The Birth of Christ

The life and death of Jesus Christ have presented unfathomable questions. Did he reveal to mankind everything he intended?

Was his crucifixion the consummation of his mission?

If his teaching was the ultimate revelation and his mission was completed, why do Christians still pray, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."? Let us examine Jesus' life and teachings in the light of God's new revelation.

How was Jesus born?

Was he conceived without a physical father?

To understand the background of Jesus' birth, it is necessary to go back to the history of God's work to establish the foundation for the Messiah in the family of Jacob. Especially significant is the course of Judah's daughter-in-law Tamar, who was the foremother of Jesus.

Tamar's Foundation for Sinless Birth

Two brothers, Perez and Zerah, were struggling inside Tamar's womb. At the time of delivery, Zerah reached his hand out of his mother's womb. To mark who was firstborn, the midwife tied a red thread around his wrist.

After the thread was tied, however, a great struggle took place in Tamar's womb, in which Perez fiercely pulled Zerah back in and was born first himself!

The name Perez means "he who pushed aside" (Gen. 38:27-30).

Thus, the victory won by Jacob over Esau was consummated in the mother's womb through Perez and Zerah. Now restoration was complete in that lineage, and there was no room for Satan to exert any claim, even from the time of conception in the womb. That family tree continued uninterrupted for 2,000 years down through the birth of Jesus.

After 4,000 years of biblical history since the Fall of Adam and Eve, the time finally arrived for the birth of the Messiah. This means that for the first time in history, God could finally send His true son in His lineage, sinless in the mother's womb.

Because that lineage had already been cleansed through Tamar's course, Satan could have no claim on that sinless baby boy, and on this level, Satan was defeated.

Who was chosen to inherit Tamar's course and fulfill that most extraordinary dispensation in the sight of God at the time of the Messiah 2,000 years ago? Her name was Mary.

Mary's Call and Elizabeth's Response

Mary, when she was engaged to Joseph, received from the Archangel Gabriel the surprising message that the Messiah would be born through her. (Luke 1:31)

In those days, if an unmarried woman became pregnant, she could be killed. But Mary accepted the will of God with absolute faith, saying, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)

Mary immediately left her home and journeyed to consult the priest Zechariah, who was her relative and was highly respected. Zechariah's wife, Elizabeth, with the help of God, was pregnant with John the Baptist.

She said to Mary, "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, and why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:42-43)

With these words, she testified to the coming birth of Jesus. In this way, God let Mary, Zechariah (Luke 1:17), and Elizabeth know about the birth of the Messiah before anybody else.

All of them had the crucial mission of following the will of God and serving Jesus.

Zechariah's family let Mary stay in their house. Jesus was conceived in the house of Zechariah.

Elizabeth and Mary were cousins. But according to God's providence, they were considered sisters, with Elizabeth as the elder, Cain, and Mary as the younger, Abel.

If Jacob's family was the starting point at the family level, then Mary and Zechariah's family was the starting point of the national-level providence. In the family of Jacob, Rachel was intended to become the first wife, not Leah. (Genesis 29)

However, Leah became the first wife. At the time of Jesus, on the national level, this order had to be restored in the family of Zechariah.

The position of the original wife was occupied by Elizabeth, Zechariah's wife.

Elizabeth's son was John the Baptist. However, through them alone, there was no way to complete the restoration. There had to exist a younger sister's position to establish the heavenly lineage.

In Jacob's family, Leah hated her younger sister Rachel, and she completely dominated Jacob and produced most of his children, whereas Rachel had only two children.

However, Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah, actually volunteered to introduce Mary to Zechariah because of her revelation from God. She allowed Mary to stay with her family for three months. During the months of staying in Zechariah's household, Mary became pregnant.

Mary had the responsibility to indemnify the failure of Eve as well as the failure of Rachel and Leah. Because of Mary's success in fulfilling the positions of Eve, Rachel, and Tamar, the son she had in her womb was sanctified at the national level.

That is why she was able to give birth to the Holy Son of God, Jesus. Jesus was born completely free of satanic accusation. God inspired everything concerning his conception and birth. He was truly God's only-begotten son.

Mary Returns to Joseph

In the Bible, it is recorded, "And Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] for about three months, and returned to her home." (Luke 1:56)

After that, there is no biblical record of any further communication between Mary and Elizabeth and Zechariah. From the time Mary left Zechariah's house, difficulties began for Mary and Jesus.

Originally, God wanted Jesus to be born under the shelter of Zechariah's family.

The family of Zechariah should have been the wall of protection for Jesus until the very end.

A short time later, Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant. How great must have been his shock at that moment!

Mary, his beloved fiancée, without having had any physical relationship with him, had become pregnant after a three-month stay in another place.

It was natural for Joseph to question Mary about whose baby in her womb belonged to. Mary's pregnancy began to show, and the people of the surrounding area became aware of it.

What would have happened if Joseph had declared that he didn't know anything about it?

But Joseph was a righteous man. He received a dream in which an angel told him that Mary's child was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Joseph believed in the revelation of God and defended Mary, saying the pregnancy was his responsibility.

Mary may have been scorned for becoming pregnant during her engagement, but she had avoided death by stoning. Joseph, who loved Mary, protected her this way in the beginning. However, there was a great deal of anguish deep in his heart.

Once Jesus was born, Joseph's suspicions about the father of Jesus only increased, and his heart ached. As Jesus grew older, the two became more and more distant in heart. And because of this, family problems frequently arose.

Jesus was viewed as an illegitimate son, 2 and lacking the protection of Zechariah's family and the love of Joseph, he grew up with an indescribable loneliness in his heart. Jesus alludes to this separation in Mathew 12:47-50:

Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." He replied to him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"

Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matt. 12:47-50)

Without the support of his family, Jesus turned to John the Baptist.