What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?

If Jesus Had Never Been Born

A straightforward method of spreading the Christmas message.Overview of the Single-Session Bible Study Do you want a straightforward method of spreading the Christmas message?Then download this beautifully created PDF, which was adapted from a sermon by Jim Henry, and use it to create your Christmas cards.Alternatively, you may give them to your neighbors.Alternatively, you may make them available to your congregation.

Spread the good news of Jesus Christ to those you care about.Content What if the Moors had won the war in Spain?This and other fascinating ideas were raised in a book called If, or History Rewritten, which was published some years ago.What if Louis XVI had been a strong, solid monarch instead of a weak one?What if Lee had been victorious at Gettysburg?What if Booth had lost the opportunity to speak with Lincoln?

A more pressing concern, though, is what would have happened if Jesus had never been born.We would have no way of knowing what God is like.The need to know who God is has been from the beginning of human history, and God revealed what he is like by sending his Son into the world.That is why the prophet Isaiah declared that God had become ″Immanuel, God with us.″ Otherwise, God would have no face, no ears, and no heart that humans could perceive, since, as Jesus stated, ″Anyone who has seen me has also seen the Father″ (John 14:9); and ″I and the Father are one″ (John 10:30); and ″I and the Father are one″ (John 10:30).

(John 10:30).
If Jesus had not arrived on Christmas, we would have had no way of knowing what God was really like.
We would be perplexed as to how he could identify with us and how we could connect with him.

We Wouldn’t Have a Single Individual Victory Perhaps the shepherds near Bethlehem (mentioned in Luke 2) were keeping an eye on sheep that were about to be transported to Jerusalem and given as sacrifices to God.In other words, while the Lamb of God was being born in a manger, lambs were being slaughtered in order to be offered as atonement for the sins of the people of Israel.There would have been no redemption from sin if Jesus hadn’t come to earth.

John 3:8 states that the Son of God was sent to demolish the work of Satan.The word ″devil″ comes from the Greek word diabolos, which literally translates as ″one who slanders.″ Jesus came into the world to destroy the one who slanders.He came to free you from that shackle and to provide you victory over the sins that had enslaved you.

Because of Jesus’ arrival, ″death has been swallowed up in victory″ (1 Cor.15:54).We Would Not Have Achieved a Universal Victory.As we look around, we witness despots, tyrants, and military regimes in many forms.We observe injustice and poverty and are filled with awe.Is it ever going to be made properly?

According to Isaiah 9:6–7, ″A son has been given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders since we have a kid born to us.And he will be referred to as ″Wonderful Counselor,″ ″Mighty God,″ ″Everlasting Father,″ and ″Peacemaker.″ There will be no end to the magnificence of his government and the tranquility that it brings.During his reign on David’s throne and as ruler of his country, he would establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that point on and forevermore.

This shall be accomplished by the passion of the Almighty.″ It hasn’t occurred yet, but it will happen eventually.
The total number of pages is one.

Not a Wonderful Life: What if Jesus Had Never Been Born?

Philip Van Doren Stern authored a short tale titled ″The Greatest Gift″ in 1943, which was published in The New Yorker.He attempted to have it published, but was unsuccessful.As a result, he printed 200 copies of the book personally and handed them to friends and family members over the holidays.One of the pamphlets found its way to Hollywood, where it ultimately came into the hands of the proper people and was turned into a script.The project’s name has been altered to ″It’s a Wonderful Life,″ in honor of the film.

The picture, which premiered in 1946 and has become a Christmas classic, was released in 1946.Stern’s short tale had actually been published a year earlier, although it had not been released as a book at the time.With the title ″The Man Who Was Never Born,″ it was published as an article in Good Housekeeping magazine.The narrative is a well-known one, and it revolves on a troubled man named George who is saved by an angel named Clarence, who happens to be theologically incorrect.Clarence demonstrates to George how bad things would be in Bedford Falls if he had never been born as part of his endeavor to earn his angel wings.When applied to the true meaning of Christmas, the title of Stern’s novella begs an even more fundamental question.

What would have happened if the Lord Jesus had never been born?You would not think of Hebrews 2 as a Christmas reading, but it happens to be one of my favorite passages of Scripture.Throughout this chapter, we are given a thorough understanding of the theology of the incarnation of Jesus.″What if Jesus had never been born?″ we are asked in verses 9–18.

In these lines, we discover three possible replies.

If Jesus had never been born, there would be no salvation from sin

In the absence of Christ’s arrival, His substitutionary atonement on the cross would never have occurred, and there would be no forgiveness, no redemption, no justification, and no salvation.In verse 9, the author of Hebrews draws a connection between the reality of Christ’s incarnation and the act of redemption that He accomplished on the cross.But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, who was crowned with glory and honor as a result of his death, allowing Him to taste death on behalf of all people by the mercy of God.- The book of Hebrews 2:9 This chapter indicates that the statement ″Jesus was born in order that He may die″ is not a tired cliche.The grandeur of Christmas is brought to a close by the anguish of Good Friday and the triumph of Easter weekend.

Jesus came to die on the cross.Because He arrived, He was able to offer life to everyone who believes in Him as a result of His death.As the author of Hebrews begins to expound on the advantages of Christ’s substitutionary death, we find ourselves at verse 10.For it was suitable for Him, for whom all things are and through whom all things are, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation by afflictions, as He is the source of all things.- The book of Hebrews 2:10 The one and only Son of God descended from heaven to earth in order for the countless sons and daughters of Adam to be adopted as God’s children via Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.The word ″perfect″ (in v.

10) can refer to the act of perfecting or of completing something.Of course, Jesus was already perfect at the time of his death.When it came to His humanity, His total perfection was demonstrated by His perfect submission to the will of His Father, even during His sufferings and death (cf.Heb.

