Chapter 3: Jesus’ Birth

Chapter 2: Jesus’ Birth

The End of the “Silence”

The so-called “400 years of silence” (the years when God did not speak to Israel) ended with the coming of Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist (Malachi 4:5-6). God was merging history and prophecy, as “the Word became flesh” and dwelt among us (John 1:14).

The Record of the Nativity

Paul gave his record of Jesus’ birth in one verse, “In the fullness of time…God sent forth His Son, born of a virgin, born under the Law…” (Galatians 4:4).

The Apostle John’s record of the nativity is recorded in fourteen verses.  First, he explains in his Gospel that God chose to visit the earth in the person of His Son, the Christ (meaning the Anointed One, or Messiah). John opens his story of Jesus with these words,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:1-5).

In verses 6 through 8, John tells us that John the Baptizer came as the forerunner, to witness of Jesus. Then he tells us,

“There was the true Light, which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believed in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:9-14).

Gabriel’s Message to Mary

In the first chapter of Luke, Gabriel and Mary’s conversation is recorded.

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a Son, and you shall name Him Yeshua/Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God…For nothing will be impossible with God.’” (Luke 1:31-35, 37).

Gabriel’s Message to Joseph

After Mary returned to Nazareth from her visit with Elizabeth, Joseph discovered that his “betrothed” was pregnant, likely in her third or fourth month, and “not wanting to disgrace her…” Joseph determined to “put her away secretly” (Matt. 1:18-19). While he was considering the proper course of action, an angel from God told him,

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus/Yeshua, for it is He who will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20b-22).

Matthew stated that this was to fulfill Isaiah’s prophetic word as found in Isaiah 7:14,

“‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name ‘Emmanuel’, which translated means ‘God with us’” (Matthew1:23).

To summarize these difficult concepts, God chose to manifest Himself in human form, amid His people, Israel. Jesus, who was “God in the flesh,” came to “fulfill the Law” – that is, to teach the perfect meaning of God’s Law – to take nothing from the Law and to add nothing to it. He came to “fulfill” all that God had said and done in the Hebrew Scriptures. This was only possible because Jesus, the Word, was God in the flesh, being perfect divinity (God) and perfect humanity (man).

God’s Perspective

Man is unable to comprehend how an infinite God could take on finite form. Only God’s self-determined attitude of humility could bring about such a reality. We will never understand the depths of God “emptying Himself” and becoming a man, a “…bond-servant…in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7).

No wonder the Jews—who were expecting Messiah to be their reigning king, who would sit on David’s throne and rule the world in peace—have incredible difficulty accepting that God “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross” (Philippians 2:8). To this day, so do we all! No human explanation does justice to this inexplicable love of God. My thought is this: It was God’s choice! I can only accept it by “faith”. We hope that as you study these chapters, God’s inexplicable love and faithfulness will come into perfect focus.

Jesus’ Jewish Birth  

The Lord chose a godly Jewish maiden, Mary, as the vehicle through which He would enter the world. Mary was a descendant of royal Jewish priests. She was betrothed to Joseph, a godly Jewish man, and a descendant of King David. Thus, Jesus was born of royal Jewish lineage.

At His birth, Jesus fulfilled many prophecies foretold in Hebrew Scriptures. He was circumcised on the eighth day, according to the Jewish Law. As the first-born son, Jesus underwent the requirements prescribed by Jewish Law, to redeem the first born, in the Temple.

Jesus’ Jewish Childhood  

As a babe in arms, Jesus was taken to Nazareth, and raised there in a godly Jewish home. He worshiped in Jewish synagogues, and carefully kept all the God-given Jewish laws, feasts and even the Jewish traditions. Weekly, He kept the Jewish Sabbath according to the Law.

Note: To assist you with several Jewish terms in this chapter we have supplied a glossary to assist at the close of this chapter.

Jesus’ Jewish Education

Jesus was educated in Jewish synagogue schools. As all Jewish boys did at that time, at age five He entered Beit Safer—equivalent to our elementary school. Here, He began to memorize the Jewish Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures). After His Bar Mitzvah, at age thirteen, He entered Beit Midrash, or the equivalent of our Junior High and High School, where He continued His formal education by memorizing the Tanakh (the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures) plus other Hebrew writings.

The Hebrew Scripture was His Only Bible, and it was His curriculum for every discipline and study. The Scriptures served as His language study (Hebrew), writing, math, geography, history, physical science, social science, political science, medical science, theology and music.

By age 12, Jesus had memorized the Torah (186 chapters). We believe that He went to Jerusalem on that occasion to be approved by lawyers and priests in the Temple (Luke 2:41-50).

We believe that this approval was accepted as His Bar Mitzvah by the elders of His synagogue in Nazareth.

Jesus’ Jewish Life

There is much evidence that before age 20, Jesus began His studies in a Jewish yeshiva (seminary). This yeshiva/seminary was most likely the one located in Sepphoris, only about four miles (roughly six kilometers) from His home in Nazareth. Mary’s mother and father lived in Sepphoris at that time, and it was the capital of Galilee.

Sepphoris was also the location of the Galilean Sanhedrin, and the home of the leading yeshiva in the north. We believe Jesus graduated, and was ordained as a Jewish rabbi by age 30. Until today, few Jewish spiritual leaders have become rabbis by age 30. Jesus, however, was an exception. He became a widely respected Rabbi. He was baptized in John’s Jewish mikvah of the Jordan River. This experience was not only His baptism, but also His ordination for ministry, and the completion of His Bar Mitzvah. (See previous chapter 2).

