Some Christmas Stories

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Some Christmas Stories

Post #1

Post by WebersHome »

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Jesus' Mom


Luke 1:31-33 . . Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Jesus' genealogy is relatively unimportant to the average Gentile, whereas very important to Jews because only David's biological posterity qualifies to ascend his throne and govern the land of Israel.


Ps 89:4-5 . . I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: I will make your dynasty stand forever and establish your throne through all ages.

Ps 89:36-38 . . By my holiness I swore once for all: I will never be false to David. His dynasty will continue forever, his throne, like the sun before me. Like the moon it will stand eternal, forever firm like the sky!

Ps132:11 . .The Lord swore an oath to David in truth, He will never turn back from it: “Your own offspring I will set upon your throne."

It's actually a fairly simple task to prove Jesus' biological connection to David.


Rom 1:3 . . . His son; descended from David according to the flesh

The Greek word translated "descendant" in that passage is a bit ambiguous because it can refer to spiritual posterity as well as to biological; for example:


Gal 3:29 . . If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant,

That descendant is obviously spiritual; whereas David's is biological because it's "according to the flesh" i.e. his physical human body.

* Seeing as Jesus' dad Joseph played no role in his son's conception, and his wife Mary was a virgin at the time, then Jesus' biological connection to David defaults thru his mother.

Now, the thing is: if true that Mary's baby is David's biological posterity, and if true that David is Adam's biological posterity; then it must be that Jesus too is Adam's biological posterity, viz: Jesus' human origin was the very dust with which the human race was constructed in the very beginning per Genesis 2:7


FAQ: From whence did baby Jesus obtain a Y chromosome for his male gender?

REPLY: In the beginning, Eve's entire body-- inside and out, front to back, top to bottom, and side to side --was constructed with material taken from Adam's body. (Gen 2:21-22) So if God could construct an entire woman from material taken from a man's body, then it shouldn't be too difficult for Him to construct a teensy little chromosome from a woman's body.

Seeing as how Eve is the mother of all women (Gen 3:20 & Acts 17:26) then any material taken from Mary's body to construct a Y chromosome for baby Jesus would be owed to Eve's body; and by construction: Adam's body.

The beauty of it is that a Y chromosome constructed with material taken from Mary's body wouldn't be an alien substance created ex nihilo; but would be 100% natural, and easily traceable all the way back to Eve, and from thence to the very dust that was used to construct Adam's body.

I sincerely believe that what I suggest herein actually took place when the power of the Most High overshadowed Jesus' mom per Luke 1:35; and if my suggestion is true, then little Jesus was thoroughly a Jew-- biologically descended not only from David and Abraham as all other Jews, but also from the Man that God created in the book of Genesis.


Heb 2:17 . . He had to be made like his brethren in every way.
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Re: Some Christmas Stories

Post #2

Post by WebersHome »

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Jesus' Dad

Joseph played no role in Jesus' conception. (Matt 1:18-19 & Luke 1:31-35)

Even so; Mary's boy is positioned in Joseph's genealogy. (Matt 1:1-17)

It's sometimes assumed Jesus was Joseph's foster child. But foster kids have no place in a man's family tree. Seeing as how Jesus wasn't Joseph's biological progeny, then the only way he could be legally placed in Joseph's genealogy was by adoption.

Joseph and Mary were both instructed give her baby the name Jesus. (Matt 1:21 & Luke 1:31) In ancient Israel, when a man stood with a woman to name her child, it was assumed his.


Luke 2:21 . .On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

From then on: the Bible, the neighbors, and Jesus' mom knew him as Joseph's son. (Luke 2:27-28, Luke 2:41, Luke 2:48, & Luke 4:22)


FAQ: Why make an issue out of Jesus' association with Joseph?

REPLY: Because Jesus was ordained of God to inherit David's throne. (Luke 1:32-33)

Now the thing is: David's throne never passes down to his posterity via women; it's always passes down via the men in his line, viz: Mary was able to give her son a biological connection to David, but she couldn't give him the throne.

For another thing; the throne has to come down via David's son Solomon. (1Kings 1:13 & 1Chron 22:9-10) Joseph is related to Solomon. (Matt 1:6 and Matt 1:16)

Long story short: it was necessary for Joseph to adopt Mary's boy in order to place the lad in Solomon's genealogy and thus validate him as a rightful heir to the throne.


FAQ: Since when did the Jews begin placing men in positions of power by adoption?

REPLY: Jacob was the first. (Gen 48:5-6)

He divided the tribe of Joseph in two, and set Manasseh and Ephraim over them as tribal heads equal in position to Jacob's eldest sons Reuben and Simeon.
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Re: Some Christmas Stories

Post #3

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Jesus' Shepherds


Luke 2:8-12 . . Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of The Lord appeared to them, and the glory of The Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.

