| The Manner of the FIRST Advent They Knew Him Not Art thou he that should come? Or look we for
another?—Luke 7:20 Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to
Israel?—Acts 1:6 We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed
Israel.—Luke 24:21 Jesus entered this world in a humble manner. Although he descended from the royal line of David, few people were aware of his unique birth. Far from having all the amenities of royalty, his humble surroundings included a stable for animals and a manger for a crib. Neighboring countries were not notified of the event. Rulers within Israel were not excited when the quiet night air was broken with his first cries. Months later when King Herod was told of the royal birth, his reaction was simple: kill him. To make sure there were no mistakes, the added measure of killing all children in the district about his age was included in the plan. This was but the first of a series of attempts to disrupt Jesus’ mission at his first advent. A low-keyed approach for Jesus’ first advent was essential to the success of the Heavenly Father’s plan. In fact, so low-keyed was the manner of our Lord’s first advent, that the effect among his closest friends was an atmosphere of doubt as to whether or not he truly was the promised Messiah. The Scriptures quoted above reflect the sincerity and hopes shared by Jesus’ friends. Some words show a tone of disappointment. Yet the manner of Jesus’ first advent was important. If Jesus became prominent and attracted attention too quickly, it might affect the timing of his mission. Timing is a critical aspect of God’s plan. When embarking upon an important mission under the authority of the Supreme Being of the universe, it is important to stay focused. The object of that mission never must be misplaced no matter what distractions and tugs at the heart the groaning creation may apply. The three keys to understanding and appreciating the first advent of our Lord in the development of the Divine Plan of the Ages are the Manner, the Timing, and the Object. Jesus’ Birth Outside of the Bible there is no written evidence of Jesus’ miraculous birth. Historians of his day were not interested in his life. Years later, when Jesus’ followers became a political concern, attention began to grow. Many looked at Jesus as a religious leader who was martyred. Others saw him as a good man. In defending Jesus some of his followers tried to counter the skeptics’ view that he was "just a man" by saying he was much more than a man—he was a god. Others would embellish this by saying he wasn’t just a "god," he was the "God." After the debates and confrontations there was more confusion and division in Christian society. Born of a virgin? This hardly can be appreciated nor understood by man. Yet the prophet Isaiah says this is to be one of the signs: "The Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son" (Isaiah 7:14). What a confusing sign! A virgin giving birth. How the rabbis and scholars of the Law must have agonized trying to understand this prophecy! How Christian society struggled with this. Critics continue to scoff at the concept of a virgin giving birth to a perfect child begotten by God himself. Many Christians skip this debate entirely. It was hard for Mary and Joseph as well: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). Many assumed that Mary was with child out of wedlock—that she conceived before she and Joseph were married. Had it not been for the angel of the Lord intervening and instructing Joseph about the situation, Joseph would have "put her away privily" (Matthew 1:19). It is to Joseph’s credit that he supported Mary at this time. Imagine the difficulty in explaining the truth to friends and relatives. The Pharisees appeared to endorse this rumor when they sneered at Jesus: "We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God" (John 8:41). It was not just the religious rulers who were critical of Jesus’ birth. Kinsmen did not accept him. They knew Jesus as the young man who probably had worked as a carpenter in their midst for years. They knew that his home city, Nazareth, had never been reputed for its wealth or its learning. Its sons were not the brightest ones of Jewish society. It was difficult for them to realize that this one whom they knew so well could be the great one predicted by Moses and the prophets. "Whence hath this man this wisdom, and his miraculous power?" They also said, "Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother Mary, and do not his brothers James, and Joses, Simon and Judas, and all his sisters, live with us? . . . And they stumbled at him. ... And he did not perform many miracles there because of their unbelief" (Matthew 13:54–58). Of all the ways to bring Jesus on the scene, the way God used certainly seems complicated and difficult. There is the appearance of fornication. The government wanted to kill him as a baby. The religious leaders see Jesus as illegitimate and a blasphemer. Family and friends don’t believe or support him. "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" (John 1:10,11). The Ransom Long before man existed, a plan was devised by which the earth could be inhabited by intelligent beings possessing a free moral right to choose right