Weekly Devotional 12-25-17 Jesus; A Unique Person
Many deny, to their peril, that Jesus the Son of Mary and the stepson of Joseph ever existed. This is foolish. Beside the Biblical accounts of Jesus’ birth, life and death, there are many secular writers that confirmed Jesus was a person in history. Among them that so attested were: The first-century Roman historian Tacitus, who wrote that there were many who suffered under Pontius Pilot because of their devotion to Christ (Annals 15.44); Flavius Josephus was a famous Jewish historian. In his work “the Antiquities”, he mentioned James with reference to him being the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ; Julius Africanus quotes the historian Thallus when discussing the darkness which followed the crucifixion of Christ (Extant Writings, 18); Pliny the Younger, in his Letters 10:96, recorded early Christian worship, including the fact that Christians worshiped Jesus as God, and that they were very ethical; The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a) confirms Jesus’ crucifixion on the eve of Passover; A second-century Greek writer, Lucian of Samosata, wrote that Jesus was worshipped by followers who called themselves “Christians”; Many Gnostic writings including “The Gospel of Truth”, “The Apocryphon of John”, “The Gospel of Thomas”, to name a few, all mention Jesus. This then is the record of secular history.
Those who may wish to deny His being, do so not because there is no proof, but because they choose not to believe. If they admit that He existed, then they must begin considering that He is who He claimed to be, the Son of God. Not just the Son of God, but that He is God the Son which makes Him God, making them responsible to Him.
Why continue to deny Him? He came, He lived, He died, and He rose again. These are all facts of history. He ascended back into heaven where He now sits on the right hand of God, in authority, making intercession for those who place their faith in His sacrifice. He gave His physical life for such persons, taking God’s wrath upon Himself. Know then, that He gave His life not only so that those who place their faith in Him would gain heaven, but that they (we) could have a more abundant life now (John 10:10).
The writer of the Book of Hebrews wrote; “1God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” (Hebrews 1:1-4 NKJB).
Eight days after His birth, Jesus was circumcised according to the Law of Moses. He was then taken to Jerusalem by His parents to be dedicated (Luke 2:21-24 NKJB). As He was about to be dedicated, two persons paid Him homage. They were Simeon and Anna. We read of this from verses 25-38 of Luke 21. “25And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: ‘29Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30For my eyes have seen Your salvation 31Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.’ 33And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. 34Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’ 36Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. 39So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. 40And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”(NKJB)
Looking into the face of Jesus, Simeon recognized Him for who He is, and proclaimed, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Anna, looking upon Him, was so moved by her recognition of Him that she “spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
The Baby in the manger in Bethlehem was God; God, the creator of all that is, humbled Himself and became a man. As the writer of Hebrews affirms, He did this for you and for me. On the 25th of this month most of the world will celebrate the birth of the baby who was conceived of Mary and the Holy Spirit. God Himself took upon Himself human flesh; what a wonder!
As you celebrate Christmas this year have you looked into the face of the baby Jesus through the record of the Gospels and have you considered Him according to secular history? Have you paused to consider who he is? He was not an ordinary baby, nor an ordinary man but He is God in the flesh, man’s redeemer, and the glory of Israel.
Have a wonderful Christmas
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Transforming Power; The Work of God on Behalf of Man