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The Birth of Jesus Foretold Luke 1:26-35 (NIV) 26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged
to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said,
"Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the
angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son,
and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will
give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. What the angel Gabriel said is "The Holy Spirit will come upon you... So the holy one to be born will be
called the Son of God." He is not the physical son of God, but we call him the Son of God because he came from the Spirit
of God. Therefore, he is not the physical son, but "He shall be called the Son of God." In the Arabic version of the Bible, there is a big difference between the words "son" of God, and "child"
of God. In Arabic, there are the words "ibn" and "walad". "Ibn" means "son" and "walad" means "child". "Ibn" refers to the
child you adopt; "walad" means it was born to you. This is why we never call Jesus in Arabic "Walad Allah." We call him "Ibn
Allah", meaning he came from God. What is the difference between 'ibn' and 'walad'? In Arabic, the phrase "son of..." is used to signify where one is from. For instance, a man from Lebanon,
would be called a "Son of Lebanon." A man from Morocco would be called a "Son of Morocco." And because the Nile is the most
famous part of Egypt, an Egyptian will often be called "Son of the Nile." One could also be called "Son of Education", meaning
that he is a very well educated person. The phrase may also be used to express one's main interest. In the same way, Christ
is called "Son of God" because HE came from the Spirit of God. Does the Koran refute Christ's crucifixion? There is a verse in the Koran which says, "They killed Him not, they crucified Him not, but it was likened
unto them. They killed Him not knowingly, but God raised Him and God is the most merciful of merciful." This verse is NOT saying that God was so merciful that He could never allow a wonderful prophet such as Jesus
to be crucified by His enemies. It is NOT saying God saved Him, and lifted Him up to heaven. God DID NOT then punished Judas
Iscariot, who had betrayed Him the night before, by changing him into the likeness of Christ. It was NOT Judas who was crucified. Consider the attitude the Jews held toward Christ. When Jesus was taken to the Roman governor, they did not
believe He was the Messiah. They wanted to get rid of Him. So by saying, "They killed Him not knowingly", the Koranic verse
is simply saying they killed Him without knowing He was the Messiah. The Biblical prophecy and necessity of Christ's crucifixion. The issue of Christ's death on the cross brings us back to the verses in Genesis 4, we see how God accepted
Abel's sacrifice, the lamb, but rejected Cain's sacrifice, which was the fruit of his labor. The lamb is a substitute for
man and represents the coming of Christ. The fruit of Cain's labor was representative of good works, and was not sufficient
to meet God's requirement. In Genesis 22, Abraham takes his son as a sacrifice in obedience to God's command: "And He said, 'Take now
your son, your only son, whom you love, Issac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one
of the mountains of which I will tell you" (Genesis 22:2). What does this mean? Why would God have asked such a thing? The picture God was pointing out here was that He Himself was providing a ram miraculously as a substitute
for Abraham's son. Abraham had lifted his knife and was ready to kill his son, but what happened instead? He heard a voice
saying, "Abraham! ... Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him… (Genesis 22:12). Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram
and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. (Genesis 22:13) The ram represents Jesus Christ, and we can look back 2000 years ago and see Him on the cross for you and
me. In John 1:29 John the Baptist proclaims, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes the sins of the world". Jesus
is the Lamb of God. Isaiah 53 very clearly speaks about: the coming of Christ and the redemption of mankind. Jesus Himself bearing our sins on the cross, Himself being the sacrifice. Isaiah 53:4-12 (NIV) 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten
by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off
from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes [c] his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his
hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous
servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and
he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Who is the prophet Isaiah is talking about here? It is Jesus, son of Mary -. Christians Arabs call him "Yassoua,"
which is taken from "Yashoua," the Hebrew name for Jesus, while Muslims call Him "Issa," taken from "Yssus," the Greek name
for Jesus. Take this opportunity to show him that what was prophesied in Isaiah was fulfilled in the person of Christ nearly
600 years later. Who is the prophet Isaiah is talking about here? It is Jesus, son of Mary aka Who is the prophet Isaiah is