4:15).
By dying on the cross, Christ brought God’s redemptive purposes to a close, and as a result, He is the only High Priest who is capable of expelling the sins of His people by the offering of His own blood.
This idea is carried on in verses 11–13.

Due to the fact that He who sanctifies and those who have been sanctified are both descended from one Father, He is not ashamed to address them as brethren in the words ″I will declare Your name to My brethren, and in the midst of the congregation, I will sing Your praise.″ I’ll say it again: ″I’ll put my faith in Him.″ ″Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me,″ he says again and again.- Hebrews 2:11–13 (New International Version) It’s important to note the familial language in those texts, which refers to our adoption into God’s family.Christ is the Son of God by divine right, as a result of who He is and what He has done.

On virtue of what Christ has done on our behalf, believers are considered to be children adopted by God.The truths of verses 10-13 are a reminder that our justification, adoption, sanctification, and eventual glorification are all reliant on the truth of verse 9—that ″for a brief moment, He was made lower than the angels″ (He was made lower than the angels).We would have played no role in those life-saving realities if Christmas had not occurred.

If Jesus had never been born, there would be no victory over death

When you contemplate the average number of individuals who die every day—more than 150,000 people—it is a little disturbing to think about it.Every five seconds, nine souls pass through the gates of eternity.If the Lord continues to delay, death will become a reality for everyone of us at some point.Death is a source of anxiety in our society.Those who live apart from Jesus Christ are entitled to fear it on account of the judgment that follows (Heb 9:27).

(Heb 9:27).We should not be afraid of death, though, for, as the Apostle Paul proclaims, ″Death is swallowed up in victory.″ (1 Corinthians 15:54).To live is Christ, and to die is gain, as the apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:21.The next passages in Hebrews 2 reaffirm the same level of assurance.We have no need to be afraid of death since Jesus has overcome death for anyone who put their confidence in Him.In order to render helpless him who wielded the power of death, i.e.

the devil, and to release people who had been subject to servitude throughout their lives because of their fear of death, He Himself partakes of flesh and blood in the same way that the children do.- Hebrews 2:14-15 (New International Version) The focus in verse 14 is once again on Christ’s incarnation, with the passage stating that He took on flesh and blood in order to rescue fallen human people.He who was blameless became a man in order that those who were sinful would be freed from both sin and death by His death.The triumph over death would not have been possible if Jesus had not been born.

We would have remained captives to our fear of death, and for good reason: we would have had no other option than to go to hell.
However, because Jesus arrived, all those who have placed their confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ now have the hope of entering the kingdom of heaven.

If Jesus had never been born, there would be no mediator between God and man

An important role is played by angels in the Gospel stories surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ.In a same vein, they are prominently shown in the majority of Christmas decorations.Despite the fact that angels were present at Christmas, there is no holiday in which angels may participate in the same way.Take a look at what the author of Hebrews writes in chapter 16: For without a doubt, He does not provide assistance to angels, but rather to those who are sprung from Abraham.– Hebrews 2:16 In certain cases, the phrase translated as lend assistance might be read as take on the nature of.

The Son of God never assumed the characteristics of angels.The Son of God never took on the form of an angel in order to save fallen angels from their sins.As a result, fallen angels are unable to receive the gospel.Because of this, they have no hope of atonement or salvation.Except for Christmas, we’d be in the same state as they were.There are, without a doubt, holy angels who will live in the presence of God for all of eternity.

The forgiveness of fallen angels, on the other hand, cannot be extended since there is no mediator between fallen angels and God.On that first Christmas Day, imagine how the angels must have felt as they pondered and amazed at the majesty of what was taking place.This was something that they had never encountered before, which helps to explain why 1 Peter 1:12 states that the gospel consists of things into which angels yearn to gaze.There is no relief for fallen angels, but there is assistance for those who are descended from Abraham.

Using the words ″descendant of Abraham″ in a letter sent to Jewish believers would have been highly important.
However, it is probable that the author intended to include people who believe they are Abraham’s offspring (cf.
Gal.

3:29).After all, Christ came to assist all people whom He would redeem, both Jews and Gentiles—those who would trust in Him as a result of their faith.The author of Hebrews continues in verse 17 with the following: As a result, He had to be treated the same as his brothers and sisters in all things in order to be a compassionate and loyal high priest in matters pertaining to God, and to make atonement for the sins of the people on their behalf.

Because He was tempted in the same way that people who are tempted are tempted, He is able to come to the assistance of those who are being tempted.- The book of Hebrews 2:17 In this passage, the concept of incarnation is brought up once more.In order to assist Abraham’s descendent, Christ had to become like His brethren—that is, He had to become a man.

God’s redemptive intentions and designs did not allow for the incarnation to be an optional step.The only way a genuine mediator could exist between God and man is if that mediator was on an equal footing with both parties involved.Christ is the only one who can serve as a mediator because He is the only one who can connect to God as God and, as a result of His incarnation, to us as human beings.Because He was tempted in the same way that people who are tempted are tempted, He is able to come to the assistance of those who are being tempted.– Hebrews 2:18 (NASB) Due to the fact that he has lived on our planet for more than 30 years, the Lord Jesus Christ can connect to us as a compassionate Savior.He understands what it’s like to be enticed and to suffer as a result.

As a consequence, He is able to empathize with our difficulties and hardships.Despite this, He remained sinless throughout it all (Heb 4:15).As a result, He not only understands our shortcomings, but He also has the ability to deliver us from them.

He fulfills the roles of both the perfect High Priest and the perfect sin offering.
The incarnation paved the way for these magnificent things to become a reality.
″Man became royal when Christ became a human being,″ as Charles Spurgeon once observed.
When Christ was humiliated, man was elevated as a result.