. . .The angel said to them: Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.


NOTE: The "glory of The Lord" in that incident was but a shadow of the glory in Heaven off limits to mankind. (1Tim 6:16)

The angel announced the birth of a savior. Webster's defines a "savior" as one who rescues.

Rescuing is what the Coast Guard does when boats capsize. Rescuing is what Firemen do when people are trapped inside burning buildings. Rescuing is what mountaineer teams do when climbers are in trouble. Rescuing is what EMT paramedics do when someone needs to get to a hospital in a hurry; and kept alive till they arrive. Rescuing is what surgeons do when someone needs an organ transplant.

I could go on and on giving example of rescuer after rescuer; but I think we get the idea. The New Testament's Jesus is like that: he rescues people from the wrath of God-- people who not only fully deserve it, but definitely in line to get it; and with no humanly possible way to avoid it.

Now; of what real benefit would the savior of Luke 2:8-12 really be to anybody if he couldn't guarantee a fail-safe rescue from the wrath of God? He'd be of no benefit to anybody. No; he'd be an incompetent ninny that nobody could rely on.

But, if a savior were to be announced who guaranteed anybody who wants it, a completely free of charge, no strings attached, guaranteed fail-safe, sin-proof, human nature-proof, Ten Commandments-proof, bad behavior-proof, apostasy-proof, reprobate-proof, back-sliding proof, God-proof, Devil-proof rescue from the wrath of God, and full-time protection from future retribution; wouldn't that qualify as good news of great joy?

I think just about everybody concerned about ending up in the lake of brimstone depicted at Rev 20:10-15 would have to agree with me that news like that would not only most certainly be good; but also cause for celebration, and ecstatic happiness.


Luke 2:13-14 . . And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.
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Re: Some Christmas Stories

Post #4

Post by WebersHome »

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Jesus' Star

The verse below is deliberately misquoted. Watch for the revision.


Matt 2:2 . . Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have followed his star from the east

No, they didn't follow Jesus' star from the east; rather, they saw it in the east.

Jerusalem was a logical destination seeing as how it was Israel's capital city. Personally I think the wise men fully expected to find the new king quartered right there in Jerusalem rather than elsewhere; so their inquiry "where is he" was probably not meant for asking directions to another town.


Matt 2:9 . . After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them.

They likely thought they had seen the last of that star back home, so it was very reassuring to see it again; and this time as a guiding light rather than a sign.


Matt 2:10 . . When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

NOTE: As the earth turns, stars appear to move across the sky from the east towards the west. Here is a star that moved south, and also came to a stop; which should alert planetariums that it wasn't an astronomical object.

Matt 2:9 . . It stopped over the place where the child was.

Nobody had precision astronomical instruments back then; so it would've been a challenge finding the exact house over which the object hovered. Try it sometime. Find a dark-sky location and, using only your eyes, see if you can pick out the star that is precisely over your head.

Normal stars are so far out in space that it is nigh unto impossible to tell the exact spot on earth where one of them is at any given moment without special instruments; so I think we can be reasonably confident that this star was low enough that there was no mistaking the exact house where young Jesus was lodged. In other words; this star wasn't a star, rather, it was a God-given apparition.

Now this is curious. The shepherds were given no guide. They had to conduct a house to house search for baby Jesus; and their target was different too. The shepherds went looking for a savior whereas the wise men were seeking a sovereign. Plus the wise men were educated, whereas the shepherds likely weren't; and the wise men were wealthy and privileged whereas shepherds were just cow pokes; so to speak.


FAQ: How the wise men knew their star was associated with the Jews?

REPLY: Well; Matt 2:12 strongly suggests to me that their entire odyssey was micro-managed by God from start to finish so that when the men spotted the star back home in the east, they were at the same time informed by God as to its purpose and urged to pack up and head for the land of Israel; specifically the city of Jerusalem because that's always been a sort of Washington DC for David's dynasty.

I think the wise men fully expected to find the young king there because they didn't inquire as to where he'd be born, rather: where is he that "is born" because they were sure in their own minds that he was already out and about even before they left home.
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Re: Some Christmas Stories

Post #5

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Jesus' Taxation


Luke 2:1-6 . .In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governing in Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

. . .So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

The distance from Nazareth in the north, to Bethlehem in the south just outside Jerusalem, is about 68 line-of-sight miles, and roughly 93 road miles. So the journey on a donkey's back would be no picnic; especially for a woman in her final trimester and ready to pop any minute.

I don't know why artists always depict Mary traveling those 93 miles on donkey-back when the mode of transportation isn't mentioned. Personally, I don't think Joseph and his fiancée traveled to Bethlehem alone anyway, but rather, in the company of their kin just as they did when Jesus was 12 years old. (Luke 2:41-45) Seeing as how Mary and Joseph were of the house and lineage of David, then their kinfolk would've been too.

