11/28/11- Day 2 of Advent- The Prophecy of the Messiah as Son of God

Day 2- 11/28/11- Light the first candle again. Jesus was prophesied to be the Son of God

⁷ I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.
⁸ Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹ You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” ¹⁰ Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. ¹¹ Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.
¹² Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, (Psalm 2:7-12)

¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”(Luke 9:35)

In the beginning was the Word.  And the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:1,14)

¹ Now Jesus… was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph…the son of Adam, the son of God.” (Luke 3)

(Baptism of Jesus- Albani Francesco 1640)

Thoughts: Psalm 2 speaks of the anointed one as being God’s Son (cf. Ps. 45:6,7).  What is promised is world-wide dominion of the Son of God.  The New Testament confirms this image being imprinted on Jesus of Nazareth.  The voice from the Holy Spirit that came down when the dove (symbolizing the Holy Spirit) rested on Him confirms as much as can be confirmed that God declares the Sonship of Jesus.  The voice also declared his authority (“listen to him”).  So we are called to listen to the Son, following Him.

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to respect you and listen.

5/3/10- Jesus the Son of God

"The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ the Son of God." Mark 1:1

Mark is considered the earliest account of Jesus' life (dates range from 55-75 AD).  It is written by John Mark.  John Mark was cousin of Barnabas, the mentor and co-missionary of Paul.  Mark's mother hosted the early church, and it was in her house that the disciples were gathered when Peter was released from prison.  Early church historians and traditions claim he was a good friend with Peter, and most of the information gathered in this gospel was from Peter.  Several accounts say that Mark was the "young man" who was following Jesus and when confronted fled away leaving his garment behind (Mk. 14:51). 
Mark begins his "gospel about Jesus Christ" (literaly "good news about Jesus Christ"), by identifying Jesus as the "Son of God."  The title "son" is often used of prophets who call themselves the "son of man." It is a way of associating themselves with human beings.  Jesus often used the title "son of man" to describe himself as a prophet. Mark, after evaluating all the evidence calls him "Son of God."  This is a singular title for Mark and one given only to Jesus in the early church.  For them, it meant "of the essence of God." 
In effect, this was Mark's Christmas story. God had a Son who came down to earth in the person of Jesus Christ.  It is gospel or good news in that it shows not only the reality of God where we can emperically see it, hear it, touch it, but also that the God who made the millions of stars and the millions of micro-organisms can care about us so personally. 

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for sending your Son to us.  Thank you, Jesus, for coming and showing us how to live here and to live eternally.