Now that God has come down to man, man has the opportunity to ascend to God.″

The Reason for the Season

When we celebrate Christmas, we recall Jesus’ birth, yet He is no longer a baby sleeping in a manger as He was then.No, He is sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven, and He will return to this planet to judge the nations in righteousness when the time comes.All those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ shall appear before Him in judgment one day, according to the Bible.When we commemorate His first arrival, it should serve as a reminder to us of the fact that He will return again.Those of us who know and love Him may look forward to that future reality with great anticipation.

What If Jesus Had Never Been Born

″What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?″ ponders the author.He was born in an isolated village, the child of a peasant woman, and he lived a solitary life, as described in the poem ″One Solitary Life,″ which most of you have probably seen.Born in another hamlet, He grew up in a carpenter shop until the age of thirty, when He worked as a carpenter.After that, he worked as an itinerant preacher for three years.He never published a book of his own.

He never held a position of authority.He was never married or had a house of his own.He did not pursue a postsecondary education.He had never been to a major city before.Despite the fact that he was born two hundred miles away, he never ventured more than that.He didn’t do any of the things that are often associated with brilliance.

He didn’t have any credentials other than his own.It took him until he was thirty-three years old before the tide of public opinion turned against him.His companions fled the scene.One of them flatly refused to acknowledge Him.

He was given over to his adversaries and subjected to a sham of a courtroom trial.
He was nailed on a cross in the middle of two robbers.
While He was dying, His executioners bet on the value of His clothing, which were the only thing he had on earth.

When He died, He was laid to rest in a borrowed grave, thanks to the generosity of a friend.Twenty centuries have passed, yet He continues to be the dominant character in the history of the human race.Everything put together, including all of the armies that have ever marched, all of the navies that have ever cruised, all of the parliaments that have ever convened, and all of the kings that have ever reigned, have not had as much impact on the life of man on this planet, and certainly not as much as that one solitary life.″ God, in His infinite wisdom, brought forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law (5) in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons at the proper time.

Paul writes in Galatians 4:4-5, ″ (NKJV) Have you ever considered how different the world could have been if Jesus had not been born into it?The birth of Jesus Christ has had a profound impact on the world in which we live, even if some unbelievers regard Christianity and its creator Jesus Christ to be a threat to society that should be eliminated as soon as possible.″ In the eighteenth century, the London Times published a scathing attack on missionaries from other countries.An experienced traveler sent a letter to the editor in which he expressed his dissatisfaction with the attitude of the newspaper.

As the letter’s author pointed out, such an attitude on the part of a voyager was particularly unforgivable – for, should he chance to be thrown adrift on an unfamiliar island, he would fervently hope that the missionary’s message had preceded him!The letter’s author was none other than Charles Darwin, who would go on to become an outspoken opponent of the Christian religion.Despite this, he understood the practical significance of religious belief.” Perhaps nothing could be more appropriate at this season in which we commemorate the birth of Christ in human form than taking a moment to reflect on the enormous influence He has had on the whole human race, especially during this season of Advent.We immediately think of his mission to redeem mankind from the consequences of his own sin, and we will discuss that, but I want you to be aware that the ramifications of His birth are becoming even more far-reaching as time passes.Today, I’d want to take a few minutes to discuss seven areas in which the world has been eternally altered as a result of the influence of the birth of Christ on the earth.

First and foremost, as a result of Christ’s life, the world has placed a new value on human life.″So God made man in His own image; he formed him in the image of God; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.″ (Genesis 1:27).Sacredness of life is a spiritual notion; the word sanctity derives from the Latin word (sanctus), which means ″holy″ or ″sacred to God,″ referring to something that God has proclaimed to be of great worth.

Getting into locations where Christianity is not the predominant faith, even in today’s globe, is an inexpensive way to live, especially in developing countries.
Christianity has transformed the importance assigned to human life; especially to Children, Women, and the Elderly.
Abortion, the death of newborns, and abandonment were all frequent behaviors in the world prior to the birth of Christ.
Over time, the influence of Christianity was able to put an end to the practice of child-killing, which was only recently revived by the widespread use of abortion in modern times.

The existence of a woman was extremely precarious prior to the arrival of Christianity; in fact, in most ancient civilizations, the wife was considered to be the property of her husband.
When a Hindu lady stated to a missionary in the nineteenth century, Charles Spurgeon recounted the incident.
‘Surely your Bible was written by a woman,’ the missionary replied.
‘How come?’ he inquired.
‘Because it has so many positive statements about women.
Our specialists never refer to us in a positive light, but rather in a negative light.’ (See p.

17)

What If Jesus Was Never Born?

The history of a remarkable man was described by Dr.James Allan Francis about a century ago in a famous sermon titled ″One Solitary Life,″ delivered by Dr.James Allan Francis.Check to see if you recognize him: He was born in a small village, the son of a peasant lady, and grew up in obscurity.Born in another hamlet, He grew up in a carpenter shop until the age of thirty, when He worked as a carpenter.

After that, he worked as an itinerant preacher for three years.He never published a book of his own.He never held a position of authority.He was never married or had a house of his own.He did not pursue a postsecondary education.He had never been to a major city before.

The place where He was born was more than two hundred miles away, yet he never went farther than that.He didn’t do any of the things that are often associated with brilliance.He didn’t have any credentials other than his own.It took him until he was thirty-three years old before the tide of public opinion turned against him.

His companions fled the scene.
One of them flatly refused to acknowledge Him.
He was handed up to His adversaries and subjected to a travesty of a courtroom trial.

He was nailed on a cross in the middle of two robbers.While He was dying, his executioners bet on the value of His clothing, which were the only thing he had on earth.When He died, He was laid to rest in a borrowed grave, thanks to the generosity of a good friend.

Nineteen centuries have passed, yet He continues to be the dominant character in the history of the human race.Everything else on this planet, including all the armies that have ever marched and sailed, all the parliaments that have ever convened, and all the monarchs that have ever reigned, has had little impact on the life of man on this planet in comparison to that one single existence.What if Jesus had never been born at all?

