You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. [Philippians 2:5-7 (NLT)]
Jesus may have been the Son of God but, for most of His life, He chose to live as the son of a man. Luke’s words that Jesus “grew in wisdom and in stature” [2:52] lead us to believe that Jesus was bound, both physically and mentally, by the normal course of human development. He didn’t arrive as an infant who could speak in full sentences, recite the Torah, discuss Scripture with the rabbis, turn water into wine, or walk (let alone walk on water). Like other human children, Jesus had to grow, mature, and obey His earthly parents. While fully God, Jesus also was fully man, with a human nature and will; when He overcame mankind’s sinful nature by never sinning, He did that as a man.
Even though Mary and Joseph knew Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and would reign over Israel, they didn’t know the details of God’s plan or the magnitude of His power. Although they knew their son was special, they had no idea how special He really was! I can’t help but wonder what Jesus was like as a child, what was it like for Joseph and Mary to raise the Son of God, and what it was like to have God for a brother.
The gospels specifically mention Jesus’ sisters and four brothers: James, Joses, Simon, and Judas. [Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3] Some say that these siblings weren’t the children of Joseph and Mary but were cousins or distant relatives. The Greek words used, however, were specific: adelphos (brothers) and adelphe (sisters). After the wedding at Cana, John tells us that Jesus went to Capernaum with Mary, the disciples and “his brothers.” [John 2:12] Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention that ”Jesus’ mother and brothers” came to see Him and John tells us that our Lord’s brothers had doubts about Him being the Messiah. That they eventually came to believe in Jesus is clear; they were united in prayer with the disciples after the resurrection prior to Pentecost. Paul refers to James as “the Lord’s brother” and both James and his brother Jude wrote epistles we find in the New Testament. That Jesus had siblings is clear; how they came to be is less clear.
There are many who hold that Mary remained a perpetual virgin: that she and Joseph never consummated their union. The Bible, however, does not support that assertion. Matthew wrote that Joseph did not “know” Mary (a polite euphemism for having sexual relations) until the baby was born, clearly implying that he did “know” her later. Both Matthew and Luke refer to Jesus as Mary’s “firstborn” rather than her “only” son. God ordained marriage and sex before sin entered the world and there is no reason to think Joseph and Mary did not follow His command to “become one flesh” and “be fruitful and multiply.” The sin would have been if Mary had refused to have relations with her husband. For those who want to think of Mary as a perpetual virgin, however, an alternate explanation is that Joseph was a widower and those six or more siblings were from his earlier marriage. In that case, Joseph would have been quite a bit older than Mary and, while he is described as being a righteous man, nothing indicates he’d been previously married. In this scenario, unless those children were all grown and out of his house, where were they that Christmas night in Bethlehem? No mention of a family is made.
Although He was God, Jesus came to earth to live and die as a man. I can’t imagine God wanting Jesus to grow up without experiencing the mayhem, noise, tears, conflict, teasing, and laughter that come with brothers and sisters in the house. As part of a family, Jesus learned how to play, share, wait His turn, tolerate annoying siblings, and help the little ones. The lessons He taught us about love, patience, forgiveness, generosity, and turning the other cheek were all lessons Jesus had to learn as part of a family unit. As Jesus “grew in wisdom and in stature,” he learned how to live peacefully with others, lessons that were invaluable when dealing with the petty rivalries and disputes of His disciples. As we approach the holiday season and the stress of large family gatherings, let us remember that we’re not encountering any challenges that Jesus didn’t face. He managed to do it without sin; can we?
James warns of the dangers of an untamed tongue and the damage that can be done with ill-considered words. Although he was speaking of speech, the same goes for the written word. Whether we’re holding a pen, our fingers are speeding across a keyboard, or our thumbs are tapping out a text, our words are powerful. Whether we use them to build or destroy is our choice.
Around this time of year, I frequently return to Bedford Falls and get reacquainted with the conflicted George Bailey, the money-grubbing Mr. Potter, and Angel 2nd Class, Clarence Odbody. This year’s version of It’s a Wonderful Life was somewhat different. Rather than seeing the movie, I attended a theatrical production set in a New York City radio station in the 1940s. The well-known story unfolded as if it were a live radio broadcast. Just five actors took on all of the roles (along with producing the various sound effects required for a radio show). In spite of the unusual adaptation, the production remained true to the original movie’s message.
Then God said to Noah, “Leave the boat, all of you—you and your wife, and your sons and their wives. Release all the animals—the birds, the livestock, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—so they can be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth.” Genesis 8:15-17 (NLT)]
And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. [1 John 5:14-15 (NLT)]
In the comic strip Peanuts, drawn by Charles Schultz, Linus and Lucy van Pelt are brother and sister who, like many siblings, often fight. For several days last week, Lucy tried to convince Linus to give her a Christmas gift. When she insisted the giving of Christmas presents is in the Bible, he called her bluff saying, “You can’t fool an old theologian.” Two days later, while Lucy searched in the Bible, she exclaimed, “I found it!…The word ‘sister’ in the Bible!…That proves you have to give me a Christmas present!” Her little brother merely sighed, “Oh, good grief.” While not as blatant as Lucy, we often find people taking Scripture out of context to justify their own meaning.
Devotions of the Heart 