talking about here? It is Jesus, son of Mary aka "Yassoua," which is taken from "Yashoua," the Hebrew name for Jesus; it is
Jesus, son of Mary aka "Issa," taken from "Yssus," the Greek name for Jesus. What was prophesied in Isaiah was fulfilled in
the person of Christ nearly 600 years later. I also want to point out that "the Lord was pleased" (verse 10) to offer Christ as a sacrifice for man's
sin. God is just; He said in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death," which is eternal separation from God. However,
God is also merciful. He would not allow the whole world to go to hell. From the moment man fell, the death of Christ was
planned as the solution for sin. I know some might question the necessity of Christ's death on the cross, citing good works as a means of
atonement for one's sin. But suppose I stole your car and you caught me, brought me to the police and turned me in. Suppose
further that because of this, the police sentenced me to five days in jail. Could I get out by saying "Wait a minute. I bought
him lunch yesterday, paid for his subway and everything!" Would the police accept it? Of course not! It's not logical. Good
works alone are not sufficient payment for one's crimes. Take for example a judge is sitting in the courtroom, wearing his judicial robe, and a young girl stands
before him. She has been charged with driving without a license and speeding down the highway, for which the penalty is $300.
HE points his finger at her and asks, "Are you guilty or not?" She answers," Yes, Your Honor: But I cannot afford to pay the
penalty." The judge, however, tells her, "You must pay!" And with that dismisses the court. He then steps down from the bench,
takes off his robe and gives the girl $300. Why? Because he is her father, and while he could not dishonor his name by letting
her go free, he is also merciful and loving and could not bear to see her put in jail because of her inability to pay. The
only solution, therefore, is for him to pay the penalty himself. In the same way, we can see how Christ has paid the penalty for OUR sin in Philippians 2, verses 5 through
11: 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider
equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human
likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a
cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV) Christ, being equal with God, nevertheless emptied Himself, taking off the robe of heavenly glory and coming
down as a man to bear the cross. At the cross, the justice and the mercy of God met together, and both were satisfied. Now let me ask you "What would you think of God if for thousands of years He promised that Jesus would come
and die for the sins of the world, and at the last moment, when Jesus was about to be put on the cross, He took him alive
and changed Judas into the image of Christ? Does this description fit the God we know?" Not only would this make God out to
be a liar, but also there would have been no provision for man's sin! Jesus was the only sacrifice sufficient for man's salvation. If Jesus died on the cross, and if Jesus is God, does that mean that God died on the cross also? In the Gospel of John, chapter 4, we are told that God is Spirit. In the original Hebrew language, Spirit
is "roh." from this word, the word "roh" is taken, which is also the air in the atmosphere. Air is everywhere. Though you
cannot see it, you know it is present: you can feel it; you breathe it, even though it has no color or shape. The same thing
is true with the Spirit of God - He is present everywhere. If you take an empty bottle, you know that it is empty of any liquid, yet it is filled with air. The air
that's inside the bottle, furthermore, has taken the shape of the bottle, even though the air has no shape. The characteristics
of the air inside the bottle are identical to the air outside the bottle. The fact that there is air inside the bottle does
not mean there is none outside the bottle, because air exists everywhere in the atmosphere. Now, if you were to take the bottle
today, and smash it against the wall, it would break into hundreds of little pieces. It would be shattered. Can we say that
the air inside the bottle would also be shattered? No. Only the vessel that contained the air has been shattered. The same thing took place when God, who is Spirit, dwelt among us in the body of Jesus Christ. God took the
likeness of man. That does not mean that HE no longer existed. Rather, like the air when it filled the bottle, God still exists
everywhere. Furthermore, Jesus' crucifixion on the cross does not mean that God was killed, but rather that the body, which
contained the Spirit of God, was killed. God has always existed, even during the third day sin which Jesus was dead in the
tomb. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul has written in his epistle to the Philippians, chapter 2, verses 5-11: "Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of
God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being
made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross. Therefore, also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knew should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus is Lord, |
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