Would that have changed anything?With all due respect to Jimmy Stewart, what difference would it have made in the world if Jesus had never lived his great life in the first place?What a difference it would make if Jesus had never been born in terms of politics.Representative democracy is founded on clearly Christian values of church and state, which underpin our system of government.Likewise, our ideals of free expression and religious tolerance must be respected.In fact, the objective of establishing a Christ-centered community was a driving force behind the establishment of our nation from the beginning.

If Jesus had not been born, there would not have been a United States of America, at least not in the form that we know today.What a difference it would make if Jesus had never been born in terms of education.The world’s oldest institutions were all created on Christian ideals in order to provide students with opportunities to grow in their understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The same can be said for practically every one of the top one hundred schools and institutions in the United States of America.
People might eventually build institutes of higher learning, but there would be no Oxford, no Harvard, no Yale, and no Princeton if this were the case.
Furthermore, Christians have always been trailblazers in the promotion of literacy and the establishment of a universal education system.
Even America’s public school system is a product of Puritan education, which dates back to the 16th century.

Linguists are still working across the world today, in the name of Jesus, to convert native languages into written form and teach people how to read the Bible, a task that began centuries ago.
What a difference it would have made in the world of literature, music, and the arts if Jesus had never been born.
Handel would have had no Messiah to include into his famous oratorio, and there would be no Christmas music at all.
There would be no Pieta by Michelangelo, and there would be no Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci without us.
There would be no cathedrals in Europe, no Hagia Sophia, no Notre Dame, and no other such structures.
There would be no Gospels and no New Testament, and there would be no narrative of the prodigal son, no parable of the good Samaritan, and no Sermon on the Mount if there were no Gospels and no New Testament.

There would be no Dante’s Divine Comedy and no Milton’s Paradise Lost if this were to happen.What a difference it would make if Jesus had never been born in terms of technology and medicine.It was the Christian worldview, with its reliance on the logical order of the cosmos and man’s sovereignty over creation, that paved the way for contemporary science to emerge and flourish.Followers of Jesus Christ were also among the first to make significant contributions to the field of medicine.

The first hospitals were built by Christians who felt they had a divinely mandated obligation to care for the sick and injured.
What a difference it would make in terms of generosity and the safeguarding of human life if Jesus had never been born.
That disinterested compassion, that assisting someone who could not help you in return, was first presented to the Roman world by the disciples of Christ.
Pagans were taken aback when they discovered that Christians not only looked after their own poor, but also helped those in need in other countries.

It was also the disciples of Christ who were the first to reject the practice of infanticide, which was formerly practically widespread.
As a result of the birth of Christ, they learned to defend the lives of their own children as well as to rescue orphans and abandoned children.
If Jesus had not been born, none of this would have happened, at least not on a human level.

The things I’ve stated so far are, of course, only the beginning, and it’s also true that many bad things have been done in the name of Christ—but that’s a discussion for another time.For all intents and purposes, the life of Jesus Christ has had a far bigger and more good impact on the world than that of anybody else in history, at least in secular history.But, to bring what I’ve stated closer to home, consider how much of a difference it would make to your own destiny if Jesus had never been born.You would have no atonement for your sin, no resurrection from the dead, no hope of eternal life, and no Savior to call a friend if you did not believe in Jesus Christ.What if Jesus was never born in the first place?Jesus, on the other hand, was born.

To paraphrase the angel’s message to the Christmas shepherds: ″Unto you, on this day, in the city of David, is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord″ (Luke 2:12).
It’s all history from here on out, as they say.

What if Jesus had never been born?

Have you ever played the game ″What if?″ with your friends?It all starts with a question posed by someone (typically a teenager): ″What would you do if you had a million dollars?″ in the case of having only one week to live, for example.When everyone has had a chance to express their responses, the spontaneous game comes to a conclusion.So, let’s have a little fun for a while…What would have happened if Jesus had never been born?

I’ll start with my response…In his book ″What if Jesus had never been born?″ he explores the possibility that Jesus might not have been born.Dr.James Kennedy engages in a game of ″what if″ by naming a number of things that we would not have today if it weren’t for the birth of Jesus Christ.Here are simply twelve examples of them!Humanitarian hospitals and charitable organizations; the New World; universities; civil liberties; modern science; Abolition; free enterprise; separation of political powers; civil liberties; women’s emancipation; and the elevation of women Kennedy grasped something that many Christians have lost sight of in modern times.

There would be no crucifixion if it weren’t for the birth of Jesus!And if there were no cross, there would be no gospel that could change the world!It is through the birth of Jesus that we have reason to be hopeful.Earlier this year, I read the chapter named Gethsemane in Ellen White’s book Desire of Ages (Chapter 74, page 685), in which she takes the ″what if″ topic to a whole new level.

She gives a great explanation of why Jesus chose to take upon himself the wrath of God for our sins and suffer a horrifying death on the cross in the book of Hebrews.
What she does is basically describe what would have happened if Jesus had not been born into the world.
Here are the two sections of the nightmare…

1).The Earth would be transformed into Satan’s domain, and we would become his slaves!″However, if Christ were to be defeated, the planet would be transformed into Satan’s kingdom, and the human race would be permanently under his control,″ says Ellen White.

There have been numerous evil tyrants over the history of this earth.We won’t go over the entire list, but a fast Google search will reveal them and their heinous crimes against humanity.All of them, however, were apprehended and their crimes against humanity were brought to an end.

In other words, their crimes were only perpetrated for a short period of time until good prevailed.Nothing, on the other hand, comes close to imagining what this planet would be like if it were completely controlled by demons and ruled by Satan himself without limits!″Why do bad things happen in our world?″ is a question that people frequently wonder.Perhaps a more appropriate question is ″why don’t more wicked things happen in our world?″ The solution is straightforward.JESUS!We are the only ones who are not living out this horror now because of his decision to be born in order to die for the human race.

