Jesus' Birth

Lesson 2.01

Jesus' birth is a birth like no other in the history of man, for many reasons. Let's study God's word and find out the importance of this miraculous event. Your faith depends on your decision to believe God and his word.

Please read Luke 2:1-20 before starting GraspingGod.com's free Bible study lessons, #2.01.

Previous lesson: 2nd Coming Of Jesus #1.24.

Preliminary Bible Study Questions:
1) When was Jesus born?
2) Where was Jesus born?
3) Who was Jesus' biological father? Who was Jesus' earthly father?

Hey there. Welcome! I'm glad you joined me. I'm discussing Jesus' life and we're starting this series of lessons with a study on the importance of Jesus' birth. All great things are born, so I pray the study of Jesus' birth, will be the birth of your faith. Let's get started.

God had already created a man, Adam, out of the earth. He created a woman, Eve, out of Adam. He had created generations of people from men and women. As if that isn't miraculous enough, God also created a son, Isaac, from an elderly man and woman, Abraham and Sarah.

Is it no wonder that he would send our Savior through yet another miraculous birth?

Where Was Jesus Born?

Jesus' birth was truly unique in so many ways. First of all, Jesus was pre-existent. Jesus Christ was the Creator of all things. In other words, prior to his birth he was alive in heaven, with his Father and the Holy Spirit. Many times during his pre-existent life he visited his creatures on earth.

Jesus' birth had been predicted for centuries by many prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures (aka The Old Testament). About the year 4 B.C. God called a young, virgin woman to carry and birth his Son, Jesus. The Holy Spirit impregnated her (Luke 1:34-35).

Jesus' birth happened one evening in a little town named Bethlehem, which was near Jerusalem. Mary, and her fiance, Joseph wrapped baby Jesus in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. The angels in heaven all broke into praise and announced the birth to some nearby shepherds.

Jesus' birth to the virgin Mary was a truly amazing miracle that can only be explained by an all-powerful, supernatural God.

Why Was Jesus Born?

Do you know the reason for the birth of Jesus Christ? Let's quickly review. God created Adam and Eve in a state of goodness, but with a free will which could choose to obey or disobey him. Well, they chose to disobey (aka sin) and it ruined man's innocence and goodness. All of a sudden mankind needed a Savior to repair their relationship with God.

The sinful human nature created by Adam's sin would infect the entire human race forever. That means that all mankind, from that moment onward, would be born sinners. This phenomenon separated man from God because ultimately God doesn't allow sin into his heavenly presence. Mankind fell under a severe curse.

Fortunately, God is a loving, merciful, forgiving Father who wants the best for his creation. Therefore, he instituted his plan of forgiveness for humanity. Sin required a blood sacrifice to appease his wrath (Hebrews 9:22b). God needed a human sacrifice for each and every sin ever committed by those people who desire eternity in heaven. Every person needs a sacrifice, including you and me. Unfortunately, if we choose to neglect God's heavenly sent sacrifice for us there will literally be hell to pay.

He gives us a choice, though. Thank you, God! His wonderful plan for a perfect human sacrifice included a sinless person who happens to be his one and only Son, Jesus. An imperfect sacrifice like any other human would have offered wouldn't have appeased God's terrible wrath. He demands a perfect sacrifice - an unblemished Lamb.

In order to break the chain of the fallen human sin nature, Jesus had to be born through a virgin. The sinful nature of man passes through the seed of man, therefore God had to circumvent the normal human conception process. A normal human would not be qualified to be our sacrifice.

So, God chose to be the biological father of our sacrifice. Jesus' birth was the answer! He was unstained by the curse of sin from his conception onward. He also had to live a sinless life, which he did. The final result is that Jesus is our sacrificial, spotless Lamb! That is precisely why Jesus' birth was essential.

Must I Believe In Jesus' Virgin Birth?

You may be asking yourself, "What if I don't believe in the virgin birth? Is it required for making Jesus my Lord, and having my sins forgiven?"

The birth of Jesus Christ, as documented by the Scriptures, is a necessary element of our salvation. God doesn't do anything willy nilly and Jesus' birth is quite possibly the greatest example. God's word demands that you believe what it says (Mark 8:38). An attitude which disbelieves his word is a sign of pride and a failure of repentance.

Let's say for a moment that Jesus was the biological son of Joseph and Mary. What would Jesus' birth to two humans change in the grand picture of God's plan of redemption?

• The Bible would be replete with fiction and therefore deemed untrustworthy.
  
• The gospel writers would be liars and therefore false prophets.
  
• Mary wouldn't be "favored among women" because she would be unchaste. Joseph said Jesus wasn't his son and Mary and Joseph were unmarried.
  
• Jesus would be the natural human son of a sinful couple and therefore unqualified to meet God's demands for a perfect sacrifice.
  
