Meet Jesus Part 1 of 3 Parts

In December, Christians will commemorate the awesome birth of Emanuel, the Baby Jesus. Through God’s goodness, He became God-Man like us in every way except sin. The great moment of which the prophets had prophesized for centuries, and the psalmists had sung had arrived. A body had been prepared for Him to permit the Godhead to be veiled in flesh. This holy moment in history was marked by Three Wise Men from the distant East who followed a star to the place Jesus laid, bringing gifts; and angels from “On High” appeared to lowly shepherds with glorious song in the air of a star filled night, announcing the birth of the Savior, where to go and find and adore the babe. They all were the first to exalt the wondrous birth of Jesus. From the very beginning of Jesus’ life here on earth, He faced evil, as shown in Herod’s order to slaughter the innocent children as a way to stop His existence. By God’s providence, Herod failed to kill Jesus. His mission to walk the earth as a man and teach as no one has ever taught, and to suffer and die for our sins was set. God knew that man was incapable of making things right for the original sin of Adam and Eve, so God sent us His Only-Begotten Son to show us how to live and tell us of the Father and of heaven. Every year Christmastime reminds us of Jesus’ birth. Wherever we may be, with hearts aflame with love and yearning, we try to find our way to loved ones to be with them. It is a time for togetherness and reflections over past years together, and remembering those who have passed on. For Christians especially it is a time for holy celebration, and a time of heartfelt love. Genuine feelings are shared, often through precious, emotional moments to be long remembered. Deep expressions of love, often absent during other days of the year, are associated with Christmas and Christmas as a Birthday Celebration. Adam and Eve brought humanity disobedience and darkness. Through Jesus Christ’s obedience, we were brought out of darkness and into the light again. Now, above all, charity, i.e. divine love, is the needful grace for man to follow Jesus. Jesus came to preach to all men the Kingdom of God, to tell them what they must do to gain everlasting life, and to save their souls. By His words, He preached to all the truth, which they themselves could see verified in the example of His perfect life. Everywhere Jesus manifested God’s infinite love for sinful man, and everywhere He worked miracles to prove His divine claims. Jesus had been an obedient son to parents named Joseph and Mary. Joseph was Jesus’ stepfather and chosen by God to be Jesus’ earthly guardian. Joseph taught Jesus how to toil as a carpenter. After Joseph died, Jesus took care of His Mother, Mary. By the age of 30, Jesus’ ministry began. He had long realized His reason for being on earth was to teach man his reason for living. Jesus talked the talk and walked the walk in the real sense. He often spoke in parables. His wisdom has never been equaled. At the start of His ministry Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the last prophet to end the line of many prophets from the Old Testament times, transitioning into the New Testament and the life of Jesus. At this baptism, the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were seen and heard together for the first time “Behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and coming upon Him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My Beloved Son in Whom I am well please.’” Jesus then went off into isolation for forty days to be tempted by the devil. When He reappeared among the people, John the Baptist was imprisoned. John revealed to his followers that Jesus was the One Who was to come. John’s few followers turned to Jesus to begin learning from Him. Soon Jesus gathered a small, select group, the Apostles, and promised to build His Church on Peter, whom He selected as their head. He called fishermen, a tax collector, a physician, and others, to become “fishers of men.” For the most part, they instantly responded, dropping everything they were doing. They sojourned and stayed with Jesus everywhere Jesus went. Jesus was constantly on the move, going from place to place; He taught His Apostles and delivered His message to the people who gathered about them, especially around Jesus. He taught them to pray, say “Our Father…” Becoming Man makes Jesus our Brother, God our Father. What a gift! Now and then I read no one knows what Jesus looked like. When I’m asked what Jesus looked like I heretofore only could reference that all you need to do is look at yourself and your neighbor and you’ll know what He looked like. God’s story tells us that we have been made in His image and likeness. What more could we ask for? Recently in an older book, I came upon the description of Jesus by someone who saw him and recorded his appearance. I came upon this quite by chance. It was a pleasant surprise to say the very least. I’d like to share what I read with you and with anyone who will value the story, take a few minutes and ponder it. Here, quoted exactly: “There lives at this time in Judea a man of singular virtue, whose name is Jesus Christ, whom the barbarians esteem as a prophet, but His followers love and adore Him as the off-spring of the immortal God. He calls back the dead from the graves and heals all sorts of diseases with a word or touch. He is a tall man, well shaped and of an amiable and reverend aspect; His hair of a color that can hardly be matched, falling into graceful curls, waving about and very agreeably couching His head, running as a stream to the front after the fashion of the Nazarites, His forehead high, large and imposing; His cheeks without spot or wrinkle, beautiful with a lovely red; His nose and mouth formed with exquisite symmetry; His beard, and of a color suitable to His hair, reaching below His chin and parted in the middle like a fork, His eyes bright blue, clear and serene, look innocent, dignified, manly and mature; in proportion of body most perfect and captivating; His arms and hands delectable to behold. He rebukes with majesty, counsels with mildness, His whole address, whether in word or deed, being eloquent and grave. No man has seen Him laugh, yet His manners are exceedingly pleasant, but He has wept frequently in the presence of men. He is temperate, modest and wise. A man for His extraordinary beauty and divine perfection, surpassing the children of men in every sense.” --Above is believed to have been written by Publius Lentulus, President of Judea in the reign of Tiberius Caesar, 14 to 37 A.D. -- Around this same era, Matthew (3:16, 17 ) recounted “…and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him. And lo, a voice from heaven saying ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased…” It is conceivable that others have taken note of this description because before I discovered this piece my favorite lithographic image, which I possess and display, was always that image described above – in every detail. Let us thank God for Publius Lentulus for recording what he observed so very long ago. As far as I am concerned, Jesus, the Son of God, looked very much like the incarnate man he was meant to be and “in the image and likeness” of God Himself. I feel charged in telling you about Jesus, I am not charged with making you believe it. Parts 2 and 3 will follow in the next two days. Thank you for visiting. - Bob Ephesians 4:32