The first four books of the New Testament are a recording of Jesus’ life. Gospel, Good News, Emmanuel come.
Jesus is the physical incarnation of God on earth. Offer referred to as the Son, He is God’s Advocate on the Earth. Jesus’ life started from an Angel coming to His mother with a warning she would be pregnant. Not by physical means but through conception of the Holy Spirit. Some people really struggle with this idea, but if our God can raise the dead to life, make this entire world, I really doubt there is much struggle for him to conceive from ‘nothing’. He created people from dust… baby is not anything different.
So Jesus comes in the form of a baby. He is born in a stable because there was no room in the inn, just as prophesied in earlier books. Wise men came to visit and shepherds. These are the earliest accounts of Jesus’ existence on earth. The next time we see Him in the Bible, He is 12 years old. His parents, the earthly ones, left him in Jerusalem accidentally.
When they find Him, He is on the steps of the Tabernacle and basically goes ‘duh Mom and Dad this is where I would be’. Basically. Obviously Jesus didn’t actually say that because he’s a little more respectful than me. Just a little.
Next the Bible records him is when he is 32-33. Based on cultural norms, historical records, societal expectations, Jesus took over His earthly Father’s work as a carpenter. It is likely he became the ‘man’ of his house. Made the money to support his Mother Mary, his siblings, probably lived there. We can assume from death records and the lack of mention of His Father later in the books that Joseph died somewhere between 12 and 32.
Some people wonder whether Jesus had a girlfriend at some point or a wife. There is no Biblical record of it, and while people can say it only seems ‘normal’ let’s take a sec and really think about that. Jesus called people His children. He referred to people as daughter or son… are we seeing the issue with the concept of Him dating anyone? I should certainly hope so. A) He’s God and all people are His children. B) He knew He was destined to die so what would be the point of him dating? Let’s just go with a no it’s not a thing.
Jesus is perfect and sinless. Not to say He never got angry, considering He smashed a market to pieces because they set up in the temple. Jesus is human. He cried when His friend died. Emotions came and went. He felt pain.
Jesus died in a way so impossibly painful which you can read or reference back to on my blog, just look at Easter. He raised from the dead, and ascended to Heaven. One day He will return to Earth. While on Earth He said He would send a Helper, and told His disciples to wait for it to come. This Helper being the Holy Spirit.
I am trying to see if there is anything about Jesus I would want to know if I did not know Him… nothing comes to mind immediately. Jesus is probably the easiest part of the Trinity, because He is human.
Honestly, according to Lee Strobel and people like J. Warner Wallace, if you went into an academic debate and said Jesus did not exist and did not die, you would be laughed right out of the room. There are records (Jesus was born during a census) of both his life and death. Historians outside of the Bible talk about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. A dozen non-Biblical sources confirm the personhood of Jesus.
Now some propose He is just a prophet. Just another person who died in the name of a cause. However, he is more than just a prophet with the greatest following in the world. Not to mention a character in a book as old as time with more copies than any other book.
In my experience, most people will not die for the truth, let alone a lie. Why would Jesus endure arguably one of the worst deaths known to mankind? Go through torture? Cult leaders rarely let themselves go down with the group. They prefer to let their followers die for them and live. Whether in prison or on a mansion built on the corpses of the people who devoted themselves.
Jesus died. Before any of His followers went through persecution physically. He went through the torture. Jesus does not ask His followers to do anything He is not willing to do, has not already done. He is flesh and blood. Emphasis on blood. He died. He’s alive. Jesus may be 100% God but He is also 100% man. He has emotions and feelings and still in the pressure of having to die, He chose to love us and fight for us.
One day I get to hug him and I could not be more excited.
Jesus thank you for dying for me. Thank you for being willing to go through the pain, despite how often I mess up and forget to be fully grateful for you. I pray Lord you would open the eyes of your people to see you. Help them to seek Truth. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Lead us toward you.
In Your wonderful name,
Amen.
God bless! I hope you guys have a terrific week and that you see God move in your lives.
~ Ashley
P.S. I wonder why it has been so difficult for me to write these. It’s not as if I do not have the information on call, yet I feel like God, Jesus, the Trinity, everything is just too great for words. Like the fact that the God who created this universe manifested Himself into a human body so He could be tortured, tried, spat on, and killed for me is so incredible. I guess trying to come from the technical sides of who he is for the purpose of education is difficult because I’ve experienced Christ in person and I cannot imagine ever thinking about him ‘academically’ because He is my best friend.
P.S.S. Y’all THIS POST WAS A TRIP. So I wrote this entire thing, saved it, set it to publish and then SOMEHOW I deleted the entire thing and wrote the Holy Spirit post over it and then I was looking for it and I COULDN’T FIND IT ANYWHERE. I noticed the Holy Spirit post was scheduled and already had its categories picked and its tags and I was like ???? I don’t do that until the end. ONLY TO GO INTO THE VERSION HISTORY AND FIND ALL OF THIS. Thank the Lord. I blame the universe IE the principalities and devil working against me. Mostly joking btw. Just glad I didn’t have to rewrite it.
A Light in The Darkness 