“Unto You is Born…

a Saviour, Which is Christ the Lord!”

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” Luke 2:10-14.

At this season of the year, in spite of our world's conditions of suffering, wars, terrorism and the climate of fear that pervades our lives, the message of the angels on the night of Jesus' birth 2000 years ago, still stirs the human heart today with the lingering hope that peace and goodwill will come to the family of mankind. While we know that the “good tidings” which were to be “unto all people” have not yet been realized, we must trust that God's promises will be fulfilled in His due time for God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18 , Titus 1:2). The angel's message linked the promised peace and goodwill of God to His human family with God's greatest gift, the gift of His son as our “Saviour which is Christ the Lord.” To better understand the role of Christ as mankind's Saviour let us consider some questions.

What was Jesus' role in God's plan before He became “the man Christ, Jesus”?

In the beginning God was alone. His first work began when He created Jesus as a mighty spirit being, the Logos, who thus became “the first born of every creature;”. He was the Logos or Word that was with God in the beginning of His subsequent creation, and by whom all things were made, and without whom not one thing was made. He was a god or mighty one begotten by Jehovah the Almighty God (John 1:1-3, 10). Our Master at that time was “the beginning and the ending, the first and the last,” of Jehovah's direct creation: all subsequent creations of the angels, the universe, our planet Earth, all the flora and fauna, and our first parents, Adam and Eve, were created by and through him as Jehovah's honoured agent (Revelation 3:14; Colossians 1:15; John 1:1-3). God was the architect and the Logos was entrusted with carrying out all of His plans. In so doing He was obedient and faithful and “daily His delight.” (Proverbs 8: 22-31).

How did the Logos become the Saviour promised by the angels?

God had an even greater work for His only begotten Son and it was planned from the beginning. John tells us that Jesus was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8). God, who knows the end from the beginning, realized that our first parents, Adam and Eve, lacking the experience or knowledge of the results of sin, would fall into sin under temptation by the Adversary and through their sin all of the human family would become sinners by inheritance. The penalty for sin is death and all of Adam's race as sinners would die and go to the grave, oblivion (Ecclesiastes 9:10 ). In order to provide to provide a means of redeeming the entire fallen human race, God had foreordained that the Logos would become a man and by obedience in laying down His life for Adam and his race, ransom them from the power of death (Romans 5:10-19).

As the Logos, Jesus had the highest position of all God's created beings. Paul tells us that when the due time in God's plan came, “Jesus Christ, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9). He willingly left the glory which He had with the Father “before the world was.” that the Father's will might be done (John 17:5). Then, without dying, our Master “humbled himself,” underwent a change of nature and “was made flesh” (Philippians 2:8; John 1:14 ). He “took upon himself the form of a servant” and was “found in fashion as a man;” “a little lower than the angels.” Then, He further ”humbled himself even unto death,” and yet further, He “who knew no sin ” suffered the shameful death of the cross which cursed Him under the Law, as a sinner (2 Corinthians 5:21 ; Hebrews 2:9,16; Philippians. 2:6-9). All of this was planned by the Father for His Son that He might become the Saviour of all men, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, during this Gospel age, or when restored to life in His Kingdom, should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Why was it necessary for Jesus to be born a Jew, of the nation of Israel ?

God's exclusive dealings with the nation of Israel were based upon His promises and the legacy of faith of Abraham passed down to his son Isaac, and to Isaac's son, Jacob, and then to Jacob's twelve sons who became the nation of Israel . After this nation's captivity in Egypt, and subsequent deliverance by God through the prophet Moses, they bound themselves to God at Mount Sinai under the terms of the Law Covenant through which, although still sinners, God could bless and guide them (Exodus 19:2-8).

The Law Covenant and especially the sacrificial work of the Day of Atonement blessed Israel with God's favour, giving them His guidance in matters of personal and social conduct and their responsibilities to God and their fellows. It clearly identified what was sinful and provided them with penalties for disobedience and requirements for repentance and recovery. It also promised continued human life to anyone who could keep the Law inviolate (Leviticus 18:5). Being sinners, the fallen children of Adam, none of Israel ever received this promised life. Their inability to keep the whole Law brought a curse of death upon them, so that they were in double jeopardy, first from the sin of Adam, and secondly from the perfect Law that condemned them because they could not keep it. Therefore the Law both blessed them and cursed them anew.

Why did God give them a law which they couldn't keep? God had two reasons. He first wanted them and eventually all of mankind to realize that an imperfect and sinful human cannot keep a perfect divine law. Secondly, he wanted them to realize that, as Paul stated, the sacrifices of the Day of Atonement were not able to satisfy God's justice and redeem them from their sinful condition, but their purpose was to illustrate that the shedding of blood was necessary for their salvation (Hebrews 10:1-10). Whose blood? It was the blood of Jesus poured out to satisfy God's justice as a ransom for Adam and his race that will eventually remove the curse and bless both Jews and Gentiles with the opportunity for life again (I Corinthians 15:22). Paul in Galatians 3:28 explained that the Law was a schoolmaster to lead Israel to Christ so that they might be justified to life. And why, then, did Jesus have to be born as a Jew? Paul answers that question for us in Galatians 4:4, 5 saying “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”. In this way Jesus, fulfilling the law perfectly, and laying down His life willingly on the cursed cross, removed the curse of the Law upon His people who were condemned both by it and by Adam's sin.

