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WE Have Been Here Before – the Son of Man in a Manger
Born the Son of Man

Oh, the humility and love of GOD to be born as a Son of Man!
Roger Harned – on the birth of the Messiah Jesus

Think of it – consider the concept of The Almighty LORD God, born as a human being through a woman. In this sense Jesus, the Christ, comes to man through a woman as a son of man born of mankind.

Christmas – Celebration of the ‘Mass of Christ’

Shouldn’t we see Christmas not so much as the all-too-familiar scene of ‘a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger,’ but rather a sign of God’s tender mercy for mankind?

Our common view of the Christ child is both incomplete and a mere introduction to God at best.

Therefore the humbleness of the Christ child, who was and is and will be the Lord God Almighty, Creator of the heavens and earth should bring us to our knees. Picture the LORD GOD more fully in the Person of Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit!

We speak of the Messiah Jesus, Son of Man and Son of God. He was born by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary, betrothed of Joseph of Nazareth, a son of David.

And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Matthew 1:16 KJV

This seventeen verse genealogy from the Gospel of Matthew introduces a touching story of a child for children of God. Yet it is not the picture I ask you to see today.

Son of Man

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

What’s the point of this extensive genealogy from Abraham? The list through David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeconiah and through Jacob the father of Joseph (who was only engaged to Mary)? Of course we know few of these men and women (like Rahab & Tamar or Jeconiah).

Clearly Jesus is the son of Mary, a woman with child sometimes accused of being with another man. To call Jesus a son of man, that is, adam, refers only to Mary!

The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel of Matthew 1:18

God as Father

Jesus’ self-designated title, Son of Man, is at issue here. Who is the father of this Messiah of Israel? (And what role do Joseph and Mary play in God’s mysterious plan of redemption for mankind?)

If Joseph is not the father why follow his bloodline or ancestry at all?

(… for she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit}

Mary, a virgin, is not some young girl who pridefully claims a status as ‘single mom’ as some today will. She does not speak of an indiscretion with a young man other than Joseph who she will not name.

This is a truly unique instance of Divinity interacting with creation. God becomes the Father of Jesus, yet not a husband to Mary.

Matthew 1:19

So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.

The LORD God is Father to Jesus, Son, a man (child) born to ‘man‘ (adam) in the person of Mary.

He IS the Very Image of the invisible Father (LORD & Creator of the first Adam and the first woman created). The Son of Man IS fully the Father and yet the seed of adam through Mary.

God – the Holy Spirit

Mat 1:20 –

But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,

“Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

So scripture records clearly that Mary is the single mom of Jesus. Yet the overshadowing cloud of Life in the Holy Spirit is the Father of this Christ child.

Jesus the Christ IS the Son of God incarnate (in the flesh).

Mat 1:21

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Joseph, Step-father of God

Mat 1:24-25 – When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.

Here also Joseph demonstrates humility and righteousness as did Mary. He too obeys the angel of the Lord God; for this Son of David must lead a young Jesus to grow in wisdom and grace.

Son of Man – a babe in a manger

Joseph flees Bethlehem, near Jerusalem in Judea, over 300 miles to Egypt, later returning to Nazareth in Galilee several more miles to the north.

Matthew 2:

…an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying,

“Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.”

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled:

Out of Egypt I called my Son.

An angel of the Lord warns Joseph to flee to Egypt.

Also angels had appeared in person to shepherds in the hills where David had watched over flocks. Then later after Herod’s death [~4BC] an angel tells Joseph to return.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.

And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23 Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth

.. to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Follow the Lord Incarnate

As any wise men or women might observe, God did not come into this world to condemn the world. Christmas gifts represented by the wise men attract our focus, but should never substitute for our worship of the Lord. Jesus IS the Christ of Christmas.

We overlook an obedient step-father who saves them all from Herod the Great, murderer of the innocents of Bethlehem. Let’s not hold too high a chosen mother in this iconic manger scene. The Lord God our Father sent Salvation to mankind as a baby born for a Cross.

Follow the Son of Man

Later Matthew reveals to us the cost to the Father of the manger, which is the Cross of Christ. The Apostle also reveals the Gospel Good News.

Matthew later describes a scene where the Apostle Simon Peter asks the Lord the cost of discipleship. Jesus has just told them of the difficulty for men, even faithful men and women, to enter heaven. Peter wants to know our reward.

“Then who can be saved,” they ask?

The Lord then states:

“With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26b

The followers of the Son of Man were not certain if they could be saved.

Some remain uncertain how God could be born to a virgin or die on a Cross for our sin. You may wonder how Jesus rose from the grave.

How did the Lord raise Lazarus or how He will reward you at the end of it all?

Matthew 19:

27 Then Peter responded to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you. So what will there be for us?”

So Peter asks for all of us: doubters with limited faith.

²⁸Jesus said to them,

“Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Good for the Twelve, you think. What about us?

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or motheror children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Following Christ from the Manger

Have you long ago left your gift at the manger or even forgotten Christ’s difficult journey?

The Son of Man came down to Creation humbly and lived a difficult life in the flesh for us. He lived it without sin so that He could bear ours.

From Bethlehem to Egypt to Nazareth to Capernaum to Jerusalem to Golgotha…

to Hell and back from the empty tomb, to the road to Emmaus…

to rising into the clouds at Pentecost, to appearance to Saul near Damascus, to Revelation to John on Patmos:

The Lord came to the Created – to you and to me, Jesus lived, died and rose that we might follow Him further than as a Babe in a manger in Bethlehem.

He has been here before. The Son of Man who was journeys from before Eden until beyond now.

Next we will explore some of the Lord’s previous appearances to mankind, God-willing.
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To Be Continued...
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December 1, 2019
Because the days are evil – 3 -satan.שָׂטָן
Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
Psalm 109:6 KJV

Previously we observed the existence of Satan in the Supernatural Before Adam as a serpent tempting man to question God.

If you acknowledge the Almighty Creator of all things and all men, yet recognize that evil pervades creation and the hearts of mankind, then you must ask about this power who deceives the minds of men.

Who (or what) is Satan?

You may have read scripture seeing little reference to Satan, but a deeper understanding of our English translations will reveal a willing and powerful opponent of the Lord God in places beyond the garden and circumstances considerably beyond original sin.

Psalm 109

Several translations of this same verse in Psalm 109 suggest, “Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser bring him to trial.” RSV

The man after God’s own heart pleads:

O God of my praise,
Do not be silent!
Psalm 109:1

He prays to the living God – ruler above the angels, spirits who serve and the fallen. The Lord rules over creation whether spirit or wicked man.

5 Thus they have repaid me evil for good
And hatred for my love.

6 Appoint a wicked man over him,
And let an accuser stand at his right hand.

The Hebrew word for accuser here is satan – שָׂטָן

The heading of Psalm 109 in the NASB reads: Vengeance Invoked upon Adversaries. Our best understanding of Satan is that this fallen angel of darkness is accuser of the faithful and adversary of Christ.

Job

A description of Satan in the Hebrew book of Job occurs in a setting of heaven unseen to mankind.

The NLT reads: “One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them.” – Job 1:6

The King James describes them as the “sons of God [‘elohiym] and the NIV describes them as “angels.” Satan is one of these supernatural beings unseen by Job (and mankind).

The LORD [Yĕhovah] said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”
Job 2:2 NASB

Consider it: Satan, an unseen angel opposed to God, walking about among men inciting us (with the Lord’s consent) toward evil.

διάβολος – diabolos

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil… And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God…
Matthew 4:1,3a

Of course Satan knew the incarnate Son of God, led by the Holy Spirit of the Lord God! Yet the devil, the accuser of man, tempted Jesus just like he did deceive man in the beginning of creation.

the Dragon and Serpent

Fearful images: mythical? Perhaps. The great deceiver would have you believe that. But possibly these serpents command such unimaginable evil that man dare not give these any hint of existence.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John uncovers a fearful glimpse into the end which includes these representations of evil power.

drakōn – It is the same beast of eden from the Hebrew of Genesis 3:

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.

In another unseen future apocalypse in heaven John reveals:

And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war… – Revelation 12:7 NASB

War — between the unseen forces of good and evil. Can you imagine that? Could a decisive defeat of these devils and Satan soon inaugurate a new heavens and a new earth without evil?

Surely men of dust decaying with each mortal day will become caught in the middle of this battle between good and evil.

Where do you stand? Who is your champion in this life — and the next?

Who will stand beside your soul at the Judgment when the Accuser recounts all of your sins before the Judge Who IS?
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This October series, Because the Days are Evil,
To be continued, God-willing...
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October 9, 2019
Supernatural Before Adam – Because the days are evil – 2
Demons, evils spirits and of course Satan are all part of the unseen supernatural. They oppose the Lord and deceive many, but Jesus knew them all and exercised power over their evil.

We introduced this series, Because the Days are Evil, with a quote from a letter written to the first century church at Ephesus. Now we’ll take a brief look at the relationship between Jesus and the spirit world and the seen and unseen we question in this day.

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Luke 10:17-18 ESV

Before Adam

Genesis answers some of our questions about the supernatural and creation of the physical universe, yet seems to lack an explanation of the origin of spirits, angels, Satan and the supernatural.

Consider an explanation of creation from Genesis 1 and Adam, Eve, original sin and the serpent all come to mind. But follow this timeline from Genesis and you may wonder about the creation of the serpent in the garden.

Moses relates God’s covenant with the forefathers of the Hebrews and includes some explanation of the beginnings of things. We clearly see supernatural occurrences orchestrated by the Lord.