• Jesus wouldn't be pre-existent.
  
• Jesus couldn't possibly have been sinless, like the gospels claim, because he would have possessed a sin nature.
  
• Jesus couldn't have been the eternal Son of God who holds the power to forgive.
• Choosing to disbelieve this miracle birth, assumes you choose to disbelieve other miracles of God. That equates to unbelief, which ratifies your eternal separation from God.

Jesus' Birth In the Big Picture

In my humble opinion, if you accept the creation accounts of mankind (Hebrews 11:3), the belief in the virgin birth of Christ comes easily, not to mention logically. If you refuse to believe in God's creation accounts of Adam and Eve, then you'll probably also be suspicious of the virgin birth of Jesus. If you understand God's BIG PICTURE of human redemption, Jesus' birth to a virgin makes perfect sense. Is anything too great for our mighty God to accomplish?

So, what will you choose? Ignoring God's perfect sacrifice of Jesus and hoping your own goodness pleases God? Or, meeting God's requirements for perfect salvation through the birth and works of his Son, Jesus? The former will purchase your ticket for an eternity in outer darkness, but the latter will give you eternal life with God in his beautiful heaven.

Don't miss "You're Here" song & video by Francesca Battistelli below.

Grasp This!

Jesus' birth is no small matter in the Scriptures. We're not talking fairy tales here. We're talking about the most important Person in your life - your Creator. A creature, you in this case, is ultimately responsible to his or her Creator. Further, Jesus is the one and only Savior of your fallen soul.

Through no fault of your own, you were born into sin. However, at a distinct point in time, you chose to sin against God (Romans 3:23). We all do, but don't look at others, look at Jesus. Jesus WANTS you to look at him. He wasn't born into sin. He didn't sin. He earned the right to be your Savior. He longs for you to look at him upon the cross, because that act of love was for YOU!

Jesus also rose from the dead. If you won't believe in the miraculous birth of Christ, you probably don't believe his miraculous resurrection, either. The evidence is plentiful for BOTH of these events and if you don't believe in them, you remain in your sin. If you don't believe in them you are calling God a liar and you will thusly remain in your sin (Hebrews 10:26-27). You need to repent, which means to change your mind and accept the reality of God, his perfect Son, and their word - the Holy Bible.

Believing Jesus' birth is critical for your faith, because it is a major piece of God's plan for YOU. Denying the miraculous birth of Christ to a virgin is denying God and his word. Believing God must be your life's #1 goal, and trusting Jesus Christ is the only way to reach that goal (John 14:6).

More than anything else, you have to be forgiven by God. Nothing in a human life is more important than receiving forgiveness from God. Forgiveness becomes salvation, which is mission critical for you.

For starters, to prove your faith and please God, you have to believe in Jesus' birth to a virgin mother. Christianity rises and falls on the documented virgin birth, sinless life, sacrificial death, and conquering resurrection of Jesus Christ. Disbelieving any of these essential parts of his life equates to disbelieving his real life and real word. Turn from your error, stop denying reality, and accept God's forgiveness and peace.

Join our next lesson: Mary, Mother Of Jesus #2.02

Bible Study Questions:
1) How important is it to you that God fulfills every detailed element of his plans?
2) What is the attitude of someone who refuses to believe in the miraculous virgin birth?
3) A humble belief in God and his word is required for salvation. How do you address a friend who says they are Christian, but don't necessarily believe in the virgin birth?

Inspirational Bible Verses:
Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). Isaiah 7:13-14

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. Galatians 4:4

Faith Quotes!
He became what we are that He might make us what He is. Athanasius of Alexandria

We believe that Christ is God not because he mysteriously possessed a divine nature united to a human, but because as he is as man, we find God in him, and God finds us through him. A.E. Garvie

In Christ Jesus heaven meets earth and earth ascends to heaven. Henry Law

Take hold of Jesus as a man and you will discover that he is God. Martin Luther Quotes

We believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man; God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of the substance of his mother, born in the world. Athanasian Creed

We all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ . . . begotten, for us men and our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer. Chalcedonian Definition

Prayers of Thanksgiving:
Sweet Lord Jesus,
You gave up the riches and glories of heaven
for the sinful peoples and corruption of this earth
Love for us was your motive
and forgiveness and eternal friendship your goal
All praises to you, Dear Jesus
for you perfectly accomplished this great task
We now can know our Father in heaven
and bring him countless joys
Your work brought us indescribable privileges
and your love countless pleasures
My Friend, my Savior, from the depths of my soul
I pour out my gratitude, and give you my life.
Amen.

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Special Note: I'm grateful to Big Book Media & Free Bible Images for the use of their photos for Jesus' Birth Bible study. Thanks to Pastor Brett Owen for allowing use of this Youtube Video: