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Jesus’ Birth

Jesus’ Birth. Church of the Nativity. Cave Four at Qumran. Jesus as Born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2: "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.".

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Jesus’ Birth

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  1. Jesus’ Birth

  2. Church of the Nativity

  3. Cave Four at Qumran

  4. Jesus as Born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2: "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."

  5. Jesus as Born in Bethlehem Matthew 2:4-6 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” (Micah 5:2)

  6. Jesus as Born in Bethlehem Targum Jonathan interprets this text as predicting the birth of the Davidic Messiah in Bethlehem: "And you Bethlehem-Ephrathah who are too little to be counted among the thousands of the house of Judah, from you in my name shall come forth the anointed one [Messiah] who is to be ruler in Israel and whose name has been called from eternity, from the days of old." Surprisingly, Micah 5:2 is not interpreted messianically in extant second-Temple Jewish texts, which may be simply an accident of history.

  7. Jesus as Born in Bethlehem John 7:40-44 40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet." 41 Others said, "He is the Christ." Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42 Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?" 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

  8. Question Why is it significant that Jesus was born in Bethlehem?

  9. Jesus from the Line of David Jesus' Davidic Descent in Matthew and Luke In both Matthew and Luke there is a stress on the Davidic descent of Jesus through Joseph (Matt 1:20; Luke 1:27; see Luke 2:4). Jesus' Davidic descent qualifies him in part to be the eschatological king from David's line.

  10. Jesus from the Line of David Eschatological Davidic King (Messiah) in the Old Testament Isa 11: 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.  2 The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh—3 and he will delight in the fear of Yahweh….10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,  from Cush,  from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. 12 He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.

  11. Jesus from the Line of David Isaiah Pesher 4QpIsa (Isaiah Pesher) (4Q161 frgs. 8-10) gives the following interpretation of Isa 11:1-5:  "[The interpretation of] the word concerning the shoot of David which will sprout [in the final days, since] with the breath of his lips he will execute his enemies and God will support him with the spirit of courage [...] throne of glory, [holy] crown and hemmed vestments [...] in his hand. He will rule over the people of Magog [see Ezek 38-39][...] his sword will judge the peoples. And as for what he says, ‘He will not [judge by appearances] or give verdicts on hearsay,' its interpretation: [...] according to what they teach him, he will judge, and upon his mouth [...] with him will go out one of the priests of renown, holding clothes in his hand" (11-24). 

  12. Jesus from the Line of David Citing Hegesippus, Eusebius writes, "Vespasian after the conquest of Jerusalem gave orders that all that belonged to the lineage of David should be sought out, in order that none of the royal race might be left among the Jews; and in consequence of this a most terrible persecution again hung over the Jews" (H.E. 3.12)

  13. Question Why is it significant that Jesus was born of Davidic descent?

  14. Jesus as Born of a Virgin Luke 1:35 "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 the son of God.“ Matt 1:20 "For what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit."

  15. Jesus as Born of a Virgin Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:22-23: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (Isa 7:14)—which means, "God with us." Isaiah 7:13-16: Ask Yahweh your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights." 12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put Yahweh to the test." 13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 16 But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 17 Yahweh will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria." 

  16. Jesus as Born of a Virgin Tryphon’s Objection "The Scripture has not, 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, 'but, 'Behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, 'and so on, as you quoted. But the whole prophecy refers to Hezekiah, and it is proved that it was fulfilled in him, according to the terms of this prophecy. Moreover, in the fables of those who are called Greeks, it is written that Perseus was begotten of Danae, who was a virgin; he who was called among them Zeus having descended on her in the form of a golden shower. And you ought to feel ashamed when you make assertions similar to theirs, and rather [should] say that this Jesus was born man of men. And if you prove from the Scriptures that he is the Christ, and that on account of having led a life conformed to the law, and perfect, he deserved the honor of being elected to be Christ, [it is well]; but do not venture to tell monstrous phenomena, lest you be convicted of talking foolishly like the Greeks." (Dial. Tryph. 67)

  17. Jesus as Born of a Virgin The Pre-Existence of the Messiah 1 Enoch 48:6-7: “For this purpose he became the Chosen One; he was concealed in the presence of the Lord of Spirits prior to the creation of the world, and for eternity. He has revealed the wisdom of the Lord of the Spirits to the righteous and holy ones…” 1 Enoch 62:7-9: “For the Son of Man was concealed from the beginning, and the Most High preserved him in the presence of his power; then he revealed him to the holy and elect ones. The congregation of the holy ones shall be planted, and all the elect ones shall stand before him."

  18. Jesus as Born of a Virgin Son of God Luke 1:35: "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 the son of God"

  19. Jesus as Born of a Virgin Use of Term Son (of God) in Second-Temple Period 4Q174 (Midrash on Last Days): 10 [And] Yahweh has [de]clared to you that he will build you a house (2 Sam 7:11c). I will raise up your seed after you (2 Sam 7:12). I will establish the throne of his kingdom 11 f[orever] (2 Sam 7:13). I wi[ll be] a father to me and he shall be a son to me (2 Sam 7:14). He is the branch of David who will arise with the interpreter of the Law who 12 [      ] in Zi[on in the la]st days according as it is written: "I will raise up the tent of 13 David that has falle[n] (Amos 9:11), who will arise to save Israel…. "[Why] do the nations [rag]e and the people im[agine] a vain thing? [Kings of the earth] ris[e up] and [and p]rinces conspire together against Yahweh and against [his anointed] (Ps 2:1-2). [In]terpretation of the saying [concerns na]tions and th[ey ] the chosen of Israel in the last days. 2 Sam 7:11-14: The “son” is interpreted as “the Branch of David” (Jer 23:5; 33:15) (see Amos 9:11)(4Q174 1.11b-12a). Ps 2:2: The anointed of Yahweh is the “elect of Israel in the last days” (4Q174 1.18).

  20. Questions What was unusual about Jesus’ conception? How does Matthew interpret Jesus' virginal birth as a fulfilment of prophecy? What did Jews believe about the pre-existence of the Davidic Messiah? What would the phrase "son of God" mean for Jesus' contemporaries?

  21. Jesus as One Who Will Save his People from their Sins Matthew 1:21: "She [Mary] will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.”

  22. Question What does Jesus' name indicate about what he is destined to do?

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