I have often said that the Bible is a book about Jesus. If you remove Jesus from the pages of the Bible, it would be like plucking the stars from the heavens; there would be a vast emptiness. So, let us conclude this study on “The People Of The Bible” by “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)
The principle of the second before the first that I mentioned in several of my earlier devotions reaches its ultimate fulfillment with Jesus. Sin came from the first Adam, but salvation was made possible by the Second Adam. Because of the first Adam, all die, but because of the Second Adam, all can live. 1 Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” The first Adam was natural, the Second Adam was supernatural. 1 Corinthians 15:45-47, “And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.” What the Old Covenant could not do, the New Covenant did. (Hebrews 8:13)
As I’ve mentioned in the previous devotions on the Godhead, Jesus is from everlasting to everlasting. The part we sometimes struggle with is that He was fully God, and yet He became fully man. John 1:1-4 speaks of the deity of Christ. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” So, yes, Jesus was fully God. But then, John 1:14 speaks of the humanity of Christ. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” He who was fully God became fully man so that we could become like Him.
We all love the Christmas story of Luke chapter 2, but the promise of the birth of the Messiah dates back to the dawn of creation. Revelation 13:8 tells us that “Jesus was the Lamb, who was slain from before the foundation of the world.” Something closer in time, that perhaps our minds can grasp a little easier, took place about 6,000 years ago after Adam and Eve sinned when God promised a Savior would be born. From the days of Genesis chapter 3, the world waited anxiously for the fulfillment of that promise. It happened in Bethlehem.
When I visit Bethlehem, I always enjoy the place known as “The Shepherds Field.” Numerous caves dot the landscape. For as long as anyone can remember, it was a place where shepherds would tend their flock. The caves provided a place of shelter from the weather. The ceilings are covered with the soot of thousands of campfires that have been built over the centuries, that not only provided warmth, but upon which they cooked their meals. It was in this area, two thousand years ago, that the silence of the night was shattered when the heavens were filled with a host of angels, who heralded the message the world had long waited for, “Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) A baby had been born.
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