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December 24, 2011

Column: G. David Henderson: Who am I, concerning Jesus’ birth

Dalton Daily Citizen

“Angels’ Food” Weekly Devotionals





“Man did eat angels’ food.” (Psalms 78:25).



Many Sunday mornings just before Christmas I have put on a one-person Christmas skit without costume, portraying something human, material or animal about the birth of our Lord Jesus. The congregation is supposed to guess who I am by the time I finish the skit and I ask them, “OK, who am I?” Today’s article is designed for the reader to guess who or what I am portraying that involved the birth of Jesus.

I’m one of the most important over all others (other than God, of course) concerning Jesus’ birth. If I hadn’t accomplished my responsibility toward the timing and place for his birth, I could have hindered Jesus being Israel’s promised Messiah, Lord of his world-wide religion, including King over the whole world according to God’s timing.

I had to work out two major traveling problems for Jesus to be who he proclaimed to the world. One major problem was Jesus’ mother Mary was at the point of delivering Jesus in another town not prophesied for Jesus’ birth. I had to make sure she rode in such comfort, to not jar baby Jesus being born prematurely because of the dirt road filled with rocks. If Jesus was born prematurely while traveling before the date prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures, Jesus wouldn’t have been God’s Son, Messiah and Savior.

Many in Jesus’ day — and even in our present generation — wrongly proclaim Jesus was a good man and prophet, but not God’s chosen Messiah, Savior and King. Jesus perfectly fulfilled more than 400 Old Testament prophecies that verified him for God’s choice as Messiah, Savior of all sinners, including King of the world in the near future. If Jesus isn’t who he proclaimed himself to be, then he is the biggest religious liar ever born on the Earth, plus responsible for sending more people to hell than any other. Such a fraudulent person wouldn’t be a good man or reliable religious prophet of any kind.

The place (Bethlehem) and timing of his birth are two prophecies that can only be fulfilled by the person of God’s choice. Because I traveled with Mary and Joseph, I was responsible for fulfilling those very important two prophesies. I brought Mary and Joseph into Bethlehem just in time for Jesus to be born in an animal stable. If Jesus had been born before or one day later after reaching Bethlehem that day, he could not be our God-promised Savior.

Who am I? I’m the slow walking, bony, dirty smelling, sweaty, drooling donkey Mary rode painfully and uncomfortably 70 miles and many days from Nazareth to Bethlehem (almost the distance between Dalton and Atlanta). God could have easily caused my rough ride to cause Mary to go into labor for Jesus to be born not according to God’s timing that he designated before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Gosh, do I feel important!

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