Jesus Christ was photographed from many angles on His birthday to catch His multifaceted personality. We know, to get a good picture of something we have to scrutinize that object or person from various angles. So we understand the various attributes of
Jesus from the Christmas story. We will see ten of them.
1. Son of David. Even the very first verse of the Gospel of Matthew calls Jesus as the Son of David. To call as the son of so and so was a common expression among the Yiddish community. Even Joseph, the husband of Mary was called the son of David (Mt 1: 20). This shows that Jesus left behind all His heavenly comforts and became a common man like you and me, a Son of man. The phrase, “Son of David” has great prophetic significance. God had promised that David would not lack a man to sit on his throne (Jer 33:17). After David, though his kingdom experienced a downward spiral culminating in exile, in the end, as per His Word, God raised a man, Jesus the King to sit on his throne! (Lk 1:32). The teachers of the Law knew that Christ the Anointed One would be the Son of David (Mk 12:35) and the common people who believed in Jesus acknowledged Him so (Mt 9:27; 12:23; 21:9; 22:42; Rom 1:3). The contemporaries of Jesus were looking for a new King David to rule over Jerusalem, kick out the Romans and restore the kingdom of Israel, just like in David’s days (Acts 1:6). But Jesus came as a Servant King to rule over the entire universe.
2. Child (Lk 2:16). The Baby Jesus was so helpless and dependent. He could not give anything to anyone rather He had to be given everything. Yet, the wise men from the East came with gifts to worship Him, the shepherds came with “haste” to adore Him. Simeon and Anna magnified Him. The shepherds went and published about the Child to all. Do we worship God for who He is? Do we make Him known to all eventhough we have not received any miracle from him? Is our prayer focussed on getting or giving? Let God be God whether He performs miracles or not when we demand.
3. Jesus. This was a common name among the Jews. Joshua is the Hebrew of Jesus. The meaning is Saviour. “Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Mt 1:21). Is there a God in all the universe who can save a man from his sins? Later on the
apostles would proclaim, “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Christ means ‘The Anointed one.’ It has lot of Scriptural implication. The Jews were waiting for the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek) or the Anointed One (English). When Jesus was born, they failed to make the connection. Many Jews lost their salvation because of that. May God open our eyes to see Him as the Saviour.
4. Immanuel (Mt 1:23). “They shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated ‘God with us.’” It is not Jesus with us, it is God with us. We were eternally separated from God as sinful beings. But Christmas brought God to us. We are now “members of the
household of God” (Eph 2:19). “God who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ ... God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself ” (2Cor 5:18,19). God is not far away from us as we feel many times. “For what great nation is there that has God so
near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?” (Dt 4:7). If it was so in the Old Testament, how much more closer He is to us now, after Christmas!
5. King. The wise men from the East came in search of the “King” (Mt 2:2). The prophecy about Bethlehem reads, “Out of you shall come a RULER who will shepherd my people” (Mt 2:6). Luke 1:46 mentions Him as Lord and God. Herod was a king who slaughtered the unarmed sheep. But our King is a gentle Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. He knows His sheep and is known by them. His heart cry was, “I have other sheep which are not of this sheep pen; I must bring them also” (Jn 10:11,14,16). A King who is an imperial Shepherd! What a privilege it is to be ruled by a gentle King who loves His subjects!
6. God’s Son. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. ... the Son of God” (Lk 1:32,35). He was the Darling of heaven. Though He became man He was God. While He lived on earth as a man, He was God. That’s how He could forgive sins. The Jews had difficulty believing it because He was one among them, a carpenter’s Son and a carpenter Himself. He was their playmate who grew up with them. The greatest revelation a man can have is that Jesus, the Son of man is the Son of God. He is the first born and we are His brothers and sisters (Col 1:15, 18).
7. Nazarene. “He came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene’” (Mt 2:23). Since there were other Jesuses in those days, He was identified as Jesus of Nazareth. God plans every detail. His plan was for Jesus to grow up in Nazareth. This was a strategic place belonging to the region of Galilee. It was called ‘Galilee of the Nations’ because of its international flavour (Isa 9:1). Whatever happened there could be seen by the whole world. No wonder the Goodnews crossed mountains and seas in the first century itself because Galilee was located along international trade routes, being situated right at the middle of the map.
