Biographies of people’s lives start with their birth and they finish either part way through their life or at their death. However the biography of the Lord Jesus Christ does not begin with His birth but with the life He had with God in eternity past i.e. before creation.
The Bible shows that Jesus Christ had many names to describe Him. One name was “the Word”.
“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.” (John 1:1-2). A “word” is the living expression of a thought and so the Lord Jesus Christ’s biography begins in eternity past – with God. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are all one God and all enjoyed eternity past when there was no sin. Just as a triangle is one triangle but has three sides so there is one God but there are three persons.
In Eternity The first recorded actions in Jesus Christ’s biography go back to creation.
When were the angels created? We are not told when the angels were created but it could have been before the creation of the heavens and the earth.
See Job 1:6 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.” and Job 38:4, 7 “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. … When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
In John 1:3 the Bible shows that the Lord Jesus was the creator of everything. It is made both positively “All things were made by him;” This shows that the Lord Jesus Christ was Himself was not a created being but He was the Creator of all things. “and without him was not any thing made that was made.” This shows that the Lord Jesus created everything and there is no possible exception to this.
Birth: Some would
think of a Jesus Christ biography in terms of His life here on earth. The
Lord’s special conception in Mary foretold by the angel Gabriel in Luke
1:26-35. Also because of a government census His mother, Mary, and His
stepfather, Joseph, had to leave Nazareth and travel to Bethlehem. “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the
city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called
Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)” (Luke 2:4)
We are not told
exactly where but the Lord Jesus was possibly born in a lowly stable. His birth
was announced by angels to shepherds (Luke 2:8-20), and by a special star to
wise men in a far country (Matthew 2:1-12). At eight days of age, he was
dedicated in the Temple according to Jewish custom (Luke 2:21-39).
Childhood: At an early age, Jesus and his family fled to Egypt because an angel warned Joseph in a dream of impending danger Matthew 2:13-15). When they returned from Egypt, they settled in Galilee, in the town of Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23).
At the age of
twelve, Jesus travelled to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph to celebrate the
Feast of the Passover where His parents lost Him and looked for Him for three
days (Luke 2:41-50). They found Him in the temple amazing the doctors of the
law by His understanding and His answers. After that, He returned to Nazareth
with them which was a bad town. “And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good
thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). He was obedient to His parents and continued to
grow (Luke 2:52).
Adult/Public
Service: At
approximately 30 years of age (Luke 3:23), Jesus started working for God
publically. John the Baptist baptised Him (Mark 1:9-11). After this, Jesus went
into the wilderness and was tempted by the devil. He resisted the temptations and all His life
was perfect (Matthew 4:1-11).
Jesus began to preach a message of repentance, i.e. change your mind about going on in sin, and believe in Him.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables,” (Matthew 13:2-3)
“… Jesus … withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all.” (Matthew 12:15)
All the Lord Jesus said and did was said and done out of love for people. He showed something of His great power. The Lord fed a “great multitude” in John 6:1-14 of about 5,000 men plus women and children. So they could well have been 25,000 people or more on that one occasion.
The apostle Peter was speaking and said “Who (Jesus of Nazareth) went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil” (Acts 10:38). The Lord Jesus not only spoke God’s truth but “doing good” was Peter’s summary of over three years that he had spent with Jesus. There are well documented mighty miracles that demonstrated that Jesus was God. Also He showed His sovereign power that set people free from the oppression of the devil.
The Lord Jesus hand-picked twelve men from among His followers, whom He called disciples/apostles and with whom He worked closely and taught them more than to the multitudes. This interesting life is recorded in detail in the four Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and bits elsewhere in the New Testament.
Jesus Christ: He is the Way
Jesus Christ declared “I am the Way,” but clearly, not everyone believes Him. What are we all afraid of? The evidence for Jesus and His great works are well documented in the Bible which God has inspired. The evidence for His crucifixion on the cross, when He took the punishment for all our sins, the empty tomb three days later, showing His resurrection, and His appearances to over 500 eye-witnesses afterwards is very good evidence of His resurrection. The Lord Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament, called Messianic, prophecies. So when Jesus walked on the earth, you can be assured that these prophecies were not “made up” afterwards. They were truly fulfilled by the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ: He is the Truth
Jesus Christ declared “I am the Truth”. Jesus, through God’s Word, the Bible, gave
us the absolute truth.
His disciples said about Him “And in him is no sin” (1John 3:5). “Who did no sin” (1Peter 2:22). Also the apostle Paul had Christ’s sinlessness revealed to him and he wrote, “Who knew no sin” (2Corinthians 5:21) meaning that He had no experience of it in His life. Being perfect the Lord Jesus Christ was always the truth.
God the Father, expressed His perfect satisfaction with the Lord Jesus at His baptism, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
Jesus Christ: He is the Life
In Philippians 3:8, the apostle Paul said, “I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord”. He said that everything else is
worthless when compared with the priceless gain of having trusted in and knowing
Jesus Christ.
John 1:4 “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Here John was not thinking about physical life but rather the eternal spiritual life that was always in the Lord Jesus. The “light” would refer to the true knowledge and purpose of life and how to go to heaven.
“(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew (announce) unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)” (1John 1:2)
Jesus Christ knew how to live perfectly and give the true guidance for us human beings.
“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
The Main Reasons for Jesus’ Earthly Life
Jesus brought the truth to people about their sin and Him being the Saviour from sin and its everlasting punishment. He provided the way of salvation from sin and to heaven by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross at Calvary when He took God’s punishment for our sin upon Himself. Then He rose from the dead after three days. Thus He conquered death and the grave for all who would put their faith in Him.
“I have glorified thee on the earth:” (John 17:4) To “glorify” someone or something is to make people think better of that person or thing. The Lord Jesus’ perfect life made people think better of God.
Christianity: Not Religion – A
Relationship
Christianity is not a religion but it is a
relationship with God. It is trusting in Jesus and what He did on the cross for
you and not on what you can do for yourself (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christianity is
not about ornate buildings, great preachers, or various traditions. Christianity
is about having faith in or trusting in the Lord Jesus as your Saviour when you
receive everlasting life and God becomes your spiritual Father “Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of God.” (1John
3:1)