Jesus Birth

18 December 2016

Dear Phyllis,

Last week I was telling Sangha some of the little known facts about Christmas. The Bible is singular in telling us very little about the birth of Christ. It is only mentioned in two of the four gospels and there is no indication when it was. The only thing that can be said with confidence is that Jesus was not born in December. The fact that shepherds were sleeping outside makes that date highly unlikely. Of the two gospels where we do read about the birth of Jesus there are only two things that agree. Both emphasize the fact that Jesus was born of a virgin and that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The first point establishes the uniqueness of the Blood of Christ, and the second His linage as the Son of David.

The virgin birth of Christ is basic to our faith. Medical science has shown the in conception of a child the blood comes exclusively from the male gene. The fact that Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit make Jesus the only human ever born without a drop of Adams blood in him. And in the womb there is utterly no mixing of the mothers blood with the infant. The Blood of Jesus is the only blood untainted with the sinful nature of Adam.

It is surprising that the Son of that carpenter should be so well known as the Son of David. This is important because Jesus was (is) the fulfillment of God's covenant with David that his dynasty would be forever.

Beyond these two points the two accounts of the birth of Christ are different even to the fact that the two genealogies of Christ are different (Mt. 1:1-17 & Lk. 3:23-38). Matthew obviously is Christ genealogy on Joseph's side giving Him title to the Davidic throne, and Mary's side as the descendant of Adam. Luke is the one that gives us an account of the night that Jesus was born, and Matthew's account is an incident that happened a year or two later when they were in a house. The fact that Herod had all the male children up to two years old killed suggest that Jesus might have been as old as two, but more likely one.

If we can digress to as far as David, David is a very significant man in the Bible. It has been suggested that he is the most significant person in the OT. The 40 year reign of David spans an unparalleled time in history as going from the days of Saul when there were only two swords and no files in Israel (1Sam. 13:19-22) to the days of Solomon when Israel was the highest culture in the world (1Kn. 10:6,7). Between these two extremes was the time of David. And if we contrast David with Saul this is even more bewildering.

If anyone questions the severity of God and wonders if God is serious about His law they have only to look at the several incidents where the most minor offenses were settled by capital punishment. The greatest mystery in human history is the fact that the most catastrophic disaster that ever happened on this planet was the result of the prototype man touching and eating the forbidden fruit. By that innocent act all humanity fell into the grip of satan. In the time of Moses a man was executed for picking up a couple of sticks on the Sabbath (Num. 15:32-36). Achan with his sons and daughters were stoned for hiding a Babylonian garment and a couple of wedges of silver (Jos. 7:24). Ananias and Sapphira fell dead for lying to the Holy Spirit (Act 5:1-11); and Saul was rejected as king of Israel for not waiting an extra half hour for Samuel (1Sam. 13:8-14). When we look at the severity of the punishment of these seemingly minor incidents we are utterly bewildered by the fact that David, uniquely in Scripture, is known as a man after God's own heart (Act 13:22) while his sin is one of the most heinous in the Bible.

David was backsliden as he should have been with his men fighting (2Sam. 11:1). This made him venerable to temptation. His adultery alone was worthy of the death sentence (Lev. 20:10). But what he did in murdering one of his best men to cover his own sin is one of the most inexcusable crimes in the Bible. If there was ever a man in the Bible that should have been executed it was David. And he alone holds the title as a man after God's own heart. How in the world is this possible? The answer to this may be found in his response to God when confronted for his sin.

Saul is mans man. He was a man who was self-excusing and obsessed with the opinion of men. When confronted for his sin in sparing Agag, Saul said, “I have obeyed the Lord, but the people...” (1Sam. 15:20,21) Then when Samuel pinned him he pleaded, “I have sinned but honor me with these people” (1 Sam. 15:30). The reason he turned on David, and spent ten years trying to kill him, was because the women sang “Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands” (1Sam. 18:7). When the Lord told Samuel to go anoint a new king of Israel, Samuel protested, “If Saul finds out about it he will kill me” (1Sam. 16:2). No doubt that was true.

