When Jesus walked this Earth, he made quite a few statements that caught plenty of people off guard and angered the religious leaders of his day. Jesus not only claimed to be equal with God but he also claimed to BE God himself, in the flesh. Does that sound arrogant or what? If it were not for what I have already said and what I am about to show you, I would whole heartedly consider his words arrogance.
There are many people out there who have only a partial knowledge of the scriptures. I like to know all of the truth before I make a decision on something really important, something as important as changing my life as I know it. Doing a complete about face to follow God and doing things his way, is not always an easy decision. That is why I have taken the time to write down everything that I know about God and his ways.
Before I reach the end of this book I would like to include the narrative and prophecies concerning the heritage, birth, life, ministry and death of the person I have come to know as Christ, the Son of God, in the person of the man Jesus of Nazareth.
Throughout his life Jesus was continually being instructed by the God of Heaven. The God of Heaven was, in fact, his true Father. There are a lot of sick jokes about the virgin conception of Mary but when you consider it as nothing more than a clinical act, which I believe it to be, then there was really nothing sexual about it.
I believe the the God of creation, the one who created things from nothing and made animated, living flesh out of inanimate and sterile Earth can easily impregnate a woman of this Earth with his own "personal" genetic seed...if he has her permission that is...and I believe that is exactly what happened.
Let me put it this way. Christ, being God, has the ability to be anything he wants. He can be anywhere he wants and he can do anything he wants, as long as he does not interfere with some else’s free will.
First, God had Gabriel tell Mary what God wanted to do…if she agreed to God’s plan. Gabriel told Mary, “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.” – Luke 1:31-33.
Mary’s only question was a very legitimate one. How could she become pregnant if she had never had sex before?
Gabriel explained it this way: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” – Luke 1:35.
Mary was then given the understanding that she would become impregnated with the “seed” of Christ. In reply to the words of Gabriel Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” – Luke 1:38.
With Mary’s permission, Christ turned himself into a single cell and allowed the Spirit of God to place him into Mary’s womb, where his cell was joined with an egg from Mary’s womb and life began to grow within Mary just as it normally would. As far as I know, that was the first ever instance of in vitro fertilization.
As a growing child, Jesus was taught by the Spirit of the living God. When tempted to do something “wrong”, the Spirit told him not to and he listened to and obeyed that still small voice within him.
Jesus did have an advantage we have never had. He was born with a nature that was not influenced by the rebellious, genetic tendency of humanity. In other words he was what you would call sinless. All of us are born with the nature of our rebellious parents, Adam and Eve. That is just the way it is when you are born into this world. Jesus however, was only half human, so to speak. He had the nature of a human with the half of Mary he was joined to, but he also had the sinless nature of Christ. Adam and Eve were created with sinless natures. However that nature was changed because of their freedom of choice when they decided to rebel against the will of God. When Christ became human he left the beauty and perfection of Heaven; his perfection was now growing into a human being in the womb of Mary. His purpose in becoming human was to show the universe that it was possible to live a life of perfection while being persuaded and tempted to turn his back on God and the laws of his government and go on about his own business; to live outside the influence of the one who knew what was best.
Contrary to popular belief humanity has not been evolving. Since the day that God separated Adam and Even from the tree of life we have been devolving; our natures are becoming weaker and more decrepit. Christ was born as a human so that means that he was exactly like us and he was just as vulnerable to temptation and selfishness as we are; he was exactly like us in every way but one. The only difference between us and him was that he was NOT born with a rebellious nature. Jesus was born with the sinless nature of Adam before he rebelled against his creator but Jesus was also born with the physically and morally weakened nature of humanity after 4,000 years of genetic degradation so genetically he was just as inferior to Adam as we are. Although he was not born rebellious he was also just as free and tempted to leave God out of his life and do things his way as we are. I know I'm being redundant but I want you to understand that Jesus could have rebelled against God when tempted to do so just as easily as we can...and have.
As Jesus grew, matured and became a student of the history of humanity as described in the scriptures, he began to understand that he was a part of something that took in much more than just his life as a carpenter’s son. There was nothing wrong with being a carpenter, but for him, he knew there was something else.
If there was anyone who could have had a reason for living a life without spiritual restraint it would have been Jesus. He grew up in the little mountain village of Nazareth. The people who lived in Nazareth were well known for their lack of morality. When Jesus began his adult ministry Nathanial, one of his first disciples, went to find his friend Philip to tell him that he had found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Phillip said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” – Luke 1:46.
Although the early life of Jesus, as he grew into adulthood, is rather sparse there is enough information available to us to piece together much of his young life and the type of child that he would grow up to be. Jesus did not have the opportunity to go to the best schools. His parents could not afford the tuition so they home schooled him. During his ministry the question was asked, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” – John 7:15. He did not have a professional education so he was never taught by the religious leaders of Israel; he learned his lessons from his mother and father. God, through the Spirit and the parents of Jesus, was his teacher. Scripture tells us that the early life of Jesus can be summed up this way, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” – Luke 2:52.
In his early years the scriptures, which he had inspired, were his textbook and when he went outside everything he had created in nature was his classroom. Christ, who had made all things, was now studying the lessons of nature that his own hand had created in the Earth, the sea and the sky. That is a tough one to understand when you really think about it. Christ, in the person of Jesus had to study and learn about the life of plants, animals and the life of man; life that he had created.