In Mary's condition, the padded bed of a wagon makes far more sense than the back of an animal; and no doubt Joseph's and Mary's relatives pooled their resources and made sure she was comfortable.

Mr. Quirinius (a.k.a. Cyrenius) is an historical figure. His name is mentioned in Res Gestae-- The Deeds of Augustus, by Augustus --placing Quirinius as consul as early as 12 BC.

The Roman historian Tacitus mentions that Quirinius was appointed by Augustus to be an advisor to his young son Caius Caesar in Armenia.

Quiinius didn't become a Governor till around 6 CE which appears to make the dating of the taxation several years after Jesus was already born. However, Quirinius, though not the Governor, was governing in Syria in a capacity that we today might call a bureaucrat.

The first century historian Josephus wrote: "Quirinius, a Roman senator who had gone through other magistracies, and had passed through them all until he had become consul, was appointed governor of Syria by Caesar and was given the task of assessing property there and in Judea."

Webster's defines a consul as: an official appointed by a government to reside in a foreign country to represent the commercial interests of citizens of the appointing country.


NOTE: We can get by with naming this discussion "Jesus' Taxation" because according to Heb 7:9-10, unborn children pay taxes too.
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Re: Some Christmas Stories

Post #6

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Herod


Matt 2:7-8 . .Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.

Well; the visitors might've returned had not God intervened.


Matt 2:11-12 . . And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

That was a safety measure to prevent Herod from knowing where to find the lad because rulers in that day were typically Machiavellian, tyrannical, and despotic-- they didn't just crush potential threats to their power; they utterly annihilated it; and as subsequent events demonstrate, ol' Herod had neither conscience nor concern for child welfare.

* Saddam Hussein's first order of business upon taking control of Iraq was to order the executions of some of his closest supporters because they weren't totally onboard with his ideals. Kim Jong-Un is suspected of ordering the murder of his uncle for similar reasons.


Matt 2:16a . .Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth

There's really nothing in the story to even remotely suggest that the wise men made a fool out of Herod and/or jeered him. They simply failed to comply with his wishes; which in his mind wasnt merely refusal of his request, but a failure to take him seriously.

* The book of Genesis tells of "mighty men: men of old, men of renown". Their Hebrew word describes bullies, i.e. men whose ambition is not only to rule people, but to quite dominate them and own their souls. For bullies like that, people aren't fellow human beings; instead they're assets and commodities.


Matt 2:16b . . He sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

The Greek word for "coasts" is a mite ambiguous. It technically indicates borders, but can also indicate regions and/or environs and surrounding areas.

That verse is commonly appropriated to calculate Jesus' age relative to when the wise men visited him and his mother. But the verse merely indicates the passage of time since Herod interviewed the men; which is quite useless for calculating Jesus' age seeing as how he was already born before the men even left their country-- how long before they left their country, nobody knows for sure.


Matt 2:17-18 . .Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." (Jer 31:15)

Ramah was roughly six miles north of Jerusalem, while Bethlehem is roughly the same distance south in the opposite direction.

Ramah was settled by the people of Rachel's biological son Benjamin, so that any weeping done by the mothers in that area would be reckoned, by heritage, to be Rachel's weeping.

What this suggests to me is that the slaughter of the innocents extended beyond the community of Bethlehem. Were we to set a draftsman's compass to a radius equal to the distance between Bethlehem and Ramah, and scribe a circle with Bethlehem at the center, it would yield a pretty good idea of the area covered by Herod's death squads.

But Herod's efforts were futile. Jesus wasn't even in the country; Joseph had moved the child and his mother down into Egypt before all the killing began (Matt 2:13) and in time, Herod died and his danger to Jesus' survival died with him. (Matt 2:19-23)
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Re: Some Christmas Stories

Post #7

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Mary's Atonements


Luke 2:22-25 . .And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of The Lord: "Every first-born male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to The Lord" and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the law of The Lord: "A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."

The days of purification for a boy baby are a total of 40 days.


Lev 12:1-4 . .Then The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the sons of Israel, saying; When a woman gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of her menstruation she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Then she shall remain in the blood of her purification for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed.

(It looks like 41 days but what would be the 41st day is actually the day the mommy goes to the Temple with her sacrifices)

The dollar-value of Mary's offerings attest to her and Joseph's status as low-income Israelis.


Lev 12:6-8 . .And when the days of her purification are completed, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting, a one year old lamb for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Then he shall offer it before The Lord and make atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood.

. . .This is the law for her who bears a child, whether a male or a female. But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.

