The Deeper Meaning Behind Jesus’ Birth and Our Salvation

Michaelangelo’s Pieta (Image from Google)

When Jesus came to this earth, it was recorded that he was born in Bethlehem. No matter how we have lived up to now, we desire to live according to God’s guidance. An angel appeared to Mary and told her that she would conceive and bear a son. In Luke 1, Mary said she did not know any man. In John 1, it is said that he was not received when he came to his own land. If Jesus had come in spirit, we could not talk to him or even see him.

Originally, Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth. The distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem is 144 km. It’s a very long way. When they arrived in Bethlehem, they arrived late and ended up having baby Jesus in a stable.

Psalm 34:6 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” We call Jesus the Nazarene because Jesus wrote that he was a Nazarene. In Isaiah 11, a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots, a Branch will bear fruit, and the Hebrew word for Branch is “Netzer,” which is similar to Nazareth in pronunciation. Even today, Hebrews call Christians “Notzrim,” which means Nazarene people.

Jesus never once called Mary “mother.” The person who knows best about Jesus’s birth is Mary. Mary is the one who knows most accurately that Jesus was born from a virgin’s body. God does not have a mother. Jesus’ whole life, Mary was with him. John 2:25 says, “He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.” Jesus, when he met people, knew everything about them. When he first met Nathanael, he saw him and said, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” How could Jesus know what was in people’s hearts? Because he is the God who created us. Mary also must believe in Jesus to go to heaven. Jesus called Mary a woman. When you put the Bible on the table, it stays there. Even though humans are creatures, they do not stay where God created them but go elsewhere. That is a sin.

Especially in the part of washing away sins, they do not let God do everything but try to do something themselves. The teacher of the law asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. The law says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and, love your neighbor as yourself.” When he asked who his neighbor was, Jesus told him a story about a man who fell into the hands of robbers on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho. The priest and Levite passed by and avoided him, but the Samaritan rescued the man who met the robber. Who is the neighbor of the man who met the robber? It’s the one who showed mercy. When people hear this story, they try to be like the good Samaritan. Why? Because they forgot that they are creatures. Creatures are people who must stay where the Lord put them. Are we dead men who met robbers, or are we good Samaritans? The devil deceived us. The words about the man who met the robber accurately represent Jesus and us. Jesus is the good Samaritan, and we are the ones who met the robber. The man who met the robber did nothing to save himself. That’s how our salvation is. People do not know well that they are the ones who should receive salvation.

When the physical education teacher and the students went to swim at the beach, one student fell into the water. When another student tried to save her, he grabbed her and pulled her close. So, the two struggled, and another student who knew how to swim tried to save them again, but the student grabbed her and pulled her close. When the teacher tried to save them, the teacher also grabbed them from all directions, and the teacher and the students drowned together. It is said that those who are good at rescue never go in to save when the person in the water has strength. Because the dying person has such a strong desire to live that they try to grab even a straw. Therefore, they wait for all their strength to be exhausted before trying to save them.

Our salvation is also like that. We shouldn’t do anything. Jesus must do everything. We, as creatures, have become sinful creatures by committing sins. We have nothing to do. The reason why we cannot receive salvation even if we believe in Jesus is that we have not become people who met the robber. When you look at Michelangelo’s Pietà sculpture, Mary is holding the crucified Jesus. Pietà (Italian: Pietà, 1498–1499) is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created by Michelangelo Buonarroti, currently housed in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. It is the first of many Pietàs created by Michelangelo and was commissioned by the French cardinal Jean de Billheres, who was residing in Rome at the time. Although originally created as a funerary monument for Cardinal de Billheres’ funeral Mass, it was later moved to a chapel to the right of the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica in the 18th century. This Pietà is unique in that Michelangelo personally carved his name into the work. This famous work depicts the body of Jesus Christ lying in the arms of his mother, the Virgin Mary, after his crucifixion. Michelangelo’s depiction of the Pietà has some distortions. For example, Mary’s face is depicted as being much younger than a woman in her 50s, and her body proportions are depicted as much larger compared to Jesus’ body. Additionally, the portrayal of Jesus’ body as being limp, when rigor mortis should have set in after death, is depicted in a soft manner. Humans have lowered Jesus and elevated Mary. Washing away our sins is something that Jesus must do. When we search the Bible, it shows that Jesus has forgiven our sins. He has forgiven the sins of the world.