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Who is Jesus?
Part-1
by Joan A Deering

 Jesus was born 2,000 years ago.  We read of Him in the Bible, the words given to us by God to know the answer to the question “Who is Jesus?”

 I am writing this to help some understand the answer to that question.  We celebrate His birth every year at Christmas.  But then what?

 The New Testament books of Matthew and the Luke give accounts of the events around that birth.

The book of Matthew, chapter 1, and verse 18 and following says: [1]

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows.  Then His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.  And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly.  But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appears to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.

 Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which translated means, “God with us.” (This is a direct quote from the Old Testament Book of Isaiah 7:14 written about 2,500 years before Jesus’ birth).

“And Joseph arose from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”

The book of Luke, chapter 2, and verses 26 and following, give the account of how Mary was told:

 Now in the sixth month (after Elizabeth, Mary’s Relative became pregnant) the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at this statement and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be.

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you name Him Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most His; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.  And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.  And Mary said, “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

There was a census that was going to be taken in Bethlehem that Joseph had to take part in, and that’s how they ended up in Bethlehem. We’re told about that a little earlier in Luke 2:3 and following:

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

In the Old Testament book of Isaiah 9:6-7 the prophet Isaiah foretold this birth:

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulder; and His name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”

These scriptures tell us of a wonderful miracle.  God’s Son was born on earth.  Why would God do this?  Next time we will see more about what happened once His birth took place…  how God gave other accounts to us from eyewitnesses to the Truth of who this Child was and what He was born to do.

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2022-02-04 1210