But wasn't Jesus to become the King of the Jews and eventually all mankind forever and ever? Isaiah 9:6,7, Rev. 11:15

All of the Old Testament prophecies of a coming Saviour also foretold that He would be a King, a Deliverer or Saviour. Jesus did come to Israel as a king. The Wise Men were aware of the Old Testament prophecies and inquired of King Herod where they might find Him who was to be king of the Jews that they might worship Him and bring Him royal gifts (Matthew 2:2). Many in Israel were also familiar with these prophecies and were in expectation of their King at the time that John was baptizing Jews for repentance to renew them to the Law. John later sent messengers to Jesus to inquire if He were the promised one to redeem Israel (Luke 3:15 , Matthew 11:3-5). Fulfilling prophecy, Jesus was acclaimed by the people as a King when He rode into Jerusalem one week before His crucifixion (Zechariah 9:9). His disciples and the apostles, before receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, also had the expectation that he would become King over Israel during His first advent (Luke 24:21, Acts 1:6).

Why didn't this come to pass? While there were many in Israel who followed Jesus and would have acknowledged Him as their King, Israel as a nation under the authority of their chief priests and rulers would not accept Him. Although hating the Roman yoke upon them, they rejected Him and accused Him before Pilate of claiming to be a King. When Pilate took Jesus into his judgement hall and asked Him if He was indeed a king, He acknowledged this truth, answering, “thou sayest” and then went on to explain, “My kingdom is not of this world (this social or political order) if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence” (at this time in God's plan). When Pilate brought Jesus out before the crowd, he declared, “Behold your king! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar'.” (John 19:14,15). As a result, Jesus did not become Israel 's King. In John 1:10-12 we read “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name.”.

This, too, was foreknown of God, for it was necessary for Christ to die for the sins of Israel and the world. Israel lost God's exclusive favour and although He favoured them for three and a half years after Jesus' death by drawing only Jews into the Church of Christ during that period. His call was then also extended to the Gentiles. This call has been going on for almost 2000 years and the Church is nearing completion. When fully gathered, the faithful Church, called to be the Bride of Christ will receive immortality and with her Lord, reign as Kings and Priests (mediators) to restore the earth and bring the blessings of life, health, and happiness to all the resurrected millions of the human family. They will provide a program of instruction and experience that will enable the willing and obedient to make progress to harmony with God. The return of God's favour to Israel and their existence today as a nation among the nations in the land of Israel is one of the greatest prophetic signs of the nearness of the promised kingdom of peace and righteousness (Romans 11: 7-16, 25-36).

When will humanity realize the promise of “Peace and good will toward men” from God.

The word Saviour in the angel's message in Aramaic, the language spoken at that time, means Life-giver. How beautiful is the thought that as death is the wages of sin and the curse upon Adam's race, Jesus, the Messiah, was born to be the One who will rescue the human race from the death sentence by restoring them to life again (Romans 6:23, John 6:51). I n the many prophecies of the Messiah as a King, God appealed to mankind's hopes for a release from sin, suffering, pain, and death by describing the blessings of His future kingdom. Following His baptism at the age of thirty, He began His ministry that illustrated His future work as a reigning King during His thousand-year kingdom (Revelation 21: 1-7). He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, made the lame to walk, and restored hearing and speech to the deaf and the dumb. He even raised the dead. All of these miracles illustrated the great work of resurrection and restitution of all the willing and obedient of mankind to life and health when Jesus as Mediator and King sets up His kingdom and God's will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven (1Corinthians 15:22-28).

It is not surprising that the angels who announced our Lord's birth mentioned only the glories of Jesus Kingdom role and not his sufferings and those of His Bride who would intervene before His kingdom would be established. It is not surprising that the angels did not weep for Him, but looking centuries ahead to the time when Jesus will bring about the full reconciliation between God and man, they joyfully sang, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men;”. The angels saw the blessed culmination of God's plan which had its beginning in the birth of Jesus in a lowly manger in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2, 4). Hallelujah, what a Saviour!

As recorded in John 18:37 when Pilate asked Him, ”Art Thou a King, then?”, Jesus replied, ”Thou sayest that I am a King. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the Truth. Every one that is of the Truth heareth my voice.”. If you are one who has heard the voice of Jesus through His word, and desires to understand the Truth He spoke of, we would be pleased to offer you the following.

And God Cried Booklet

 For more information on this topic:

contact@winnipegbiblestudents.com

If you would like to be on our newsletter emailing list please click here

newsletter@winnipegbiblestudents.com