2).Everything on the planet would be destroyed, and we would all perish!It is said by Ellen White, ″The sufferings and lamentations of a doomed world are brought before Him.″ He sees the impending doom of the creature, and He makes a decision.

″He will save man at any cost to Himself,″ says the author.
It was no coincidence that Jesus died on the Jewish festival of Passover (Matthew 26:2).
In reality, the Bible states unequivocally that Christ has been slain as our ″Passover lamb″ (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Scripture is bringing up an eye-opening subject.

It is possible that if Jesus had not died at the age of thirty-one in AD 31, this planet and all of its inhabitants would have perished as with the first-born sons in Egypt, who died on the night of the first Passover because no blood was spilled on their doorposts!
(Exodus 12:23, 29; 13:13) The year AD 31 was a watershed event in the history of the human race, and Jesus came to our aid at a time when we were most in need.
Christ died for the ungodly at just the right moment in Romans 5:6: ″You see, Christ died at precisely the right time when we were still weak.″ Jesus was physically born into this world in order to die for you and me!
Our Savior died on the cross not only to bring salvation to those who would believe in Him, but He also purchased extra time for the whole human race by doing so.
As a side note, the fact that you and I were not born until 2000 years later should make us feel extra thankful!
At least 2000 more years were given to the human race in AD 31 to study God’s love, repent of their sins, and experience God’s blood-bought redemption, according to the Roman calendar.

So it’s no surprise that the Bible declares that ″He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not just for our sins but also for the sins of the entire world″ (1 John 2:2).

7 Reasons to Celebrate

Someone recently inquired as to why I celebrate Christmas, particularly in light of the fact that ″everyone knows Jesus was not born on December 25 and Christmas is a pagan festival.″ After we finished playing the ″what if?″ game, I shared with them the seven reasons why I personally feel we should commemorate the birth of Jesus on every day of the year, not only on December 25, as outlined below.Because… 1.It was God who accomplished it!2.It was the angels that accomplished it!

Shepherds were the ones that accomplished it!4.It was the wisemen who did it!5.It was Mary and Joseph who did it!6.

It was done by the Early Church!7.Satan, on the other hand, did not!The final and most important reason may be the most important!

There is no doubt that Satan did not rejoice the birth of Christ!
″The dragon waited before the lady who was about to give birth, intending to eat her child as soon as it was born,″ the Bible states in Revelation 12:4, according to the translation.
The Devil’s motivations were straightforward: on Christmas Day, he was stripped of his throne and his hostages!

Ellen White and Christmas

In one of her most powerful quotes regarding Christmas, Ellen White writes.“Although we do not know the exact day of Christ’s birth, we would honor the sacred event. May the Lord forbid that anyone should be so narrow-minded as to overlook the event because there is an uncertainty in regard to the exact time. Let us do what we can to fasten the minds of the children upon those things which are precious to everyone who loves Jesus. Let us teach them how Jesus came into the world to bring hope, comfort, peace, and happiness to all… Then, children and youth, as you celebrate the coming Christmas, will you not count up the many things for which you are to be grateful, and will you not present a gratitude offering to Christ, and so reveal that you do appreciate the heavenly Gift?”(Review and Herald Dec 17, 1888).My friends, we should praise the Lord with trembling! Why? Because we will never have to ponder the question “What if Jesus had been born?” We should thank God daily for this! Because Jesus was born.Earth will never become Satan’s kingdom nor we his slaves!Because Jesus was born.Earth will be made new and we will live forever!Don’t you feel like singing joy to the world right now?Ok, I’ve played my part in the ″what if″ game now it’s your turn!Go ahead.arrow-bracket-rightcontact

Thursday Pulpit: Why was it necessary for Jesus to be born as a man?

The Virgin Birth of Jesus is the centerpiece of many Christmas celebrations.Incarnation, which communicates that Deity took on human form, is a bigger marvel than the Virgin Birth, which was a miracle in and of itself.There are at least five ″whys″ given in the Bible as to why the Incarnation was required.As a result, here are five compelling arguments for why Jesus had to be both 100 percent God and 100 percent man.When theologians refer to Jesus as ″God Incarnate,″ they are referring to the fact that He was both human and divine.

″The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,″ said the Apostle John in John 1:14, referring to Jesus as ″the Word who became human and dwelt among us.″ Jesus’ ″coming in the flesh″ was also mentioned by John in 1 John 4:2 and 2 John 7.He was referring to the fact that Jesus became human without losing His divinity.According to the prophet Isaiah 9:6, a scripture that we are all too familiar with at this time of year, the union of Deity and mankind will take place in the future.The authority will be placed on His shoulders because a Child has been born to us, a Son has been given to us.″ ″And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,″ the prophet Isaiah says.Take note of the fact that Isaiah predicted the birth of a child, a reference to humanity, and that His character would be such that He would also be referred to as Mighty God, a reference to God the Father.As a result, both the humanity and the divinity of Christ are foretold in one single passage.

What was the purpose of the Incarnation?Why was it important for Jesus to be born in the human form?The Bible provides us with at least five different solutions to that question.1.

To make God known to us — Only the Incarnation is able to reveal to us the very essence of God.
The only way for man to see the Father is for him to get familiar with the Son.
And the only way we can achieve so now is to examine the historical account of Jesus’ life that is preserved in the Scriptures.

As a result of His being a man, the revelation of God was individualized; as a result of His being God, that revelation is absolutely true.2.To serve as a model for our lives – The earthly life of Jesus is held up to us as a model for how we should live in the modern world.

Read 1 Peter 2:21 and 1 John 2:6 for further information.We would not have that example if it were not for the Incarnation.Prophecy: In His human form, He has experienced the ups and downs of life and provides us with a life-experienced example; in His divine form, He gives us the strength to follow His example.