There is strong evidence to suggest that Jesus was appointed as the teaching Rabbi over the three Jewish synagogues at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, and that He also itinerated and taught all over Galilee. He called and trained only Jewish disciples (except one, Judas). He most often used the Jewish Rabbinical method of Haggadah (teaching through parables), healing and performing miracles as He fulfilled the Hebrew Scriptures. His ministry was to the “Lost sheep of Israel” throughout God’s Land.

Jesus’ Death, Resurrection and Ministry

After being interrogated and tried by both Jewish and Roman leaders in Jerusalem, Jesus gave His life on a Roman cross outside those walls. He was buried in a Jewish tomb, according to “the burial custom of the Jews” (John 19:40b).

He rose from the dead and walked out of that Jewish tomb. Over the next 40 days, He appeared only to Jews. Perhaps as many as 600 people saw Him, ate with Him, and were taught by the Living Christ.

At Pentecost, our risen, resurrected Lord started His “ecclesia/assembly/church” in Jerusalem. On that one day 3,000 Jews were baptized, later another 5,000, and afterwards the “Believers” began “multiplying.” For the first 15 years after Jesus’ death, with rare exception, the early believers were all Jews, and they worshiped in Jewish synagogues.  (To our knowledge, there were no official church buildings in the Roman Empire before 326 AD).

Jesus/Yeshua was sovereignly placed by His Father in a completely Jewish culture. He came to minister to “…the lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 15:4). All He did and said revolved around His Jewish culture.

Are You Struggling?

Likely some of your perceptions about Jesus and His life have already been challenged. This would not be a surprise. In our western Christian culture, professors, pastors, teachers and lay leaders have been unconsciously influenced by traditional church interpretations of Jesus’ life. Unfortunately, we seldom interpret His life and ministry through the context of His Jewish culture.

Many interpreters of Jesus’ life and ministry have presented Him against the foreign tapestry of Greco-Roman culture. Many have been embarrassed that Jesus was born in lowly Bethlehem as a Jew. His lowly birth, in such humble surroundings, seems quite inappropriate for the Creator of the universe. A Roman palace, or perhaps the Greek Parthenon, would have been a more logical place for the birth of The King.

If you are willing to walk with us, forgetting what lies behind, and reaching forward to what lies ahead, we invite you to discover the Jewish Jesus. It is our hope that our approach will help you to better understand His life, ministry and teachings. If this excites your heart, then get ready for a thrilling spiritual journey! The journey of a lifetime. All you will need for this trip is an open heart and mind, plus a willingness to walk with our Lord through the Four Gospels. In this study, you must allow Jesus to be totally Jewish—both in His first century historical context, and in His God-directed Hebrew culture.

Let’s meet our Jewish Jesus!

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Glossary of Terms for Chapter 3

Bar Mitzvah – literally translates “son of the commandment”. A Jewish young man becomes a man in Judaism at age 13 when he completes the requirements of his Bar Mitzvah, and from that point on is to keep the requirements of the Law. In Jesus day and often today the young man is required to memorize and is tested on the 186 chapters in the Jewish Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Beit Midrash – means house of Torah study, discussion, dialogue. Jewish young men, in their educational processes, are assigned subjects for ‘drash’ (research, discussion, arguments, study of the Word) – seeking the “Truth” on the subject being discussed. The goal is NOT to prove one right or wrong, but to find what is accurate through “two or three witnesses”. A subject is thus, under discussion ‘drash’ until it become Law (halakhah, or Truth). The local synagogue is the usual place for such study.

Beit Safer – House of learning for young children. Always learning by memorization of the Scripture.

Haggadah – The Jewish method of teaching through parables, similes, stories. In Jesus’ day all rabbis taught using this method. The Haggadah of Passover is the telling of the Passover story at the Passover meal. Jesus is considered the greatest Haggadist of the first century and all times, as there are dozens of times more records of His parables than any other Jewish rabbi.

Mikvah – The Jewish ritual cleansing pool, used weekly by most worshiping Jews, on Friday before Shabbat begins at sundown. It is the pre-curser of the Christian baptismal pool. John chose the Jordan River as the national mikvah for the great revival in his day. There Jesus was baptized.

Torah – Is the cornerstone of Judaism. Torah means “The Law”, God’s instruction to His People.

In a limited sense it is the first 5 books (Pentateuch) of the Jewish Bible. In a broader sense it encompasses all of the Hebrew scripture. The written Torah has three parts; 1. Pentateuch or Books of Moses, 2. Nevi’im or the Prophets, 3. Ketuvim or Writings.

Tanakh – an acrostic for the three sections of the Jewish Bible mentioned above -TaNaKH or Tanach formed by the first letters of the three sections. Thus, the name for the Jewish Scriptures.

Yeshiva – A Jewish seminary today. In Jesus’ day the formal yeshiva was developing, but rabbis were ordained or set apart by a process which is till called the semicha. The status of rabbi is obtained by study of God’s Word and Jewish traditions, thus becoming a person knowledge and a leader in the Jewish spiritual community. Jesus was called a rabbi thirteen times in the Gospels. We believe that He graduated from the yeshiva in Sepphoris, near Nazareth and was “ordained” by the Galilean Sanhedrin as the teaching rabbi of the synagogues at the north end of the Sea of Galilee (Capernaum, Bethsaida and Korazin). He was also called a rebbe (a rabbi among rabbis, a spiritual master and guide.

Yeshua – The Jewish name for Jesus.