(Initially published December 2012)
(Please ‘listen’ to the ‘I’ version of the nativity story…)
If I was Jesus:
- I would have been so busy managing the angels, I would think twice about leaving everything behind.
- Back in Heaven I would have be so dignified, it would have been too difficult stooping so low as to becoming a ‘bloody’ human being susceptible to unthinkable abuse and disrespect.
- If at all I agreed to become a human, at least I should be born to the richest and best of parents – possibly a prominent king somewhere.
- I would definitely not agree to make an entry in a dirty stable. Give me the cleanest and most comfortable inn or hospital bed.
- Kings and Queens from all over the world – preferably not shepherds, should be the ones to come welcome me.
Thank God Jesus thought differently.
Check this out:
PHILIPPIANS 2:5
The Message (MSG)
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
If I was Joseph:
- How In the world would I agree to proceed with the marriage with my supposed wife pregnant with a baby? Is someone taking me for a fool? Ok. I had a dream and I saw an angel. How can I be so sure the dream is from God? Why did God not consult with me first before striking an agreement with my bethrothed?
- OK, now I have agreed to marry her, but surely God would not expect me to wait for so many months, till the child was born – before consummating the marriage? I just cannot wait for that long.
- Why go through the trouble? Running from ‘pillar to post’ because of a child I did not actually father?
We thank God Joseph was an honorable man:
What if Joseph had despised the sanctity of God’s plan and purpose and had forced himself on Mary before the baby was born? That would have surely given rise to further doubtful questions about the virgin birth of Jesus the Saviour.
Check this out:
MATTHEW 1
The Message (MSG)
18-19 The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.
20-23 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term:
Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).24-25 Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.
If I was Mary:
- I could have asked: Why me? Why did you choose me for this experiment? Now I am open to ridicule, disgrace and the risk of being stoned to death.
- I could have thought – Am I not free to exercise my free will and terminate this strange pregnancy?
If Mary was a different kind of person and acted irresponsibly – what would have happened to the baby Jesus?
Check this out:
LUKE 1
Amplified Bible (AMP)
26 Now in the sixth month [after that], the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 To a girl never having been married and a [v]virgin engaged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And he came to her and said, Hail, O favored one [[w]endued with grace]! The Lord is with you![x]Blessed (favored of God) are you before all other women!
29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled and disturbed and confused at what he said and kept revolving in her mind what such a greeting might mean.
30 And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace ([y]free, spontaneous, absolute favor and loving-kindness) with God.
31 And listen! You will become pregnant and will give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus.
32 He will be great (eminent) and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His forefather David,
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob throughout the ages; and of His reign there will be no end.
34 And Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I have no [intimacy with any man as a] husband?
35 Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a shining cloud]; and so the holy (pure, sinless) Thing (Offspring) which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God.
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Blow the Trumpet:
– Jesus gave up everything to come to our physical and natural world in order to live and die as a man for mankind. One can liken that to a fully grown human being turning to an ant in order to go resolve an issue in the ant colony. Jesus was humble, selfless, sacrificial and obedient to God the father. He is our perfect role model and the Bible says we should emulate Jesus having the same mind as he demonstrated (Philippians 2:5-8).
– Mary was declared blessed among women, a unique choice, she received the holy calling of God with all meekness and readiness of heart. God found her worthy to be the one to carry out heaven’s assignment. Everything was at stake. Yes, God is omnipotent, but he still needed this earthen vessel to incubate and nurture the seed, the Word that became Jesus.
– She did not abort the pregnancy, neither did she carelessly endanger the baby’s life before and after birth. She took good care of Jesus and was with him all the way. She was a faithful mother and servant of God. The world surely needs more exemplary women like Mary in our generation.
– Joseph was a man of integrity and honor, a man God could trust with the life of His son. God is looking for more men like Joseph in our days, Men who will lay everything down for their family and their faith in God. Joseph played a key role in the bringing to birth of Jesus, he was born for this purpose and he fulfilled his calling of being a honourable earthly father to Jesus the Lord.
As we celebrate another Christmas season, let us study, learn from and emulate these major characters in the glorious history of the birth of the Saviour of the world.
Shallom!
Laolu Oyeyemi.