3.To serve as an effective sacrifice for sin – We would not have a Savior if the Incarnation had not taken place.Because the law states that sin necessitates death as a means of restitution, and because God cannot die, the Savior must be human in order to be able to die.However, because the death of an average man would not be sufficient to pay for sin on an everlasting basis, the Savior must also be God.Proposition: We must have a God-man as our Savior, which we already have in the person of Jesus Christ.Read Hebrews 10:1–10 for more information.

Fourth, Jesus had to be born as a man in order to demolish the works of the devil, according to 1 John 3:8.This is one of the reasons why Jesus had to be born as a man, according to the Bible.What was the reason for the Incarnation in order to fight Satan?

Due to the fact that Satan had to be beaten in the arena in which he reigned at the time, the world, Christ had to come into the world in order to demolish Satan’s works.
The ability to fulfill the Davidic Covenant — In Luke 1:31-33, the angel Gabriel informs Mary that her Son would be seated on the throne of David, and she rejoices.
A human person is required in order to have an occupant of David’s throne.
As a result, the Messiah would have to be a human creature.

For the occupant of the throne to be able to continue to reign indefinitely, he or she must never die.
Only God meets the qualifications, according to the proposition.
So, the one who eventually fulfills the Davidic promise needs to be a God-man.
The Incarnation has ramifications for our understanding of God, for our salvation, for our everyday lives, for our pressing needs, and for the future, among other things.
It actually is the essential reality of history.
Without a doubt, Jesus was a historical figure who left an imprint on the world.

When it comes to the historical validity of Jesus, he is on par with the historical validity of Julius Caesar.The teachings and miracles of Jesus throughout his earthly ministry were reported by historians like as Flavius Josephus, Suetonius, Tertullian, Thallus, Phlegon, and Justin Martyr, among others.The fact that Jesus was a historical figure is without dispute.However, He is also a powerful God.

You were made to know God personally – to have a personal connection with Him — and to do so via His Son, Jesus Christ, the one and only God-man who has ever existed!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whomever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” – The Gospel of John 3:16 Note from the editor: Steve Sager is the pastor of Calvary Chapel of St.
Helena in California.
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The lost years of Jesus: The mystery of Christ’s missing 18 years

Known as the ″Lost Years″ of Jesus Christ, the period between the ages of 12 and 30 between his birth and death is a scriptural riddle that has perplexed historians and Christians alike for many centuries.It is unknown where Jesus may have been or traveled during that time period, creating a theological vacuum that has been filled with beliefs that are mostly inspired by religious belief, rumor, and mythology depending on the sources used to develop them.In this essay, whether readers are believers or not, the author examines the diverse spectrum of stories that have emerged since the early 1900s.Many attempts have been made to fill in the eighteen years that have elapsed since Jesus vanishes from the pages of the Bible.

This has resulted in legends of his traveling to far-flung regions such as India to study with Eastern mystics, Persia, and even North America, as well as claims of him having visited Europe.Other myths, such as those centered on the notion that Jesus traveled to Britain and even made a stop in Cornwall, have spawned colorful narratives that are tied to King Arthur and the legend of the hunt for the Holy Grail, among other things.So, what proof do we have to back up the claim that Jesus traveled hundreds of kilometers from Judea to other countries on his mission?The earliest sources include the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which are the earliest sources.Jesus is thought to have been born at Bethlehem, but according to the Gospels, his family moved away shortly afterward and resided in the town of Nazareth, thereby fulfilling the prophecy of the Bible that Jesus would be known as a Nazarene.

It is possible that Jesus’ social standing was ‘blue collar’ since he and his carpenter father Joseph made their little living as artisans because Nazareth was a peaceful, agricultural and fishing hamlet where the people lived on a tight budget.A popular narrative is that Jesus went three miles away to the bustling town of Sepphoris, which at the time was noted for its beautiful mosaic artwork made by the Romans, in the middle Galilee area of today’s Israel, in search of employment because he had little possibility of finding it.Given the abundance of options to construct houses and walls, this community may have served as the initial stepping stone on the path that would eventually lead to what is thought to be the beginning of Jesus’ search for spiritual enlightment.

It is possible that Jesus spent the majority of these intervening years working as a carpenter in Galilee, as some Christian scholars think; nevertheless, there are few allusions to this in the Scriptures.In response to the eighteen-year gap in the scriptures, various intriguing explanations have been proposed, but none has yet been proven by trustworthy evidence.Jesus may have gone on an epic ‘walkabout’ from his home in Nazareth, according to one idea about his disappearance and his missing years.

If this incident had transpired, Jesus would have been no more than a 12-year-old child; thus, how emotionally prepared and aware would such a young person have to be in order to go on such a long and potentially perilous journey?Most likely, while living at Sepphoris, the young Jesus received his first awareness of the world by both speaking the Aramaic language and learning to read, which is how he came to be known as ″the Christ.″ According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus walked into the synagogue and read from the scroll of the prophets, which is the only piece of recorded scripture that supports this theory so far.In his childhood, he would have witnessed firsthand the social and economic persecution of the Palestinian-Jewish peasants, of which he was a member, which he would have learned about from his parents.Such information may have served as an impetus for Jesus to seek answers in the outside world, and it may have had an impact on his choice to abandon his family, which would have been contentious at the time.

Scholars have speculated that Jesus’ father Joseph passed away when he was approximately 12 years old, and that this tragic occurrence may have served as the impetus for him to embark on a personal quest to achieve spiritual enlightenment while still in his childhood.
This ‘walkabout,’ which lasted nearly two decades, may have begun when he was 13 years old and continued until his death.
During this vulnerable period, the purported ″lost years″ begin, and the numerous ideas about where Jesus spent his formative years as he matured into manhood are accessible to a wide range of interpretations.
Whatever obligations a young Jesus may have had to his mother and extended family in Nazareth, it must have been a contentious decision for him to abandon those closest to him at such an early age in order to embark on an epic and risky journey on foot.

