Christmas Character Study: Baby Jesus
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One of my favorite things is to ask my two-year-old son who Christmas is about. He responds in his sweet little voice, “Baby Jesus.” It melts my heart that he is learning such a significant truth at a young age. The most important information he can be given is the gospel, and this begins with the fact that God came to us as a baby to live the perfect life and one day die for our sins and rise again.
Who is this baby Jesus? He is the main person in the account. He is the Savior of the world. Today, we will study how truly amazing Jesus is, was, and always will be in our character study on of the birth of Jesus.
“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger’” (Luke 2:10-12).
What Does Scripture Say about Baby Jesus?
Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus Film shares 55 specific prophecies fulfilled in Jesus. The first eight surround His lineage and His birth.
- Blessing to the nations through Abraham’s family line (Genesis 12:3, fulfilled in Acts 3:25-26
- The Covenant with Isaac (Genesis 17:19, fulfilled in Romans 9:7)
- The Covenant between Jacob and God (Genesis 28:14, fulfilled in Luke 3:34)
- Rule in the line of Judah (Genesis 49:10, fulfilled in Luke 3:33)
- David’s line to have an eternal throne (2 Samuel 7:12-13, fulfilled in Matthew 1:1)
- The virgin birth of Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14, fulfilled in Luke 1:35)
- The Messiah will go to Egypt (Hosea 11:1, fulfilled in Matthew 2:14-15)
- Savior will be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2, fulfilled in Matthew 2:4-6)
The people of God waited many years for the promised one. As we look at the prophetic messages in the Old Testament that were fulfilled in Jesus, we are reminded that Jesus was found in an unexpected way. After the great rule of King David, much of Israel was looking for an earthly king who would conquer their personal enemy at the time, Rome. However, Jesus had a greater mission than their finite minds or ideals about Him. He wasn’t there to conquer Rome; He was there to conquer sin and the devil. His enemy was our enemy: death. He became sin for us, and began His mission with an entrance that was much less grand than His people expected.
Jesus said it clearly in Matthew 20:26-28, “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus was born to a poor couple who would not be remembered today, except for the fact that Jesus was their son. His dad was a carpenter. He was born in a small town in a place where animals resided. He was laid in a manger. The greatest gift to humanity was in the most undervalued of places. The first to know of His miraculous birth in Bethlehem were shepherds on night duty. He was not born in a palace with nobles and royalty celebrating his birth. He was not dedicated with a grand parade in his honor. He was a small-town boy, raised by two righteous parents who loved God and served Him with their lives. Jesus reminds us that what God values is opposite of the world.
He teaches us in Mathew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus, the treasure of the world, was born with the animals. Upon His arrival, He was already teaching us that His ways were not our own and His thoughts were not our thoughts. Yet, the angels shared that baby Jesus’ birth was good news. It would cause great joy because the Messiah had come. The sign to the shepherds would be that Jesus was wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger. The simplest and most precious moment was the most glorious moment on earth yet to happen. The Messiah, Jesus, had come. The waiting was over. Glory to God.
4 Things to Know about Baby Jesus
1. Jesus’ Actual Birthday Was Probably in September
Although we celebrate Jesus’ birthday on December 25th, his actual birthday was likely in September. Candice Lucey from Christianity shares that, according to Scripture, John the Baptist’s conception was six months before Gabriel’s announcement to Mary. This would be Kislev (December), so “Jesus was born around the time of Tishri, which falls in mid to late September.”
2. Jesus Was a Common Name in His Culture
Jesus was actually a common name in this time. According to Christianity, “It was just an ordinary Jewish name, about as common in Judea as John is common to us… But here, as everywhere in the great spiritual movement, God took hold of the commonplace to show that there was something infinitely more than the common. Jesus is a Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, meaning Savior… Many a mother called her boy Joshua in the hope that he would be a savior… Now the angel said: Give that name to this Boy; "It is He that shall save His people from their sins."
Wow. A seemingly common baby boy in a common town with a common name was anything but. He was the Messiah, the Way, the Light of the world, and the flawless Lamb.
3. Baby Jesus’s Parents Followed the Law and Honored God
We read about Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to be circumcised at eight days, and to dedicate Him at the temple. They fulfilled the purification requirements for Mary (Luke 2:22-24). What is moving is when you read Leviticus 12:8, you realize that the actual sacrifice was supposed to be a lamb, but if a family could not afford the lamb, they were to sacrifice two doves or pigeons for the mother.
Joseph and Mary were poor, and she had just given birth to the Savior but could not even cover her own purification with the typical lamb. She had to do the second option. However, it is amazing to ponder that she was covering her purification with what little they had, as she also provided the final and Perfect Sacrifice, the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. I laugh thinking that Mary didn’t need the lamb, she just birthed Him. Mary gave what she could, but it reminds us that all we have to offer are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). We all need Jesus.
4. Baby Jesus Was Confirmed as the Messiah by a Temple Priest and a Faithful Widow
Again, we see two very different people who prophesy and declare that baby Jesus is the Savior of the world (Luke 2:25-40). One is Simeon the Priest, who says that his eyes have seen His salvation. The other is Anna, the prayerful widow, who gives thanks to God and tells others about baby Jesus.
Lessons We Can Learn from Baby Jesus
We see in this story that God values what the world does not. His entry was humble when He could have had the grandest of entries. Jesus came to serve, not to be served.
Baby Jesus drew the poorest of shepherds and the wealthiest of wise men. All have sinned and come to Jesus on level ground at the cross.
Jesus fulfilled all prophecies and His work was complete on earth. He is the Perfect Lamb who came as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all those who believe.
More from this series
Mary
Joseph
The Inn Keeper
The Animals
The Angels
The Shepherds
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/jchizhe