Thirty years later another prophet was confronted with another task that was infinitely more dangerous. David was guilty of one of the darkest sins in the Bible. The Lord told Nathan to go confront David with his sin. Up to this point David had gotten away with it and had been living in darkness for at least two years. Nathan very wisely went to King David and told him a story about two men and some sheep. He said there was one poor fellow who had only one little lamb and another wealthy bird that had a whole flock. A stranger came to visit the wealth man and, rather than slaughtering one of his own sheep, he stole and killed the lamb of the poor man. Nathan asked David. “What do you think about that?” David was enraged. He said, “That man shall surely die and he will pay four fold.” Then Nathan dropped the bomb and said, “You are the man” (2Sam. 12:1-7). Oh my goodness, what a gutsy statement! Had that been Saul, Nathan would be history right now. But it was David who hit the floor with conviction of sin and said “That is true. I have sinned” (2 Sam. 12:13) Most mercifully Nathan said to David, “You won't die. The Lord has put away your sin. But because you have given the enemy great occasion to blaspheme the child will die” (2Sam. 12:13, 14).

The Bible is silent on this subject. This is totally Bill Cook's opinion but I believe there is a big time gap in verse 15 (2Sam. 12). Until he was confronted by Nathan, David had lived in darkness for at least two to possibly three or four years. I believe it was after this exposure by Nathan that Bathsheba was pregnant for the third time. And David called his third son's name Nathan. Bathsheba had four sons by David. The first boy's name was Shimea. The second son was Shobad. The third son was Nathan. And the forth was Solomon (1Ch. 3:5). Whatever the sequence was in a time line, Shimea was obviously at least three or probably four years old when he got sick. David knew the death sentence was on him. He knew the lad was going to die because of his own sin. For seven days David fasted and prayed all night for the little fellow (2Sam. 12:16-18). When he knew the little boy was gone David said, “I can't bring him back to me but someday I will go to him” (2Sam. 12:23). After Shimea died David went to comfort this wife Bathsheba and she became pregnant for the fourth time. The result of that was Solomon (2Sam. 12:24).

David had at least seven wives (2Ch. 3:1-3; 1Sam. 18:27). Of these seven women he had at least ten sons. It is astounding that the one the Lord chose for the linage of Christ was Solomon from Bathsheba, that David got by adultery and murder. Had I been God I never would have chosen her to be the linage of Christ. There are five women listed in Mathew's account; three of the five were women of dubious moral character (Mt. 1:3-6). If there is anything that shows the grace of God it is in the genealogy of Christ as recorded by Matthew. And perhaps the answer to the mystery of why David was a man after God's own heart lies in his responses when confronted by God for sin. In Luke's account of the genealogy of Christ we see that the linage of Christ on Mary's side was Nathan (Lk. 3:31). Saul justified himself when confronted for sin but when David was charged for infinitely greater sin his response was immediate contrition and he named his next son after the man who pinned him. Whatever the case is, we see the linage of Christ as the Son of David recorded by Matthew came through SOLOMON, but in Luke's account, when he presents Jesus as a descendant of Adam, he tells us that Jesus came through NATHAN. Oh how wonderful is the Word of God and what amazing truths are hidden in obscure places.

The world stops for a day to celebrate Santa Clause. Most children in the Orient think that Christmas is Santa's birthday. Evil men in America are making a fierce attack trying to take Christ out of Christmas. Thank God Obama's “happy holiday” has been replaced by Trump's “Merry Christmas”. The Bible offers very little substance to tell us when Jesus was born. But it does tell us emphatically that Jesus was born of a virgin which makes His Blood unique, and He is indeed the promised King of Israel as being born in Bethlehem the city of David.

Whenever it was, thank God Jesus had a birthday, and thank God He is King of our lives.

Have a good Christmas, bill

PS: After I wrote this letter I have had second thoughts about my own thesis. The question is: was David a man after God's own heart because he named his son Nathan, or did he name his son Nathan because he was a man after God's own heart? Whatever the case – as much as anything in scripture - this shows the character of David, and I am intrigued that is the name listed in Luke.