son of Man arrived to restore what had been lost through Adam and Eve’s transgression; thus the New Testament themes about restoration are key reasons as to why Jesus chose Bethlehem for birthing purposes; also because Christians consider His birth the defining event that marked B.C. from A.D. calendar years.
Birth Story
The story of Jesus’ birth bridges the past to future. It demonstrates God’s plan for saving his people from their sins and leading them toward eternal life, as well as showing children the importance of living righteously and working hard no matter how difficult life might be; ultimately truth and effort will win out! Children need to hear and understand this message!
The story begins in Nazareth, where Mary lived with Joseph, a carpenter. On one such visit from Gabriel – informing Mary that she would become pregnant through God’s power through Holy Spirit – Mary was taken aback, yet decided to believe the angel and become God’s mother of His son Jesus Christ.
Stories of divine birth were commonplace in ancient Greek culture, often glorifying local ancestors while providing political and social capital to rulers and sages. Additionally, such narratives could serve to legitimize power exercises like when Heracles claimed that he was born from Zeus’ head (Hesiod, Mor. 219e).
As part of its theology, early Christianity required Mary’s virginity as evidence of the Holy Spirit’s conception; hence the term “ever-virgin.” This was necessary because God took on human form with each conception – this statement being used as proof.
Interesting is the angel’s message being announced to shepherds tending their flocks in a nearby field. This shows that Christianity was intended for not only Jews, but also Gentiles – who later formed most of its global congregation.
Shepherds were then visited by an angel who informed them of Jesus’s birth at Bethlehem, linking Him with David’s lineage and fulfilling Old Testament prophecies about Jesus being King of Israel. Additionally, God showed favor upon those living in poverty and underprivileged through this sign from heaven: peacemaking Jesus as Messiah!
Conclusion
One of the greatest mysteries of Christmas is that Jesus is God Himself come down into human form. To consider that He became vulnerable as an infant is staggering – one that New Testament writers could only dream up! The incarnation is simply astounding!
The Incarnation was the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies. For instance, in Isaiah 7:14-16 we find Gabriel traveling to Nazareth in Galilee to visit Mary and inform her she would become pregnant by means of Holy Spirit. Joseph planned on leaving quietly so as not to expose his reputation to public disgrace but an angel stopped him, proclaiming instead that the child born would be God’s son who would rule Israel forever after birth.
In addition, the New Testament often highlights Jesus’ preexistence and divinity while attesting to His virgin birth. When Nicodemus asked Jesus how people could be born again from God, His reply was that wind blows where it wishes without anyone knowing where it comes from or goes (John 3:8)
At first, this seemed an odd way of explaining a spiritual concept, but my point was that someone born of the Spirit can be likened to an infant born into a family and gradually adopting its characteristics; an earthly metaphor but one that demonstrates that someone born of the Spirit becomes part of God’s family and begins looking more and more like Him.
Jesus can be seen as God incarnate; thus making Him one of the great mysteries of Christianity! Jesus represents an eternal divine nature manifested as human flesh. Additionally, there are three distinct persons sharing a divine essence: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who all exist alongside one another – this concept is known as Trinity doctrine and one great mystery within Christianity!
