The Man Christ Jesus

Here today I have a question, that while many may not question this, it is and will be in the near future one of the most important questions that you will need to be able to answer correctly, if not THE most important. The “strong delusion” that will come upon the entire world in the near future will in fact have the WRONG answer to this question at the heart of it (II Thess. 2:11; Rev. 3:10; Mat. 24:24; Rev. 14:4-6; 11-14). The question is, When did Jesus become the Christ? Now I know that just reading that question has already aroused some intrigue, and probably ruffled some feathers, but hear me out. Okay, I’ll take away the suspense and set everyone [except for some] at ease right away, and give the short answer first. Jesus NEVER BECAME the Christ because he ALWAYS WAS the [only] Christ! Well, technically speaking he did become the Christ at his first birth when he was begotten solely of his Father in heaven before anything else existed (Prov. 8:22-24; Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-18; Heb. 1:2; Eph. 3:9; Jn. 1:14; etc.). But even more important and integral to avoiding the end time delusion is when he became the Christ, or the Son of God when he was on earth. It could be that you haven’t given this much thought, or it could be that you have just assumed or been taught one thing or the other. In any event let’s look at what the scriptures plainly show us about this, and get it in concrete. We could just start with the report that the angel of the Lord gave to the shepherds on the night of his birth in Bethlehem: “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which IS CHRIST THE LORD” (Lk. 2:10,11). Case closed. But let’s go ahead and nail it down a little tighter than that anyway. Really the only other school of thought that I am particularly familiar with, other than Jesus being the Lord and the Christ from birth [conception really], is that he BECAME the Christ at the baptism of John. This ideology is based on the assumption that Jesus received the holy Ghost and was born again at the baptism of John when the Spirit “descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him” (Lk. 3:22). Now IF he did receive the Spirit at the baptism of John, then you do have a nice argument for this theory; and even an argument that he had sin before the baptism of John, as some also suppose. Reason being the holy Ghost baptism is certainly the new testament remission of sins and new birth experience (I Cor. 6:11; I Cor. 12;13; II Cor. 5:17; Rom. 8:9). The problem there is that it was JESUS who had to die, resurrect, and go back to heaven before this experience could be given (Jn. 7:38,39; Jn. 16:7; Acts 1:4,5). So he did NOT receive God’s Spirit at the baptism of John because there was never a time that he didn’t already have it; seeing he was the Son of God already. There are two major scriptural facts that totally debunk the myth that the Christ entered the man Jesus at the baptism of John, and they are as follows. The timeline of the Gospels, especially the Gospel of John, show us clearly that this could not be true. Matthew and Mark are clear on the fact that John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus at or near the very end of his [John’s] ministry, was cast into prison while Jesus was in the wilderness forty days fasting and being tempted of the devil; which took place immediately AFTER John baptized him (Mat. 4:1,12-17; Mk. 1:12-14; Lk. 4:1,2).

John shows that Jesus had disciples BEFORE he was baptized of John, and also that he performed miracles BEFORE he was baptized of John. After recording the notable meeting between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3, this is immediately what John tells us: “After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. For John was NOT YET cast into prison” (Jn. 3:22-24). [I should note here that the next chapter of John clarifies that Jesus himself did NOT baptize, but rather his disciples.] But what we see here in John 3 is that John was still on the scene and had not been cast into prison, and so it is evident this is where Jesus was baptized of him. What this also means is that Jesus performed miracles BEFORE this in Cana of Galilee, turning the water into wine; and at the Passover in Jerusalem, both of which are in John chapter 2 (Jn. 2:5-11,23). I could add a lot more detail to this timeline issue, but that is the mainframe of it, and I’ll leave it there for now. The other scriptural fact that Jesus was not baptized until John chapter 3 stems from the error of the widely accepted notion that he was baptized by John in John chapter 1. Well, first of all if he was baptized in John 1 we have to throw the book of John out because we just saw that John [the Baptist] was not yet in prison in John 3, and we know from the other books that Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and pray, and to be tempted of the devil; IMMEDIATELY after John baptized him, and that John was in prison when Jesus came back from the wilderness (Mat. 4:12; Mk. 4:14). But we have an even bigger proof that Jesus wasn’t baptized in John 1, and here it is: “John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!” (Jn. 1:26-36). What we have here is that John saw the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus and remain on him, and by that God-appointed sign he KNEW THEN AND THERE and testified that Jesus was the Son of God; and he testified of the same the following day. Now when we add Matthew 3: 13,14 to this, it becomes more than evident that what we just read from John 1 took place at a time BEFORE Jesus actually came to John to be baptized: “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I HAVE NEED TO BE BAPTIZED OF THEE, and comest thou to me?” (Mat. 3:13,14). Oh my, how I feel this!! John ALREADY KNEW who Jesus was BEFORE he baptized him because he had already seen the Spirit descend and remain on him BEFORE he had come to be baptized of him; which adamantly confirms John’s timeline of Jesus not being baptized until John 3.

