Sermon Tone Analysis

Was Jesus Born Again?

Written by Don Preston   

Wednesday, 08 November 2006

The suggestion that Jesus was, or had to be, born again, strikes us as strange today.

Yet, the reality and necessity of Christ's "new birth" is well established in scripture, and is vital for a proper understanding of eschatology.Our title may shock the reader at first glance because normally the term "born again" connotes the spiritual renewal of a sinful life.

But this article does not imply in any way that Jesus was in need of such a renewal.

We do wish to deal with the Biblical concept of the two births of Jesus as they relate to Covenant Worlds.

Jesus was born twice; physically, then spiritually.

Both births were into specific Covenant Worlds.I wrote this article originally in 1993, but have edited, enlarged and revised it here.

Our title may shock the reader at first glance because normally the term "born again" connotes the spiritual renewal of a sinful life.

But this article does not imply in any way that Jesus was in need of such a renewal.

We do wish to deal with the Biblical concept of the two births of Jesus as they relate to Covenant Worlds.

Jesus was born twice; physically, then spiritually.

Both births were into specific Covenant Worlds.

*THE LIMITATIONS OF JESUS' FIRST BIRTH*Jesus was most assuredly born in the flesh of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1, Luke 2).

As marvelous as that fact is, there were certain limitations inherent in the first birth of Jesus.

These limitations were not accidental or coincidental; they were foreordained.

These restrictions were foundational for the greater work of the Messiah.

Let us explore these limitations.*BORN

TO ISRAEL*Great emphasis is often placed on the "physicalness" of the virgin birth to the oversight of the Covenant relationship, or the covenant world, of that physical birth.

We are in no way seeking to mitigate the uniqueness of the incarnation.

We are seeking rather to place it in the Biblical framework.

Jesus was born into the Old Covenant world of Israel!

He was "born of a woman, born under the law" (Galatians.

4:4).

He appeared in the last days of that Old World (Hebrews 1:1f; 9:26).

Jesus was not born into the world of the Gentiles.

He did not minister to the Gentiles, (with some notable exceptions that foreshadowed the Gentile mission), nor was he sent to the Gentiles.

Jesus was, "not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15:24).

This is not to suggest the Gentile salvation was not envisioned within the work of Jesus for as Messiah his salvation would extend to all the world (Isaiah 49:6f).

But Gentile salvation would be accomplished when and only when the promises to Israel were accomplished (Romans 15:8f).Christ came into his own--the world of Israel (John 1:10-11).

He never traveled outside the confines of the land of Israel.

This limitation of the first birth of Jesus is very often overlooked because of the emphasis placed on the "universal" kingdom of Christ.

But we should never lose sight of the fact that Jesus, "was a minister of the circumcision, for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers" (Romans 15:8).

During his personal ministry Jesus sent his disciples on different "limited commissions" (Matthew 10; Luke 10), emphatically instructing them, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 10:5-6).

Salvation, said Jesus, "is of the Jews"( John 4:22), that is, salvation to the world could only come when Israel's Messiah had fulfilled "all the law and the prophets."

Thus, Jesus' first birth was limited in regard to the world into which he was born; the Old Covenant World of Israel.*THE

LIMITATION OF SERVICE*Being born into the Old Covenant world of Israel had a definite restricting element in regard to Jesus' work as Messiah.

The Messiah was to be king and priest on his throne (Zechariah 6:12-13).

Jesus was of the tribe of Judah (Heb.

7:14).

As a physical Israelite Jesus could never be the priest foretold by Zechariah, Psalms, etc because, "if he were on earth he should not be priest, seeing there are priests that offer gifts according to the law" (Hebrews.

8:5).

Jesus' earthly ministry prohibited him from fulfilling the prophecies of the priestly function of the Messiah because his fleshly birth placed him outside the sanction of that Old Covenant in regard to priesthood!

Does this not have profound implications for the millennial view that insists Jesus came to be a king, (thus a priest), on earth?

Israel's law forbad the Messiah being a priest because the Messiah was of the tribe of Judah (Isaiah.

11:1).

Yet millennialism says Jesus would have been king on earth, (and will be yet under the restored Old Covenant system), had he not been rejected.

This is clearly false in the light of Hebrews 8:5.

Jesus could never be a priest on earth under the Old Covenant, therefore Jesus could never be a king on earth!

The physical birth of Jesus therefore definitely had limiting factors in regard to his Messianic mission.

*THE HIDDENNESS OF HIS FIRST BIRTH*Much has been written about the "Messianic Secret' propounded by Wrede and others.1

While we reject much of what is written about this, it is undoubtedly true that Jesus was not recognized by Israel as her Messiah.

John says Jesus came to his own and his own "knew him not," 1:10.

Several times Jesus warned his audience, (even demons!), not to make him known (Matthew 8:4; 9:30; 12:16f; 17:9, etc).

Why?