8. The Holy One. The angel Gabriel called Him, ‘The Holy One’ (Lk 1:35). He being a first born was ‘Holy to the Lord’ (Lk 2:23 NKJV). There are many gods in this world but only one holy God. He was not just holy in the womb, He was holy till He was laid
in the tomb. He said, “The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (Jn 14:30). What if He is Holy? The point is, He wants us to be holy too. “That we might serve Him... in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life”
(Lk 1:73-75). Serve the Lord with holiness. Let holiness be our motto and banner!
9. Consolation of Israel (Lk 2:25). Simeon was waiting for the Consolation of Israel. The C of consolation is capital signifying that it was Jesus(NKJV). People used to have it as their name (Acts 4:36 NKJV). It is because the Jews were suffering under the rule of many kingdoms and were waiting for Jesus, the Consolation, to come and comfort them. Simeon said, “Lord, now you are letting Your servant depart in PEACE” (Lk 2:29). True to His name, Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest... and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:28,29). May the consolation and comfort of the Lord envelop us this Christmas as we lay down our heavy burdens at His feet and
enjoy His rest.
10. Light. Simeon took up Jesus in his arms and said of Him, “A light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Lk 2:32). In a world of darkness a ray of hope shone when Jesus was born. He said, “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12). Jesus deliberately chose to have His headquarters in Galilee because it was a place of
Gentiles. Isaiah prophesied, “The land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — the people living in darkness have seen a great LIGHT; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a LIGHT has
dawned” (Mt 4:15,16). The great Light has left us on this earth as little twinkling lights to the world that light may dawn upon those who are enveloped by the shadow of death.
Zacharias prophesied, “Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace” (Lk 1:78,79).
Let us come into a better understanding of JESUS the BABE and the heart of the SON OF DAVID the NAZARENE, to go forth to proclaim the Goodnews of the birth of the SON OF GOD as a son of man to give us LIGHT and CONSOLATION and be our KING , the HOLY ONE and IMMANUEL forever!
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, 8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
Jesus Christ was photographed from many angles on His birthday to catch His multifaceted personality. We know, to get a good picture of something we have to scrutinize that object or person from various angles. So we understand the various attributes of
Jesus from the Christmas story. We will see ten of them.
1. Son of David. Even the very first verse of the Gospel of Matthew calls Jesus as the Son of David. To call as the son of so and so was a common expression among the Yiddish community. Even Joseph, the husband of Mary was called the son of David (Mt 1: 20). This shows that Jesus left behind all His heavenly comforts and became a common man like you and me, a Son of man. The phrase, “Son of David” has great prophetic significance. God had promised that David would not lack a man to sit on his throne (Jer 33:17). After David, though his kingdom experienced a downward spiral culminating in exile, in the end, as per His Word, God raised a man, Jesus the King to sit on his throne! (Lk 1:32). The teachers of the Law knew that Christ the Anointed One would be the Son of David (Mk 12:35) and the common people who believed in Jesus acknowledged Him so (Mt 9:27; 12:23; 21:9; 22:42; Rom 1:3). The contemporaries of Jesus were looking for a new King David to rule over Jerusalem, kick out the Romans and restore the kingdom of Israel, just like in David’s days (Acts 1:6). But Jesus came as a Servant King to rule over the entire universe.
2. Child (Lk 2:16). The Baby Jesus was so helpless and dependent. He could not give anything to anyone rather He had to be given everything. Yet, the wise men from the East came with gifts to worship Him, the shepherds came with “haste” to adore Him. Simeon and Anna magnified Him. The shepherds went and published about the Child to all. Do we worship God for who He is? Do we make Him known to all eventhough we have not received any miracle from him? Is our prayer focussed on getting or giving? Let God be God whether He performs miracles or not when we demand.
3. Jesus. This was a common name among the Jews. Joshua is the Hebrew of Jesus. The meaning is Saviour. “Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Mt 1:21). Is there a God in all the universe who can save a man from his sins? Later on the
apostles would proclaim, “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Christ means ‘The Anointed one.’ It has lot of Scriptural implication. The Jews were waiting for the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek) or the Anointed One (English). When Jesus was born, they failed to make the connection. Many Jews lost their salvation because of that. May God open our eyes to see Him as the Saviour.
