God came down…
We continue to learn more about Jesus through what Paul taught the Colossians – “And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Col. 1: 17) Writing about Jesus, Paul taught that before the universe existed; Jesus existed. He is eternal. The Old Testament prophet Micah prophesied between 735 and 710 B.C.. Micah wrote of a ‘ruler’ who would come from Bethlehem – “’But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from everlasting, from the ancient of days.’” (Micah 5: 2) David and Jesus were both born in Bethlehem.
We learn from the following exchange which the apostle John recorded in his gospel that Jesus claimed to be God – “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s seed and have never yet been enslaved to anyone. How is it that You say, ‘You will become free’? Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s seed; yet you are seeking to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.’ They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you are Abraham’s children, you would do the deeds of Abraham. But now you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. This Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father.’ They said to Him, ‘We were not born of sexual immorality; we have one Father: God.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come of Myself, but He sent Me.”
Jesus was slowly revealing to the Jews who He was. The Jews believed that because they had been born from Abraham’s lineage, that they were children of God.
Jesus’ conversation with the unbelieving Jews continued – “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.’
Jesus boldly told them that they were not children of God, but children of the devil and could not ‘hear’ His words.
He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.’
The Jews then told them who they thought He was – “The Jews answered and said to Him, ‘Do we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon, but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death – ever.’
The Jews said to Him, ‘Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death – ever.’ Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham who died? The prophets died too; whom do you make Yourself out to be?’
Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; and you have not known Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’
So the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’” (John 8: 31-58) When Jesus said this, He declared Himself to be Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. He declared Himself to be the ‘eternally preexistent God who revealed Himself in the Old Testament to the Jews’ (MacArthur 1395)
The unbelieving Jews responded to Jesus’ words – “Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.” (John 8: 59)
The apostle John knew that Jesus was God in flesh. John wrote this about Jesus in his epistle – “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have beheld and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life – and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us.” (1 John 1: 1-2)
In the gospel message from the apostle Matthew we learn about Jesus’ birth – “Now the birth of Jesus was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the One who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this took place in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would 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.’” (Matthew 1: 18-23)
Consider today that God came down to save us! He paid the price for our sins so we could live with Him for eternity! We must recognize we are sinners, repent and trust what He has done for us. To partake of salvation is to know Jesus. He brings us into an eternal relationship with Him through our spiritual new birth which He brings about within us. At the point we surrender our lives to Him and recognize who He is, He begins His work of sanctification within us. From that point on, we are never alone because He said He would never leave or forsake us!
RESOURCES:
The McArthur Study Bible, 2nd Edition. 2020. Thomas Nelson.
