By Andrew Williams – March 14, 2021
Introduction: Welcome to our new devotional on discipleship as taught and patterned for us by our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. We will primarily look at Jesus’ ministry and gain insights into the model of discipleship that He used to make the Father’s Kingdom known. This week we will look at the incarnation of Jesus as reported in the book of Matthew.
Scripture: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18 NKJV
Insight: In order for God to redeem sinful man He had to become human to pay the price that was required. He had to do this as a human so as to take back the dominion that Lucifer took from mankind when man sinned in the garden. This was how God planned to defeat the devil and to bring mankind back into right relationship with God.
We see in this verse that Jesus was conceived between the Spirit of God and a virgin named Mary. Through this miraculous union we see Jesus being both Son of God and son of mankind (man).
We also note that even though He is God, Jesus started His redemptive journey here on Earth as all humans do, conceived as a baby in the womb.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for leaving heaven to become one of us so that you could redeem us. Thank You for starting Your life as a human the way all humans do. I know that for every stage of life that You experienced: conception, birth, childhood, adulthood and, death proves that You were truly human. But, You are also God! Thank You for being humble to the point of becoming like us. Teach us how to live like You did as we study Your life and teachings I pray, amen.