Birth (7)

The Holy Family
by Rembrandt (1634)

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. (Matthew 1:18-24 ESV)

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7)

Quiz on Jesus in His Humanity

We’re celebrating the incarnation, and it seems like a good time to repost this quiz on what it means that the Son of God became a human being.

Choose the best answer from the choices given.

1. In his humanity, Jesus was just like us except that

a. his humanity didn’t limit him in any way.
b. his blood had special divine properties which gave it power to save.
c. he did not have a sin nature with sinful desires.
d. all of the above.
e. a and c above.

2. Jesus’s human nature is

a. mixed with his divine nature.
b. distinct from his divine nature.
c. separate from his divine nature.
d. none of the above.
e. b and c above.

3. In his humanity, Jesus was

a. in one location at a time.
b. able to experience suffering and death.
c. learning things as he grew and experienced.
d. all of the above.
e. b and c above.

4. In his humanity, Jesus had

a. a human will.
b. a human mind.
c. human emotions.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.

5. That Jesus was fully human means that

a. his obedience can be counted as our obedience.
b. he can be a mediator between human beings and God.
c. he could make a propitiatory sacrifice for human beings.
d. all of the above.
e. b and c above.

Look for the answers on Wednesday, when I will also give you three reasons why it matters to you that Christ is human.

Taking a Holiday

from blogging, so don’t expect to see some of the regular features like the Theological Term of the Week or a question from The Westminster Larger Catechism this week.

I won’t be back to real live blogging until at least Saturday, I think, but I do have a few things queued up to publish automatically over the next few days.