Too many Gentiles are quick to assume Mary's offerings prove she was a sinner; but one of those birds was for Jesus in lieu of the lamb that the law mandates for redeeming boy babies; so then, if Mary's offering proves she's a sinner; then by association, the offering for Jesus proves the very same thing.


Ex 13:11-13 . .After The Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as He promised on oath to you and your forefathers, you are to give over to The Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to The Lord. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.

Josephs' wife brought those offerings for herself and Jesus because that is what the law of The Lord mandates; and it doesn't matter whether a woman is a sinner or a non-sinner nor whether the baby is a sinner or a non-sinner. It would have been sin for Jesus' mother to disobey that law, and would have put her baby in jeopardy of its life. She had to bring the birds for her and Jesus simply because it was the right thing to do.

Another case in point of "the right thing to do" is John the Baptist. His mission was a baptism unto repentance (Matt 3:11). Did Jesus need repentance? No; but he submitted himself to John's baptism because it was the right thing to do since John's mission was God-given.


Matt 3:13-15 . .Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying; I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? Jesus replied; Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. Then John consented.
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Re: Some Christmas Stories

Post #8

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Jesus' Fathers

Christ is unusual because he's the progeny of two fathers: the one natural and the other supernatural.


Luke 1:30 . .Then the angel said to her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father.

Jesus is sometimes described as a demigod, i.e. a singular amalgam of human and divine, i.e. 50% god and 50% human.

But Jesus isn't a 50/50 singularity. He's actually a 100/100 plurality, i.e. according to John 1:1-3, John 1:14, 1Cor 15:45-47, and 1John 1:1-2, Jesus exists as an eternal spirit being whose origin is currently unknown, and as a temporal material being whose origin can be easily traced from David all the way back to the dust from which Adam was created, viz: Jesus exists as the creator and as a creation simultaneously.

This is possible due to the fact that when The Word of John 1:1-3 came into the world in human form per John 1:14, he didn't lose his life in the process; no, The Word cannot die because his life is life itself. (John 1:4 & 1John 1:1 2)

This particular construct is not only nigh unto impossible to comprehend, but also unpopular among quite a few Christians. They're usually okay with Jesus as fully God and fully Man, but not as two distinct individuals. They'd rather Jesus be God and Man as one person rather than the Son of God and the Son of Man retaining their own identity-- the one a natural being, and the other a supernatural being.

* Caution: this is a hot button issue, so it's my advice that folks avoid getting into debates over it because the discussion will likely turn into a perpetual food fight that never gets to the bottom of anything.
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Re: Some Christmas Stories

Post #9

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WebersHome wrote: Thu Dec 08, 2022 12:04 pm .
Jesus' Fathers

Christ is unusual because he's the progeny of two fathers: the one natural and the other supernatural.


Luke 1:30 . .Then the angel said to her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father.

Jesus is sometimes described as a demigod, i.e. a singular amalgam of human and divine, i.e. 50% god and 50% human.

But Jesus isn't a 50/50 singularity. He's actually a 100/100 plurality, i.e. according to John 1:1-3, John 1:14, 1Cor 15:45-47, and 1John 1:1-2, Jesus exists as an eternal spirit being whose origin is currently unknown, and as a temporal material being whose origin can be easily traced from David all the way back to the dust from which Adam was created, viz: Jesus exists as the creator and as a creation simultaneously.

This is possible due to the fact that when The Word of John 1:1-3 came into the world in human form per John 1:14, he didn't lose his life in the process; no, The Word cannot die because his life is life itself. (John 1:4 & 1John 1:1 2)

This particular construct is not only nigh unto impossible to comprehend, but also unpopular among quite a few Christians. They're usually okay with Jesus as fully God and fully Man, but not as two distinct individuals. They'd rather Jesus be God and Man as one person rather than the Son of God and the Son of Man retaining their own identity-- the one a natural being, and the other a supernatural being.

* Caution: this is a hot button issue, so it's my advice that folks avoid getting into debates over it because the discussion will likely turn into a perpetual food fight that never gets to the bottom of anything.
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Your post is not all true. Jesus did not have 2 fathers. What doctrine is this you are posting?

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Re: Some Christmas Stories

Post #10

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Jesus vs Santa

You better watch out, you better not cry,
Better not pout, I'm telling you why:
Santa Claus is coming to town

He's making a list, and checking it twice;
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice:
Santa Claus is coming to town.

He sees you when you're sleeping,
He knows when you're awake,
He knows if you've been bad or good,
So be good for goodness sake!

There's no grace in that song-- none at all --no generosity, no altruism, no kindness, no charity, no love, no peace, no understanding, no sympathy, no patience, no tolerance, no courtesy, no compassion, no forgiveness, i.e. there are no gifts in Santa's bag; only merit awards for those who prove themselves worthy enough to deserve them, viz: were it left up to Santa, relatively few children would escape the wrath of God.
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