or wrong. The challenge was to allow experience to train people about the merits or consequences of their actions and still allow an opportunity to benefit from these lessons throughout eternity. By being properly exercised, the motivation to always choose right over wrong would be developed. This experience has been referred to as the "Permission of Evil." Could the process be reversed? Allowing a perfect man to sin was not the problem. Bringing an imperfect race back into harmony with God required a plan—a plan of redemption—a means to redeem the entire human race from the curse of sin and death. This plan depended upon a ransom. The word ransom is found in 1Timothy 2:4–6: "Who will have all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time." From these words of the apostle Paul, we learn that: 1) God wants to save the whole human race; 2) Jesus was the way to do that [a ransom]; and 3) it will be testified in due time. The word ransom comes from the Greek word anti-lutron and means "a corresponding price" (Young’s Concordance). It is not enough for God to wipe away sin and it’s effects on mankind. It must be done in harmony with God’s attribute of Justice. A perfect man Adam sinned. As a result all of his children were born in sin and condemned to death like father Adam. To remove this penalty required just one man—a perfect man—willing to give his human life for Adam. By so doing, Adam and all of his children would be freed from the death sentence. Paul tells us that Jesus was that ransom, a corresponding price. "For since by man [Adam] came death, by man [Jesus] came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1Corinthians 15:21,22). This is why Jesus had to be a perfect man. He could not have had an imperfect father, Joseph, or he would have been imperfect. An imperfect man could not redeem Adam. But how do you create a perfect man using an imperfect race? The Heavenly Father chose to have a miraculous birth. The Scriptures tell us the Holy Spirit brought about conception in Mary. (Matthew 1:18) Does it really matter whether we understand the technical aspects? The fact that Mary was imperfect did not affect the power the Holy Spirit had in the conception process. The result was the perfect man Jesus. He could not be more than a perfect man either—an angel or God or some hybrid of nature. Otherwise the scales of Justice would be out of balance. This principle of God’s Justice is exemplified in Exodus 21:23, 24, "Thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." A perfect human life must be what is given for a perfect human life. The Lamb of God "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the World."—John 1:29 Jesus did not come as a mighty warrior with a conquering army. He did not secretly make plans for the overthrow of the Roman Empire or even the Roman garrison stationed in Jerusalem. When surrounded by crowds, he would slip away. On the night of his arrest in Gethsemane he made sure his followers had a few weapons, but when it came time to use them, he made a point that they not use their swords. "Put up thy sword into the sheath; the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11). Matthew adds the thought: "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" (Matthew 26:53,54). The manner of our Lord’s first advent was deeply entwined with the Scriptural accounts given by the prophets of old. He would not resist. He would not fight back. He allowed himself to be sacrificed—a lamb to the slaughter. "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken" (Isaiah 53:7,8). It took discipline to accept suffering without fighting back. Jesus could have easily used words to shame his accusers. He had overpowered them in the past with ease. Yet now he said nothing. "Never man spake like this man" (John 7:46). What would it take to make Jesus confront the rulers of his day? Some have suggested that Judas betrayed Jesus hoping to force this showdown and get change started. But as Judas was to learn—and the other 11 were to witness—Jesus willingly laid down his life without saying a word, that the Scripture might be fulfilled: "As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." Opening Their Eyes The friends of Jesus were mystified by the manner in which their leader had come into their lives. It was equally hard to understand why he taught the people in parables. When he faced death without so much as uttering a word in his own defense, they were confused. In the words of the two on the way to Emmaus, "We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel." The sadness in those words was soon to change as Jesus began to explain from the Scriptures the things concerning himself. There was so much for them to learn. There was so much they had to share and tell others regarding the manner and events which had transpired. Far from being a time of sadness and discouragement, it was a time for rejoicing to see the Scriptures fulfilled before their eyes. What prophets had foretold centuries before was beginning to make sense. "And they said one to another, did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:32). They rose up that same hour to return and tell the others. Their eyes were opened to the manner of his [first] advent. |