But some Christians feel that the years that have been lost are insignificant, and that any revelations regarding them are unlikely to make a significant impact to their understanding of the Christian faith.
To put it another way, if anything was significant, it would have been included in the Bible.
According to some researchers, learning more about the whereabouts of Jesus and the experiences he had during those unrecorded years might aid in the understanding of many of the mysteries surrounding Christianity.
For many years, there have been rumors that the Vatican is hiding certain fascinating realities regarding the life of Jesus, including his eighteen years in exile.
Traditional beliefs might be radically altered as a result of this understanding.
To this day, nothing has been disclosed concerning the existence of such records, as well as what Jesus was doing and where he was throughout the period between the ages of 13 and 30.

See also: Where Did Jesus Ascend

Some academics think that Jesus spent these unrecorded years traveling about Britain with a man named ‘Joseph of Arimathea,’ while others claim he traveled to India and Persia during this time.When a Russian traveller claimed to have uncovered authentic scriptures at a monastery in India in the late nineteenth century, it was widely believed that Jesus had been to India and taught there as well as elsewhere in the East.’Joseph of Arimathea’ is the character in this account who is believed to have accompanied Jesus on his journey to Britain.He is a tin merchant who some think to be his uncle, however other ‘canonical gospel’ sources characterize him primarily as a wealthy businessman and disciple of Jesus.By the 15th century, a significant amount of writing had been produced on this specific narrative, elevating it to the level of folklore, to the point that Glastonbury, Somerset, was hailed as the ″birthplace of British Christianity,″ according to legend.The Holy Grail is said to have been housed in the first church built by Joseph in order to protect it.

Another story said that Joseph of Arimathea had previously visited Glastonbury with Jesus as a child, which prompted artist and poet William Blake to pen a poem that formed the words to the English hymn Jerusalem, which is now known as the King James Version.
Did those old feet tread along the green of England’s mountains in ancient times?
And did anybody witness the Lamb of God/Living peacefully on England’s beautiful pastures?’ An urban legend circulating during the late 15th century said that Joseph of Arimathea had transported to Britain two silver flasks containing Christ’s blood, and that these relics were buried in his grave.
This account may have added to the mystique surrounding the Holy Grail and its existence in England.
However, despite the fact that this narrative has grown into shadows of King Arthur and his famous knights on their journey to retrieve the sacred artifact, there has never been any record of a shrine being built to commemorate the grave’s specific location.

This topic is also mentioned in another variant, which claims that Joseph hid the Holy Grail beneath Glastonbury Tor, which is claimed to be the entrance to the underworld and where a natural spring known as the ‘Chalice Well’ first began to rise up.People thought that anyone who drank from these waters would live forever in their youth.The ‘Holy Thorn’ is mentioned in another narrative related with Joseph of Arimathea, which depicts him delivering it to the town of Somerset.A version of the narrative talks of Joseph placing his wooden staff in the ground, where the staff suddenly blossomed into the ‘Glastonbury Thorn,’ a variation of the Common Hawthorn that blooms twice a year, once in the spring and once around Christmas.

One of the most intriguing stories relating to Joseph of Arimathea, and one that is considered to be a recent invention, is that, as a tin merchant by trade, he brought the young Jesus along with him on a trading voyage to south-west Britain and Cornwall, where tin was abundant, according to tradition.The tale is said to have started with the English novelist Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould, who included it in his book on Cornwall published in 1899.Twenty-three years later, in 1922, the tradition of Jesus visiting Britain was included in a book written by the Reverend Lionel Smithett Lewis, vicar of St John’s church in Glastonbury, Somerset, who was also a member of the Church of England at the time.

Lewis was particularly interested in legends concerning Joseph of Arimathea’s connection to the area, and it is possible that he used Baring Gould’s theories about Joseph and Jesus dealing for tin in Cornwall and re-located the narrative to Glastonbury in order to further his interest.After expanding the tale to almost two hundred pages by the time it reached its final form in 1955, the Apostolic Church of Britain claimed that Glastonbury was the burial site of the Virgin Mary.It was published in 1894 that a controversial book titled ‘The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ’, authored by a Russian-born inhabitant of Paris named Nicolas Notovitch, was released.The text made the surprising assertion that Jesus had traveled to India during the years of his life that had been lost and had studied as a Buddhist monk.Notovitch wrote about his trip to India seven years earlier in the book, which was illustrated with images of the people and places he visited.

Notovitch provided a narrative, claiming that he had fractured his leg during the journey and had been forced to recuperate in a secluded monastery at Hemis in the hills of Ladakh, India, due to his injuries.
In the course of his recuperation, he was given an antique paper about which he had previously heard rumors.
It was written in the Pali language (an Indo-Aryan language) and was published in two large volumes with cardboard covers and yellowed leaves due to the passage of time.
‘Issa’ is the Arabic name for Jesus in Islam, and the scriptures documented his travels and studies in India.
This guy could only have been the biblical Jesus, as Issa is the Arabic name for Jesus in Islam.

Life of Saint Issa: The Finest of the Sons of Men was, in fact, the title of the text.According to the scripture, Jesus left Judea when he was 13 years old and embarked on an epic journey of self-discovery that included study of various religious traditions.As noted by Notovitch, Jesus ″crossed Punjab and arrived in Puri Jagannath, where he studied the Vedas (Indian book of ancient literature) under the supervision of Brahmin priests.″ The Lord Jesus spent six years at Puri and Rajgir, both of which are located near Nalanda, the ancient Hindu center of study.

