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SYMBOLISM OF THE BIRTH OF THE SON OF GOD & THE SON OF MAN

12-25-11

THE BIRTH OF JESUS FORETOLD

(Luke 1:26-33)  And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel [Heb: man of God] was sent from God unto a city of Galilee [Gk: the heathen circle], named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused [Gk: engaged, betrothed] to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary [a type and shadow of all humanity]. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation [Gk: greeting] this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary [fear is the opposite of love]: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS [Heb: salvation]. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob [unsaved creatures (Jacob) transformed into saved creatures (Israel): Mark 16:15] for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end [in time nor space].

1.      Commentary: “And in the sixth month” = refers to the pregnancy of Elisabeth (the cousin of Mary), who was “barren” and “well stricken in years” (Luke 1:7), but nevertheless Elisabeth was miraculously bearing John the Baptist.

2.      Commentary: The angels, good and bad, are called the “the sons of God” (Gen 6:2,4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7), and men are also called “the sons of God” (John 1:12; Rom 8:14,19; Phil 2:15; 1 John 3:1,2).

3.      Commentay: Joseph was the rightful heir of the house of David to be King, rather than King Herod who was appointed by the Romans, and whose ancestor was Esau, a biblical symbol of “the flesh.” The coming of Jesus, Son of the Spirit of God, to be “King of the Jews” (Mat 2:2) manifested, made apparent to all, the classic conflict between the Spirit and the flesh.

4.      Mary = Hebrew: rebellious /// bitterness, i.e. (fig.) rebellion; bitter, or rebellious:--bitter, (most) rebel (-ion, -lious) /// to be (make) bitter (or unpleasant); (fig.) to rebel (or resist; to provoke):--bitter, change, be disobedient, disobey, provocation, provoke (-ing), (be) rebel (against).

5.      Commentary: Mary = Mary was herself as an individual “good,” most probably the “goodest” of the “good,” but not perfect; however, she was “highly favoured” of God (Luke 1:28), and chosen by God for a dual role: to represent both the natural (but not perfect) “good” (light) in all of humanity, and to be a symbol of the “darkness” (Gen 1:2) in all of humanity, and the Spirit of God moved upon her. 

a.      (Gen 1:1-3)  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void [exactly as we were born, useless to God in our natural state]; and darkness was upon the face of the deep [anthropomorphism: Dict: ascribing human form or attributes to beings or things not human]. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be [(perfect)] light [Heb: illumination (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.)] [a type of Jesus Christ: John 8:12]: and there was light [i.e., the archetype of the contemporary “born-again” experience].

                                                              i.     without form = Hebrew: waste; a desolation, i.e. desert; fig. a worthless thing; adv. in vain:--confusion, empty place, nothing, (thing of) nought, vain, vanity, waste, wilderness.

                                                            ii.     void = Hebrew: (empty); a vacuity, i.e. (superficially) an undistinguishable ruin:--emptiness.

                                                           iii.     darkness = Hebrew: the dark; hence (lit.) darkness; fig. misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness:--dark (-ness), night, obscurity /// to be dark (as withholding light); to darken:--be black, be (make) dark, cause darkness, be dim, hide.

GABRIEL TELLS MARY THAT SHE WILL MIRACULOUSLY CONCEIVE THE SON OF GOD

(Luke 1:34-38)  Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee [“And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” Gen 1:2], and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid [Gk: a female slave] of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word [an expression of submission and willing obedience]. And the angel departed from her.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

(Mat 1:18-25)  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise [this is how it happened]: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together [for an intimate physical relationship], she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man [a righteous and compassionate man], and not willing to make her a public example [not willing to expose her to public disgrace], was minded to put her away privily [divorce her privately]. But while he thought [considered] on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS [Heb: salvation]: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not [physically intimately] till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

THE SIGN OF THE MANGER, WITH TWO DEFINITE INDICATORS

(Luke 2:1-7)  And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem [Heb: house of bread]; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.  And she brought forth her firstborn son, [“And this shall be a sign unto you” Luke 2:12] and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger [Gk: a crib (for fodder):--manger, stall]; because there was no room for them in the inn.

1.      swaddle = Dictionary: 1. to bind (an infant, esp. a newborn infant) with long, narrow strips of cloth to prevent free movement; wrap tightly with clothes. [by mankind]

2.      swaddling clothes = Dictionary: 4. rigid supervision or restriction of actions or movements, as of the immature. [an allusion to the Old Testament, and to His burial wrappings left in the tomb]

Commentary: The Wikipedia Encyclopedia describes a manger as a trough or box of carved stone or most often wood construction used to hold food (fodder) for animals (as in a barn or stable). Mangers are mostly used in the process of raising livestock. The word comes from the French manger (meaning "to eat"), from Latin manducare (meaning "to chew"). The latter information is really quite fascinating – the etymology of “manger” reveals that the word means to take in the contents of, “to eat” and “to chew,” ultimately as in chewing the cud, or to ruminate (synonyms: ponder, think over, reflect, cogitate, meditate, mull over). Please note that the fleshly body of Jesus was laid in a manger, a holding place for food. Wow! We might further note that a manger is mostly used to nourish and feed livestock, that is, to feed domesticated or tamed animals such as cows and sheep (and tamed Christians). And may we also note that mangers are used to hold the food that attracts wild animals (unsaved wild men and women).

(John 1:14)  And the Word [of God, the Bible] was made flesh [the same flesh that was placed in the manger], and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father [definitively Jesus],) full of grace and truth.

(John 6:51-53) I am the living bread [assembled of grain (fodder), food for men and animals] which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat [they forgot about the manger]? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man [the Old Testament; the words in the Bible typed in black], and drink his blood [specifically, “the New Testament”: Mat 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25, & in another sense the words in the Bible typed in red], ye have no life in you.

The Living Bread spoken of by Jesus is composed of crushed grain seeds (Jesus Christ: Luke 8:11; John 1:14; John 6:51-53), wheat or barley seeds for parabolic example; water is added (the Holy Spirit: Eph 5:26 et.al.); and then the whole is roasted in the fire (Zec 13:8,9; 1 Cor 3:13), i.e., tried, tested (by God). Merry Christmas.