In fact the scripture says NOWHERE that John saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus WHEN he baptized him, but rather that JESUS saw it at that time (Mat. 3:16; Mk. 1:10). John had already seen the Spirit upon Jesus because Jesus already HAD the Spirit of God, and had never in fact been without it; because he ALWAYS WAS the Son of God. That is why he told his parents at the age of twelve when he was teaching the teachers of the law in the temple; “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Lk. 2:49). Let’s not complicate simplicity here; Jesus clearly said at the age of twelve that God was his Father. Period. He did NOT say, “He’s going to be my Father.” Look at the account of his miracle in Cana of Galilee, which we have seen established by the Bible as being BEFORE Jesus was baptized by John: “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and HIS DISCIPLES, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it” (Jn. 2:1-5). Okay, we know what happened next, but here is the point: When they were out of wine, why did Mary tell Jesus about it? And why did she tell the servants to do whatever he told them? For the same reason that Jesus told her that “[his] hour [was] not yet.” She knew he was well capable of miracles because she had seen many from him before. He was saying that his ministry had not yet begun, and that is because he did not begin his actual ministry until after he was baptized; and after he fasted, prayed, and overcame the devil in the wilderness; and after John was taken off the scene (Mat. 3:12,17; Mk. 1:14,15; Lk. 4:14,15). As John had said of him after baptizing him: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30). So “the Christ,” or the Son of God did NOT enter the man Jesus at the baptism of John, and there is no separation of the man Jesus and Jesus Christ the Son of God. There never was, except of course that God’s Son was not a man before he came from heaven to be ‘born again’ as a baby in Bethlehem of Judea, even as the prophet Micah foretold: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth HAVE BEEN FROM OF OLD, FROM EVERLASTING” (Mic. 5:2). The beloved apostle echoed this truth with assurance that the ‘man’ Jesus was indeed he who Micah spoke of: “That which WAS FROM THE BEGINNING, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our HANDS HAVE HANDLED, of the Word of life” (I Jn. 4:1). To this he added: “And the Word was MADE FLESH and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). Should anyone decide to refute the timeline of John’s Gospel, they might like to consider what he said about his own writings: “And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe” (Jn. 19:35). Friend, if Jesus was just a man, especially one born with sin, and he 'became’ the Christ at the baptism of John; then that leaves the door open for other men to be 'Christs,’ which has happened many times before, and will happen again in an age-ending magnitude as Jesus said (Mat. 24:24). No, Jesus was more than just a man, and he was so from conception and birth. There is so very much more to be written on this topic, and I plan to do that; but for now I will leave you with this admonition from the beloved apostle: “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth” (I Jn. 5:5,6). He is “the man Christ Jesus” my friend, even as he was when he was born of water and of blood in Bethlehem of Judea (I Tim. 2:5). Amen and PRAISE GOD!!!

(Many thanks to God for my son Elisha and his diligent study of the timeline of the Gospels, which was a major factor in this writing.)