Satan, the enemy of Christ and humanity, was relentless when it came to trying to trip up the young child of Nazareth. His early life was guarded by God’s angels just as ours can be if we desire to do things God’s way. Life was not easy for Jesus though. Like ours, Jesus’ life was one long struggle against the forces of evil. If the forces of evil could overcome him, the creator of the universe, then the devil would be right, it would not be possible to do as God asked. If that had been the case then it would have been found that even God would have been unable to keep his own laws.
The devil used every trick in the book to get Jesus to go against God and the laws of his government. There never has been and never will be another human who will ever be called to live a life of perfection while going through as much conflict and temptation as Jesus did. Jesus succeeded, but not by his own strength. His divinity was clothed with humanity and he had the ability to change stones into bread if he had wanted to ease his hunger, but he never used any of his divine powers to help himself. If he had, then he would not have lived a life as we can. Jesus lived his life in harmony and obedience to his Father’s ways. Obedience to his father is the only reason he succeeded and it is the only way we can succeed as well.
I want to make it clear what kind of environment Jesus lived in while growing up as a child. I have already mentioned the proverbial lack of morals of the people of Nazareth. The parents of Jesus were poor and they made a living as best they could by the carpentry trade. Jesus knew all about poverty, self denial and want. He lived in the ghettos of Nazareth and worked in the carpenter’s shop with his father Joseph.
He knew from experience how poor people lived and he knew how they thought, what they cared about and how hard life was for them. He could easily relate to and encourage everyone he met because in many ways he was just as poor and deprived as they were. Jesus is the absolute best example we will ever have. He was doing the work of God while he was working at the carpenter’s shop just as much as when he was working miracles for the people during his adult ministry.
For the Jewish people, the twelfth year of childhood is the dividing line between being a child and an adult. When Jesus reached the age of twelve he was called a son of the law and also a son of God. He was given more opportunities for taking part in religious and spiritual ceremonies and he was expected to take part in the feasts and observances of his people. Because of this, when he reached the required age he went with his parents, for the first time, to take part in the Passover in Jerusalem.
Jesus had probably never seen the temple of God in Jerusalem because it was a journey that took several days by foot. For the first time he saw the white-robed priests performing their ministry. He saw the bleeding victim on the altar of sacrifice. He knelt in prayer along with the other people, while the cloud of incense rose before God. He saw the impressive actions of the Passover service and as the days went by he began to see their meaning in a more personal way. The Spirit of God was showing him and he was beginning to understand that every part of the service was tied up with and connected to his own life and thoughts. Those new thoughts were beginning to slowly change his view of things.
I can easily visualize him during this time, quiet and withdrawn, as he seemed to be working out a great problem. For the first time, the real meaning of his life was becoming clear.
He did not remain beside his parents but wanted to be alone while he thought things through. When the Passover services ended he stayed in the temple and when his parents left Jerusalem he was left behind.
As they traveled that first day from the city of Jerusalem his parents were apparently not concerned with his disappearance. They probably thought he was with other people; friends of theirs who were on their way back to Nazareth. They knew he would show up in the evening when everyone was making camp for the night…meanwhile, back at the temple.
There were classrooms connected to the temple that were used for religious instruction. This is where all of the leading rabbis and their students met. This is also where Jesus went. He sat at the feet of these great and intelligent men.
I can just picture him; like someone who was looking for knowledge he would ask questions about the prophecies and the things taking place that pointed to the coming of the Messiah. His questions were probably along the lines of things most people did not understand, or were even concerned about; but those questions were very important. It was believed that the coming Messiah would appear on the scene as a conquering King and that he would not only free the Jewish people from the ruthless power of the Roman Empire but that he would also bring about a new age of peace and prosperity for all of God's chosen people. As the rabbis talked about the great kingdom that the Messiah’s coming would bring to the Jewish nation, I can imagine Jesus asking them about the prophecies of Isaiah and wanting to know the meaning of the scriptures that told about the suffering and death of the Messiah.
When these wise men asked him questions they had to have been amazed by his answers. Wisely and with the humility of a child, he spoke the words of God and gave them a meaning that the wise men had never thought of before.
I am sure that the Spirit of God was speaking to these men; their minds were being opened to the words of God as they were meant to be understood. They were beginning to see that their understanding of the kingdom of the Messiah was not what they thought it was going to be and they began to understand that their long-held views were not supported by scripture. Like most people though, they did not want to give up their belief that the Messiah would be a king who would lead them to a better life and give them victory over their enemies, with all of the wealth and glory that went with it.
If they had listened to what he was saying they would have found a freedom like they had never known before. There might even have been a revival when it came to spiritual things had they listened and learned from him. If that had happened then there would have been many more people who would have wanted to hear what Jesus had to say when he began his personal ministry later in life.
Let’s see now; somewhere there is a mother and father who are anxiously searching for their lost son. After searching through the crowds that were with them and not finding their son, Mary and Joseph went back to Jerusalem. After three days of fear they finally found him in the school of the rabbis. His mother asked him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” - Luke 2:48. With respect, Jesus said to them, “Why did you seek Me. Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” - Luke 2:49
Luke goes on to say that Jesus' parents did not understand what he was saying. They returned to their home in Nazareth, and Jesus continued to grow in wisdom, size and in his relationships with both God and man.