Because there were two aspects of the work of Messiah, one hidden, one his revelation in glory.Edersheim says there was even among the Jews an expectation of, "a temporary obscuration of the Messiah."2

Just how widely this idea was held we cannot tell.

What we do know is that the Jews thought they knew Jesus when in truth they did not know him at all (Mark 6:1f; John 7:27).3

They thought they knew exactly what was to be done by Messiah, but in fact, did not understand God’s plan at all.

This reality is driven home in Luke 24.

Thinking that Jesus was truly dead, the disciples, not recognizing the resurrected Lord, told him, in abject depression "We thought it was he that was to redeem Israel" (Luke 24:21).

They did not recognize that the Cross was the pathway to the Crown!

They, like modern dispensationalists, saw the Cross as a defeat of Israel’s kingdom plans.

And for this, Jesus castigated their ignorance of the prophetic scriptures (Luke 24:25f).Wright and an increasing number of scholars and students recognize that while what Jesus did was not what the Jews expected, nonetheless, what he did was exactly what God planned.

Wright comments about Paul’s message, "One of the central tensions in Paul’s thought, giving it again and again its creative edge is the clash between the fact that God always intended what has in fact happened, and the fact that not even the most devout Israelite had dreamed that it would happen like this."4

Likewise, Kee, commenting on Acts 3:19f says,* "*Neither the Jewish nor the Roman leaders were aware of the divine plan and its cosmic consequences that their humanly despicable plot to destroy Jesus would achieve."5Jesus'

humble physical birth and ministry fulfilled the "hidden" aspect of the Messianic prophecies.

Isaiah said God's elect One would not break a bruised reed nor extinguish a smoking flax (Isaiah 42:1-4).

These are pictures of humility, gentility, etc.; not the images of glorification, and conquering might!

Jesus' first birth then, by purpose and prophecy, placed certain limitations on Jesus.

These limitations were "step one" if you please, that would lead inexorably (Acts 2:22-24), to the revelation of the Messiah.

*JESUS' SECOND BIRTH*Clealy, Jesus could not completely fulfill the Messianic prophecies in his physical ministry.

He could not be a priest, therefore he could not be a king on earth.

But was Jesus born again into a realm~/sphere where he could fulfill those prophecies?

The answer is yes.In Acts 13:27f Paul preached about Jesus and his resurrection.

In that resurrection, the apostle said, "God hath fulfilled this for us their children, in that he has raised up Jesus.

As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are my Son, Today I have begotten You.’"

You will note that the Father, speaking of the Son's resurrection says, "This Day’ I have begotten You."

The resurrection of Jesus was his second birth!

In Romans 1:3-4 Paul contrasts the "births" of Jesus.

He was "born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."

(my emphasis) Clearly, Jesus' resurrection was another "birth;" a birth directly contrasted with his physical birth into the Old Covenant World of Israel.

Let us note two things especially noteworthy about this "birth."The

prophecy cited by Paul in Acts and Hebrews is Psalms 2:7.

That prophecy chronicles man’s attempts to thwart God's plan to enthrone the Messiah as King.

Psalms 2:1-3 speaks of the rejection of Messiah.

In Acts 4:25f Peter applies those verses to Jesus' death at the hands of, "Herod and Pilate."

Jehovah's response to these actions was to laugh at man's rebellion--God would not be thwarted!6

In Psalms 2:6 He said, "Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion;" (v.7) then declares, "I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’"

The "second birth" of Jesus is inextricably linked with his enthronement on the holy hill Zion.

(Needless to say, Jesus was not enthroned on the literal Mt.

Zion!)

This comports perfectly with what the Hebrew writer says also about the priesthood of Jesus.In Hebrews 5:5f the writer cites Psalms 2:7 in regard to Christ's entry into the priesthood.

Just as Psalms 2 depicted the enthronement of Messiah after his rejection, and since that enthronement is linked by Paul with the resurrection, it follows that Christ's priesthood is also so linked.

Just as Christ's physical birth placed him in the Old Covenant World where he could not serve as Priest and King his second birth placed him in a New Covenant World where he could, (and does!), serve as High Priest!The Hebrew writer tells us, "Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24).

Christ's resurrection unto enthronement and priesthood was a birth into the heavenly realm where he can serve as king and priest.

The Mosaic limitation of Christ's physical birth is not applicable in the heavenly realm.

Jesus was "put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit," (NASV, I Peter 3:18).

As William Bell observes "in the flesh" and "in the spirit" of I Pet.

3:18 are both locatives and, "refer to the realm or sphere in which the actions ‘put to death’ and ‘made alive’ occurred."7

Michaels concurs insisting that Christ resurrected "not as a spirit," but in a new sphere in which the Spirit and power of God are displayed without hindrance or human limitation.

...Jesus is set free to complete a mission of utmost importance for the readers of the epistle."8

Jesus' resurrection situated him in a new realm of existence--his world, the world above.