Then he traveled to the Himalayas, where he spent time in Tibetan monasteries studying Buddhism before returning to Judea, where he was 29 years old at the time of his return.Notovitch’s book was a worldwide publishing sensation at the time, having been translated into various languages, including English, and having gone through eleven French editions in its first year of publication, among other things.Notovitch’s book, published more than a century and a quarter ago, has mostly been forgotten, and the contents and claims it makes have been consigned to the realms of imagination by his contemporaries.Some Notovitch followers, on the other hand, believe that records that substantiate the author’s assertions may be held in the Vatican’s archives.Even at the time of Notovitch’s publications, a number of individuals were skeptical of his statements and thought them to be unbelievable.

During that time, German-born philologist Max Muller speculated that either the monks at the monastery were making fun of the Russian author, or that the author had made up the entire story for financial gain and falsified the antique book.Notovitch’s allegations, according to one well-known Indologist, are ″a huge fat lie.″ When Muller inquired about Notovitch’s alleged recovery at a monastery, he received a response stating that no westerners had visited the monastery in the previous fifteen years and that no ancient documents similar to the one described by the author had been discovered therein.Shortly after, J.Archibald Douglas, a professor of English and history at the Government College in Agra, India, paid a personal visit to Hemis monastery and spoke with the Head Lama, who confirmed that Notovitch had never visited the monastery before.As a result of Notovitch’s claims that Jesus had been to India, Muller and Douglas collaborated on a book, which was published under the title ‘Jesus did NOT reside in India’, in which they said that Notovitch’s writings concerning Jesus’ ‘lost years’ were a complete fiction.

Even though Notovitch claimed to have seen a document confirming that Jesus had stopped at Hemis monastery and claimed to have taken a photograph of the mystery book itself, no physical proof was uncovered to support his claim, including no image of the mysterious manuscript itself.When explaining why none were chosen, Notovitch went to great lengths in the foreword to his book.I took many interesting images on my travels, but when I returned to India and examined the negatives, I was saddened to discover that they had been completely destroyed’, says the author.Further incriminating evidence against Notovitch was recently unearthed in a contemporaneous report preserved in the archives of the British Library, which was authored by Donald Mackenzie Wallace, a Russian-speaking British official who worked for the British government.The Scottish civil servant and foreign reporter for The Times newspaper said that, after meeting Notovitch several times in July 1887, he claimed that the Russian traveller offered his services as a’spy’ for the British government in India on one of the occasions.Despite Notovitch’s offer, Wallace turned it down, calling him a ″unscrupulous adventurer.″ Despite these allegations, Notovitch remained firm in his book’s claims, promising to return to the monastery and bring back the original manuscript if the allegations were proven correct.

Nothing else was heard from him on the matter, and the writer’s assertions about Jesus visiting India were dismissed as nothing more than a fiction with no basis in truth.If you want to look at the claims that Jesus left home as a teenager and began on an epic journey around the world on foot, one way to do so is to consider the travel necessities of the day and the realities of reaching a place across hostile terrain and at times unpassable pathways.It is said in The New Testament that the Galilee and Judea were the primary venues for Jesus’ mission, with activity also going place in nearby areas such as Peres and Samaria.In Christian tradition, Jesus is said to have walked 3,125 miles during his ministry.Taking into consideration that a committed individual on a mission might complete the 150–200 km journey from Judea to Galilee on foot in six days, it is likely that an experienced walker with knowledge of the terrain could cover far greater distances in a much less amount of time.The conservative estimate of the amount of kilometers Jesus may have walked throughout his lifetime is roughly 21,525 miles, which is nearly the equal of walking around the whole planet.

The most common mode of transportation was on foot, with an estimated daily mileage of around 20 miles, but oxen, donkeys, and camels were also used by citizens.It is possible that during Jesus’ walkabout and journey to far-off places, such as the Himalayas, he was able to take advantage of such modes of transportation, with the addition of caravans to transport supplies.According to the usual walking habits and skills of the time, such a long and arduous journey, reportedly done by Jesus alone and over a period of many years, may be physically feasible.But how believable could this expedition be for someone so young, no older than a kid, to embark on it without the assistance of an adult, medical expertise, or navigation skills gained through experience?At the time of Jesus’ teachings (AD 27-29), Judea was under Roman dominion and susceptible to oppression at the hands of its Roman rulers, who were granted the ability to punish with death.

Even in Judea’s enclaves, where robbery and murder were not uncommon, it was a dangerous time for everyone.Even though they were conquerors, the Romans were responsible for more travel facilitation than any previous empire, having built important roads and cleansed the seas of pirates.People like Paul the Baptist were able to travel relatively peacefully because to the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) decreed by Emperor Augustus (27 BC-AD 14), which was declared in 27 BC.A traveler could make his way from the Euphrates River’s beaches to the boundary between England and Scotland without having to pass any foreign borders, according to historian Lionel Casson.

Because of the emperor’s patrol squadrons, he was able to sail into any waterways without fear of being attacked by pirates.Ship travel was the most efficient mode of long-distance transportation, but it was only available between April and October due to the dangers of the winter seas.Paul himself is said to have sailed eastward from Greece to Israel and then westward by land from Israel to Greece during his missionary journeys.It is estimated that by AD 300, the Romans had constructed an 85,000-kilometer network of well-maintained highways throughout their empire, mostly for military objectives.

In light of the fact that poor people primarily travelled on foot and wore heavy shoes or sandals while contending with changing seasons and natural phenomena like floods and snow, there was also danger from wild animals and ‘bandits’ as Paul himself stated in The New Testament of the Christian Bible 2 Cor 11:26, ‘I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, and in danger in the country.’ A determined adult could cover many thousands of miles by foot, donkey, horse or ship, regardless of the state of the roads, the terrain’s diversity, the dangers posed by wild animals and robbers, and the availability of inns and hotels at the time.This is true despite the possibility of illness, injury, and other misfortunes along the way.Whether Jesus as a young man managed to reach the places indicated by certain historians and Christians is still a mystery that continues to provoke passionate controversy ever since Nicolas Notovitch’s provocative statements in his book ‘The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ’ written over one hundred years ago.