In the garden, a perfect setting God created for man, we observe supernatural events and a supernatural explanation of the influence of evil by Satan, a talking serpent, a snake with poisonous words against God tempting man (adam) to death.

Jesus claims the supernatural more than once, offering insight into the eternal not understood in the chronology of mankind. He says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

Have you ever wondered where that fit into the timeline of creation?

Natural vs Supernatural time

How do the created measure time of the Creator?

The supernatural is sometimes observable, but not naturally measurable.

Science provides reliable natural explanations of the observable, but fails in unproven theories of the supernatural. We just don’t get it – we want to understand everything as if we are above a creation not of our making.

We want to be gods of the unseen and the immeasurable. Yet we cannot be and should not try to be God!

Therefore a human measure of the infinite with billions and billions of stars and trillions and trillions of atoms in this visible place is just as unfathomable as time and its supernatural beginning.

A world introduced to the risen Christ Jesus once measured time in terms of the Son of Man, King above all kings who proved, “I and the Father are One.”

This year is A.D. 2019, that is, anno Domini (from the Julian calendar) or ‘in the year of our Lord‘ twenty-nineteen.

Theories of time immemorial and explanations of the unobservable supernatural have come and gone. Even faithful men of God and followers of Christ have come up short in our proofs of the unprovable.

Yet by faith all men must start with faith that One exists in the unseen realm of the supernatural who was and is and will always be – One who reigns over a vast and glorious creation.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky displays what his hands have made.

One day tells a story to the next.
One night shares knowledge with the next
without talking,
without words,
without their voices being heard.
Yet, their sound has gone out into the entire world,
their message to the ends of the earth.
Psalm 19: 1-4 GW

Christ, Lord over the supernatural

Luke 10: excerpt

After this, the Lord appointed 70 other disciples to go ahead of him to every city and place that he intended to go. They were to travel in pairs.

He told them, “The harvest is large, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord who gives this harvest to send workers to harvest his crops. Go! I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves…

Jesus, Son of Man, sends followers to proclaim the Gospel to an unbelieving world.

“But whenever you go into a city and people don’t welcome you, leave… If the miracles worked in your cities had been worked in Tyre and Sidon, they would have changed the way they thought and acted… Judgment day will be better for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to heaven? No, you will go to hell!

So Jesus warns of hell and speaks of judgment day. Many refuse to believe it because they can’t quantify it.

Woe to those deceived by the great deceiver Satan, the serpent of sin who enters the natural creation with slithering supernatural power over those who turn against God!

Do you believe only your eyes?

Jesus continues instruction to faithful followers:

16 “The person who hears you hears me, and the person who rejects you rejects me. The person who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

He had commissioned the eleven Disciples again after after He rose from the grave:

“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
Mark 16L15b

Some men and women will not believe you, He previously had told seventy-two disciples. Yet, ‘Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves, Jesus had commissioned them. [Luke 10:3]

17 The 70 disciples came back very happy. They said, “Lord, even demons obey us when we use the power and authority of your name!”

Jesus has power over demons you also do not believe exist — if you are deceived.

18 Jesus said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning.

Jesus told an unbelieving religious establishment, “Before Abraham was, I am!” Here the Lord witnesses to disciples, “I watched Satan fall from heaven…” Yet unless some see Satan or demons or unseen supernatural powers they will dismiss all as myth.

Seventy men came back to Jesus, the Gospel records, and witnessed:

“Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.” [KJV]

Yet many do not believe because they cannot see these supernatural beings of spirit.

a Supernatural Serpent

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, —
Genesis 3:1a KJV

STOP! Two things here in Moses’ narrative of creation.
1. A serpent (who we later learn is Satan) is talking. Not only is that crafty, but seems to an unbelieving world an impossibility.
2. The supernatural serpent asks an evil question of the woman, “Did God actually say … (you know the questions object about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). Satan is asking Eve to question the word of God!
Then the serpent tells the woman a lie.

3:4 וַיֹּאמֶר הַנָּחָשׁ אֶל־הָֽאִשָּׁה לֹֽא־מֹות תְּמֻתֽוּן׃
The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
Genesis 3:4 Hebrew & NASB

Go ask her then, “Eve, do you believe the evil one who told you, ‘You will not die?”

Of course not even followers of Moses could do that, because Moses also records that both Adam and Eve died. After their original sin of disobeying the Lord God, their flesh and bones returned to the dust.

Therefore, consider the supernatural influence of spirits, demons, fallen angels, men possessed by evil and especially Satan could have on your life and death, your merciless judgment or eternal life by grace.

Jesus IS the Lord, One with God the Father of all creation and the Holy Spirit. God loves you and asks for your eternal love of good.

Yet Satan would sway the uncertain toward the gravity of Hell and battle of evil against good.

Choose this day who you will follow. Christ Jesus our loving Savior? Or Satan the angel of darkness asking you to prove, “Did God really say…?”
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To be continued...
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October 5, 2019