4. Immanuel (Mt 1:23). “They shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated ‘God with us.’” It is not Jesus with us, it is God with us. We were eternally separated from God as sinful beings. But Christmas brought God to us. We are now “members of the
household of God” (Eph 2:19). “God who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ ... God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself ” (2Cor 5:18,19). God is not far away from us as we feel many times. “For what great nation is there that has God so
near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?” (Dt 4:7). If it was so in the Old Testament, how much more closer He is to us now, after Christmas!
5. King. The wise men from the East came in search of the “King” (Mt 2:2). The prophecy about Bethlehem reads, “Out of you shall come a RULER who will shepherd my people” (Mt 2:6). Luke 1:46 mentions Him as Lord and God. Herod was a king who slaughtered the unarmed sheep. But our King is a gentle Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. He knows His sheep and is known by them. His heart cry was, “I have other sheep which are not of this sheep pen; I must bring them also” (Jn 10:11,14,16). A King who is an imperial Shepherd! What a privilege it is to be ruled by a gentle King who loves His subjects!
6. God’s Son. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. ... the Son of God” (Lk 1:32,35). He was the Darling of heaven. Though He became man He was God. While He lived on earth as a man, He was God. That’s how He could forgive sins. The Jews had difficulty believing it because He was one among them, a carpenter’s Son and a carpenter Himself. He was their playmate who grew up with them. The greatest revelation a man can have is that Jesus, the Son of man is the Son of God. He is the first born and we are His brothers and sisters (Col 1:15, 18).
7. Nazarene. “He came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene’” (Mt 2:23). Since there were other Jesuses in those days, He was identified as Jesus of Nazareth. God plans every detail. His plan was for Jesus to grow up in Nazareth. This was a strategic place belonging to the region of Galilee. It was called ‘Galilee of the Nations’ because of its international flavour (Isa 9:1). Whatever happened there could be seen by the whole world. No wonder the Goodnews crossed mountains and seas in the first century itself because Galilee was located along international trade routes, being situated right at the middle of the map.
8. The Holy One. The angel Gabriel called Him, ‘The Holy One’ (Lk 1:35). He being a first born was ‘Holy to the Lord’ (Lk 2:23 NKJV). There are many gods in this world but only one holy God. He was not just holy in the womb, He was holy till He was laid
in the tomb. He said, “The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (Jn 14:30). What if He is Holy? The point is, He wants us to be holy too. “That we might serve Him... in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life”
(Lk 1:73-75). Serve the Lord with holiness. Let holiness be our motto and banner!
9. Consolation of Israel (Lk 2:25). Simeon was waiting for the Consolation of Israel. The C of consolation is capital signifying that it was Jesus(NKJV). People used to have it as their name (Acts 4:36 NKJV). It is because the Jews were suffering under the rule of many kingdoms and were waiting for Jesus, the Consolation, to come and comfort them. Simeon said, “Lord, now you are letting Your servant depart in PEACE” (Lk 2:29). True to His name, Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest... and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:28,29). May the consolation and comfort of the Lord envelop us this Christmas as we lay down our heavy burdens at His feet and
enjoy His rest.
10. Light. Simeon took up Jesus in his arms and said of Him, “A light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Lk 2:32). In a world of darkness a ray of hope shone when Jesus was born. He said, “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12). Jesus deliberately chose to have His headquarters in Galilee because it was a place of
Gentiles. Isaiah prophesied, “The land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — the people living in darkness have seen a great LIGHT; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a LIGHT has
dawned” (Mt 4:15,16). The great Light has left us on this earth as little twinkling lights to the world that light may dawn upon those who are enveloped by the shadow of death.
Zacharias prophesied, “Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace” (Lk 1:78,79).
Let us come into a better understanding of JESUS the BABE and the heart of the SON OF DAVID the NAZARENE, to go forth to proclaim the Goodnews of the birth of the SON OF GOD as a son of man to give us LIGHT and CONSOLATION and be our KING , the HOLY ONE and IMMANUEL forever!
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, Mob:8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
